Are you ready...

Even though it's only July, I've started getting ads for "back to school" and "back to college" supplies. The Young Relative says he isn't even thinking of the coming school year, but what he IS ready for is some football: Fantasy Football, that is. He has already drafted his team and, over dinner on Friday, carefully explained to me why he selected each player.
People who haven't played it might not realize that Fantasy Football is actually very educational, requiring team owners to apply their skills in statistics, math, current events (you need to know if somebody on your roster will not be suiting up due to, oh, say, an arrest), psychology (Could Coach X be exaggerating Player Y's injury?) and critical thinking (Should I start Tight End Z this week against Defense X?). Owners also have to be conscientious about deadlines and must keep track of the fluctuating NFL schedule (Thursday night games, anyone?).
Personally, I'd add bonus points for witty trash talk directed at your league opponents, but that's just me.

It's hot!

The past week's heat wave was so unpleasant and persistent that even people who say they loathe air conditioning actually broke down and turned it on. I have no compunction about running mine when it gets above 82 or so inside the house. The only bearable time to go out for a run was before 7 a.m., and while I was out there trotting along I got some baffled looks from painters, farmworkers, lawn guys, pool guys and others on their way to work who would be spending the entire sweltering day outside, involuntarily.

Market at Liberty Place

Today I finally got a chance to stop by the Market at Liberty Place, the new hot-spot at State and Center Streets in Kennett Square. It was lunchtime and the place seemed to be doing a roaring business, particularly Rick's Steaks. I went to State Street Pizza and had an excellent slice of white pizza with spinach ($3.95; plain is $1.95) and a glass of delicious fresh orange juice from Nourish (which is rolling out its full café menu July 29). Other shops in the market are Yo'R So Sweet (a crepe and smoothie place), George & Sons Seafood, and Paradocx Vineyards, with room for other shops in the future.
You can eat your food on the enclosed patio on the east side of the building or at a few common tables in the main market, though the seats by Rick's are reserved for their patrons only. I spotted a friend there with her family enjoying the crepes; she said it was the third time in a week she'd been to the Market!
There is parking for the market on the street (metered) and in the lot to the east of the building, but keep an eye on the signs; Liberty Place customers are allotted only some of the spots. Knowing how vigilant Kennett parking officers are, I was a bit worried by a sign that said "Parking by Permit Only" and "All Other Times Parking for The Market at Liberty Place Only." But any new business has to work out little quirks like this.

I chatted with some friends I saw carrying a pizza back to their office and they said they were delighted to have a new option for lunch. And later in the day I was back in town for dinner at the Half-Moon and spotted some Unionville friends coming out of the Market. They were thrilled: "Just what Kennett needs," declared one (my friends are always so darn quotable).
Best of luck to the Bosleys and the vendors!

Mrs. Thompson

RIP Mabel Latta Thompson, a Kennett native, a courageous community leader, a champion for African American civil rights and a maker of history.

New Castle Airport

Frontier Airlines began offering passenger service out of New Castle County Airport on July 1. Frontier is offering nonstop flights to Chicago, Houston, Denver, Orlando and Fort Myers from the airport, which is located on U.S. Route 13 just across the Christina River from Wilmington.

"When the clouds in autumn crack"

A friend of mine buys stuff at garage sales and sells it online, so when I was decluttering recently I consigned to her a few boxes of books and bric-a-brac. Among the books was my college Shakespeare anthology, which I hadn't opened in years (everything's online now). My friend was about to ship it to the buyer when she found tucked inside a typed three-page essay, "Weather Imagery in The Taming of the Shrew," dated September 1977. I got a B and the completely justified comment from Professor Bowden, "To sum up, this is quite good as far as it goes, but it could go further" [sic].

Blue Rocks

A friend reports having a wonderful time at the Wilmington Blue Rocks game this past weekend. The other team made the first run of the game in the top of the 11th inning. Then, with two outs and a full count, a Blue Rocks player hit a home run with one man on base!
She says they had amazing seats along the first base line. In addition to the baseball game, the entertainment included a "cowboy monkey rodeo" and a grand post-game fireworks display. "Very family-friendly" was her summary of the evening.

