May 2021 Newsletter
Dear Clients,
I asked my wife Amy, “Do you need anything at Stop & Shop?” she said “Why yes, in fact I do.” So I said, “Great. Here is my list. No point in both of us going.”
The corny jokes are back and so are my in-person appointments. The State of Connecticut is lifting restrictions and it will be more than 2 weeks after my second jab on May 19, 2021. So, beginning Thursday, May 20, 2021, I’m back to in-home meetings. However, if you don’t recognize me, it’s because I gained about 26 Covid pounds which I hope to start losing soon.
The Porch and Patio here at 5802 Main Street are also already open and on Tuesdays from June 8 to July 20 I will be hosting “Open Porch” from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM where I hope to get a chance to meet all of my newest clients that I have not yet met and anyone else that wants to come by and relax on the porch with a cold beverage.
I hope you can make it. Wishing you all peace and joy.
Michael Antonini
What’s New
Wouldn’t you like to get back to a summer or early fall fair or festival?
With the state opening up later this month, many organizations are planning to bring back these fun events that were put on the shelf last year due to Covid. Here is a list of fairs whose representatives have confirmed their events will take place this year. As dates get closer, check websites or Facebook to make sure fairs have not been canceled anyway.
July 8 to 11: North Stonington Agricultural Fair, 21 Wyassup Road. northstoningtonfair.org
Aug. 26 to 29: Brooklyn Fair, 15 Fairgrounds Road. brooklynfair.org
Aug. 27 to 29: Terryville Lions Country Fair, 171 Townhill Road. terryvillefair.org
Sept. 4 to 6: Goshen Fair, 116 Old Middle St. goshenfair.org
Sept. 9 to 12: Hebron Harvest Fair, 347 Gilead St. hebronharvestfair.org
Sept. 9 to 12: Wapping Fair, Rye Street Park, 75 Brookfield St. in South Windsor. wappingfair.org
Sept. 10 to 12: Bethlehem Fair, 384 Main St. North. bethlehemfair.com
Sept. 16 to 19: Four Town Fair, 56 Egypt Road in Somers, fourtownfair.com
Sept. 17 to 19: Guilford Fair, Stone House Lane and Lovers Lane. guilfordfair.org
Sept. 17 to 19: Berlin Lions Agricultural Fair, 430 Beckley Road, East Berlin. ctberlinfair.com
Oct. 1 to 3: Portland Agricultural Fair, Route 17A. portlandfair.com
Those who want to go to a lot of fairs can buy a 2021 Season Pass, which entitles holders to free admission for themselves and one guest to all member fairs. Those who bought a 2020 season pass will get a free 2021 pass.
Those who want to buy a 2021 pass can do so for $100 at ctagfairs.org.
For updates on fair schedules, visit www.ctagfairs.org/p/ctagfairs-events-and-dates/event-map.
Ask An Expert: Rick Jobus
May is ALS awareness month.
Rick is a 62-year-old man who was diagnosed with ALS in January 2007. Currently a resident of Southwest Florida, he has lived in four other metropolitan areas, but greater Chicago land will always be “home.”
“I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down.”
That call for awareness comes from the song “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. The song’s writer, Stephen Stills, penned the lyrics in response to the Sunset Strip curfew riots of 1966. Although it remains evocative of the era’s spirit and its tensions, it did not prescribe any consequential action.
Benign awareness has an analogous effect to that of a minor paper cut. It’s noticed, passes quickly, is forgotten, and causes no change. The trick is to impart actionable awareness. In my case, that has proven easier said than done.
Take my pre-ALS awareness of ALS, for example. As a fervent baseball fan from early childhood, I was introduced to Lou Gehrig’s disease as a youth of 7, through a viewing of the film “The Pride of the Yankees,” starring Gary Cooper. At that tender age, death was a frightening, albeit abstract concept. But to lose, as Gehrig did, the ability to do what you loved, and were exceptionally gifted at, was an even more horrific notion.
