I guess there’s a hundred different ways I could start this final column for The Patriot newspaper. However, I can’t think of one that doesn’t make me feel saddened that after 40 years another small town weekly publication must call it quits and take down the masthead.

We could make this a eulogy and talk about all the good times we’ve had together and how we made a difference in the lives of our readers and our subscribers. We could even take a walk down memory lane and pat ourselves on the back for a job well done when together we fought a good battle against the proposed dump site or any of the other “great ideas” that somehow only served to quicken the bitter end of yet another small American community. A local newspaper that honestly and accurately presents the news is the true lifeblood of an area.

None of us can argue that the owner Chris Robert could have or should have tried any harder or editor Barbara Van Reed could have worked harder to make the newspaper turn around and reach the potential we all could see and hoped to attain.

There is a litany of reasons why the paper couldn’t pull itself out of the red and go forward so we could be back into the list of profitable papers that are publishing in the black. But pointing the ugly finger of blame won’t change what has happened… it is what it is and will only serve to underscore the deep loss we’ll all feel the next time one of us tries to find out what is really going on in town.

So what I will do is thank the many readers and fans that have called or written me in the past sharing how much they’ve enjoyed reading my columns and articles. Some of you even shared which was your favorite column.

I will also thank all the people who let me into your life to share your story so that another person could find inspiration, humor or be called to action. Many of you helped me to spread my journalistic wings and build upon my craft making me a more confident writer and polished story teller.

In closing I want to share with all of you that I am going to have the Bariatric Surgery in August after I come home from Colorado Springs and visiting with the grandchildren. I will be using the next three months to strengthen my coping skills so that I learn a better way to handle my emotions than eating food. I will also be working on my exercise plan to help tighten up miles and miles of sagging skin.

by Ginger Costen

Founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues in the United States, Earth Day is now a globally celebrated holiday. More than one billion people in 192 countries will observe the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day, according to the Earth Day Network.

Although Earth Day is a great reminder to be environmentally conscious, there are plenty of simple ways we can celebrate the earth all year long. Here are just 10 ways you can be eco-friendly long after Earth Day is over:

1. Plant a tree.

Planting a tree is perhaps the most common Earth Day activity, but you can plant a tree any day of the year. Trees produce oxygen and help reduce air pollution. A single tree can absorb 10 pounds of air pollutants a year, and produce nearly 260 pounds of oxygen, according to the nonprofit American Forests.org.

2. Recycle reusable materials.

The average person generates more than four pounds of trash every day and about 1.5 tons of solid waste per year, according to DoSomething.org and 75 percent of waste is recyclable, but only about 30 percent of it is recycled. Do your part by recycling glass, paper, plastic and other reusable materials at your local recycling centers.

3. Donate or recycle used electronics.

Electronic waste includes computers, cell phones, televisions and other electronic devices in working or non-working condition that are no longer used. About half of the states currently have laws on disposal and recycling of electronics and several other states are considering passing similar laws, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Working and non-working electronic devices may be acceptable for donation for reuse or repair. Check with your local e-waste recycling centers, charities and thrift stores for information regarding acceptable items. Many electronics manufacturers and retailers also offer take-back programs or sponsor recycling events.

4. Cut back on driving.

Use public transportation, organize a carpool, ride a bike or walk whenever possible. Leaving your car at home two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. It will also help you save money on gas and maintenance.

5. Reduce your energy use.

Reducing your energy use is good for the environment and can help you save money on your energy bill. Turn off or set office equipment to power down when they are not in use. Better yet, unplug electronics when you’re not using them. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, in the average home, 75 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off.

Other ways to reduce your energy use include: taking advantage of natural daylight to reduce lighting; adjusting your thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer; using the dishwasher and washing machine only when they are full; washing clothes in cooler water; replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps; and investing in energy-efficient equipment.

