Writing/Work Samples (in the areas of history, health, travel, religion, nature) with (an older) Resume to Follow:
http://www.healaway.com/silly-diet-mistakes-lose-fat/
The Silly Diet Mistakes We Make — What We Really Need to Lose Fat
Written by: D. J. Mathews
Years ago comedic actor Jackie Gleason was asked how he was able to lose weight. He stated that he was losing because he was tired of eating eggs on his diet, so he hardly ate at all. I know what he meant. I’ve been on a high protein diet once myself, which helps you lose weight, at least for a while.
Dieting for most people is no fun. You have to plan your meals in advance and can’t run out for a mouthwatering pizza when you feel like it. You’re also supposed to exercise along with staying on a food plan that is restrictive and many times hard to stick with. Depending on the diet, most people experience varying degrees of success, but not the healthiest success because of something that is left out.
Did I Say Dieting is No Fun?
Sure I did. Take my own experience with a high protein diet. Years ago I’d “heard” about this food fad called the Stillman high protein diet. It was a diet developed by Dr. Irwin Maxwell Stillman, so it had to be healthy, supposedly. I didn’t know till later that you were supposed to eat three meals and then snack to three meals a day. So the spouse and I stuck to three main meals, and sometimes a snack.
After all, why would you want to eat a lot? The diet was terribly restrictive: lean protein and cheese, mostly. My husband and I wound up eating eggs for breakfast, luncheon meat or a hamburger for lunch, steak or chicken or turkey and cheese for dinner. And lots of water was required, alternating with diet soda or tea. And there was nothing about exercise.
The extra water was a requirement because of a side effect. Eating all that protein all day caused a buildup of urea, a protein byproduct that can be hard on the kidneys. So you drink a lot of water and scurry back and forth to the bathroom like a dog peeing on every tree it passes. And you do lose weight. But who can stay on diet like this, and no accompanying exercise? So, sure we lose several pounds, but guess what? They eventually came back.
Exercise Should Be a Part of Any Diet, Exception None
Exercise today is becoming more and more a part of a successful diet plan. Whether it’s more high protein (like the Atkins diet) or just calorie counting, dieting alone doesn’t totally work, at least for women, because there is the issue of hormones like insulin and cortisol affecting weight loss. Stress or grabbing the wrong kind of food can spike insulin levels. Yet if you exercise along with a sensible diet that includes good lean proteins and some fats each meal, it can stimulate the liver to produce glucagon to help break down body fats.
But as you get older, your hormones become even less cooperative, and I am finding that as I count “points” on the Weight Watchers plan. It encourages exercise, but isn’t really specific. After twisting my knee recently, making me even less able to exercise, I told my physical therapist I was going to diet so there was less weight on that knee. He said if I really wanted to lose weight and fat, as opposed to needed muscle, that I should be lifting weights as I diet.
Weight lift expert Parnell Dean agrees that weight lifting as you work to lose weight will help you to maintain muscle mass. This applies to weight lifting men and women, but also can apply to women fighting stress and hormones who want to lose fat and not muscle as they lose weight. It’s recommended if you’re going to seriously weight lift that you eat enough protein, like a gram of protein per pound of lean body weight, which you can figure out by knowing your body fat percentage. (See Body Fat Calculator ).
Health experts say aerobic exercise, like running a long distance, fast walking, and swimming, burns calories at that moment. Anaerobic exercise (meaning without oxygen), such as weight lifting, stresses the muscles and will burn more fat in the hours afterwards as your body is recovering from the stress of the workout.
It is recommended as you diet that you lift weights three to four times a week but not every day. Pick a weight heavy enough for 12-15 repetitions four times, or six to eight times if you have been lifting weights already. Rest about a minute between reps. And you should exercise all parts of the body. Contact your local rec center or gym if you have questions on specific exercises to do. We can all afford to gain some muscle mass, and lose fat as we diet, for more permanent weight loss. It’s a sensible way to go.
