On the Road Again: Looking for the Face of America in New Jersey and Pennsylvania

By Tony Mussari

There is more to life than just increasing its speed. Mahatma Gandhi

On this beautiful January morning, we packed up our 2007 Toyota Prius, and we headed for New Jersey in search of the new Trader Joe’s in Princeton. As fate would have it we got lost, and we never made our destination.

Fortunately a pleasant attendant at a gas station showed us how we could get from where we were to where we promised to be at 5:30 in the afternoon, East Windsor New Jersey, and the home of Chivon, Doug and Adam MacMillan.

In some ways, it was a harrowing 20 minute ride. People were in a hurry. We were driving cautiously, and at one point, I thought the SUV behind us was going to drive right over our hybrid.

If there is one lesson I am learning from our Face of America journey, it is this. Americans do not obey speed limits. If the speed limit sign reads 55 miles per hour, most people drive 65 miles per hour. If the sign reads 65 miles per hour, most drivers accelerate to 75 miles per hour. I call it the 10 mile paradox. It applies to every vehicle on the road including those mile long tractor trailers.

Americans want to get to wherever they are going in a hurry, and anyone who gets in their way puts himself at risk. Eleanor Roosevelt was right: “America is all about speed. Hot, nasty speed.”

Adam MacMillan greeted us at the door, and his dad helped us get our things into the house. For the next five hours we talked, laughed, and watched Adam demonstrate a number of incredible things with his Legos, his animated Star Wars video game and an ingenious remote controlled helicopter.

Our dinner was baked ziti prepared by Kitch and heart healthy carrot cake. After Doug said a beautiful grace, we sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed an hour of good food and good conversation.

Chivon offered to take Kitch to Trader Joe’s. She accepted. Doug and I stayed at home to talk and watch Adam do his magic.
It was a wonderful visit, and a heartfelt sense of belonging that filled our hearts the next morning as we followed Doug to the entrance for the New Jersey Turnpike and the second stop on our New Jersey visit.

It’s about a 45 minute drive from the MacMillan’s home to the North Plainfield Senior High School. It’s just enough time to shake off the sandman’s dust from a relaxing sleep and focus on the many things we had to accomplish at the high school.

As we drove up to the front of the school, we noticed a sign of welcome, and three people who were assessing a World War II monument in the front of the school. Our hostess, Dr. Hope Bleacher-Sass took a minute to say hello, and after she left I assessed the damage to the right front bumper I damaged when the car hit the curb in front the school.

Skip Pulcrano, the North Plainfield cheerleading coach, helped us with parking as he has done on every visit, and in no time we were signed in and on our way to the library on the second floor.

For the next five hours Kitch handled all of the logistics and she took over 200 digital pictures. I interviewed four members of the Rodriguez family about an incredible 9/11 project. I honored a promise to work with a member of the film club who wants to be a producer. I sat for an interview with the editor of the student newspaper, and I completed two interviews with the co-captains of the cheerleading squad who were a part of North Plainfield’s community service project in Shanksville.

From shortly after 3 p.m. to about 5:30 p.m., Kitch and I attended the 9/11 commemorative committee meeting.
One or two quick good-byes and we were on our way home, a trip I might add that was slowed by three major accidents. The most likely cause, speed.

You will find a detailed account of our day in an article we published in the News and Notes section of the Windsor Park Theater, www.windsorparktheater.com
Two Different Worlds: Visiting North Plainfield with J.D. Salinger on My Mind.

Lancaster, PA

On Saturday, we left Windsor Park at 11 a.m. Our destination on this winter day was Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and a meeting of the Lancaster Spirit of Kindness Club.

Susan Hagen, a registered nurse, started this marvelous group shortly after September 11, 2001.
Kitch and I were a bit apprehensive about this trip because a severe winter storm was heading east with the most miserable mix of ice and snow anyone could imagine. The prediction for Pennsylvania was iffy. According to the experts, if the storm made it into Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Lancaster would feel its fury.
For most of the day, images of being stranded like we were on that cold January evening in 2006 weighed heavily on our minds.

When we arrived at the community room of the Park Center Mall, Susan and her husband Brad were finishing the arrangement of the chairs and tables. They stopped what they were doing and they welcomed us like long lost family members.

Members of the Spirit of Kindness Club began to arrive, and we got down to work immediately.

Elizabeth Martin is a college student studying mass media and business at Temple University. She has the distinction of being the first member of Susan’s Club. I asked her the obvious question, please describe Susan for our viewers.