6. Use reusable bags.

Each year, Americans throw away about 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags and about 10 billion paper bags, according to Earth911. Help reduce plastic and paper bag waste by using reusable bags.

7. Buy locally.

Again according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, the average meal in the U.S. travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally can save fuel and keep money in your community.

8. Clean up the Earth.

The nonprofit group Keep America Beautiful states that more than 51 billion pieces of litter land on U.S. roadways each year, and cleaning up that litter costs the nation almost $11.5 billion. Help keep the Earth beautiful by participating in local cleanup events or organizing your own.

9. Explore the outdoors.

Get to know your community better and explore the beauty of nature. Go for a walk, run or hike with friends and family. Join or organize a walking or hiking group. 

10. Participate in eco-friendly activities.

Earth Day is April 22, but many people extend the celebration to make it Earth Week. From green expos to local farmers’ markets, a variety of eco-friendly activities take place during Earth Week and throughout the year.

In the big picture of things, I’d have to say that normally I’m a peaceful person who doesn’t search for nor enjoy conflict of any kind.  I can’t say though that I’m a true pacifist because when I’ve had enough, I’ll come out fighting. And this week - I’m fighting.

Coming from a big, barren, neonized place like Las Vegas, I loved the idea of living in peaceful harmony with all of the wildlife in our yard.  All year long we feed the birds, squirrels and whatever random critter that passes through the Costen compound.

You’d think that by now, after all the school shootings, the Oklahoma City bombing, the terrorists attacks of September 11^th, the DC area sniper, malls and movie theater shootings, I’d be used to the violence and utter lack of respect some people have for human life.

You’d think by now, after watching the hours or even days of endless news coverage, I’d be numb to the overwhelming despair and pain that I feel watching and listening to the reporters interview the families and loved ones who have lost a part of themselves and are now facing a life that will never be the same.

by Ginger Costen
Patriot correspondent

WEBSTER - When most Americans think about the 4^th of July, their memories include a celebration marked with parades, picnics, fireworks and parties. Tricia Gasparik thinks about a weekend in 2011 when she didn’t know if she’d be alive to celebrate another Christmas.

It was a Friday evening on July 1, 2011, when 34-year-old Tricia mindlessly scratched her right breast. But instead of just satisfying an itch, she found a large mass that went from one side of her breast to the other.

“I didn’t have any symptoms – no pain, no tenderness – nothing, said Tricia. Suddenly there’s a lump the size of a golf ball at the bottom of my breast. So I freaked out for a couple of hours and then I decided that whatever it was, I’d deal with it. So I went on with my plans for the weekend trying not to think about it, but I knew it was cancer.”

By Ginger Costen

If I had to sum up the past eighteen months along my journey towards bariatric surgery I guess it would be a frustrating trip of three pounds forward and two pounds back.

During this time I’ve been through a twelve-week program focusing on ways to change eating behaviors while also dealing with trigger foods that can sabotage a commitment to making healthy choices. (I’ve come to realize that having an eating disorder and food addiction is about as much fun as having a free all-day pass to a New England water park in February.)

By Ginger Costen

Is it just me or is the planet turning into one big miserably unhappy sink hole? 

We’ve got countries which have hated each other for hundreds - if not thousands - of years who have been trying to destroy their neighbors and themselves in one way or another since Biblical times. 

Global warming and the destruction of the rain forests have changed the Earth’s climate so what used to be a 100-year storm is now happening with every changing season.

By Ginger Costen

Generally when I sit down to write my column I know what I am going to say and why I want to say it. However, sometimes what comes across to the key board is not always what was on my mind. Today is one of those days.

I had planned to offer a hypothetical interview between Presidents Washington and Lincoln asking them if our country had met their individual expectations since leaving office.  Without fully understanding the directions my thought processes travel, I am forced to relinquish the battle of will power and give in to what seems to be the more important topic of the day. Here is what developed along the way…

I was asked several times this past week how the dieting was going and if I was any closer to making my decision about having the Bariatric surgery.  So in keeping with the myth of George Washington cutting down the cherry tree (by the way, he didn’t cut down the tree) and not telling a lie, I will not lie and admit my commitment to the program has lost some of its focus or importance in my life.