About the Author
D. J. Mathews has been a freelance journalist for several years. A Master naturalist member, she writes about nature, the outdoors, and natural health.
Amish Culture (Written for Ebscohost, which Golson Media told me about)
The Amish people make up a unique religious community that can be found in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as well as mid-West states and Ontario, Canada. Amish society rejects modern technologies such as cars and electricity, advocating a simple lifestyle that brings them close to God. They began a major migration to America in the early 1700s. Different factions, like the Mennonites and Beachy Amish, have broken with the “Old Amish” to utilize phones, cars, and electricity when needed. In spite of modern challenges such as mental illness and employment issues, few youth stray from this close-knit, simple living community.
Overview
Amish culture dates back to the sixteenth and seventeenth century Protestant Reformation in Europe, which produced numerous religious sects in different regions. Swiss Mennonite church leader Jakob Amman felt his church should more closely adhere to Biblical principles, and emphasized a simpler, pastoral lifestyle. His followers broke away from the Mennonites between 1693 and 1697, setting off for America. In this patriarchal society, men made the major decisions regarding church rules, outward appearance, gender interaction and what, if any, technology their community used.
From an early age Amish girls and boys are dressed differently and given gender specific roles and rules to follow. The girls’ and women’s domain involves childcare, the home and family garden, while boys and men take care of the farm, finances and running the church. Both learn to speak English and German dialects, the latter important at church.
At church there are also distinct male and female roles. Religious services are always conducted by male ministers or bishops. The women prepare a meal served after the service. Men and women will eat and socialize at the gathering in separate areas. During rumspringa (which loosely translates to “running around”), young people, generally ages 16- 21, gather in coed gangs and socialize away from home, before they decide whether to get baptized and join the church. Although some experience alcohol, ride in cars and carouse around, nearly ninety percent will stay with their Amish community.
In 1948, seventy-five year old Bishop Samuel Hochstetler was sentenced to six months for chaining his forty-one year old mentally ill daughter to her bed whenever he left home, for her safety (Nolt 133). Mennonites, an Amish sect able to attend college, have used their education to help open mental health facilities to help Amish members with grief or other issues. In Lancaster County, a “People Helpers Movement” is also working to involve ministers in addressing mental illness.
With farm prices down or less farms available, some twenty-first century Amish have opened their own businesses, selling everything from custom made quilts and shoo-fly pie to dry goods and cabinetry. Since they only receive eight years of education, some can experience financial difficulties. Thirty-six year old Amish father Marlin Hostetler was laid off from his RV factory job, requiring him to accept a low paid furniture store position. He was later rehired by the factory, but then owed twenty-five thousand in credit card debt (Raley 721).
D. J. Ann Mathews, MS
Bibliography
“Amish.” Encyclopedia Americana. International ed. Vol. 1.2005. Print. 30 vols.
Castillo, Linda. Breaking Silence. Waterville: Thorndike Press, 2011. Print.
Frey, J. William.“Pennsylvania Dutch.” Encyclopedia Americana. International ed. Vol. 21.
2005. Print. 30 vols.
Hostetler, John A. Amish Society. 4th ed. Baltimore: John Hopkins U. Press, 1993. Print.
Nolt, Steven M. “Moving Beyond Stark Options: Old Order Mennonite & Amish Approaches
To Mental Health.” Journal of Mennonite Studies 29 Jan. 2011:133- 151. Web. 19 Jul. 2013.
Raley, Gage. “Yoder Revisited: Why the Landmark Amish Schooling Case Could – And
Should – Be Overturned.” Virginia Law Review 97:3 (May 2011): 681-722. Web. 20 Jul.
2013.
Johnson-Weiner, Karen M. New York Amish:Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State.
Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 2010. Print.
Kraybill, Donald B. The Riddle of Amish Culture. Revised ed. Baltimore: John Hopkins U.
Press, 2001. Print.