This is what she said:

She is one of those rare people. She just walks into the room, and the whole room lights up, I have never met anyone so kind in my entire life. She sees a hurt in the world, and she does what she can to make it better.

Kitch and I agree.

Marcy Herr will study at Penn State University next year. She helps to define spirit of kindness activities by her own deeds. Whenever she can, she donates things to people who are less fortunate. She does it at home, and she did it for people suffering in Haiti.

Like Elizabeth Martin, Marcy is a young woman who has her priorities in order. And like the members of the club, she does at least one act of kindness every day.

Katherine Arnold is a woman who radiates peace and kindness. She was at the meeting as a new club member because she honestly believes that she has not been doing her part to be kind in this world.

Can you imagine what our world would be if there were Katherine Arnolds in every neighborhood on the planet?

The meeting began with a summary of old business. Then Susan turned to an agenda of items that would take up a good part of the year to complete. One that caught my attention was a proposal to visit a homeless veteran’s shelter to lift the spirits of the people who served our country on their good days, and now needed help and encouragement on their bad days.

Nothing else need be said about the goals of this group.

Then it happened. Susan was joined by Marcy and Elizabeth in the front of the room, and she began to talk about a new activity. It is called the annual Spirit of Kindness Club Award. What a wonderful idea, I thought to myself as a focused my camera and made sure that it was recording.

The next few minutes is a blur because to our surprise, Susan announced that Kitch and I were the recipients of the award for what we have done in our What is America? series and Windsor Park Stories.

I stopped recording and I joined Kitch in the front of the room to accept the award. It was an unbelievable moment and one we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

The words of Leo Buscaglia filled my heart:

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

It was snowing when we left Lancaster, but for some reason it didn’t much matter. There was a feeling of belonging that I have seldom experienced in my lifetime. As we drove the blue-lined roads that led us back to Windsor Park, something that Charles Kuralt said reverberated in my mind:

The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.

In Plainfield, New Jersey, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania we were among kind people who affirm, encourage, and help us to do what we do, tell stories of hope, inspiration and service, stories that reflect the healing light of kindness that can be seen very clearly in the face of America.

Until the next time, we hope that all of your stories have happy endings.

Please provide feedback on our contact page or directly to:

faceofamericawps@gmail.com

or

tmussari@gmail.com

 

 

 

Visiting Maine in Search of the Face of America

By Tony Mussari

The sign on US 95 read: Welcome To Maine The Way Life Should Be. A big promise, I thought to myself, but one that was prophetic in every sense of the word.

Our destination was Yarmouth, Maine. It was a beautiful Saturday in January. The sun was high in the sky, the temperature was above normal, and our seven hour journey was peaceful and uneventful.

As we made our way along the Atlantic coast many questions flashed through our minds. Would our Face of America project resonate with people? Would it be difficult to get people to share their thoughts with us? How difficult would it be to explain what we are trying to do? Would we be able to accomplish all of the goals we had set for ourselves in three days? Would the weather cooperate?

Our first experience in Maine was a pleasant surprise in every respect of the word.

When we reached our home away from home, The Down East Village Restaurant and Motel, the office was closed. The sign in the window directed visitors to the home of Ed & Sue Ferrell.

Once there, Ed answered the door. He greeted us with a smile and a handshake. He gave us the key to our unit, while speaking these words: “Don’t worry about registering. We can do that when you visit the restaurant.”

Ed’s welcoming way set the tone for the next three days.

Later that afternoon at the Royal Bean coffee shop on Main Street,we met John Perron and Steven Hebson. Both men demonstrated in a very special way what makes Yarmouth, Maine, so special.

Kitch and I had been checking out the beautiful buildings that line Yarmouth’s Main Street, magnificent steepled churches, the historic North Yarmouth Academy, the log cabin that serves as the American Legion hall, and more handsome examples of federal style homes than I have ever seen. It was late, and Kitch wanted a cup of coffee. By the time we reached the Royal Bean, the door was locked.

Kitch knocked on the plate glass. A young man came and opened the door. She explained our situation. Without hesitation, he invited us to come in. “I think I can help you,” he said with a smile.

Once inside he served up two cups of coffee, and John helped us get connected to the internet.

Steven, a sophomore at Brown University majoring in history and economics, told his story and he helped us get acclimated to Yarmouth. John went out of his way to see to it that throughout our trip we would have access to the internet

John and Stephen are two people you would want to have as neighbors and friends. They give meaning to the term client service.