Munnings show

Some Unionville residents will no doubt be interested in visiting an exhibition by the famed equestrian artist Sir Alfred James Munnings at the National Sporting Museum and Library in Middleburg, Virginia. The show, comprising almost 70 oils and watercolors from private collections and the Munnings Museum in England, runs through Sept. 15.
According to "Wall Street Journal" reviewer Bruce Cole, the "most memorable painting of horse and rider is the 1922 portrait of his second wife, Violet McBride ... The painting shows a slightly smiling Violet standing, dressed in an elegant black riding habit, hand on hip, holding the reins of her grey mount."
I was amazed to learn that Munnings had such a successful and lucrative career while suffering from gout in his hands and with only one eye: had lost the right when he was hit by a thorny branch while rescuing a puppy at the age of 20.

Embreeville development

You've probably started seeing yard signs around Embreeville expressing concern about the proposed development at the former Embreeville Hospital: "Exton Comes to West Bradford," the signs read. (I saw six of the signs on the way home from lunch yesterday.) A developer is proposing to build some 1,000 dwelling units on the 245-acre site in Newlin and West Bradford, and some local residents fear the project will overwhelm winding country roads like Route 162 and lead to higher taxes. There is a lot more information on West Bradford Township's website, with regular updates posted about meetings and hearings.

Hump day

My mother says that at a recent party, she heard that camels are being raised on Amish farms in Lancaster County for their meat. She was quite intrigued by this and asked me to look into it. I checked around but couldn't find anything anywhere about domesticated camels.
A friend of mine said she knew nothing of camels on local farms, but did I know that the man who came up with the idea for the U.S. Camel Corps was, in fact, from Unionville? Apparently he thought camels would be an efficient way for the cavalry to travel out west.
What a great story!
But unfortunately, there was nothing about that online, either. Yes, there WAS a short-lived U.S. Camel Corps, but I couldn't find any connections with Unionville.

Changing stores

The former Hill's Seafood store on Baltimore Pike, east of Bayard Road, has reopened as a Verizon Wireless store. (I remember when it was a Boston Market, maybe 15 years ago.) And a little farther east, the former Bruster's ice-cream shop continues to sit empty for at least the second ice-cream season.

Bloodthirsty

I agree with my colleague Lisa Lightner (she writes this paper's Outdoors column) about the hungry insects this summer. I have never been bitten so often; as I'm typing this I'm scratching several red welts on my arms and neck. The mosquitoes seem to go for my toes and ankles as soon as I swing myself up onto the hammock. It's so satisfying to swat them before they get a chance to bite! (If only international relations were so simple.)
The Cranky Friend raised an interesting science question. When a mosquito bites a human, the immediate itching sensation alerts the human to the insect's presence and allows the human to reach over and kill it. What evolutionary benefit, then, does the mosquito derive from whatever this itch-inducing chemical is? Without it, the mosquito could just fly away and live another day.

Plop

A friend of mine played a round of golf at one of the local courses the other day (she plays at them all) and said that with all the rain we've had recently, when balls land, they just plop down on the saturated ground and don't roll a bit. Couple that with the 90-degree temperatures and she did not have a particularly happy day on the links.

Shutdown week

As all of us Y old-timers know, the Y shuts down for a week each summer for cleaning and repairs. This year the Kennett Y will be closed Aug. 19 through 25. The Jennnersville and Airport Road Ys will be shut Aug. 26 through Sept. 1.
Also, the Jennersville Y is getting a new gym floor, so the gym (just the gym) will be shut Aug. 4 through Sept. 3.

Blood drive

I was just at the post office licking envelopes for a mailing when in walked Dianne Therry, who was coincidentally on the prowl looking for blood donors for the next American Red Cross blood drive, which is going to be from 2 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, at the KOA Campground in Embreeville. You can sign up online (sponsor code 0222215) or by calling the Red Cross at 1-800-Red-Cross or by calling Dianne at 610-347-1684.
I notice that according to the leaflet she gave me, blood donors will get a $2.50 coupon off Turkey Hill ice cream!

Northbound

Michele Sullivan from the Kennett Underground Railroad Center just wrote to me and asked me to spread the word about the group's Underground Railroad tours. Our area was a hotbed for abolitionism in the mid-19th century, and the tours will take you past several of the original houses involved in the network that brought slaves north to freedom.
The 90-minute guided tours start at the Tourist Center just outside Longwood Garden at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 28, and Sunday, Aug. 25. The fee is $20 for adults, $15 for children.
For reservations, leave a message at the Kennett Underground Railroad Center at 484-734-0079.