Perhaps it was the changing seasons from fall to winter since gardening is my favorite form of exercise as well as relaxation. When I’m knee deep in dirt and alive with the anticipation of how a plant of flowerbed will look, I could care less about eating. It’s easier to become bored and feel a sense of despondency when the world outside my window is covered with snow and the temperature is a warm and toasty two degrees.

Maybe it was the holidays with all the good food, friends and memories of a simpler life and times when children weren’t murdered for any other reason but that they were innocently sitting in their classrooms listening to their teacher. 

So I’m embarrassed to admit that in the past three months I’ve gained back 12 pounds. I’m still attending my monthly group sessions and found the January meeting amusingly predictable when the size of the class tripled from all of the New Year’s dieting resolutions. Of course by the February meeting several of the participants had slipped back into the darkness of obesity.

I’ve continued with therapy and have learned that my obsession with food began as a small child right after we moved from the Los Angeles area to a small town in Eastern California along the Nevada border in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Bridgeport, California, had a huge population of 350 people and was supported by seasonal summer camping, fishing or hunting visitors. Funny though, as I mention the cold and snow in Massachusetts, I remembered  walking to our one-room school house in January, 1956, with ten foot snow plow pilings along the edge of the road. We were the 7^th snowiest location in America that winter. 

To this day I struggle with not having enough food stored in my pantry or having more than enough to feed our guests. I’m ashamed to admit to the amount of food that is wasted in our home by my fear that anyone will go away from my house hungry. This fear became a career driven passion while working for the American Red Cross and providing emergency food supplies or meals during a disaster.

Talk about grocery shopping! Once I left a market in Gilbert, Arizona, with 18 shopping carts filled to the top. I’ve had 35 eighteen-wheelers parked in an empty car lot serving as my food pantry in Santa Cruz, California.  My food order was delivered by barges to the island of Kauai, Hawaii.  Although the stories are numerous, the end result was always the same. No one ever left hungry from a Red Cross shelter or meal truck.

So where am I in this decision? I have decided this morning to call my doctor and tell them I am ready for surgery and to schedule me for a pre-op visit. I can’t do it by myself and need a permanent solution to help remind me that sensible eating and making healthy choices isn’t just a necessity, it’s a  way of life that I need to follow even when my mind can’t seem to stay connected to what my hands are doing.

My second decision is to add another aspect to this weight loss journey. I am admitting that I have a food addiction and so want to attend Overeaters Anonymous meetings for help.

It’s not that I don’t have will power; it’s my won’t power that is my problem!   I won’t stop buying chocolate peanut butter cups and Dr. Pepper.  

 Oh, having read numerous articles on both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, I feel a a column wouldn’t do justice to these interesting and influential Americans and would like to offer a more in- depth article next President’s Day.

By Ginger Costen

I don’t consider myself to be a very superstitious person. I’ve purposely walked under a ladder or two in my lifetime, laughed at Friday the 13th and have driven on down the road without a care in the world after a black cat went SAFELY across my path.

So why am I feeling so guilty over the Patriots losing the AFC conference game…because I didn’t wash my hair before it started. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe that one person could hold so much power, but it’s my fault. How did I come to this decision?

Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s a confusing turn of events for you see, football, in itself, is not the end-all sport for the Costen family. No, here the days are numbered by how many are left on the calendar before the trucks leave Fenway Park and head south to Florida. Summer is calibrated on the days left before the All Star game in July. And, finally how many days are left before the World Series.

No, for most of the Costen family, the world revolves around baseball. With every snow storm my husband Mike heads begrudgingly out the door, grabs the snow shovel and announces to the world, “there are only 62 days left before the pitchers arrive for Spring Training!” Like this was some sort of warning to Mother Nature that she has a very small window of opportunity to dump inches - or feet - of snow on New England (and his yard).

