Normally, this is the week I start shamelessly begging for Valentine's Day cards, as if having this column wasn't balm enough to my narcissism. But this year, I'm calling off my annual plea for love and adoration because the kids at Sandy Hook Elementary School have shown me that Valentine's Day doesn't always have to be about me. It's about bringing joy to others. A total of 280 students in 14 classes at the school have written Valentine's Day messages to service men and women overseas. Many but not all of the valentines will be going to military personnel from Newtown, and the packages will include keepsakes from home.

Some of the men and women overseas are witnessing some of the worst the world has to offer these days. I'm glad they will be able to celebrate Valentine's Day next week with some of the best the world has to offer: the enthusiastic greeting of a child.

It doesn't seem possible, but planning for the 2007 Labor Day Parade is underway. The Labor Day Parade Committee has been meeting already, plotting and planning the best way to pull off another fabulous event. Chairperson Kym Stendahl reports that the committee has settled on the theme "Cyrenius H. Booth Library: Keeping Us Reading For 75 Years." As always, residents should remember that the cost of our terrific end-of-summer parade tops $20,000 each year. Donations are welcome and can be mailed to Labor Day Parade Committee, PO Box 746, or c/o Newtown Savings Bank, PO Box 497, Newtown CT 06470. For once, let's not drag our tails on supporting this popular town celebration.

Anyone who travels Poverty Hollow Road has been watching the progress on Nora and Rick Murphy's addition to their 18th Century home, and knows that it was not just any project. Utilizing an antique chicken coop moved to their property from Massachusetts, the Murphys have created quite the special roost for themselves. The rooster that rules the top of the coop's cupola gives the Meeting House fowl a run for his money, too. After some unforeseen setbacks, Rick says that they hope to settle into their nest sometime in early February.

Former resident Kelly Coney, now a student at Ithaca College, sends a note that the yellow Lab puppy, Vasco, that she raised for Guiding Eyes last winter has passed his exams and will graduate with his blind person on February 17 from the Guiding Eyes For The Blind program. As much as I hate to admit it, Vasco (and Kelly) deserve a round of applause. After all, I don't see any guiding cats around.

I'm not usually at a loss for words, so I think I'll pussyfoot down to the C.H. Booth Library before it's too late and sign up for the February 17 Scrabble Tournament. Library director Janet Woycik warned me that if I took too many catnaps I'd miss the Friday, February 9, deadline to register for the 75th Anniversary kick-off event. And for just $20, I get lunch at the tournament, too. Tuna fish sandwich, maybe?

Newtown high school students Meagan Kelly, Steph Soder, Libby Feltch, and Carly Doherty are waiting to get their trophy from the indie band OK-Go's dance contest "A Million Ways To Be Cruel." The young women were pleased to find out recently that they had placed third in the Excellence in Creativity and Production division of the contest they entered late last summer. The routine they created was viewable on YouTube, but locals got the chance to see the dancers in action at the NHS Gong Show held Saturday night, February 3. They placed second at the Gong Show, but how can you compete with two guys dancing around in underwear?

At the risk of mixing up holidays, Chuck Stofko has selected the night before Valentine's Day as the date to launch his 2007 effort to promote Halloween in Newtown. Chuck wants to establish a Halloween Committee to help support the generosity of Main Street residents who have to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of candy to accommodate all the trick-or-treaters who come to their door. Chucl's brainstorming session will be at 7:30 pm in the Senior Center on February 13. Now this is an effort I can get behind. Attend if you can, and tell them the black cat sent you.

In case no one else gets around to saying it to you this coming week, Be My Valentine! And, of course...

Read me again.