Memorial Day

Some good citizen has put up American flags to mark the dozen-or-so veterans' graves in the old African-American cemetery (West Marlborough AME Church) on Upland Road west of Ryan Road. These brave men fought in the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in the Civil War.
By the way, somebody along Upland Road has a peacock in residence. I could hear him shrieking while I was visiting the graveyard.

"Too much noise, Grace!"

It was a cold, rainy Sunday, and there was no possibility of taking a walk, so for the first time in literally years I went to the movies. A friend warned me to expect boorish behavior in the cinema, like oblivious youths jabbering away on their cell phones, and ear-splitting soundtracks.
I did experience a bit of sticker shock ($9.50 for a ticket, $7 for not-great popcorn), but my fellow patrons were perfectly civilized and polite, and I wasn't bothered at all by the volume level.
I mentioned to my friend how wrong she had been, and she gave me an incredulous look.
"Tilda," she pointed out, "you went to see Jane Eyre."

Turned out

The primary election was May 17. Here are the turnout percentages in our area:

• East Marlborough (3 precincts): 10%, 26%, 27%
• Highland Township: 14%
• Kennett Square (3 precincts): 7%, 12%, 17%
• Kennett Township (4 precincts): 10%, 12%, 12%, 37%
• Londonderry: 10%
• London Grove (2 precincts): 17%, 32%
• Newlin: 18%
• Pennsbury (4 precincts): 14%, 15%, 17%, 44% (the Kendal effect)
• Pocopson: 16%
• West Marlborough: 22%

Down in Franklin Township, where there was a controversial open-space tax referendum on the ballot (which meant that voters not registered as Republicans or Democrats could come to the polls), turnout was 44%. The referendum was voted down.
For more interesting numbers, go to Chester County's website (http://www.chesco.org/) and look for "Election Results."

Bad waiter

As regular readers know, I eat out quite a lot, so I have a very high regard for waiters and waitresses. With good grace, they put up with all kinds of indecisiveness and esoteric requests from their customers, and they are jolly people and very pleasant company.
But as with everything, there's an exception: I had a truly bad waiter the other day.
The first strike was when he called me "my dear." The second was when he kept putting his hand on my dinner companion's back. The third was when he commented, "no problem" and "good choice" to our menu selections.
Naturally, his meager tip reflected those deficiencies. It was the first time we'd ever seen him at this establishment, and I doubt he'll last long.

Dude!

Local real-estate agent Brett Jones is featured in "Urban Cowboy," a fashion spread in the June issue of "Delaware Today" magazine.
Writes the author, Carroll Ivy Laurence: "Well, pardner, if you’re the kind of guy who manages to blend needlepoint belts, madras shorts and hippie accessories—and still look like a movie star —you’ve got Brett Jones down."
The photo shows Brett standing in the English-style pub at his mother's Doe Run home.

Summer reading

I don't think I've ever met a guy who enjoys his job more than John Hendrix, the children's librarian at the Bayard Taylor library. When I stopped by the other day he was at his desk sorting large photographs of baby and adult animals that he's going to have kids match up during one of his programs. And he couldn't wait to tell me about all the activities he has planned for the 2011 summer reading program, the theme of which is "One World, Many Stories" (a natural for John, who is an avid traveler). Sign-ups start June 1, and the kick-off party is Saturday, June 18, at Kennett's Anson Nixon Park.

Better Vibes

"The Centre for Vibrant Living" has taken over what used to be former doctor Peter Fabulian's medical office at 115 Marshall Street. I stopped in the other day and chatted with one of the owners, Doreen Moore (her partners are Karen Duncan and Cornelia Elsaesser). The "nurturing sanctuary" offers New Age treatments like Reiki as well as nutritional coaching and other classes. There's more information on http://www.thecentreforvibrantliving/ -- and yes, it's "centre"; it seems the website name for "center" was already taken.

Water

A friend who lives in a more developed area of our county gave me an astonished look when I told him that when we lose electric power, we don't have running water or a toilet because, yes, it takes electricity to run the well pump. He is on a public water system, and apparently I am his only friend with well water.
I did some quick online research and found that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the total U.S. population (304,059,724 persons), about 88% (269,911,707) have public water. In Pennsylvania, however, only about 54% do (5,805,181 of the state's 10,699,115 residents).

Turning left

This is great news: left-turn traffic lights are being installed at Prospect Avenue and Evergreen Street in downtown West Grove, in front of the Assumption BVM Church! Only someone who has sat through a couple of traffic-light cycles waiting to turn left onto Prospect Avenue (Route 841) can appreciate this development.
When I drove by May 16 on my way home from the Jennersville YMCA, the lights were still ensconced in burlap bags, but I imagine they'll be up and running presently. The morning of May 19, two workers from Telco, a Reading traffic-light company, were staring up at the bagged lights and having what seemed to be an intense discussion about them.

High Tide and Green Grass

The northeast corner of Hood Road and Route 926 is a menace, winter and summer. In winter snowdrifts block the view of motorists trying to cross 926; in summer it's high weeds growing on the bank. I don't know if it's the township's responsibility (Londonderry) or the land owner's to keep the weeds cropped, but it really is dangerous: you have to inch out well into the road to see if traffic is coming.