-end-
Organic-Gardening Expert
To Appear at Garden Faire
By D. J. Mathews
(This appeared in the Bristol Herald Courier, Bristol , VA
At Mike McGrath’s house in rural Lehigh County , Pa.
He said he’s had chickadees as close as 6 inches from his face because “they feel safe” on his 1.5 acres, which is an organically managed homestead.
McGrath, organic gardening author and host of the National Public Radio Show “You Bet Your Garden,” will be the featured speaker at this weekend’s 11th annual Mid-Atlantic Garden Faire in Abingdon , VA.
McGrath didn’t come to organic gardening naturally. He explained in a recent phone interview that he grew up in a Philadelphia row house, where he mowed a lawn the size of a “postage stamp.”
He remembers his mother tending some roses when he was a child. He also recalled hawkers who walked the streets in the summertime, singing out that they had Jersey tomatoes or sweet corn for sale.
McGrath didn’t go organic until much later in life, when he fell in love. Now 56, he met his future wife, Kathy, at a party when he was in his late 20s.
He said she raved about her parents’ and grandparents’ gardens, where they picked tomatoes, raspberries and herbs.
She wanted someone to grow raspberries for her, so he did.
Starting out with “a couple of trash cans of horse manure and a lot of enthusiasm,” McGrath decided against harsh chemical fertilizers for the raspberries and vegetables he’s grown for more than 20 years.
And he experimented.
He used suet on his peach trees to attract meat-eating birds like chickadees, titmouses and woodpeckers. The birds stuck around to eat the bugs that emerged in the spring, naturally keeping their population down and his plants healthier.
Birds are actually a part of one of McGrath’s “Seven Secrets of Organic Gardening,” the name of one of his presentations he will share with local residents at the garden faire.
Attracting wildlife like birds to your property helps cut down on garden pests in the summer. McGrath said attracting wildlife should also include utilizing the elements of earth, air, water and fire.
In his sometimes self-deprecating style, McGrath pointed out that he got into writing and radio “because I have no real skills.” Then he added that he won the English prize offered by the Sacred Heart Society when he was an eight grader at St. Bartholomew’s.
After many years as a successful entertainment editor for Philadelphia ’s The Drummer and feature writing for publications like The Philadelphia Inquirer, his interest in explaining the health side of medicine helped him land a position as a health writer for Prevention magazine. He later became editor in chief of Organic Gardening magazine.
In his health and garden research he’s learned some interesting trivia, such as the fact that after World War II munitions plants went from producing ammonium nitrate bags for fire bombs to promoting them as fertilizer for farmers.
The hardwood forests for thousands of years provided mulch and compost for plants, and he thinks people could go back to the natural, organic way of growing plants.
On his syndicated show “You Bet Your Garden,” now in its 10th year, McGrath has tried to make “everybody feel comfortable gardening…there are no stupid people; there are no stupid questions.”
His latest book is “Mike McGrath’s Book of Compost,” which he said offers plenty of simple information.
McGrath said he is looking forward to meeting area gardeners on Friday and Saturday.
Sidebar:
YOU SHOULD KNOW
What: The 11th annual Mid-Atlantic Garden Faire
When: From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,Friday and Saturday,
And from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday
Where: Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center
Off Exit 14 of Interstate 81
Mike McGrath’s programs:
- 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday – The Seven Secrets of
Successful Organic Gardening
- 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday-- Answers to
Garden Questions
- 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.
n Grow Your Best Tasting
Tomatoes Ever!
Tickets are $5 a day and
$10 for the entire show.
Kids younger than 12 will be
Admitted free.
##########
Work Sample:
Niagara Falls – A
Treasure For All Seasons
By D.J. Mathews 1415words (later condensed
for Bristol Herald Courier, Va, TRAVEL section)
When
46 year old daredevil George Strathakis went over Niagara’s Horseshoe
Falls in 1930 he probably didn’t realize the water at the bottom
of the 173 foot falls was deeper than it was tall. His airtight wood and steel
barrel made it over the falls intact, but came up and got caught behind the
falls’ pounding waters for 22 hours. Strathakis suffocated – but his 150 year
old pet turtle survived.
