This week's stink bug story

I came home from the gym especially thirsty and downed a nice cold glass of pure West Marlborough water. Then I noticed that there was a stink bug clinging under the spigot, right where the water comes out. I'd just enjoyed a full glass of what was essentially stink bug bath water.

Touching a chord

I love to see people who take joy in their job, especially if it's a job worth doing.
My former colleague Gloria Hoffner takes her guitar around to retirement communities, assisted-living homes, adult day-care centers and other facilities and conducts sing-alongs with the residents: holiday songs, hymns, oldies, patriotic songs, you name it.
She seems to have as much fun as the residents do, and she finds that familiar music somehow "gets through" to even patients suffering from memory loss. On her website she gives the following as a few examples:
1) A former Girl Scout leader now suffering with dementia recalled the past. I played campfire songs for her and six weeks later she was still talking about the sing-a-long to her children and facility staff!
2) A husband and wife's special memory. I played love songs and the wife, who had severe dementia and was usually not speaking, spoke up and delighted her husband when she said, "They were playing that song when we met."
3) A resident with dementia who almost never speaks, who sings every word of "Amazing Grace" when I do the weekly sing-a-long.
Gloria's website is http://www.guitarwithgloria.com/. She also does science programs for seniors!

Pax Verizon

The other day a friend's Droid rang in the middle of a meal, and it sounded exactly like church bells chiming (though it was actually a grandfather clock). He said he chose the ringtone because if he forgets to turn his phone off during Mass at St. Patrick's, his fellow churchgoers will just assume it's bells from some other place of worship across town on a Sunday morning.

You know the place

We are so insular in Unionville sometimes! Yesterday I was giving directions to a friend who lives toward West Grove and told her the usual landmarks: pass Blow Horn, turn right at such-and-such's place, that sort of thing. We get used to dealing only with the local people who know perfectly well where these things are.
But, quite reasonably, she gave me a completely blank look, and I laughed at myself and remembered how baffling and aggravating it was when I first moved here. I apologized and reverted to actual street directions, not using anybody's farm name, what grazes in the pasture, or who used to own it.

Lighten up

The West Marlborough township meeting on March 1 was all about lights in the night.

• A Springdell resident told the supervisors that the light coming from Richard Hayne's greenhouses one night was so bright that "it was like we had a UFO land in the middle of the field."

(You'll recall that Richard Hayne, the billionaire founder of the Urban Outfitters chain, is installing large greenhouses and "potting sheds" on the former Tony Young property.)
The township engineer, Al Giannantonio, said he would check into what screening was supposed to be installed around the site to block the light.
Bright lights, small village.

• And then a representative from the owner of a large farm on Route 82 asked if the township could install a street light at the end of the farm's long driveway to discourage criminals; the owner's car was stolen recently. The supervisors suggested that the owner could install a pole light herself, or perhaps could provide illumination for the farm's outbuildings. (Police Lieut. Robert C. Clarke added that there have been a few car thefts recently along Route 82 in both East and West Marlborough, and some of the vehicles have been found in Reading.)
• In other business at the meeting, township building inspector Eddie Caudill reported that it was a "really busy" month for him: he issued permits for Lockwood Rush to install solar panels at his Newark Road home and for Mr. Hayne to demolish a house on the former Thouron property (which he also owns) and to gut the interior of a stable and to convert it into a dining room and kitchen.

Sushi Sunday

For the seventh year in a row, three dear friends and I celebrated Chinese New Year's by going out for a wonderful meal. For a change, this February we met at a Japanese restaurant, Kyoto, rather than at the King's Island Chinese restaurant, which is still closed after a 2010 fire (an insurance dispute is holding up renovations, I'm told).
We had an absolutely delicious and memorable meal. Doug and I both ordered the sushi lunch platter (miso soup, followed by six kinds of sushi and California rolls); Stef had a Kyoto lunch box sampler, which included sashimi, tempura and fried rice; and Joe had the chicken curry and a few pieces of sushi. All were beautifully presented.
Japanese restaurants are rarely known for their desserts, but Kyoto is a happy exception. We split three exquisite desserts: a heart-shaped cake with raspberry mousse ("It's like a giant petit-four!" said Doug); a rich chocolate and nut layer cake; and green-tea ice cream.
For all that delicious food, the bill for four of us was only $100, which I found very reasonable.
The four of us met probably 15 years ago, while serving on a nonprofit board, and although we are very different personalities, we never have any trouble spending the better part of the afternoon eating and talking and laughing, catching up on what we've been doing and what's going on with friends, family and the community. What marvelous friends!
Kyoto is located in that little shopping center just east of the Wal-Mart on Baltimore Pike, behind the Hilton Garden Inn. It's a BYOB. (They also have locations on New Linden Hill Road in Delaware and the Shoppes at Dilworthtown Crossing in West Chester.)

Giant changes

"Grand Re-opening!" trumpeted last week's Giant circular, so I made a special trip to the New Garden supermarket to inspect the alterations. The biggest change is that the health food products have their own special section toward the center of the store, rather than being in a regular aisle near the produce area. There's an enlarged take-out section near the deli, and I think some of the self-checkout scanners are new.
Best of all, although this isn't anything to do with renovations, there were hyacinths and daffodils for sale in the floral section!

An amiable dwelling

The late Mrs. Hannum's 60-acre estate, Brooklawn, is on the market for $2.9 million. The house, which dates back to 1791, is at 1825 Newark Road in West Marlborough. Chris Patterson of Patterson-Schwartz, Greenville, has the listing.
Part of the 1964 Alfred Hitchcock movie "Marnie" was filmed at Brooklawn (as well as at Rokeby Mill nearby on Route 82); the late Susan Cocks Small Jones did the riding in the film.

Mary D. Lang

Sounds like there is an unpopular move afoot to remove Mary D. Lang's name from the school on Center Street in Kennett Square when it becomes a kindergarten center beginning in the 2011-12 school year. I saw this petition on Facebook:
"This building was named after Miss Mary D. Lang, a teacher and well-known resident of Kennett Square. Miss Lang began her teaching career in 1883 and served 44 years in the profession, which was said to be some sort of a record in the state of Pennsylvania. In 1931 she was recognized for her years of service at the dedication of the new Kennett Consolidated School. In June of 1940, the community playground located on the corners of Center and Cedar Streets was named after her. Children from the town would go to the playground to play box hockey and basketball. Movies were even shown on the side of the building for the town. When the building was turned into a school in 1972 her name remained and the school became Mary D. Lang Elementary School. ...
We, the undersigned, oppose the plan to rename Mary D. Lang Elementary when it becomes a kindergarten center for the start of the 2011 school year. We call on the Kennett Consolidated School District and its Board of Directors to maintain the name Mary D. Lang for the new kindergarten center."