In the ensuing years, I occasionally would be reminded of the devastation that ALS is. The loss of jazz bassist, pianist, and composer Charles Mingus in 1979 saddened me. As did the passing of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher James Augustus “Catfish” Hunter and golf caddie Bruce Edwards, in 1999 and 2004, respectively. I read the book “A Brief History of Time“ twice, semi-appreciative of what Stephen Hawking must have had to overcome to author it. I was aware, and became momentarily sympathetic, but did nothing.
Similarly, I had “injurious auto accident passerby reaction” to a host of tales of collective plight. I would grimace at the imagery, then fixate and mourn as the visual grew steadily smaller in my mental rearview mirror, and be hopeful that my journey would not be darkened by other grief-producing interruptions.
Even when prompted by an accompanying innocuous method to assist, I would typically remain inert. For the many noble causes soliciting aid in an emotionally charged pitch, my default position was to eschew the 63 cents per day, or $19 per month, plea.
However, that isolationist tendency would be reversed the moment someone I personally knew informed me of their tribulation. In that case, all forms of activism would be on the table.
My experience post-ALS confirms that to be a phenomenon visited upon many. Folks who know me have contributed nearly $40,000 on my behalf to ALS-related campaigns. Likewise, when asked, many have joined me in requesting systemic change via petition endorsement or direct mail correspondence.
That speaks to the importance of each of us — patient, family member, caregiver, and friend alike — broadcasting the maddening ordeal that ALS is. A first step in that direction is participation in the I Am ALS initiative, which seeks to open eyes to this calamitous disease, in every congressional district in the United States.
Beyond that, at a grassroots level, impactful ALS awareness can best be germinated via frank and substantive dialogue. The more people that are current with the havoc that ALS has wrought, the utterly hopeless outlook that exists today, and the abject institutional failure to provide help, the more allies we have. Allies not only for the month of May and the periodic fundraiser, but also for whenever the ALS court of human decency is convened.
Toward that end, in response to the obligatory “How are you?” query, I never hesitate to objectively share my present state of dysfunction, my struggles, my pains, and my fears. I am also known to point out how Medicare has shortchanged me, and the sheer lunacy of the regulatory approval process as it pertains to ALS therapies.
The sincere desire and a poised offer to help are what I seek in response to my story. For the day will come when an obviously efficacious treatment is identified in early-stage testing. If we factor in best-case historic elapsed time parameters for FDA approval, manufacturing startup, supply chain infiltration, and insurability resolution, then thousands — perhaps tens of thousands — of people will die with relief cruelly on the horizon.
But as COVID-19 has shown, extraordinary times can call for extraordinary measures. A potent variation of “Operation Warp Speed” would fit that bill. A strident outcry from a bipartisan constituency, driven by fervent, activated ALS awareness, might be exactly what it takes to launch such an endeavor.
A cure for ALS — now that would be a “For What It’s Worth” awareness example for the ages.
Important Dates
Governor Lamont recently announced plans to further ease and then eliminate most of the state's COVID-19 restrictions contingent upon Connecticut maintaining sufficiently low rates of infections and increased vaccination rates.
Effective Saturday, May 1, 2021
The curfew for restaurants, entertainment venues, recreation venues, and theaters will be moved back one hour to 12:00 am midnight.
Bars that do not serve food can open for service - OUTDOOR ONLY. Food is still required when serving alcohol indoors.
The 8-person per table limit will be lifted - OUTDOOR ONLY. The limit remains in effect for indoor dining.
Effective Wednesday, May 19, 2021
All remaining business restrictions will end.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) will issue recommendations for indoor and large outdoor events (e.g., concerts).
Indoor masks will continue.
Thursday, May 20, 2021
After a 62 week pause, Michael W. Antonini will return to in home appointments.
37 years ago on this day Michael W. Antonini Graduated from the University of Connecticut with a BS in Finance and concentrations in Economics and Music.
It’s my second cousin and client Donald Rader’s birthday. Happy Birthday Duke!Stella W. recently became my second-ever client to reach age 100.