Sadly though, she must not be listening, because with every storm he announces the newest tally with greater volume and annoyance in his voice.

Then, after the teams have all arrived in their training places with sun shining faces, he then announces the days and sometimes hours, before the first ball will be officially and ceremoniously thrown across home plate.

“Just so you know,” he politely tells me, “there are only four more days left for you to get spring cleaning out of your system before it’s game time.” He knows that yelling at me like he does Mother Nature might be far worse than anything she could shower down on him.

So let’s get back to football.

As most of you probably know, I was born, raised and lived 44 of my 62 years on the West Coast where the Sprague/Lengenfelder family shared equal enthusiasm for football. We counted the days before the teams reported for training camp. Life revolved around what game was on television on any given day and for that occasional rare treat, what kind of gastronomical culinary delight would be served while tailgating at a real live game. 

I never thought I’d emotionally get past the betrayal I felt when my LA RAMS left southern California. So I poured my loyalty upon the humbled San Fransisco 49ers. Then, suddenly I found myself in New England and right in the heart of Patriots country. I tried to stay true to my team but there’s something contagious about being a Patriots fan.

So, a few years ago I silently and singly waited for the men of winter to arrive for training camp while trying to be a good Costen wife and cheer on for the boys of summer. I loved having a team that knew football was a real man’s sport and it was meant to be played in a way that, well more than one little plastic cup and batting helmet where all one needed for protection.

I’ve liked Bill Belicheck and Tom Brady from the first play-by-play action I covertly watched on our neighbor’s television. Occasionally, I’d stop on a game or two while changing the channel at home only to feel the eyes of consternation burning my way. Then, three years ago I came out of the closet with my own television no less and turned the game on while proudly announcing, “Yep! It’s game day and it’s time for Monday Night Football.”

So I’m not sure when the superstitious side of being a Patriots fan emerged but it did and this year I found myself wearing the same team t-shirt and blue jeans on game day. They were always washed and clean; ready for combat. I also started wearing my lucky Pats socks and watching the game from the same chair and serving the same snacks or refreshments.

I’d watch the commentaries and defend any occasional mistake by blaming the other side or the refs who clearly always favored any team but the Patriots.  So why did I break tradition and not wash my hair that morning like I always do? I don’t know, but it’s the only thing that I did differently on Sunday, January 20, 2013. I had the same breakfast (spinach, bacon, tomato and cheese omelet) with our same best friends and neighbors (Pete and Carol Klocek) at the same restaurant (Talk of the Town). I wore the same clothes (the only thing I’ll list is the jeans, Pat’s t-shirt and socks), watched the game on the same television (Vizio) and fixed the same dinner (spaghetti and meatballs). We had the same snacks (crackers, cheese and a veggie tray) and I drank the same drink (sorry… only ice water).  I just didn’t wash my hair on Sunday and waited until Monday. So, you see, it’s all my fault.

On Sunday I’ll be watching Super Bowl XLVII. I don’t have to worry about what game shirt I’ll be wearing because there’ll be people here with The Saints, Broncos, Bills, Pats and… the 49ers. But since both the Raven and the 49ers beat my Pats, I’ll be counting the days on the calendar until the trucks leave Fenway Park and the boys of summer head down to Florida. I just might have a separate piece of paper for when I’m not watching the commercials and count the days until the men of winter once again report for training camp next to Gillette Stadium.

Oh, and by the way. In case you’re wondering off all the sports and all the athletes in the world, baseball and baseball players just may be the most superstitious of them all.

Why baseball? Author and Connecticut College psychology professor Stuart Vyse explained that it’s all about waiting. “One reason,” he said on the CBS Morning Show, “is that the game involves so much waiting around and if they're waiting, they have time to perform these rituals.”

