A place for serenity, joy and social enjoyment! Saucon Park, Bethlehem, PA April 17th, 2017

The weather is clear and sunny with a light breeze blowing north. Today is Monday and it is approximately 70 degrees with very little or no humidity. In the park it feels a bit cooler due to the trees. Located approximately  1/2 mile north of the Hellertown exit off Rt 78. The grounds are a bit messy with debris from the winter season still on the ground. The park is very peaceful today as i sit here at a picnic table alone I only visually see about 4 other people in the park. The sound of the swift moving creek is very soothing. The sounds of the birds is faint until you cross the bridge closer to the nearby wooded area. There are many trees here such as oak, maple, spruce and weeping willow to name a few. The greenery is starting to show and will soon overtake the browns of the tree trunks and ground.  The presence of ducks is low but they may be in a different area of the park. I would like to make this a regular visit to refocus and find solace on days that are hectic. Being here is like being in your own backyard but far enough from the city to enjoy

Path to South Terrace

As pictured there is a path to my old neighborhood. This by far was the easiest and quickest route to the park. My brothers and i would run through the woods to get to the pool. i learned to climb trees, cherry being a sweet favorite, on our journeys to the park. We would pick raspberries along the path and enjoy being in this peaceful place. To the naked eye if you don't know the path it is hard to find once the trees and brush have grown in for the season. Their are no markers at the top.

Bridge to pool area from path

 This bridge to the pool area was the last hurdle to cross to get to the pool as kids, we would get excited by the now knowing we were entering the park.  We would swim in the creek as well as the pool. I remember running across this bridge and feeling it move with our excitement, everyone with smiles on their faces.

 The park was a place for everyone from the community to come and spend time to relax and unwind. This is where I learned to fish and swim along with many of my friends and family. We celebrated holidays and birthday parties and still to this day have our family reunion here.


It is kind of sad to see the disrepair of the park as the city seems to have not taken good care of it. The pool house and picnic tables are falling apart and no one seems to care. While the city makes improvements to the other parks in the city Saucon always ends up last on the list. It should not matter who the users of the space are the park should still be an important show piece of the city and its ability to care for its property. Maybe one day this will change and it will be able to shine as it has in the past, for now it is still a place of peace for me.

Campus Activities

I started my day February 16, 2017 excited to attend an on campus activity for the first time. This was definitely going to be a new experience for me. Normally I would not be able to attend functions due to my work schedule. While doing some work on the NCC website i decided to look at the campus activities page. The day was to start with social justice performances by NCC students and would be followed by a guest speaker and ending with a faculty panel discussion.
Unfortunately the planned guest speaker could not attend and Dr. El-Burki from Lehigh University was able to step in and lead a wonderful discussion. The origin of the discussion was to be on how the internet has affected how we receive information and news. Dr El-Burki asked for us to share about perceptions we notice in the media that affect the way people of color are viewed within society.
I am sure we could have been there all day talking about stereotypes and how it affects people and the way they chose to live or how they have been lead to believe they are supposed to live. The perceptions that are attached to a whole race of people just by viewing shows on television like Maury Povich. If you pay attention in most movies to the body type or the way an actor is dressed or how they speak it generally falls within a box. The reality shown in the movie Hidden Figures when intelligent women are not given the opportunities they should have received based on their knowledge and work ethic. The idea that the black person or even a women in some cases does not have the ability to perform a particular job has been a normalcy for so long that it is misinterpreted or goes unnoticed. This should not be normal and people who find themselves not even taking the time to look at the credentials or to interview a person of color with the same level of discretion is only cheating their business of what could take them to the next level.
For me personally the discussion cemented ideas that I had already perceived about the media in general. Since i work in a retail environment I understand how the marketing tools are used both in television and in a physical environment. It still is a bit upsetting to know that no matter how much you achieve or expand your knowledge the world may still view you as what they are used to seeing on the television. Don't underestimate the power of your subconscious, you are what you surround yourself with, watch and read. Thanks to Dr El-Burki for and informative dialog.

Home is Where your Heart is!!

For me home has always been a place to feel love and to give love. When I think of home the images that come to mind are always of being somewhere surrounded by family.

I remember as a child when we would travel to see my grandmother in Virginia, my dad would always say were going home. In Virginia we would all meet at my grandmothers and have dinner and socialize for hours on end. My dad has 6 sisters and 2 brothers and they would all come with their families to visit with us when we arrived. My family is very musical and everyone would bring their instruments, it would be like a concert on a Saturday night. We would all get together and cook. After our meal someone would start singing or pick up one of those instruments. I have wonderful feelings and memories of being together at grandma's home.

