Pizzas were taking a little longer last Friday evening at My Place Restaurant. Why?  Because Mark, one of the three owners, wasn’t there.  Mark, you see, can do a 14-second pizza.  That’s right.  Fourteen seconds from start to oven.  Ripley’s, take notice.

Cars were slowing down on Berkshire Road Saturday to see what all the excitement was at Al Penovi’s plumbing supply business. About 20 members of the local Knights of Columbus spent the morning painting and putting a new roof on part of Al’s business. The place hasn’t looked so good in years.

There was a lot of activity at Edmond Town Hall on Saturday night where friends were holding a surprise 50th birthday party in the Alexandria Room for Kathy Kovatch of Thomas Circle in Sandy Hook.  Kathy’s husband, Ken, planned the whole thing and enlisted the help of Carlen and Bob Gaines, who invited them to attend the movies at town hall. They went upstairs under the guise of looking at the murals while all the party-goers waited expectantly behind the closed doors of the Alexandria Room. The only problem was that when Carlen tried to open a door, they were all locked. She finally slipped away, found an unlocked door at the far end of the hall, rushed into the Alexandria Room and opened the doors from the inside so that everyone could yell “surprise.”

Ginny Lathrop celebrated her 85th birthday Tuesday. Three weeks ago, Newtown’s queen of dance had her gall bladder removed. Nevertheless, she is still tapping and teaching, doing as Ginny always does, just fine.

There are a couple of other items on the medical front. A familiar face in the town clerk’s office will be missing over the next month. Blythe Dotson went in for surgery on her rotator cuff Wednesday and is not expected back to work until December 20, at the earliest.

Still hobbling on his crutches, Gordon Williams stopped by The Bee this week to drop off a news release about the Lions Club. Gordon says all of his children, their spouses and friends, and their grandchild will be home for Thanksgiving. Watching his wife doing all the preparations apparently was making him feel so guilty that he decided to get out of the house for awhile.

Herb Rosenthal finally got his flu shot on Tuesday after much nagging from his wife and his staff. He spent the rest of the day complaining about it, too, but his staff told him his reactions were all in his imagination.

Alisa Maher Lyons returned to work at The Bee this week after her honeymoon was cut short by the hurricane in the Caribbean. Alisa and Dennis were in the Virgin Islands when the storm approached with 140 mph winds, forcing them to pack up and try to get a flight out.  They were lucky to get great connections so they didn’t have to languish in any airport. While they did lose out on five days of their honeymoon, Alisa isn’t very upset. She said the refund will cover the cost of a new kitchen table.

All the warm weather makes it hard to realize that Christmas is just around the corner.  The local stores know it, however, and are preparing for the annual day after Thanksgiving rush. Stores like TJMaxx in Sand Hill Plaza plan to open at 8 am on Friday and Saturday to accommodate the crowds.

The Newtown High School boys’ swim team has been feeling like fish out of water this week. They have been kept out of the school’s pool due to a chemical problem in the water.

The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps has elected longtime member Chris Petersen as its chairman. She’ll be assisted by newly-elected assistant chief, Harold Evans. Chris was formerly the corps’ assistant chief. She replaces outgoing chief John Basso.

Is your stomach suddenly yearning for some pancakes and maple syrup? Maybe some sausage links? The sudden craving is only natural, say members of the Newtown Rotary Club, who are planning their annual pancake breakfast for Saturday, December 4 in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall. Tickets can be purchased from your favorite Rotarian or at the door.

While you’re shopping, don’t forget those households that could face a bleak holiday. The Newtown Fund has a list of approximately 70 households in Newtown that are in need. Even if you can’t afford to “adopt” a family, the Newtown Fund could use donations of  money, gift certificates, food, household items, and volunteer help to put the Christmas gift baskets together.  Call 426-6565 and leave your name and phone number if you can help.  And don’t forget that the Junior Women’s Club is operating its annual Tag-A-Gift program to provide gifts for children in those families. The tags are on trees and wreaths in various locations around town. All you have to do is take a tag, purchase the gift indicated on it, and bring it back unwrapped to the location where you picked up the tag by December 13.

Once you’re done with that, give yourself a gift and…

Read me again.