LindaAnn Loschiavo was recently promoted to Director, English language Section, of L’Idea, a bilingual Quarterly from Brooklyn. As a journalist, her column in L’Idea has appeared since 1996.
Native New Yorker LindaAnn Loschiavo is a poet, reviewer, and dramatist. She starred in a 90-minute TV documentary that was broadcast last year in Europe, “The Prohibition Years in America.” Scenes from her play “Courting Mae West” were filmed for this documentary. The playwright is a member of TRU and The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.
Professional accomplishments include winning national playwriting competitions, earning awards sponsored by PEN, and being selected as a Featured Poet by Dana Gioia, former chairman of the NEA.
Her most recent book publication is “ANTI-ITALIANISM: Essays on a Prejudice” edited by William Connell and Fred Gardaphè and published by Palgrave/ Macmillan in 2011.

I was recently introduced to the New York State Assembly by the Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, President of the NYS Italian American Legislators, and recognized by the Assembly Speaker, Peter Rivera, who lauded me for my accomplishments and invited me to come back as a guest of the Assembly. The Assemblymen applauded me, cheered and spent a few minutes taking pictures with me and my daughter, who will attend Cummings School of Veterinary Science at Tufts University in the fall. As many of the readers may know, the introduction and recognition of a special guest to the Assembly is an honor bestowed upon people whose activities have enriched the culture of the State.
Truthfully, I did not know what to expect… I’m not much of a social person. I like to write. I like to create. I’ve always stayed on the side, out of the limelight, which is hard to do as a magazine executive (I have been for 21 years the Editorial Director of L’Idea magazine, a bilingual quarterly published in Brooklyn since 1974). I kept on saying to myself that maybe I shouldn’t have been there. The enthusiasm of the Assemblymen surprised me so much that I did not know where to look, and I am glad I did not have to make a speech.
They wanted to take pictures with me, which I really thought was funny. This was one of the few times I was being recognized personally, and I felt fulfilled and satisfied. That was the most unusual part, because I was honored to take pictures with them, but they were asking to take pictures with me. I was like a child in the FAO Schwarz toy store. It was really peculiar.
I am the product of a Public School education, since I graduated from John Jay High School in Brooklyn, Kingsborough Community College, Queens College, New York City Technical College and SUNY Purchase College. I published two books (Caro Fantozzi and Doña Flor) and two more are on the way. I wrote and published countless articles in Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece and USA. I organized and assisted in the creation of many events in our community, as a member of the Sons of Italy, the Lions International and the Circolo Culturale di Mola.
I am, most of all, a Brooklyn child, since I spent my youth in Carroll Gardens playing soccer with then not-yet-champ Vito Antuofermo,my college years working in the evenings in Brooklyn Heights, at the famed Queen Restaurant, and driving to Astoria to meet my date. Of that, I am proud. I hope all my friends in Brooklyn and Queens will feel the same way about my recognition by the NYS

I was recently introduced to the New York State Assembly by the Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, President of the NYS Italian American Legislators, and recognized by the Assembly Speaker, Peter Rivera, who lauded me for my accomplishments and invited me to come back as a guest of the Assembly. The Assemblymen applauded me, cheered and spent a few minutes taking pictures with me and my daughter, who will attend Cummings School of Veterinary Science at Tufts University in the fall. As many of the readers may know, the introduction and recognition of a special guest to the Assembly is an honor bestowed upon people whose activities have enriched the culture of the State.
Truthfully, I did not know what to expect… I’m not much of a social person. I like to write. I like to create. I’ve always stayed on the side, out of the limelight, which is hard to do as a magazine executive (I have been for 21 years the Editorial Director of L’Idea magazine, a bilingual quarterly published in Brooklyn since 1974). I kept on saying to myself that maybe I shouldn’t have been there. The enthusiasm of the Assemblymen surprised me so much that I did not know where to look, and I am glad I did not have to make a speech.
They wanted to take pictures with me, which I really thought was funny. This was one of the few times I was being recognized personally, and I felt fulfilled and satisfied. That was the most unusual part, because I was honored to take pictures with them, but they were asking to take pictures with me. I was like a child in the FAO Schwarz toy store. It was really peculiar.
I am the product of a Public School education, since I graduated from John Jay High School in Brooklyn, Kingsborough Community College, Queens College, New York City Technical College and SUNY Purchase College. I published two books (Caro Fantozzi and Doña Flor) and two more are on the way. I wrote and published countless articles in Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece and USA. I organized and assisted in the creation of many events in our community, as a member of the Sons of Italy, the Lions International and the Circolo Culturale di Mola.
I am, most of all, a Brooklyn child, since I spent my youth in Carroll Gardens playing soccer with then not-yet-champ Vito Antuofermo,my college years working in the evenings in Brooklyn Heights, at the famed Queen Restaurant, and driving to Astoria to meet my date. Of that, I am proud. I hope all my friends in Brooklyn and Queens will feel the same way about my recognition by the NYS

