The notable deeds of ordinary people are rarely written about or remembered. This section rectifies this in a small way by presenting a blurb about something noteable that one of us has done. Of course, not everyone's noteworthy deeds are presented here, only those I've remembered and for which I have a photo or video for that catches the eye. (Sadly, words nowaday play second fiddle to pictures, so without an eye-catching image...)
Mitch Admitted to NY Law
February 2026 - Mitch is admitted to to the Fall '26 class at New York Law School with a $50,000 per year scholarship.
Wagner in NDA Semi-Finals
February 2026 - The championship Wagner H/S dance team, of which Marin is a part, made it to the NDA semi-finals in Orlando.
William Wins Internship
Summer 2025 - William won a much-coveted NYC intership at Havas, one the the Big Six of the advertising world.
Jim Recognized for Contribution
November 2025 - Crimsonrise recognized Jim with a plaque for his contributions to autism at their annual conference.
Max Wins BC Scholarship
July 2024 - BC awarded Max the "Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program" scholarship, which includes full tuition and many valuable extras. It's only given to 18 of the 35,000 who apply to BC annually.
"Whispers" Plays Off-Broadway
2023 - Tony Barone wrote a play called "Whispers" that won several writing awards , and he directed its off-Broadway production on stage.
Mitch Wins Place In Gabelli
July 2022 - Fordham admitted Mitch to its Gabelli School of Business - Honors Program after getting a perfect score on his ACT and graduating from SI Tech (the #2 magnet school in NYC).
Wagner Voted Best in US
2023 - As part of the nationally-acclaimed Wagner HS dance team, Morgan competed at the NDA where the team was voted "Best US dance team" for hip-hop.
Gabie Graduates Columbia
June 2022 - Gabie graduates from Columbia University with a masters degree in information technology.
Paige Named Asst. Professor
2022 - Paige Cunningham Caldarella became an Assistant Professor at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago. She is a graduate of Juilliard and the U of Illinois; studied at Cincinnati's School; danced for the Merce Company; performed with The Seldoms, Colleen Halloran, Linda Lehovec, Darrell Jones, and Sara Hook; and choreographed for Chicago's Cultural Center, the Krannert Center, Links Hall, the Aronoff Center, and Summer in Concord. (Photo: William Frederking)
Ricky Publishes New Book
2022 - Richard (Ricky) Barone released his book "Music + Revolution: Greenwich Village in the 1960s". Ricky (Yvonne's 1st cousin) is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer; has several albums as a solo artist; tours; has produced concert events at Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, SXSW, and New York's Central Park; teaches the course "Music + Revolution" at The New School's School of Jazz and Contemporary Music; and serves on the Grammy's Board, the Advisory Board of Anthology Film Archives, and now hosts the "Folk Radio" show on WBAI. (Photo at Carnegie Hall, 2008)
"Lion" Made into a Movie
2020 - Tony Barone wrote a movie script called "The Lion of Verdun." He and Jim Caldarella then produced a full-length movie by the same name set in a Union City, New Jersey mansion. The company included a cast of eleven actors, a director, a videographer, a sound engineer, and a film editor.
Alex Named Captain Twice
2019 - Alex graduated from Milton High School with honors and is elected captain of both the rowing and basketball teams by her teammates..
Jim Publishes "Blackjack Truth"
2016 - Jim Caldarella wrote a 136-page book with help from Kate Simmons and Alex Kelly entitled "Blackjack Truth." The book, which is a practical guide to playing the game based on its underlying math, was published online and in hardcopy.
DR Condos Built and Sold
2010 - Jim Caldarella, with help from local contractor Andres Brugal and financial support from partners Gerry Beitel, Jose Lopez, Sankar Aiyar, and Adrian Kamalodeen, built a $6 million luxury condominium in the Dominican Republic. The condo has 18 beachfront apartments that sold for an average of $375,000 between 2008 and 2018.
If you know of a noteable deed that should be memoralized here, or if I've made a mistake, please let me know.
Spouting off proved to be great therapy for frustration, political and otherwise. Here, I can write about anything, and feel as if I've had my say. This also solved the problem of sparse viewship -- the site now had a personal use. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have visitors, and even happier if they find something of value here. I just don't fret about it anymore. As Ann Landers said, "At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At age 40, we don't care what they think of us. At age 60, we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all." I would add that at age 80, we're just happy that we can still have worries, cares, and discoveries. By the way, the pictures are me at 20 and 80.