vschneps@gmail.com
One of my favorite sayings
is, “when the going
ings gets tough, the tough get
going.”
It’s never been truer than now
and it brought me back to shar-
sharing
Winston Churchill’s rousing
quotes that inspired the British
people during their dire days.
We need inspiration now more
than ever.
It may be 80 years ago, but on
Aug. 20, 1940, speaking before
the House of Commons,
Churchill thanked the Royal
Air Force for ghting the Nazi
bombardment during the
Battle of Britain. He said, in his
bold, booming voice, “Never in
the eld of human con ict has
so much been owed by so many
to so few.” So true today.
With our frontline workers
giving of themselves endlessly,
they can be compared to the airmen
who saved Britain.
Every day of our coronavirus
“war,” with an unseen enemy,
our heroes are all around us,
from tireless health care workers,
to supermarket employees,
to building support sta , to
bus drivers, to transit workers,
to the people that volunteer,
to those feeding the hungry,
to mothers homeschooling
their children — they are our
frontline ghters. We owe them
respect and honor.
Last week Demetra Mattone,
whose neighbor is Dr. Jasmin
Moshirpur, the medical director
of the now infamous Elmhurst
Hospital, met on their street. Dr.
Moshirpur shared that critical
care workers were coming from
out of town and needed housing
for the few weeks they would be
working at the hospital.
Demetra jumped into action
like Wonder Woman! She called
a friend, who donated a vacant
apartment in his building near
the hospital, but it needed basic
furniture, bedding, linens and
kitchen ware.
In two days, Demetra found
donors who were willing to
help: the generous
Gina
Argento of Broadway Stages;Stages
Joseph and
Mary Ann
Mattone;Mattone
George Michalis
of Rock Farmer Properties
Properties;
Judi Marti; Carl Mattone
Mattone; and
Peter and Patricia
Florey each
donated the money to help her
get the job done.
Seeing the apartment created
for them brought tears to the
health care workers’ eyes. It’s acts
of kindness like this that create
heroes.
ere are countless acts of
kindness going on and I would
be delighted to write about
someone you know. Just send an
email to vschneps@qns.com.
Victoria’s
DIARY
Victoria
SCHNEPS
YUNIS
tweet me @vschneps
Innovation and inspiration
Acts of kindness created a beautiful living space for
out-of-town Elmhurst Hospital health care workers.
A poem written for
Claire Shulman
by her granddaughter Meredith Baker
The Quee n of Quee ns
And of my heart
Who pass ed down her beauty and made
me smart
Who is a public servant before a politician
And makes putt ing family first a timeless
tradition
The coolest grandma sent from up above
With plenty of doses of tough love
A business coach, a friend, and so much more
Thinking about how much I miss you
makes my heart sore
So until I next see you, I’ll send you
poems for fun
Until finally we can go to Christie’s
and get our nails done!
Winston Churchill’s
inspirational words have
never been more true.
hunfor
Demerta and Carl
Mattone worked
together to solve
hospital needs.
Sadness and condolences
It was with much sadness that I got a call
from Annette Pennisi to tell me that her
beloved husband Al had passed away
from pancreatic cancer at the age of 79. He
had been my friend and lawyer for decades
and was someone I considered a mentor.
I was so sad to hear he lost his battle,
but his legacy will live on in his beautiful
children and through his work for the
Queens Chamber of Commerce — where
he served twice as its chairman — as well
as his tremendous work on the board of
the Queens Botanical Garden and on the
board of advisors at Plaza College. He will
be sorely missed!
I also o er my condolences to my dear
friend Pouran Eshghi, who lost her mom in
the far away land of Iran. Heartbreakingly,
she was not able to say goodbye and be by
her side. I o en saw the videos of Pouran
with her mom and it was easy to see how
much love she felt for her, and vice versa. I
like to believe that she will be with her forever
in her heart and in Pouran’s soul. Being isolated doesn’t mean we can’t stay connected.
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