MANNERS FOR TOTS
By Michelle Fix

As you page through magazines or flip through television channels lately, there is a disturbing trend frequently in the headlines: bullying. Whether on-line, in text messages, or face-to-face, there seems to be a marked increase in behavior that is not only uncivil, but downright cruel.

Human beings experience a range of emotions from love to joy to annoyance to rage. And have done so since the beginning of time. But over the centuries we have instituted a code of behavior to mollify the most heightened of these behaviors. We agreed to a social contract of civility by instituting laws, codes of conduct, and mores to which we are all held accountable.

This social contract has eroded of late – and is having deleterious effects on our personal relationships: rudeness is increasing, selfishness on the rise. How are we to combat this trend and reclaim our gentility and politesse?

By teaching kindness, respect, and value for others in a very simple format: good manners. To me, good manners are to reintroducing civility what eliminating squeegee guys were to Mayor Giuliani. They are quality of life issues. The way to build a society that is respectful of one another is to start small. And…start young. With toddlers.

From their first moments on earth, babies are influenced by the sights, sounds, smells, and energy surrounding them. And as adults, it’s our collective responsibility to ensure those surrounding influences are positive. Parents are the primary source of all teaching – by example and instruction. But it’s up to the rest of society, i.e. us! to reinforce those positive behaviors and values.

The time to start inculcating good manners is the minute a child starts to engage with their world – if it’s people, pets, or even things, they need to know that you must respond with patience and an understanding of how your response is received by the other being.

But this should be fun! After all, they are kids. We can’t harangue and berate them for misbehaving when they are just learning to “beehave”.

That’s where media can play a helpful role. Where we can introduce children to characters like the Glamour Bees! Honey Bee and Dew Bee are two adorable schoolbees who live and play in Florafauna and much like human children, are constantly exploring and learning.

But they also have special powers of the inner glamour of extra kindness and use those powers to help children learn to be kind and respectful through good manners. With a show like the Glamour Bees, kids can learn by watching – how to share, to let someone go first, behave at the table, respect their pets (no tail grabbing!). Honey and Dew just love to see good manners – their mantra is “Bee Kind! and Bee Polite!” and they want to share that with everyone.

My friend Dominique told me her 3-year old “started encountering situations that really upset her. For instance a little girl at her school called her a name and pushed her away. It would be great to have a show centered on being nice and respectful so that Gaia does not take what non-respectful kids say and do personally and has something that helps her (on her level) learn the right lesson. Your show can help our children become good people. Please let me know what I can do to help you make this a reality.”

You can actually all get involved to help make it happen! Glamour Bees was accepted on a funding site called Kickstarter. Please check it out www.glamourbees.com. Honey and Dew want to help children be kind, good little people – and hopefully stop the bullying trend in its tracks. Please join them!

MANNERS FOR TOTS
By Michelle Fix

As you page through magazines or flip through television channels lately, there is a disturbing trend frequently in the headlines: bullying. Whether on-line, in text messages, or face-to-face, there seems to be a marked increase in behavior that is not only uncivil, but downright cruel.

Human beings experience a range of emotions from love to joy to annoyance to rage. And have done so since the beginning of time. But over the centuries we have instituted a code of behavior to mollify the most heightened of these behaviors. We agreed to a social contract of civility by instituting laws, codes of conduct, and mores to which we are all held accountable.

