Date: Fri 19-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

mountain-Valentine

Full Text:

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

I've been getting a little grey around the muzzle the past few years, so it

shouldn't surprise me that my reputation as a real tom cat might be sagging.

There certainly has been a marked decline in romantic interest in me on

Valentine's Day. But I am happy to report that I do have one true Valentine:

Tiger Baby Kearns. As was the case last year, my only Valentine's Day card

came from my sweet Tiger Baby. This year she wrote:

Dear Mountain,

Your column is the best

All pussy cats agree,

Of any that is published

In the local Newtown Bee.

I think that you're the greatest

With your fur with brilliant shine.

And I hope (just like last year)

You will be my handsome Valentine.

You may have noticed that Tiger Baby's meter got a little messed up in the

last line because she insisted on squeezing the word "handsome" in there, but

I think the sacrifice was worth it, don't you?

The Gortons -- Elwood (Elly), Donna and Donald -- celebrated Valentine's Day

and a birthday Sunday afternoon with a family outing to The Italian Pavilion

restaurant in Newtown. In addition to being a family dinner for Valentine's

Day, the highlight of the outing was expected to be the surprise birthday cake

for Elly that Donna had arranged to have brought out by the restaurant staff.

Right on cue, out came the cake, with two candles, and a small group singing

"Happy Birthday."

Donald, age 6, however, knew something was wrong. While we won't divulge the

birthday his father was celebrating this year, even Donald knew his father

should have had more than two candles on his birthday cake. Donald also knew

it was just as well that there weren't too many more candles on the cake, as

Donna tells us he shouted out, "Boy, it's a good thing they didn't put all the

candles on Daddy's cake, otherwise they would have burned the restaurant

down!"

Herb and Michelle Rosenthal had plans for a romantic weekend getaway in a

quaint New England Inn up north, but once they arrived, Herb was laid low by

the flu. So much for romance. It was a case of being in the right place, but

at the wrong time.

Because the world exhibits a kind of symmetry in such things, I was not

surprised to learn that just a few days before he took off on his ill-fated

weekend, Herb found himself in the wrong place at the right time. Herb,

Selectman Bill Brimmer, and town Finance Director Ben Spragg all showed up at

the Senior Center on Riverside Road last Wednesday night for a very unromantic

budget rendezvous with Legislative Council's finance committee. The committee,

however, was meeting in Town Hall South. The trio eventually caught up with

the committee after concluding that they had not been stood up -- just

misplaced.

Don't forget to wish Vern Knapp happy birthday this week. She will celebrate

her 86th birthday on February 24.

It seemed like everyone wanted to talk to Kevin O'Sullivan Tuesday night. The

former head coach of the Newtown High boys' basketball team was making his

first appearance at a game this season. It was the first time since the

mid-1970s that Mr O'Sullivan was in the gym for a game and not on home team's

bench.

Debbie Aubin is never on the sidelines when it comes to responding to

ambulance calls. The EMT almost always leads the way among the 54-member

ambulance crew in responding to the most calls. But last year, EMT Ken Lerman

had her beat. Ken responded to a total of 337 calls in 1998. Debbie came in

second with 282.

It seems quite reasonable to schedule a sleigh rally for the end of February,

but this year while it may be reasonable, it certainly isn't seasonable. The

Newtown Bridal Lands Association and the Second Company Governor's Horse Guard

are keeping their fingers crossed hoping there will be a snow cover in time

for their sleigh rally on February 28. Even if it doesn't snow, they vow the

show will go on (with wheeled "sleighs"). The event runs from 10 am to 3 pm on

the 28th at the horse guard facility at Fairfield Hills. Mark your calendar.

I will be here next week whether it snows or not, so be sure to...

Read me again.