Many
other have successfully crossed the churning waters of the Niagara
River by tightrope walking or barrel riding, or survived a trip over the Canadian
side falls. But today’s visitors are not drawn to just crazy stunts. Named by “The Today Show”
the tenth most beautiful spot in America,
Niagara Falls,
with its natural beauty and many area attractions draws not only for newlyweds
but also couples and families of all ages. And it can be as enjoyable to visit
in autumn and winter as the traditional summer vacation time.
Bud
Wittenburg, a local speech teacher from Bolivar, New York,
has been to Niagara Falls
numerous times and never tires of its beauty. He feels “a trip to the falls isn’t
measured in how many breaths you take, but in how many moments it takes your
breath away.”
On
his most recent visit he stayed on the 32nd floor of Embassy Suites
Hotel because his room had “an incredible view of the falls.” On the Canadian
side of the Niagara River are the best views of both the semi-circle shaped Horseshoe
Falls and the smaller American Falls on the U.S. side of the river. Other
luxury hotels on the Canadian side include the Sheraton, Radisson Hotel,
Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt Regency. These luxury hotels can offer package
deals, which can include such extras as a ride on the Maid of the Mist, casino
entertainment, family game rooms and indoor pools, to the tune of several
hundred for a few days’ stay.
Embassy
Suites offers a romance package, for example, that includes a dinner for two at
the Skylon Tower (an $80.00 value alone). The
couple will also receive strawberries dipped in chocolate with complementary
champagne, cooked-to-order breakfast and tickets to the casino, falls and
shuttle to nearby attractions like the IMAX Theater, Niagara Skywheel, or
family oriented Canadian Midway, with some 300 indoor games.
If
you don’t want to spend a bundle on lodging on either the Canadian and American
side of the Niagara, rates are cut dramatically
in late September and October. One of the cheapest, at under $49.00, can
be found at Howard Johnson’s in Niagara
Falls, New York.
Parks
border the falls, and when autumn brings color changes Niagara Falls “has its own special beauty,”
according to Wittenburg. Because the waters warm up the land around it “there’s
no frost till late in the fall,” Wittenburg points out. Temperatures average 44
to 66 degrees in the fall, and he’s seen geraniums and roses bloom there in
November. In winter the mist coming off the falls creates an ice layer that has
a “Fairyland” effect kids and adults
alike can enjoy, he says.
The
cheapest way to see the falls is to take Route 81 to Syracuse
then take the NY Thruway to the Robert
Moses Parkway to reach the free parks bordering the
American or Canadian sides of the Niagara River.
The U.S. side has 412 acres,
including the Niagara
Reservation State
Park, and on the Canadian side is Queen Victoria
Park. Queen Victoria Park officially opened on May 24, 1888, three years after
the U.S. Park received its charter, and is part of a Canadian system stretching
for 35 miles, up to Lake
Ontario. By Queen Victoria Park you
can find the Refectory Restaurant and picnic area, the big hotels, Skylon Tower
and renowned Table Rock Pavilion, where you can dine, buy souvenirs, and buy
tickets to a tunnel behind the Horseshoe Falls. (Of course, on the Canadian side you now need a passport in order to get across the bridge.)
On
the American side you can hike or pay two dollars to ride a scenic trolley or
one dollar to go up the New York
State Observation
Tower for some good
views. You can also buy tickets for the Niagara
Reservation State
Park Master
Pass ($27.50 for adults, $19.50 for
kids 5-12) for eight attractions, including the Maid of the Mist ride, Prospect Point Observation
Tower, Old Fort Niagara
and the Cave of the Winds.
An
elevator takes you down about 175 feet down to the “Cave of the Winds,” the
bottom of the smallest falls, Bridal Veil. Although there is no longer a cave
behind the falls, it is still a thrill to take a wooden walkway and come within
20 feet of the falls. Raingear is provided so that the wind and mist don’t
totally drench tourists.