This social contract has eroded of late – and is having deleterious effects on our personal relationships: rudeness is increasing, selfishness on the rise. How are we to combat this trend and reclaim our gentility and politesse?

By teaching kindness, respect, and value for others in a very simple format: good manners. To me, good manners are to reintroducing civility what eliminating squeegee guys were to Mayor Giuliani. They are quality of life issues. The way to build a society that is respectful of one another is to start small. And…start young. With toddlers.

From their first moments on earth, babies are influenced by the sights, sounds, smells, and energy surrounding them. And as adults, it’s our collective responsibility to ensure those surrounding influences are positive. Parents are the primary source of all teaching – by example and instruction. But it’s up to the rest of society, i.e. us! to reinforce those positive behaviors and values.

The time to start inculcating good manners is the minute a child starts to engage with their world – if it’s people, pets, or even things, they need to know that you must respond with patience and an understanding of how your response is received by the other being.

But this should be fun! After all, they are kids. We can’t harangue and berate them for misbehaving when they are just learning to “beehave”.

That’s where media can play a helpful role. Where we can introduce children to characters like the Glamour Bees! Honey Bee and Dew Bee are two adorable schoolbees who live and play in Florafauna and much like human children, are constantly exploring and learning.

But they also have special powers of the inner glamour of extra kindness and use those powers to help children learn to be kind and respectful through good manners. With a show like the Glamour Bees, kids can learn by watching – how to share, to let someone go first, behave at the table, respect their pets (no tail grabbing!). Honey and Dew just love to see good manners – their mantra is “Bee Kind! and Bee Polite!” and they want to share that with everyone.

My friend Dominique told me her 3-year old “started encountering situations that really upset her. For instance a little girl at her school called her a name and pushed her away. It would be great to have a show centered on being nice and respectful so that Gaia does not take what non-respectful kids say and do personally and has something that helps her (on her level) learn the right lesson. Your show can help our children become good people. Please let me know what I can do to help you make this a reality.”

You can actually all get involved to help make it happen! Glamour Bees was accepted on a funding site called Kickstarter. Please check it out www.glamourbees.com. Honey and Dew want to help children be kind, good little people – and hopefully stop the bullying trend in its tracks. Please join them!

Dear Glendale Register –

When my Dad Pat turned 50 (Glendale born and raised, a St. Pancras boy in his youth), he decided that in order to celebrate it in a special way, he would take us (my Mom, me, and my brother and sister) on a cross-country trip to check out each of the 50 states. The Great American Drive we’ve called it, and we are hitting 50 states in just 25 days (and will be back just in time for school!) We are somewhere around New Mexico right now, and if you want, you can check out our travels, photos, etc at pverrone.wordpress.com. Collecting postcards, state pens, stuffed animals, etc has really been quite an adventure, but I guess it’s something we’ll always remember, especially because this is the most we’ve ever been together all of us! My Dad’s usually pretty easy to spot, mostly because he’s always got some kind of METS stuff on, Queens boy that he is! Okay, thanks for listening, and hopefully, you will check us out on pverrone.wordpress.com. We loved our time in NYC and that marked, fittingly enough the half-way point. Almost home now!

Dear Glendale Register –

When my Dad Pat turned 50 (Glendale born and raised, a St. Pancras boy in his youth), he decided that in order to celebrate it in a special way, he would take us (my Mom, me, and my brother and sister) on a cross-country trip to check out each of the 50 states. The Great American Drive we’ve called it, and we are hitting 50 states in just 25 days (and will be back just in time for school!) We are somewhere around New Mexico right now, and if you want, you can check out our travels, photos, etc at pverrone.wordpress.com. Collecting postcards, state pens, stuffed animals, etc has really been quite an adventure, but I guess it’s something we’ll always remember, especially because this is the most we’ve ever been together all of us! My Dad’s usually pretty easy to spot, mostly because he’s always got some kind of METS stuff on, Queens boy that he is! Okay, thanks for listening, and hopefully, you will check us out on pverrone.wordpress.com. We loved our time in NYC and that marked, fittingly enough the half-way point. Almost home now!