According to Vyse these rituals often involve:

The foul line:Players and coaches consistently and stubbornly refuse to step on the foul line on trips to and from the dugout.

Rally caps:If a team is down, all the players in the dugout will wear their caps inside-out or in some other funny way so as to bring about a rally for the team.

The pitcher:If no one gets a hit off a pitcher over the course of the game, it's considered bad luck to talk to the pitcher in the dugout.

Spitting:Spitting into a baseball glove is considered good luck for the player and team.

I knew there was a reason I NEVER wanted to touch a baseball. Go Pats!

“No,” My husband Mike said as I finished reading this column to him, “It’s PLAY BALL!” 

“You’re both wrong,” our daughter Joscilyn Lengenfelder added, “It’s the Niners because I’m wearing my lucky red and gold sweatshirt on Sunday!”

If the number of bullets in your gun safe is greater than your IQ, you may not want to read this

By Ginger Costen

Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, last month I’ve struggled with what is the best answer to gun control in America. It wasn’t until I was watching the Alaskan Troopers on television Monday night that I was finally able to put those feelings into words.

So let me start by saying that if the number of bullets you have in your gun safe is greater  than your IQ, you’re probably not going to like this editorial. Furthermore, if you think owning an assault rifle is what our founding fathers had in mind when they gave us the right to bear arms, you probably won’t want to read any further.  I’ll even venture to say that if you think adding a marksmanship class to the required professional development courses for our teachers is a good idea, please let me know if you ever decide to run for the Webster School Committee because I want to be your opponent.

I think we can all agree that the shooting was a horrible and senseless tragedy that should never have happened.  But if every teacher in the Sandy Hook school had a loaded hand gun that morning could the shooting have been prevented?  No. Would it have stopped 20 year-old Adam Lanza from shooting through the locked doors of the school and killing 26 innocent people? Not unless there were armed teachers at every door prepared to shoot first and ask questions later.

We have trained professional law enforcement officers and military personnel that practice shooting their firearms on a monthly basis, and we still have innocent people accidently killed from friendly fire. Can you imagine what would have happened in the halls and classrooms if the teachers, custodians, office staff and principal were all shooting?

Giving everyone a loaded gun isn’t going to make us safer, it’s just going to help us all die sooner.

Do I believe in the right to bear arms? Yes! But I don’t believe that assault or semi-automatic weapons nor large magazines have any reason to be included in that thought process.  Guns are meant to be used for hunting or for protection. Unless you’re hunting in a herd of stampeding wild buffalo, you don’t need that many rounds of ammunition.  And, if you need an assault rifle for protection then you’d better be in the middle of a war zone or armed conflict.

I’m all for having a hobby and many of you see me engaging in one of my favorites all summer long as we plant flowers in the Veteran’s monuments. I also like to shoot guns and have even owned a hand gun or two in my lifetime. I’ve traveled all over this country during times of crisis and have been in a few places that I seriously wouldn’t have wanted my children or grandchildren to have been by my side.  But not once would having had an assault or semi automatic rifle made any difference in the outcome of the moment.

And speaking of children… I owned a daycare center with 55 children for 17 years. I’ve seen my share of children with emotional problems. I can’t think of one, including my own son, who would have gotten any benefit from learning how to shoot an assault rifle.  The last thing a rational adult and or parent would want to do is to give an emotionally volatile child a weapon that could kill anyone or anything.

We, as a country, have gone too far in protecting human rights.  We’ve protected the questionable few by giving away the safety of the rational masses. 

Maybe if all the money that the National Rifle Association has spent on lobbying against gun control would have been spent on providing mental health treatment for the hundreds of people turned away because of budget cuts, maybe families in Colorado and Connecticut would’ve had a much different Christmas. 

What was I watching on television? An episode of Alaska State Troopers as they loaded their assault weapons and prepared to take a known felon with mental health issues and more guns than Sparky’s  Gun Shop here in Webster, into custody for assault with a deadly weapon and burglary.