American
Falls and Bridal Veil are separated from the much more impressive 2200 foot
wide Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island. Horseshoe Falls throws up a much grander mist and spray
of water when it hits the river, and creates a continuous rainbow. To get close
to this huge falls people ride on the Maid of the Mist. In existence in some form since the 1850s,
the ride now cost about $14.00 and requires that all on board wear a raincoat
and hat. Getting as close as they dare, “the falls are so tall it looks like
it’s coming down right on you,” says Wittenburg. Bolivar resident David Herne
agrees that the Maid of the Mist ride “is one of most powerful experiences of
your life.”
The
falls are so powerful that they turn turbines at the bottom of the falls. They
are capable of four million kilowatts of electricity, which both countries
share. There are free tours of the New York Power Authority for those
interested in how it all works and helps the region.
If
you go two miles north of the falls, on the US
side, you will enter Whirlpool
State Park.
The park has two levels: you can fish,
picnic or take your child to the playground on the first; on the second you go
down a series of steps that takes thirty minutes, where you can view the
Whirlpool, an oddity of nature wherein rapids in the river gorge are pushed by
rocks around in a circle. The Niagara
Parkway on the Canadian side has the Niagara River
Recreation Trail for hikers and picnickers. It is so scenic that when Winston
Churchill visited the area in 1943 he called it “the prettiest Sunday afternoon
drive in the world.”
Wittenburg
says there are tour vans that can take you to historic sights on the Canadian
side, where there are old churches and wineries. Or you can go on the “sky
screamer” amusement ride at nearby Marineland. Or visit Ripley’s Believe It Or
Not or 4D Moving Theater or Butterfly Conservatory. On the American side are a
number of reasonably priced museums, such as the Niagara Falls Aquarium, the Niagara Gorge
Discovery Center,
Castellani Art
Museum or Mark Twain Museum,
the latter 15 miles away in Buffalo.
Also
reasonable is the eleven dollar elevator ride to the observation deck of Skylon Tower,
on the Canadian side of the river. Several years ago Wittenburg actually
tutored an at risk student with reward of visiting Niagara Falls if he qualified for a regular
diploma and passed all his tests. The school system gave him some money and
Wittenburg took the senior to the Skylon
Tower for the great views
and family center at the bottom, where they rode go carts. They also visited
some museums, which was a “very nice experience” for the teen, he says.
At
520 feet Skylon Tower affords many grand views of the
three falls. “On a clear day you can (also) see the skyline of Toronto” over 100 miles away, Wittenburg
says.
With
two countries promoting the falls and a variety of cuisine in the area,
Wittenburg believes “Niagara Falls
has a very international feel.” He has seen a lot of foreign visitors dining at
the French, Korean, Italian and German
restaurants around the falls. But because of government taxes and the value of
the dollar everything costs more in Canada.
Crossing
over to the Canadian side may be a challenge in January 2008. Then both
governments will require you carry a passport with you to help cut down on
terrorism. Now a driver’s license and a birth certificate are the recommended I. D.
to take. It’s recommended you apply for a passport now if you plan to visit Canada
early in the new year.
A
seven dollar mug with an image of the falls on it Wittenburg uses during daily breaks
at his school. It is a daily reminder of Niagara
Falls, a scenic destination worth the visit in fall,
summer or any time of year.
Sidebar
If
You Want To Go:
General Information:
Attraction
Passes:
Great Gorge
Adventure Pass
($34.95 for adults)
1-877-642-7275
($38.95 adults/$31.95
kids 5-9)
Tours:
Grayline Tours
1-(800)-695-1603
1-(888)-640-8647
Lodging:
Howard Johnson’s
1-(716)- 283-8791
Embassy Suites
1-(888)-488-6090
Taking a flight to Buffalo:
Food:
Buzzy’s NY Style
Pizza & Restaurant
(716)- 283-5333
####
end ###
What follows is my 408
word piece for the Sacred and Mundane column of Orion, about my relationship with
nature through chemo. I hope you find it worth reading.
