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Thursday, April 23, 2020

Working from Home

Since the pandemic many of us have been working from home and let me just say I now totally love my commute. Hop out of bed, take a shower, get back into your pj's and walk down stairs to the dining room to log in while your coffee brews in the next room. Time 20 minutes if not less, taking a whopping hour and twenty minutes from my normal commute on a bus to an office in midtown Manhattan.

The first two weeks took some getting used to but now it is all great, minus the fact I hate having to comb my hair. Hence, most days I just push it back and hope it will maintain. Now we are on fourth week, hubby keeps looking at me strangely as he walks by and the son glances at my hair, nods and keeps it moving. This of course triggers me to look in the mirror, where I am stunned at the image I see and am now afraid to even tackle the issue.

I have knots, I can't go to a salon so therefore I must resort to doing the unthinkable and give myself a wash and set before I scare those I'm in quarantine with and end up alone. I come to now understand how so many can get used to not taking care of the stuff you would normally do if you were still going to an office or school. Today I decided to break the chain. I will now look forward to visual drink night with the girls on Friday's. Who cares if we have no place to go but the dining room, kitchen or livingroom. We can still live our best life, even if quarantined. I will post pics and feedback of our first visual Friday this week.

What are your quarantine stories? Lets share. 


All rights reserved~ Susan B. Anna



Sunday, April 12, 2020

Passover/Easter 2020



As we enter our fourth month in 2020 and continue to hear positive and negative news behind the Coronavirus we see more and more how humanity has either put themselves out there by being in the front lines or supporting them as they battle the unknown. It is heartwarming to see individuals come together, but it is also sad to see the ugliness in others as they allow hate and ignorance take over.

New York, Connecticut and New Jersey are currently dealing with the unknown. Our neighbors, friends and families are dying, or in fear of dying due to a virus. Forget where it surfaced it is now here. Our medical personnel, police officers, EMT's, Correctional officers and Home Health Care workers are fighting a demon that has taken us off guard and risking their lives doing so. Remember essential workers are not only at risk at their place of employment but also as they ride the public transportation system that continues to be overcrowded to date. Social distancing is impossible in a city that is known to never sleep yet is being forced to. 

Staying safe and not being exposed or exposing others is the hard task. You take a risk when you're an essential employee. Hence, consider your fellow community members. They have a lot to deal with and don't need the extra pressure. Stay home. Be vigilant and cherish your families. This may be one Passover and Easter that we cannot celebrate as we normally do, but we can cherish the fact we are still alive. We have lost many to this unseen culprit, but we must continue as best we can for the ones still with us. If this has taught us anything at all it is to love more, appreciate more and forgive more. 

May you all be blessed with comfort, love and peace during this pandemic. Better days are ahead of us. 



All rights reserved ~Susan B. Anna



Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Make America Great or Not - Cuomo for Governor


Courtesy of Rocklandvoice.com
Governor Cuomo is in hot water over a comment he made that was almost like that of, Donald Trump yet added the following to it. “America was never Great.”  The comment bringing both an uproar and some truth to what we already know. America can be great, and the possibilities are there but sadly it begins with those in power who can make it so if they only kept all citizens regardless of race and status in mind.


Your ignorance to the damage you yourself caused since becoming Governor is evident to every citizen, resident and business owner in Upstate New York. You blatantly take campaign funds to assist the Hasidic Community in Kyrias Joel, Rockland County and NYC to line your pockets yet forget the fact that every single one of them and their families are milking the Government for public assistance, food stamps, rent and Medicaid while also allowing the husbands to claim their multiple children at the end of the year and collect from the Government some more.

The fact that no one in Government from the President to Governor to Mayor has done nothing to end the abuse of public assistance by these individuals is disgusting to say the least. My husband and I work hard to pay taxes, clothe and feed our one child and it baffles me to see these families in Walmart, BJ’s and other surrounding supermarkets with their EBT cards while their husbands who have businesses and real estate all over Orange County earn enough to support their families with ease, but claim to be poor.

 I work for a politically backed Union and they too support Governor Cuomo, but I simply can’t. My reasons are outlined above and very well presented by others who agree below. You cannot be for New York and allow the City and State you claim to support slowly deteriorate. You can’t say you’re for the working class when we are diligently paying our taxes while still trying to keep up with the cost of living and individuals such as these in Orange County and New York City continue to milk our government dry.

You can’t say our homeless epidemic surrounding Port Authority, Penn Station and Madison Square Garden is not a problem, because it simply is. Come visit the ex 1199 offices on w. 42nd Street between 8th & 9th , and also take a look at Penn Station and Madison Square Garden and tell us this isn’t an issue.  How would you like to face walking to work and dodging feces and urine steps away from your office entrance and the Port Authority Terminal? I can continue to outline all things wrong with NYC and NY State but the main thing wrong is our Governor and right alongside him our  Mayor.   

Crime is at an all time high in all boroughs, Brooklyn especially, and our cops, who have had enough are no longer doing enough due to recent scrutiny.  Who could blame them, they are underpaid and have lost a lot of respect from surrounding communities based on the past few years. 


As if we haven't had enough to deal with this past year with Covid-19 we now need to add the sexual harassment allegations that just keep growing in regard to our Governor. We need a change in  leadership and politicians that will do their due diligence to correct the past and enhance the future. It's certainly time.  


All rights reserved~ Susan B, Anna 

REVISED 3/17/2021







Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Youth Programs Initiative in Orange County NY Harriman-Monroe

We fail our children when we do not provide them with safe and constructive alternatives to drugs and violence. Our youth need to be creative, to be heard, and to be understood. As parents, teachers, and law officials we need to be committed to finding solutions in our communities to interrupt the cycle of drugs and violence and engage our youth in activities that set them on the path to a better and brighter future. 

