Ah, Memorial Day weekend. Sure the official start to summer is still about three weeks away, but for me, and I suspect many of us, the seasonal solstice begins this weekend. Of course I know Memorial Day stands for much, much more than summer’s kick off. That’s why I’ll be at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument Saturday morning for the American Legion Post 202’s Memorial Day ceremony. The event begins at 10 am.

It seems like I had some competition this week: what at first blush appeared to be a very small dog scurrying about behind the police station Wednesday morning on closer inspection proved be a shy, brown rabbit. He scampered around a bit, then disappeared. I don’t think he got to as many places as I did this past week.

Speaking of scampering about, Selectman Joe Bojnowski has been all over town lately. First Selectman Herb Rosenthal has been busy putting his signature on proclamations these past couple of weeks, but it has been Joe who has been handing them out. On Wednesday, May 17, Joe recognized the Newtown Middle School Youth Advisory Board, which received a national award for leadership. Then on Friday, Joe was spotted at Ashlar of Newtown, where he honored five centurions (people 100 years of age of older) by proclaiming May 14-20 Nursing Home Week in Newtown.

Speaking of Herb, the poor guy is suffering from a toothache this week after chipping a tooth late last week.

Joe Bojnowski hasn’t been the only one busy in town, mind you. Police had their hands full last Friday when a New Fairfield truck driver managed to completely jam two of his trailers under the Housatonic Railroad overpass at the same time. It appears that because the tractor was towing two trailers as it traveled eastbound down the road, the hookup between the two trailers flexed as it was passing under the center of the overpass, allowing the vehicle to be completely stuck under the span. The driver learned something, though: a 13-foot, 6-inch tall tandem trailer does not lend itself to a bridge clearance of 12 feet, 7 inches. Unfortunately, he had to pick this lesson up off the street.

If there is any sport that can teach a tough lesson, it has to be golf. So I always applaud those enthusiasts who seem to excel at the pastime. The foursome of Chuck Tilson, Tom Wyatt, Kevin Cragin and Ron Rox won Monday’s annual Blue & Gold golf tournament at the Newtown Country Club. Chuck had a particularly good day, winning two raffle prizes, including a free haircut and shampoo at Shear Image.

Bob Tendler traveled to Battle Creek, Michigan, last week to watch his son, Jared, compete in the Division III national golf tournament. Jared helped lead the Skidmore College team to an impressive third place. Skidmore might have won the whole thing had one of its players not incorrectly added up his scorecard.

Thunderstorms in the area cancelled Bob’s flight back home, however, so he hitched a ride with a father from Hartford and the two men took the 14-hour trip back to Connecticut. Bob said it rained for ten of the 14 hours. Jared, a second team All-American this year, was a standout golfer at Newtown High back in the mid 1990s.

Dick Zang will be leading a doo-wop revival at the spring concert for The Newtown Choral Society this Saturday at 7:30 pm at Newtown Meeting House. Dick will be singing the bass when the male members of the choir perform “Heartache,” which was originally done by the Marcells back in the 60s. He will be aided by Mark Case, John McMahon, Bill Campbell, Dave Evans, Arnold Persky and David Jurman, who will be singing the lead tenor part.

Of course, there are publicized concerts, and there are spontaneous ones.

Dr Richard Coopersmith and his friend Louis Sclafani treated Bagelman patrons to an impromptu jam session last Saturday morning. The duo played a two song set, which was described by one listener as “very good.”

If it keeps raining like it has been, I’m going to have to start finding more indoor activities to pass my days. Luckily, now there’s ping pong at the VFW on Tinkerfield Road. Tony DeCarlo recently started a ping pong club for all interested Newtown residents. Tony says more and more local ping pong enthusiasts are showing up for the event, which takes place every Thursday at 6 pm. Recently, two Iranian-born Newtown residents have been showing up at the tables. One, according to Tony, is particularly good, having once been ranked among the top five ping pong players in Iran.

Sally O’Neill hopes all the recent bad weather means it will be sunny when her parish nurse ministry holds its first annual Safety Fair at St Rose on Saturday, June 3. Lightning sheared off the top of a huge tree next to the rectory last week, and it seems like it rained almost every day since then.  Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue almost had to don dry suits to get a publicity photo taken for the fair.

Lee Skalkos, a crafter turned silversmith, is now selling her wares on the Internet at www.totallyoutofhand.com. Lee lived for seven years on Kaechele Drive in Sandy Hook before she and her husband built a house in Easton in 1998. She turns children’s artwork into sterling silver pins for mom to keep and wear forever.

Congratulations to Brian Adams of Boy Scout Troop 770, who received his Eagle Scout Award at a Court of Honor at St Rose last week.

And best wishes to Bill Lavery and Joan Murcko, who got married last weekend.

I was glad to see Hawley School PTA President Richard Huggins at the high school’s awards ceremony last Thursday night. Richard, who presented a Hawley School PTA scholarship, originally was told by his wife that the event was on Wednesday night, not Thursday night. So, he turned up dressed in a jacket and tie, and beheld an empty auditorium. Luckily his second attempt yielded a better audience.

There’s no confusion as to where I’ll be showing up next week, so you’ll know when you can…

Read me again.