Sacred and Mundane
– A cancer patient and spring
By Denise (D.J.)
Mathews
Getting through
something as difficult and tiring as chemotherapy, prescribed after Dorothy was
found to have Stage II breast cancer, made everything seem a bit grayer. She
took most of my treatments during the winter months, when the outside world was
already brown and drab, trying to survive in its own way the extreme cold, snow
and barrenness of the moment. It was not a particularly amusing time, and at
one point she was put in the hospital for fatigue and dehydration. That time
was discouraging too.
But
she managed to “weather” this internal storm. The hospital doctor gave her
medicine to improve her energy and outlook. As Dorothy’s energy level rose she took
a few walks in a nearby park with her husband. The steps were tentative; just
being outdoors was a tremendous boost to her thoughts of survival and getting
through this unpleasant treatment. She wanted to see new life again. She wanted
to see spring.
So it was with
more than a little enthusiasm that Dorothy embraced the coming warm weather and
all that came with it. She had her last treatment as birdsfoot violets were
dotting the ground on her front lawn and at a town park nearby called Oxbow
Lake. The burst of white, large-flowered trillium blooms up the park hillside
was welcome after her winter of (discontented) illness. The ladder-like leaves
of polemonium and upside down “pants” of Dutchman’s breeches amused her on her
walks around Oxbow’s mile wide circumference. Everything seemed wonderfully pretty
and bright. Dorothy was really appreciating all the little things God and
Mother nature had to offer.
Not
long after the April wildflowers’ blooms finally shriveled up, Dorothy visited
the cancer clinic where she’d received the dreaded treatments. During a
discussion about payment options with the bookkeeper, she pointed out that one
of her chemo drugs, Adriamycin, had been so expensive because of where it came
from. Adriamycin is flown in from the rain forests of South
America. It comes from the soil, and is a tremendously
strengthened antibiotic, a red medicine sent through the veins to kill cancer
cells in the body. She’d had no idea the woods had anything to do with this.
Most
people don’t make time to have a connection with the woods. In more than one
way, without even trying, she had. The woods mean even more to her than before,
after what she had experienced.
And spring will always be
her favorite season.
-end-
NOTE: This newsletter was two pages but stretched into one in this format:
Knights
Times
Glenmary
Council 7853 Anthony Willis,
Grand Knight - Phone 395-3063
Volume 2 Issue 2 March/April 2005 D.J. Mathews, Editor (more below)
Meets 1st and 3rd
Sunday,
Norton, Virginia
7 P.M.
New Officers For
2004-2005
Fraternal Year:
Grand Knight: Anthony
Willis
Deputy Grand Knight: Doug
Chute
Chancellor: Charles Johnson
Recorder:
Irvin Bass
Treasurer: Tom Dennison
Advocate: David
Nauss
Warder:
Richard Houchins
Inside Guard: Gerald
Jastrumske
Outside Guard: Tom Somers
Trustee 1st Yr: Irvin Bass
Trustee 2nd Yr:Bob Isaac
Trustee 3rd Yr:Richard
Houchins
March Birthdays
J.T. Caruso
Robert Isaac
David Nauss
April Birthdays
Irvin Bass
Joseph Moralit
Kenneth Slater
February guests (L-R): Bruce Shine, State Secretary
Michael Lazzuri, Glada
Lazzuri, State Deputy Ray-
mond Wycoff, and District
Deputy Kevin Legge.
APPRECIATION
DINNER HELD FOR AREA
RELIGIOUS
AND CLERGY
Valentine’s
Day our beloved religious and clergy of far southwest Virginia were treated to a special catered
dinner, courtesy of K of C members. About fifty people attended the event,
including the Knights, their families, nuns and priests. State Knight Council
members who broke bread with us included Our Worthy State
Secretary Michael Lazzuri, with his wife Glada, and Our Worthy District Deputy
Kevin Legge, who came all the way from Roanoke.
