CNJ+ March 2025

THANK YOU TOM, 60 YEARS LATER By Richard Mabey Jr.

• Paintings, Prints, Bronzes • Estate Jewelry • Coin & Stamp Collections • Judaica • Costume Jewelry WE PAY CASH FOR SINGLE ITEMS TO ENTIRE ESTATES! • Watches, Clocks, Pocket Watches • Chinese & Japanese Artwork & Porcelain • Sports Collectibles • Comic Books • Old Toys • Records • Cameras • Lamps • Cameras • Lamps • Military Collections umns in Troop 170’s newsletter. My little column made such an impression upon the Troop Committee, that I was given the opportunity to write a feature article about the Klondike Derby of 1965, which appeared in the pages of the Lincoln Park Herald. At 12 years old, I had made the big time as a writer. I then began writing for my school newspaper, and from that point on, my confidence grew. I began to earn some degree of respect from the other boys in my class. Sure, there were still a few wise guys who would mock me out when I dropped a fly ball, but for the most part I was beginning to be more accepted by the other lads. In the past couple of weeks, I have developed a greater appreciation for the gift that my former Patrol Leader, Tom Meseck, gave to me in ap pointing me to be the Patrol Scribe of the Beaver Patrol. I never really thanked Tom for that kind gift and his vote of confidence in me. I have no idea where Tom Meseck is today. I hope and pray that he is alive and well. In prayer, I now thank him for believing in me, when so many of the other boys mocked and ridiculed me for being the strike out king of the old gang. In all so many ways, I think God inspired Tom to choose me for Patrol Scribe. It is all so very true; God works in mysterious ways. Richard Mabey Jr. is a freelance writer. He has had two books published. He hosts a YouTube Channel titled, “Richard Mabey Presents.” He can be reached at richardmabeyjr@gmail.com. MOVING or DOWNSIZING? CALL US!! WE BUY VINTAGE LIQUOR 201-880-5455 CELL 917-887-6465 WILL TRAVEL ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA 346 PALISADE AVE, BOGOTA WE BUY ANYTHING OLD. ONE PIECE OR HOUSE FULL. WILL TRAVEL. ANTIQUE & ESTATE BUYERS FREE ESTIMATES • Sterling Flatware Sets ANTIQUE STERLING Military Collections Wanted Swords, Knives, Helmets, Etc. ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES BUYERS ESTATE LIQUIDATORS Beaver Patrol for about three months or so, when Tom ap pointed me to be his Assistant Patrol Leader. But more than just being the Assistant Patrol Leader, Tom also knighted me to be the Patrol Scribe. The job of the Patrol Scribe was to write a weekly column for Troop 170’s weekly news letter. After having all those strike outs, when I got up at bat playing baseball with the gang, I now found a medium where I could shine like a diamond. “Beaver Patrol Happenings” became one of the favorite col TOP $

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I grew up in the small town of Lincoln Park. I was a sensitive boy. I was very studious and read many, many books. I just loved to read. I would read one or two books a week. The Lin coln Park Museum, on Main Street, was the town library at the time. I think that they had about 300 books in the whole library. My mother encouraged me to read. And, once a week, when I was very young, Mom would bring me to the library to take out a book or two, to read. I came into the world with a

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Yours truly at 11 years old and in the sixth grade. Lincoln Park’s Chapel Hill School can be seen in the background.

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heart defect known as a Myocardial Bridge. It wasn’t until recently that my Cardiologist did an extensive series of cardiac tests and a genetic study that showed that I have a mutated MY-H7 Gene. It sounds like something out of Stan Lee’s imagination, popping off the pages of an X-Men comic book, but a mutated MY-H7 Gene is the cause of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. As my Cardiologist recently told me, I always did have HCM, it just wasn’t fully diagnosed until recent ly. In defense of my former Cardiologists, HCM is the single most difficult heart disease for a Cardiologist to diagnose. As a result of having these heart problems, I wasn’t very good at sports. I would get easily winded. I wasn’t as strong as the other boys in my class. I would often get mocked and ridiculed by the wise guys in my class. Even my grade school gym teacher would mock me and ridicule me, when I would only be able to make it halfway up, climbing the rope in the school gymnasium. I was 11 years old and in the sixth grade, when God directed me to find my purpose un der Heaven. I had been blessed, by Divine Spir it, with the gift of putting words down on paper to move people’s hearts. What may have seemed like an ordinary moment in a boy’s life, was a monumental and sacred event for me. I had just joined Boy Scout Troop 170 in Sep tember of 1964. I had an incredibly wonderful Patrol Leader, Tom Meseck. He was a kind soul, who saw something good in me. I was only in the

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