Stars without makeup

Before having her new passport photo taken, a friend of mine had her face tastefully "done" by a professional makeup artist so she wouldn't have one of those mugshots that embarrass so many travelers.
The only problem is, she wears makeup for special occasions only. So on her trip to Australia, she said, the guard at every security checkpoint did a visible double-take when comparing the cosmetically enhanced photo to her everyday face.
"No makeup," she explained simply.

Traps for bugs

My high-school friend Eric is one of the few people who actually gets excited about stink bugs -- but that stands to reason, considering that his Exton company, nth Solutions, makes stink bug traps. Here's his response to last week's item about how we were getting off relatively lightly so far this year.
"It's still waaaaaaaay too early for the little fellas! Peak indoor infestations begin closer to the end of March and will last through mid-May. The ones coming out now are responding to convection heating of the walls and attics, but most will remain dormant (overwintering) for at least a few more weeks. Here's hoping for a banner year and LOTS of trap sales!!!"
Thanks for that, Eric.
And don't forget about the stink bug sticker made by Kennett's own Hal Lewis! The "Stik-a-Bug," available at Hal's State Street auto service shop, is a long-handled device with a sticky pad that traps the insects.

Clothes and the man

Though relations have thawed appreciably in recent months between billionaire Dick Hayne and his neighbors here in West Marlborough, Mr. Hayne and Urban Outfitters, the company he founded and runs, are still attracting plenty of controversy elsewhere, reports the "Philadelphia Business Journal."
Urban Outfitters drew the wrath of the Navajo Nation by selling a line of clothes, including women's underwear, with purportedly Navajo motifs. The tribe has sued, saying this infringes on their trademark.
And the Congressional Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs asked the company to pull its St. Patrick's Day T-shirts, which linked Irish people and heavy drinking (for instance, a green T-shirt with the wording "I'm a Drinker, Not a Fighter" and a another saying "Irish I Were Drunk").

Local government

Nothing dramatic happened at the West Marlborough Township supervisors' meeting on Tuesday, March 6, just the day-in-day-out stuff that townships do.
1. The supervisors heard about a July 4 bike race (with time trials the day before) that's going to start at Brooklawn, Mrs. Hannum's former home, on Newark Road. The cyclists will ride out to Chatham and back over a 13-mile loop.
2. Wayne Grafton, currently an alternate member of the township's Zoning Hearing Board, will be asked to join the board as a full member to replace Charlie Brosius, who has retired.
3. In an effort to resolve the ongoing dispute between The Whip tavern and some of its disgruntled neighbors in Springdell, Supervisor Bill Wylie announced that two private meetings have been held between all the parties and one of the supervisors. (Under the state's "Sunshine Law" all municipal business must be done in public, which means supervisors aren't allowed to discuss township matters in private, except for a few exceptions like legal and personnel matters. By limiting participation in these meetings to only one supervisor, the board is avoiding even the appearance of improper private discussion.)
4. The township hasn't heard anything more about Dick Hayne's greenhouse complex at his Doe Run Farm in Springdell. Last year he filed an application seeking permission to process vegetables that he grows there, but then withdrew the application and hasn't refiled it.
5. The supervisors want to increase by two the size of the township's Planning Commission.
See? I told you it wasn't much. Even so, it attracted the usual crowd of about 25 citizens who like to keep up with what's going on.

Frailty, thy name is ...

Over the weekend a friend of mine took advantage of the glorious sunshine to take a hike with her boyfriend and four dogs in the beautiful ChesLen Preserve. Alas, about a quarter-mile in, she slipped while crossing a creek and broke her ankle. Thank goodness for cell phones! Her boyfriend phoned her parents, who arrived promptly from Cochranville. Her mother splinted the ankle, and her boyfriend and her father managed to carry her out to the road, setting her down several times. Her mother took charge of the dogs.
They headed to the ER at Chester County Hospital, where the doctor applied a temporary cast, and the next stop was the orthopaedist.
My friend is an English teacher, and I'm told she was due to start teaching "Hamlet" today. That's appropriate: didn't Ophelia have an unfortunate encounter with a body of water as well?

Passion

Some young people, like the irresponsible Richard Carston in "Bleak House," just can't seem to "settle" into an occupation. Others have always known exactly what they want to do. A friend was telling me that her son, who will graduate this year with a mechanical engineering degree, just landed a job designing equipment for a major farm-machinery manufacturer. As a boy, she said, he loved tractors, to the point that he would haunt the local lawn-equipment store and deplete their stocks of promotional literature. As a teenager, he even became certified in the products made by what will soon be his employer. That might just have clinched the job interview, don't you think?