Our Worthy State Deputy Raymond Wycoff came from
even farther away, Springfield
being so far north he thought it would take days to fight ice and traffic
congestion to reach us. He was pleasantly surprised how quickly he reached our
welcoming mountains.
After a
“Glenmary welcome” by District Deputy Kevin Legge, Wycoff provided some
statistics on the K of C organization,
whose membership will soon approach 1.7 million members. (….. continued on back)
DAY
OF THE UNBORN CHILD OBSERVED
The International Day of the Unborn Child will be observed April 4.
It would normally be celebrated on March 25, which falls on Good Friday this
year.
Appreciation
Dinner (cont’d)
He pointed
out Virginia led the country in the highest
disburse- ment of charitable funds, with $2.7 million handed out in 2004. He was
most
appreciative of
our construction project to help the Turner family of
Castlewood with an addition to their trailer for their wheelchair bound son. He
proposed going even further, sugg-
esting the Knights set aside a dollar a day during the
Lenten season so that the Turners could have a new home.
Plaques of
recognition were handed out by Grand Knight Anthony Willis to Deputy Grand
Knight Doug Chute and Knight John Hayes, for all their hard work on the Turner
project. Bob Isaacs and J.T. Caruso also received plaques, for organizing
Special Olympics picnics the past seventeen years.
PRAYER FOR
THE SICK:
O
SACRED HEART OF JESUS, WE COME TO ASK OF YOUR INFINITE MERCY, THE GIFT OF HEALTH
AND STRENGTH, THAT WE
MAY SERVE YOU MORE FAITHFULLY AND LOVE YOU MORE SINCERELY THAN IN THE PAST. WE WISH TO BE WELL AND STRONG, IF
THIS YOURGREATER GLORY. AMEN
Knights times,
continued
Tony Willis and Sister Julia
RETIRING SMG
SISTERS LAUDED BY ATTORNEY
Our special guest speaker at the apprec-
iation
dinner was Kingsport, TN attorney D. Bruce Shine. Shine joked
about being an Anglican Catholic, but was serious in his praise of the work of
retiring Sisters Julia Dennehy, Mary Coughlan and Loretta O’Connor. He spoke at
length about the life and teachings of Mother Teresa, who said we can’t see
Christ to express our love to him and should express it to others.
These Irish sisters came to this country
from England
in the 1950s and became part of the staff of St. Mary’s Hospital in Norton.
Sister Julia worked in admini- stration,
and Sr. Mary had been an assistant
administrator. All have been for patients’ rights. “We want the total
person taken care of --- body, mind and
spirit,” Sr. Loretta said.
Their hospital has been taken over by the
for profit organization Health Management Associates. Times are now uncertain for those needing
affordable healthcare.
From
Grand Knight Anthony Willis:
Inviting a fellow Catholic to be a member
of the Knights is a wonderful opportunity.
As Mother Teresa once said:
“Yesterday is gone.
Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
Membership
Dues
Some of you may have already received
your second notice for dues for the 2005
to 2006 K of C fiscal year.
Please remit this as soon as possible. Our members are
impor- tant to us and we do not want to lose any due to nonpayment of
dues.
Think Spring!
Resume
djmathews@radford.edu
Denise J. “D. J.” Mathews
(That’s Mathews with “one” t)
OBJECTIVE -- A position using Editing, Proofreading and/or Educational
skills in the writing field.
QUALIFICATIONS
·
Have
worked as a part time professor/adjunct at R. U. teaching writing and logic
·
Experienced
editor/writer in many areas,
including general news, feature articles, newsletters, PR, some fiction,
education, nature, travel, some health.
·
Knowledgeable
in computer software, including PowerPoint
2007, Excel 2007, Microsoft Publisher 2003,
Microsoft Office 2007.
