Inauguration days

(Jan. 19, 2013) Presidential inauguration day is tomorrow, Jan. 20. Because inauguration day falls on a Sunday this year, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the official oath of office to President Barack Obama in a private ceremony that day. The public swearing in on the Capitol Building’s West Front — at which Roberts will administer a second, symbolic oath of office — will take place the next day, Monday, Jan. 21, which in 2013 is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Obama will use two historic Bibles — one from the 1861 inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln, author of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and the traveling Bible of Martin Luther King Jr., the slain black civil rights leader whose birthday is commemorated annually on the third Monday of January. King's actual birth date is Jan. 15, 1929, and he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

After a long struggle, legislation was signed in 1983 creating a federal holiday marking King's birthday. In 1994, Congress designated the holiday as a national day of service and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading this effort. It  is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service – a "day on, not a day off." The MLK Day of Service is part of United We Serve, the president's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to the nation's most pressing problems. The Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, creates solutions to social problems, and moves citizens closer to  King's vision of a "Beloved Community."

King believed in a nation of freedom and justice for all, and encouraged all citizens to live up to the purpose and potential of America by applying the principles of nonviolence to make this country a better place to live— creating the Beloved Community.

Most governmental offices will be closed on Monday. For more details on the holiday, check Recorder Community Newspapers. You can check the papers online here at newjerseyhills.com along with their blogs written by community volunteers. Any individual or local organization representative interested in joining the growing group of Recorder bloggers may contact me by telephone at (908) 832-7420 or via e-mail at panderson@recordernewspapers.com for information on this free, simple 21st communication tool.

Iced in

(Jan. 17, 2013) Trees in the woods are all encased in ice from overnight precipitation. Frozen snow has us iced in since our driveway and lane are coated in ice kept frozen by the low temperatures. It's a good time to  read and write.

Check out the news and blogs at Recorder Community Newspapers' website online at newjerseyhills.com for local information on your area.

Anyone interested in joining the growing group of Recorder bloggers may contact me at panderson@recordernewspapers.com or call (908) 832-7420 and I will explain this simple 21st century communication tool.

Happy New Year 2013!

(Dec. 31, 2012) On this last day of 2012 I wish you all the best for the new year.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Winter

(Dec. 20, 2012) The winter season officially begins tomorrow, the earliest winter since 1896 arriving with the solstice at 6:12 a.m. (EST).

This is the shortest day of the year—the time when the Sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky. Although this part of Earth is cooling, its great thermal mass still retains some heat from the summer and fall. As the gradual cooling process continues over the next two months, temperatures will continue to fall, and the coldest temperatures will be recorded.

Here is the Northeast, snow soon will begin to sprinkle down (or dump) onto the landscape, painting everything white. There will be a peaceful sort of silence when you walk through the woods—a muffled kind of quiet. It also means shoveling, snowblowing, dealing with bad roads, and sometimes unbearably cold temperatures.

For up-to-the-minute items about the season and more area news, check out Recorder Community Newspapers and their online blogs at newjerseyhills.com. Anyone interested in joining the growing group of individuals blogging here may call me at (908) 832-7420 or e-mail panderson@recordernewspapers.com. This 20th century communication tool is simple and free.

12-12-12

(Dec.  12, 2012) Today is 12-12-12, one of those once in a lifetime dates that intrigue numbers people.

The Ancient Mayan calendar speaks of 12-12-2012 as the end of times as we know it, and the beginning of a new cycle of evolution for planet earth, humanity and the cosmos. Today it has new meaning.

Last month, just four days after Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast, plans for 12-12-12 – a massive benefit concert at Madison Square Garden featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Kanye West, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, the Who, Billy Joel and many others – started coming together. Spearheading the effort was the same team that organized the Concert for New York City after the tragic terrorist attacks of 9/11. The benefit show will be televised live internationally starting at 7:30 tonight soliciting donations to help Sandy's victims.

Dates to remember

(Dec. 7, 2012) Today is Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, the date in 1941 when Hawaii's Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese killing more than 2,400 Americans. The next day President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a speech to Congress, brought the United States into World War II and said the date "will live in infamy." Today WWII veterans, plus those killed at Pearl Harbor, are remembered for their sacrifice.

Then tomorrow is the first of the winter holidays. Hanukkah 2012 begins at sunset, Saturday, Dec. 8, and ends at sundown, Sunday, Dec. 16. This movable eight-day feast starts on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, usually in the secular month of December. Known as the Festival of Lights, it commemorates the rededication of the Temple following its debasement by the Syrians many centuries ago. Each night of Hanukkah, which means dedication, families light one additional candle of the eight-branch menorah to symbolize the miracle of the small bit of oil which lasted eight days in the Temple. Additionally, celebrants play related games such as dreidel and sing festive Hanukkah songs.