Lt Matthew LeWare, the grandson of Winifred and the late Charles LeWare of Sandy Hook, had a bit of an adventure recently. The navy lieutenant helicopter aircraft commander and his crew were preflighting their aircraft for routine training off the coast of Maryland when they got a call that a 30-foot sailboat was in distress off point Lookout in the Patuxent River. Lt LeWare and the crew spotted the disabled boat on a sand bar in just ten minutes, lowered a rescue swimmer to check out the boat’s crew, and hoisted the two boaters onto the helicopter were a medical technician tended to them. Even though Lt LeWare has served in the Navy since 1991 and earned his commission and aviator wings in 2001, this was his first rescue as a helicopter aircraft commander. Congratulations to Lt LeWare and his crew members!

Dog Days (those hot, sticky, yucky days) begin July 3 this year and run through August 11, according to my friends at The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Dog Days are named for the Dog Star, Sirius, that really bright star in the Canine Constellation that is visible this time of the summer at sunrise. And where, exactly, would one find the Cat Constellation?

Here’s an event I don’t plan to miss: Lockwood Lodge Assisted Living at Ashlar of Newtown cordially invites the community to join its residents Monday, July 7, at 3 pm, to meet local artist Richard Budman of Sandy Hook and hear him read some excerpts from his new — and first — novel, The World’s Oldest Cat Blows the Whistle. Mr Budman and his wife, Susan, reside in Sandy Hook with their three dogs and Ughy, their “100 year old” cat — the subject of his novel. Until this book was written, Mr Budman’s credentials have been exclusively as an artist/painter. (Look for his paintings on display at Lockwood, by the way.) The novel describes Ughy’s life during the past 100 years when he met virtually every famous dog and cat star from the early 1900s to the present. Ughy exposes secrets and dispels long-held myths about Felix the Cat, Pluto, Toto, Top Cat, Rin Tin Tin, and Lassie, just to name a few, and contains 35 full color prints of Mr Budman’s original paintings. If you don’t already have a copy of The World’s Oldest Cat Blows the Whistle, copies of the novel will be available at Lockwoods and can be personally signed by the author. I think perhaps Ughy and I should get together sometime to discuss the secrets we know… I do hear a lot when everyone thinks I’m napping….

Beth Agen, the Newtown Youth & Family Services director, found out another bit of nature lore recently at one of the many youth programs offered by the agency. It seems that humming brings a snail out of its shell. A lovely young woman from the Maritime Aquarium named Leah, said Beth, brought up snails and crabs and starfish and lobster. No particular tune is needed to tempt the shy little mollusk, says Beth, just a steady “hmmmmmm” and the snail will come out of its shell. Some of the kids even had snails crawling across their hands. I wonder if humming draws shy people out of their shells, as well?

Speaking of shells, or rigatoni, actually…. Angelo Marini, owner of Sal e Pepe Restaurant in Newtown is holding a local “Fork Over Your Vote” poll by offering dry pasta as a way to accurately predict how the National election will turn out November 4th. Here’s customer Scott Boland casting his vote while Angelo looks on. Want to cast your own rigatoni? Sal e Pepe’s will give each customer — even kids — their own rigatoni at the end of the meal. Diners will then be able to cast their vote by placing their pasta in either the McCain or Obama bowl to vote for their preferred candidate. The votes are tallied every week and reported to the national website at ForkOverYourVote.com. Everyone is welcome to participate and track the results online. Interestingly enough, this vote has never been wrong before; in 2004 patrons accurately predicted George W. Bush would win the Presidential Election. Pasta doesn’t lie.

 E-mails don’t lie, either. Remember the old e-mail telling you that you can unlock your car with a cellphone? One of The Bee’s reporters had a chance to put that rumor to the test this weekend when a friend locked herself out of the car. And guess what? It worked. With our reporter holding her cell phone up to the locked car door and her friend clicking the fob button to unlock the car over her phone, the door magically unlocked. Who knew?

Our publisher is wondering if something is living inside the massive vine growing over the telephone lines crossing Mt Pleasant. The vine has rapidly made its way from one side of the road to nearly the other, growing heavier and longer by the hour, it seems. Maybe a lineman was sent up to cut it away and never returned…. Why else would it still be dragging down the wires?

I don’t want to be dragging you away from all the summer fun, but I hope next week you will… Read me again.