Date: Fri 20-Aug-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Mountain-drought

Full Text:

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

Do you think we are in the midst of one of the 20th Century's worst droughts?

You'd be hard-pressed to convince the men's softball league of that. It seems

the league has had one rainout after another this summer, backing up the

playoffs into late September.

The A-Division has had an especially high number of rainouts, including the

last two Sundays. The biggest problem appears to be the home plate area at

Dickinson Park, where huge puddles form with even the slightest rain fall.

Players are praying for less Saturday night rain and improved field

maintenance by the time the season slides into home.

Sue Gardner has traveled around the world in support of the career of her

daughter, Patty. But, as luck would have it, she was out of town this week

when Patty got the news -- she had received a wild card to compete in the

qualifying round of the Pilot Pen International Tennis Tournament. Patty is

hoping she can stay alive in the tournament long enough so her mother can come

watch her play.

Fred Hurley spent a vacation day Monday driving back and forth -- twice -- to

LaGuardia Airport, trying to pick up his 19-year-old daughter who was flying

back from Pittsburgh. Fred said that when he arrived at the airport his

daughter was nowhere to be found. He looked in the baggage area and everywhere

else that he was allowed to go, and was assured by airport personnel that

everyone was off the plane. The airline refused to tell him whether his

daughter had even been a passenger on the plane -- FAA rules, they said -- so

he finally gave up and drove home, assuming she had missed her flight. No

sooner did he arrive, however, than his daughter was on the phone, asking him

indignantly where he was. She said she was waiting at the arrivals gate. What

she didn't realize was that she was in the part of the airport where only

passengers are allowed, so there was no way for her father to find her.

Customers at Lexington Gardens have been entertained by the resident parrots

for years but now there's a new entertainer who has been charming the children

and their parents.

FROG PHOTO HERE

A frog has moved into the barrel ponds in the center's perennial area. He --

or perhaps it is a she -- spends the day jumping from one pond to another and

croaking into song. The frog doesn't have a name but a few of the staff

members have suggested dubbing it Tommy, in honor of garden center owner Tom

Johnson.

Gordon Williams stopped by the office this week and said that while he is

enjoying his summer vacation, it hasn't sunk in yet that he won't be going

back to work in the fall. Gordon retired in June after teaching for 39 years.

He said he hopes the fact that he and Lina will be making a trip back to

Montana this fall for a family wedding will be a diversion. They plan to go to

Yellowstone Park where they met while both were savages -- the name given to

the summer help at the park. Gordon was a bus boy, Lina was a cabin girl. "I

was a western boy, Lina was an eastern girl [from Pennsylvania] and we never

would have met if it wasn't for our summer jobs at the park," he said.

Gordon dropped off a photo of some of the Newtown Lions who attended a

Bridgeport Bluefish game recently. The Lions took their wives, children, and

even a few grandchildren, plus four guests from Nunnawauk Meadows. The weather

cooperated, the stadium was attractive, the game against the Atlantic City

Surfs was a good one, and the Bluefish won. Dick Kovacks, the club treasurer,

summed it up for everyone, calling it an experience worth repeating.

Newtown historian Dan Cruson was spotted at Blockbuster Video last week

renting a video. I had a feeling Dan wasn't renting anything with Arnold

Schwarzenegger in the starring role, and I was right. He rented Steven

Speilberg's historical masterpiece, Amistad.

The Loring family is desperately looking for their 15-year-old blond cocker

spaniel, Taffy, who wandered away from their Cobblestone Lane home on Monday

evening. Taffy is deaf and almost totally blind, so she is probably very

disoriented. She is wearing a pink collar and Newtown Animal Clinic rabies tag

#99-1096, and a Newtown license. If she happens to wander your way, call the

Lorings at 426-8375.

Neal Ann Werner made a special trip to the town clerk's office Wednesday to

tell Sue Shpunt that her business, The River Cone Ice Cream Shop, has finally

opened. The shop is located in Sandy Hook Center next to the new barber shop.

I guess Sue can eat all the ice cream she wants. She works all the calories

off by rollerblading with her daughter Jessica on the empty pavement at

Fairfield Hills.

Holcombe Fuel officials are advising residents not to cancel their underground

oil tank insurance simply because of a new law which provides state funding

for all oil tank "leakers." According to Holcombe sales manager Tim Kaiser,

there is a $2 million cap on funding for all statewide clean-ups and that

amount could be reached quickly.

Lisa Franze from the Labor Day Parade Committee says this year's parade is

bringing back the clowns and bikes division, and everyone is invited to

participate. I'm starting to decorate my bike, and I hope you will too. But

don't get so busy that you forget to...

Read me again.