Our children need us to lead them on the right path. Life is difficult enough. School work becomes challenging, hormones erupt, and our own jobs keep us from paying attention to signs of trouble. Social media and bullying is a huge issue, and sadly many of us do not see it as a problem until it is much too late.

My son loves music, creates beats and wants to one day be a DJ/Music Producer but is now associating with the wrong crowd, and slowly losing focus. New York City offers many outlets for children who want to excel in the music industry but unfortunately Orange County, NY does not. As much as I would love for my son to follow his dreams I am not too comfortable with him having to leave Upstate at such a sensitive age to do so. 

Born and raised in the city I know all so well it has its ups and downs as does any community, but I still can’t let him commute such a distance when it would be more convenient to have something similar here that would help not only my son but others fulfill their dreams as they learn more about what thrills and excites them along the way.

Scratch DJ Academy, in NYC for example, boasts wonderful programs including summer camps geared at assisting young minds achieve these goals.  Orange County will be a positive influence on our youth if they followed suit and created an outlet where these young minds can dedicate their free time constructively, and in a productive and structured environment they also feel safe. Programs other than the norm of basketball, hockey, dance and band should also be offered, so I am asking why not make it happen?

I have searched the web to no avail for programs near my area and convenient enough for my son to attend and am stumped at every turn. The program I am seeking is not offered. Middletown, NY offers an afterschool program for ages 11-18 for residents only, the YMCA offers it in our area for grades 6-8 only and MW HighSchool, has a great activity line-up, but not one that interests my son one bit. All kids should be asked in beginning of school year to jot down their interests and future goals and with this program directors can know which programs are worth initiating and which ones will further enhance their youth’s commitment to school. It is knowing your children and what makes them happy that truly matters, so why not make this something to fight for, and truly improve on.

Therefore, I am reaching out to our MW Superintendent Elsie Rodriquez, Governor Cuomo, Senator Schumer and all Orange County Officials to make this a fight we work on together. High School parents and their teens who seek outside activities that will keep them away from drugs and violence is a must. Let’s not let them down. 


A Concerned Parent
MW HS Student  




Tuesday, February 13, 2018

True Colors Behind Top Ladies in the White House




Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is once again under attack, but then again, so is every top female player in the White House since Rob Porters resignation following past domestic violence complaints brought to light by two of his ex-wives.

     Some cannot be surprised! These women have a job to protect and no I am in no way their advocate as I hate all things about our present government status and those who support it. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is just a pawn caught up in the web of a scrupulous, male chauvinist, egotistical; moron we call number 45 because labeling him as our President is just too nauseating.
Rob Porter is just another person within their ranks that ultimately got caught, but he surely will not be the last. Politicians have gotten away with sexual harassment and or adulterous relationships for centuries. Their dirty laundry was just kept under wraps till after their deaths or the victims felt they couldn’t come forward as no one would believe them.

Colbie Holderness
     Today sexual harassment, domestic violence and lack of support is making headlines, and no one is safe. Ivanka Trump, “senior adviser,” reportedly showed Trump a picture of Colbie Holderness, Porters first wife with a black eye, but has not publicly come out in defense of the victims. A self-proclaimed feminist who advocates for women she is certainly not. It is evident who her loyalty is to and that is her father. Anyone who sweeps this under the rug so blatantly should not be deemed worthy of respect or admiration.  



     Domestic Violence has been an ongoing issue for decades. I grew up in a household of abuse and witnessed first-hand what my step dad made my mother endure during their years together. As Holderness expressed in her op-ed. Domestic Violence is something no one can detect. Relationships begin nicely, and the abuse gradually begins, verbally at first, then progresses to physical abuse. To me this issue is very serious and must be addressed. Porter resigned, but President Trump still wished him the best in his career. It is evident he didn't care about the victim as he repeatedly said "he wished him well in his future endeavors." 


     We know where the latest has taken us, and we know the Republican lackies stance. They will make excuses to just about anything with a straight face or a smirk. I am glad we have journalists such as Margaret Sullivan in their faces. They need to remain on their toes, so I hope to God the press doesn’t back down. Let them continue to make fools of themselves as the voters learn the truth. Every woman in the White House should be disappointed in themselves for supporting this. Most of you have children, and they should learn that abuse is never tolerated.

Porter (center) with Gary Cohn & Ivanka Trump. Chip Somodeville/Getty
     The cycle once woven sadly continues. My sister fell into it, the relationship lasted two years before she broke free, but the damage remained. She is to date incapable of demonstrating love, and with this her daughter, now thirty-four has also fallen prey to being abused. Her abuser has even come as far as hitting her in front of her children and telling them “he is hitting their mom because she needs to be disciplined.” Her children as well as my niece are now in need of therapy and homeless because being homeless was her only way to break free. They were not married, and NYC shelters will not let you obtain a room as a family unit if you aren’t married or provide them with domestic partnership documentation. Believe it or not she contemplated obtaining such document with his coaching, but she finally did the right thing, fought against giving in and they finally parted ways.

     As she now struggles to get her life back in track, her three children have no stability and she is now also pregnant with her fourth. The child of course, the abusers. I normally do not share such personal circumstances as a writer, but this weeks resent press focus touched a nerve. All abusers should be mandated jail time. Today, pictures say a thousand words, and abusers should be sentenced with one month for each year of abuse if not one year. Preferably the latter.

     Attached below are links of definite interest. Colbie Holderness, I commend you for coming forward. I wish you comfort and strength as you continue to make yourself whole; and Margaret Sullivan, you are so desperately needed, so never back down.





All rights reserved~ Susan B. Anna