A Gifted Person

To the Editor:

As I mourn the loss of my dear friend, Betty Parente, I cannot help but wonder at the fact that God, in His true wisdom, sent a very special, spiritually gifted person to us. We can now recognize clearly that Betty was an angel walking among us, who made everyone feel special and uplifted, who showed so much courage and strength when dealing with breast cancer. Somehow, God found the way to place Betty everywhere in this town and, no matter the circumstances, we all saw the same person: an extremely happy woman who could only bestow her cheery smile and happy disposition on all of us. Betty was a woman of faith who was devoted to God and also her precious Catholic faith. She also had an unwavering belief and reliance in the Blessed Mother, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Padre Pio and St. Therese.

Betty managed to find time not only to volunteer her time for several charitable causes but also to serve God faithfully and consistently. Attending Mass at St. Joseph's Church, serving as Eucharistic Minister, joining our weekly rosary prayer gatherings, attending First Friday Nocturnal Adoration and other faith services held in Brooklyn filled Betty's heart with joy. These are just a few examples of her many faithful devotions. There are many more examples. God has now delivered to us a special angel in heaven whom we can pray to. Same goes for her lovely family, they are looking down from heaven, asking us not to forget them, asking us to pray to them and they will intercede for our needs. I can see Betty smiling at me from heaven. She is telling me that she is happy because she has met Jesus and his mother, Mary. Her family is together and they are happy.

In this season of Easter, Betty wants us to believe, to pray, to place God first in our lives and to trust him completely. I pray that Betty can continue to serve as an inspiration to all of us to lead a faithful life where God and the Blessed Mother are allowed to be a constant presence.

Marta I. Waters

Forgot Who She Represents

To the Editor:

It has been a few weeks that the AIG bonus situation has been discussed in the main street media. Now that the dust has settled I think we should all sit back as a nation and as a community and take a look at actions of our elected representatives.

Carolyn McCarthy has represented this community since 1996. She co-sponsored a bill with Steve Israel to tax bonuses at a rate of 100% for any person that works for a company that took TARP money. We know that the bill taxing bonuses at a 90% rate eventually passed with Mrs. McCarthy's support. (However, the bill seems to have hit a dead end in the Senate.) I need to remind Mrs. McCarthy that the district that she represents would be effected since our town (and the rest of Nassau County) have people that work in the financial sector and some of these institutions that she is targeting. Mrs. McCarthy needs to realize how the "trickle down" effect would have had on this community and Nassau County. Not only would housing prices been effected but also the other service industries in the town such as restaurants, landscaping for example.

The main reason for writing this letter is to make the people aware of Mrs. McCarthy's vote. She seems to have forgotten where she came from and who she represents. There is an election coming up in 2010 and I feel that the people should know just where our representatives stand in issues that would effect their community.

We send our representatives to Washington to serve us and not the main street media, Nancy Pelosi or the DNC. She should be reminded that the tax code should never be used as a weapon against specific individuals that she disagrees with.

It would be very informative to see Mrs McCarthy's bill.

You can go to her web site

www.carolynmccarthy.house.gov. Her office phone number is 516 739 3008. I would suggest you call and remind her who she represents.

Timothy Michel