·
Have
a LinkedIn presence
EDUCATION/TEACHING
Have
taught logic and writing in Core
201/202 classes at Radford University, Radford, VA. Promoted logical thinking and writing through the application of
deductive and inductive logic, used in both research based writing and public
speaking. Worked closely with students and edited
APA cited student work, especially in textual/argument analysis and working
directly with them at research paper conferences and on other assignments. Taught
students 2010-2015. Some
knowledge of MLA, Chicago Manual of Style.
PRINT JOURNALISM
AND RESEARCH
Interviewed
area residents for freelance feature articles, covered government
meetings. Wrote news and some sports. Assisted
with layout at The Lebanon News, VA. Photographed subjects for feature articles
for various publications in Virginia and elsewhere. Publications have included The North Country Catholic, Rome Weekly
Patriot (NY), Clinch Valley Times, Catholic Virginian, Virginia Libraries,
Virginia Wildlife (VA), Appalachian
Trailway News (National), Geico (National), www.sparkaction.org, Blue Ridge Country and others. Also written news and feature articles
2007-2009 as a stringer for the Bristol Herald Courier, Bristol,
Virginia. Mostly recently published in Blue
Ridge Country, Roanoke, VA and The
Roanoke Times(Roanoke.com). Researched
and wrote encyclopedia entries on
airline industry for Golson Media (NY), 2013.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Produced,
edited and primarily wrote newsletters for nonprofit organizations in past. Contacted schools and radio stations for yearly
local festival. Promoted local nature preserve with
columns in area newspapers in Russell County, Virginia in 1990s. Wrote articles
about upcoming aerospace education workshops at area community college. Spoke to school groups about my book Let’s
Run Our Schools Together. Editor/reporter for Knights of Columbus
newsletter, Norton, Virginia 2004-2006. Created
newsletters for the New River Valley Master Naturalists of Blacksburg, VA,
2013-2015.
BROADCAST
JOURNALISM Supervised
journalists as well as covered my own territory in 1990s. Recorded
special interviews with regional
and national figures, reported on meetings and “FOCUS” segments for the next
morning. Live broadcasts of special
events, like election coverage, as Broadcast Journalist,
WLRV Radio, W. Main Street, Lebanon, Virginia. Directed other journalists. Interviewed
public figures, such as Lt. Col. Oliver North and Dr. Arun Gandhi for special segments,
and covered governing board meetings.
Edited and proofread incoming material for regional and local news stories.
Read news on air. Recorded news
segments.
MORE ON RESEARCH
Internet
search engines used to assist students with homework. Researched grants online for a student organization Team Estonoa, for environmental funding,
2002.Interviewed area residents for history article and input history
information in Excel sheets for local library. Conducted market research by
telephone for Issues and Answers; contacted residents for addresses and
supervised those who did the same. Attended federal grant research workshop offered by Taryn Chase at Radford
University, May 2009.
EDUCATION
Master of Science
in English,
Radford University, Radford, Virginia, 2010.
Major
course work in Technical Editing, Appalachian Studies, Technical and Business
Writing and American Literature classes, Teaching Writing.
Bachelor of Arts
in English,
State University of New York at Potsdam in the past.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS/AWARDS
Co-edited
the student newsletter and mentored students for high school Team Estonoa Ecology
class in St. Paul, Virginia, 2002-2003.
Author,
Let’s Run Our Schools Together, available
at www.buybooksontheweb.com.
Headed
the news department at WLRV radio station, Lebanon, Virginia.
Organized
fundraisers for a battered women’s shelter, Norton, Virginia.
Helped
edit, proofread journal “Lost State Voices,” published December 2005.
Certificates
of Appreciation from Clinch Valley Community Action for PR articles, 2001-2003.
Won
Award for R. U. English Club’s “Funniest Horror Story,” October 2009.
PROFESSIONAL
MEMBERSHIPS
Past
membership in Sigma Delta Chi, Journalism Fraternity
Present
membership in Sigma Tau Delta, English Honorary Society
Present
membership in Virginia Master Naturalists’ organization, New River Valley
chapter
Present
membership in New River Writers’ Group (VA.)
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