Good eats

If you should find yourself (a) hungry and (b) up in the Exton area, I recommend Bistro 24, a revamped diner at the corner of Route 100 and Marchwood Road, between the Exton crossroads and Lionville. I've been there twice in the past week, and the food and service are excellent. It's got all the usual comfort food -- breakfast, club sandwiches, meatloaf -- and something you don't often see in Chester County: a falafel platter! Yum! At lunch the other day I had tuna salad on a croissant, and for dessert a big piece of strawberry shortcake. The latter was so good that a woman at a neighboring table saw ours and ordered a piece herself.
I'm assuming the name comes from the fact that the place is open 24/7.

On the market

A Newlin friend of mine sent me the listing for her neighbor's house, which just went on the market. The ad says that the house is "in the heart of horse country" (that's for sure) and then gives a bizarre little paragraph describing Unionville: "Unionville, Pennsylvania, in Chester county, is 14 miles NW of Wilmington, Delaware (center to center) and 30 miles W of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Unionville residents donated more money to George W. Bush than to the other candidates in the 2004 Presidential race. Across all electoral races, the Republican party attracted the most donations from the town."
The locator map, however, showed the "other" Unionville, the one north of State College, so I'm not sure whether the information about our largesse to W applies to here or there. 

Open House

Brenda Hillard, who owns Tender Touch in Ercildoun, is celebrating the tack and gift shop's 17th anniversary "in this beautiful community" with an open house on Saturday, March 24, and Sunday, March 25. There will be refreshments and door prizes, and Brenda says that "many of our local artists, crafters and authors will be at the shop throughout the weekend. A special thank you to those who have supported my business throughout the years."
Tender Touch is, of course, right next to the Triple Fresh market at Route 82 and Buck Run Road.

Thanks!

A giant thanks to the kind readers who take the time to send me fan mail. Last week Susan Ross Clark, a local woman who now lives in New York, shared an excellent scary story about her encounter with a possible Yeti in Unionville. And this week Jean Baiordi suggested that I check out Spring Run Natural Foods on Route 1 -- where Phillips Mushroom Museum used to be -- while waiting, and waiting, and WAITING for the Whole Foods supermarket to open on Concord Pike. "I'm sure you will find the man helpful who works there," she said.
And thanks, also, to the many readers who send me story ideas, and my wonderful friends who do and say such amusing things that I simply have to write about them. You know who you are. And a shout-out to Eileen's friends, the Moms at the Kennett Co-op!

Results

Last week I wrote about a rider (and faithful Tilda reader) whose filly took a tumble after being spooked by a speeding vehicle at Route 926 and Lamborntown Road. Our West Marlborough Township police officer, Bob Clarke, promptly headed out there and wrote some speeding tickets.
The response from the rider: "Happy doesn't describe the feeling I had when I saw people riding their brakes past the intersection... I knew he was down the road before I even saw him! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!"
Alas, a prominent local jockey (and very nice guy) reported on his Facebook page over the weekend that he had an unpleasant encounter with a group of bicyclists. 
"While riding today I asked the cyclists to wait till I got in the driveway so the horse didn't kick anyone, but as they couldn't wait I said, guys, I want to get off the road before you pass." The response to his reasonable request was short and unprintable. 
"Worst is, only a month ago my horse spooked at the bikes. I fell off as he tripped himself up spooking and got loose -- and not one person stopped to see if all was ok."
I know that most bicyclists are polite and responsible -- but others are rude, leave litter behind and ride side by side and refuse to pull over. Show some respect!

No snow

We're into March, and I fear that the window of opportunity for having a proper winter storm with heaps of snow is rapidly closing. The crocus are in bloom, daylight savings time is approaching, and my heating bill has plummeted. But looking on the bright side, at least our local municipalities are saving lots of money, not having to pay for snowplowing and salting. And the school district hasn't had to extend the school year to make up for snow days.

Pests

How's the stinkbug situation in your home? It's not bad at all here. I'm getting maybe a half-dozen a day, mostly on walls, windows, pillows, and power cords, and perhaps one will spray me with its foul stench. And on Sunday evening when I went to check my schedule for this coming week, two of them were nestled in my schedule-book. But it's a far cry from last year, when the walls and ceilings were simply covered with the pests and you'd find them inside your shirt sleeves and pant legs. I'll leave it to the entomologists to explain why.