Over the years we have coordinated a family reunion in the summer. Sometimes in Virginia and other in Pennsylvania. My grandmother had a brother and sister who also moved to Pennsylvania at some time so we have many family members who live here also.  I come from a very large family, getting together is not easy, and the location is not as important long as we were together.

This picture is only a small snippet of my family. I have four older brothers and my mom raised 2 Nieces who are younger than me. On holidays and special occasions we would all get together and enjoy each others company. Sharing stories about the older generations and our current lives, we always have a lot to talk about. Home very much means family to me, what is a home if it is empty and without Love and someone to share it with. Yes we all need time to ourselves but when we get together.....

My education started at Donegan Elementary School in the Bethlehem Area School District, I attended Donegan from kindergarten till the beginning of 3rd grade. I think they provided a a great learning environment at this school and I can remember many of the teachers including the principal Mr Shelly and my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Jacobs. Many of the teachers participated in community events and at Halloween they volunteered at a local haunted house. One of my most vivid memories at Donegan is of having an apple computer that we used for math in 2nd grade. The school has since been knocked down and rebuilt to accommodate a larger student class.
My parents decided to move and i was transferred to Fountain Hill Elementary where I met new friends and more great teachers. The principal was named Mr Dundon and he was a very caring and nice man. For 4th and 5th grade we had a brand new teacher, straight out of college at Lehigh University named Mr Delluva. I tried to take music lessons and learned to play the clarinet. I attended this school until the school district decided to change the grade structure and instead of staying one more year we were moved to the newly renamed middle school.

Broughal Middle School was a whole new experience. All of my friends from both elementary schools merged together here. It was like coming home for me. Many of the younger students in this new 6th grade were picked on because we were so much younger than the other kids. This was a place for many of us to grow into being teenagers and learn new things that expanded on our earlier years. The Principal Mr Petraglia and Asst Mr Zavacky really tried to help with the transition. We now had classes to change rooms. I joined the newly formed newspaper which I still have an original copy of the first Broughal Rock it! This school has also since been rebuilt into a state of the art school.
Now while there is an awesome rivalry between the high schools in Bethlehem, I had the opportunity to attend both schools. Liberty High School will always be my home and I will never forget the time I spent roaming those halls. I met many awesome teachers and had many friends at both schools but I spent the majority of my time at Liberty. This would be my first opportunity to read Romeo and Juliet which we also attended a production of at Desales after reading the whole play. My favorite class was most definitely Home Economics, both the sewing and cooking portion were interesting to me. While there I attended many football games and played on the girls basketball team for 2 seasons. Go Hurricanes!!

Jameire Myers, Millennial and future mover and shaker in the business world. Just remember he started here at Northampton Community College. While this is his freshman year in the Business Administration program, his future plans are set. When Jameire graduates from NCC, he plans to transfer to a 4 year college such as Temple or University of Miami.

The motivation behind his goals is to be the CEO of a small machining company outside of Philadelphia. His focus will be to expand the business to increase its profitability. I am sure it will become the prime source for metal needs for the surrounding area with Jameire as its head.

Jameire comes from a large family, however he is closest to his 2 older brothers and younger sister. His family moved to the Lehigh Valley about 8 years ago from the Coatesville area. He misses his favorite restaurant in Coatesville called the "Little Chef", but he also likes to eat at the local Olive Garden. Now if you invite him over for a barbecue this summer don't forget the ribs, they are his favorite food!

In his spare time Jameire likes to play basketball, and his favorite professional team is the Miami Heat. For entertainment and enjoyment he also like to listen to different genres of music but mostly R&B and Hip-Hop. He doesn't necessarily have a favorite artist. His aunt introduced him to some older music that he also enjoys.

While he is focused on his education, Jameire does not plan to attend classes this summer as he would like to enjoy some time off. More likely than not, he will visit a beach as its one of his favorite places to go. In the near future his dream is to also travel outside of the country.


Photo courtesy:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjhoZ3ekIzSAhXMPiYKHW0JDm4QjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmotivationgrid.com%2Ftop-100-motivational-images-2015%2F&psig=AFQjCNH-3_D8PNpWeA4KxTtYht4toAbTdg&ust=1487042883777067&cad=rjt