Archive for Suzette Standring

Man with Asperger Finds His Voice in Toastmasters

Clive Wan has Asperger Syndrome and for those on the autism spectrum, social interaction can be difficult. He joined Quincy 675 Toastmaster’s Club to gain confidence when speaking. Typically quiet, he admitted, “I don’t have a lot of social interactions.” Yet the 34-year-old Braintree resident became the club’s president.

My mother’s unloved diamond ring

We treasure what loved ones left behind, like a favorite piece of jewelry. Or was it? My mother’s engagement ring has quite a story, and now at age 67, I understand why she never wore it. She married my dad in 1950, and later in the 1980’s, after my mother’s death, the sparkly European-cut diamond […]

Simone Biles – Self-Protecting is Greater Than Gold

An act of humility transforms Olympic sports when Simone Biles, the world’s most decorated female gymnast, bowed out of the uneven bars and vault events due to severe mental stress and concerns about personal safety.  Certain that her condition would result in competitive loss, she made way for her team to step up and to […]

Trees talk to each other and now I’m listening

A 75-foot oak in my backyard impresses me with its intelligence. Trees protect and interact with each other more than I knew. Trees in my yard and the adjacent back field form a community that “talks” to each other.  These trees may date back at least 100 years when a larger tract of 10 acres […]

International Family Day: Get Vaccinated, It’s What Family Does

May 15 is International Family Day, and a once-a-century pandemic heightens love and gratitude, and now the separation is lifting. Recently, I asked a friend where his wife was, and he said, “She did her two week waiting period after her second vax, and she was out like a shot to see the grandkids in […]