On Sunday morning, we stood in front of the First Parish Congregational Church hoping to get a shot of the congregation’s oldest member, Frank Knight. It didn’t happen.

Frank was not able to get to church, but all was not lost. Ed Beem who was waiting on the sidewalk in front of the church for Frank Knight and anyone else who needed help suggested that we request permission to video the service.

Kitch went into the church to make the request. She returned with a smile and a nod. She didn’t have to say a word. Her expression said it all. For the first time in our lives, we were about to experience a Congregational worship service.

Built in 1868, the church is a magnificent historical monument. The Interim Associate Pastor, Martha Hoverson, is a person who radiates goodness and kindness in her words and in her actions. The choir sang music of prayer and praise in a way that touched our hearts, and the members of the congregation made us feel at home.

In many ways, the time we spent in the First Parish Church was one of the most memorable experiences of our trip. It was a moment of peace, reconciliation and community that we will not soon forget.

After the service, we returned to the Royal Bean for coffee and a chance meeting with Erinn Cayehal and Harold Chang. Erinn is the studio director at Sanctuary Holistic Health and Yoga Center. Harold is a teacher in New York. Both of these young, 30-somethings had interesting and thoughtful answers to our questions.

We finished our coffee, and we headed for the home of one of Yarmouth’s most celebrated citizens, Frank Knight.

Mr. Knight is a charming 101-year-old man. He shared stories with us about his life, his 50-year relationship with Herbie, the most famous tree in Maine, and a lifetime of service to his community.

If ever there was a face of America, it belongs to Frank Knight.

Frank is a kind man, a thoughtful man, a humble man, a driven man who spent his life in the service of others.

Ask anyone in town about Frank, and they will tell you he is dependable and very friendly. That’s the way Mary Estelle Blake described Frank. Deb Hopkins, Yarmouth’s tree warden agreed.

Ask anyone about Herbie, and they will tell you that Frank kept this 240-year-old Dutch Elm tree alive for half of his lifetime. It was his passion to preserve the oldest and the tallest elm in New England, and he did it.

Why? You ask. Because it was the right thing to do, the good thing to do, the community-minded thing to do.

Was it easy? No.

Was it time consuming? Yes

Was it profitable for Frank? No.

Was it rewarding for him? Yes, in all the ways that matter.

Unfortunately, Herbie’s time had come, and before we left Maine, the tree was well on its way into folklore and history.

Despite the protests of many and the yellow posters that read: “Wanted Alive,” the end came for Herbie during a gentle snowstorm on January 19, 2010.

During the early stages of Herbie’s demise, Kitch was packing our belongings and I was riding with Ed Ferrell as he plowed the streets of his Down East Village property.

For more years than they care to remember, Ed and his wife Sue have made their motel and restaurant a safe harbor for anyone who wants excellent home cooked meals and a clean, comfortable, no-frills place to experience the decency of Maine in real time.

Ed and Sue are quiet people, thoughtful people, courageous people. When they talk about the challenges of running a mom and pop business or the challenges of caring for a child and later a spouse with cancer, the tone of their voices and the expressions on their faces reflect the hopes and dreams recorded in stone 2,000 miles away in Keystone, South Dakota.

We came to Maine in the middle of winter looking for the Face of America. We left Maine with wonderful memories, beautiful stories and images of the Face of America that will serve as an inspiration as we make our way across the country. In the months ahead, we will remember the Mainers we met as we search for other Americans who quietly go about their day doing what they do, because they are grateful for the blessings of liberty that enable them to do what they do.

When I asked Sue Ferrell to share her thoughts about our project, she thought for a moment and then she shared 66 words that will keep us moving forward during the long days and nights ahead:

I think it is nice that you do this because it gives people a chance to think about things that are really important.

We get so busy in our day to day lives that we forget, but now I can go home and complain about what didn’t go right today. I can also now think about what did go right today, and that’s a good thing.

Maine is a beautiful place with welcoming people who care about the place where they live and its history.

As the saying goes: Maine Worth a Visit Worth a Lifetime.

If you would like to become a part of our search for the Face of America, please write to us at tmussari@gmail.com.

Until the next time, we hope that all of your stories have happy endings.

The FoA blog will feature positive, inspirational, heartfelt stories about our experiences on the road searching for The Face of America.