Transitions

I'm sure a lot of you remember Tom and Julie Wolfe (and their daughters, Taylor and Blair), who used to live in Unionville but retired to North Carolina a few years back. Well, Tom has written a terrific new book, "Out of Uniform," a wonderfully readable and practical guide for military veterans seeking jobs in the civilian world. Tom is an expert on the subject: a U.S. Navy veteran, he worked for 30 years for a military-to-civilian job-placement firm. I enjoyed his book immensely and the majority of his advice would be useful for any job-seeker, not just someone leaving the service.
For instance, at a job interview:
"NEVER run out of questions! Never decline to ask them when given that option. Make them kick you out the door with questions on your lips."
He uses his friend Rob Pearson's name as a fake boss or company owner in various sample letters, and he throws in anecdotes about his wife that reminded me of what an amusing woman she is and how much we miss her at the gym: 
"As I was preparing for my job search, I was advised to get ready for the "What are your weaknesses?" question. I wrestled with that for a day or two, and, knowing full well I was about to go down a slippery slope, I asked my wife for help. She took it easy on me, only pointing out half a dozen or so weaknesses."
Tom lined up some pretty compelling recommendations for his book, including this one from Mike Krzyzewski, former U.S. Army officer and Duke's men's basketball coach:
"We owe our military service members so much, including the right to compete for a job when they leave the service. This book just might give them that competitive edge. Are you a veteran? Read it! Know a veteran? Make sure he or she has a copy!"
And as a professional copy editor, I was beyond impressed with the fact that I couldn't find a single typo or grammatical error (and I really looked). He even spelled "résumé" correctly throughout!

"Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition" is published by Potomac Books of Washington DC. Cover price is $24.95. There's a lot more information on the book's website, www.out-of-uniform.com.

The York and Ainsty

I'm enjoying Season 1 of the wonderful PBS series "Downton Abbey" on DVD, and in episode 3 there's an exciting foxhunting scene shot at Highclere Castle in Berkshire. I checked the Internet to see how accurate it was, and it gets pretty high marks, though of course there are cavillers who quibbled about things like how Lady Mary was holding her hunting whip (thong end down; imagine!).
For my part, I was watching with the subtitles turned on and got a chuckle out of the fact that the caption referred to the hounds as .... "dogs."

Truth in advertising

A sharp-eyed friend forwarded me an ad for a three-bedroom "executive farmhouse" for rent on North Chatham Road. According to the ad, one of the advantages of the house is that it's only a "short drive to the Whip Tavern."
What my friend found ironic about this is that Gus Brown is the listing agent. Yes, the same Gus Brown who has been complaining vociferously and repeatedly to West Marlborough Township about how that very same Whip Tavern is diminishing the quality of life for him and his Springdell neighbors.
I checked out Mr. Brown's other listings and found that he also has for rent a house only "a stone throw from the popular Whip Tavern." He describes the rancher as "a perfect place to call home." I guess that would be despite the noise, parking, littering and bad behavior he has accused the Whip of generating.
Update: A reader just told me she thinks I'm being unfair to Gus; she is sure he mentioned the Whip in his listings just to provide a geographic landmark.

On the Y axis

The senior Tally-hos recently visited a YMCA in another state (vacation doesn't mean a break from exercise!) and reported that compared to our Kennett and West Chester branches, they found the facility very small. My mother said she picked up a copy of the exercise class schedule, didn't find anything that suited her, and turned the page over, thinking maybe more classes were listed on the other side.
There weren't.

Sunrise, sunset

Have you noticed how much earlier it's getting lighter in the morning, and how much later it's getting dark? Yes, I know, this isn't exactly stop-the-presses material, but it just seems more dramatic to me this winter for some reason.
It used to be utterly pitch-dark at 7:05, when the boys next door catch the school bus. Now the sun is already over the horizon and I can actually see the school bus arriving, not just its running lights (this morning it had to jockey with a propane delivery truck on my narrow road).
And it seems like just a few weeks ago the sun would've been close to setting by 4 p.m., when I'm writing this item. It's still light and it will be til 5.

Man U Rules OK

I was waiting at a red light at the Jennersville intersection Monday morning when I noticed a familiar-looking sticker on the window of the vehicle in front of me: the red and yellow logo of Manchester United, the fabled British soccer team (or football clubm as they would say). My British friend George, despite living near Portsmouth, is a huge fan and, in return for an Eagles cap, sent me a Man U one.

I happened to be wearing it Monday, so I beeped at the woman in front of me and waved my cap out the window, logo facing forward. She gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up!

There's an appy for that

Here's a situation doctors probably don't learn about in med school.
A young friend of mine showed up at the gym on Monday after a lengthy absence. She explained that the day before Thanksgiving she started feeling sick at work but thought it was just indigestion. When she got home and felt no better, her mother took her to Lancaster General in the early morning hours, and sure enough it was appendicitis.
The surgeon came in to talk to her before the laparoscopic operation and she begged him to please avoid the elaborate tattoo on her lower abdomen when making his incision.
He did, but alas he couldn't avoid two of her abdominal piercings.

I wish I'd known about her operation earlier, because I would have sent her a toy appendix from www.iheartguts.com. This hip little Washington DC-based company, founded by an illustrator, sells adorable plush toys in the shape of internal organs. I bought a pancreas for a friend of mine with a nasty case of pancreatitis. How about a bright-red heart, with major blood vessels attached, for Valentine's Day?

Plaza Azteca

I'd been hearing good things about Plaza Azteca, the new restaurant in the little shopping center behind Applebee's, so the four of us stopped by for dinner on Saturday night.
The verdict?
"I can't wait to come back," said one family member.
"I give it an 11," said another.
The food was delicious and hot and the service was lightning fast. Even though the place has been open for only two weeks, it was nearly full by 6 p.m.

It's very kid-friendly -- the fast service will minimize stomach-rumbling and fidgeting -- and most of the patrons were families. There's a kid's menu, although the younger member of my family was very adventurous and ordered the Plaza del Mar, which was tilapia, scallops and shrimp in a delicious seafood alfredo sauce with mango salsa (there was very little left to take home).
The other dishes we ordered were Texas fajitas (chicken, steak and shrimp); Steak Ranchero with rice and beans; and Spinach & Chicken enchiladas. They brought us extra taco chips and kept replenishing our iced tea.
We didn't order the much-talked-about tableside-made guacamole, but we did see the cart they wheel over to your table to make it.
Our waitress, Gladys, could not have been nicer, and the manager stopped by our table to ask how things were going. And one football fan in our group was extremely impressed that, at her request, the manager turned on the TVs so we could watch the unbelievable 49ers vs. Saints game.
You can see the menu at www.plazaazteca.com. Plaza Azteca is a chain of restaurants in six states, and judging from our experience they have a formula that works.

Birdland

Here’s one for your birding life list!

On Dec. 30 my friends David and Connie Carter reported seeing a very rare albino pileated woodpecker near their home in Pocopson. 

Connie said: "The typical pileated woodpecker is a remarkable 16 – 19 inches high, has black and white feathers, and is the only woodpecker with a flaming red crest. In flight their large wings flash black and white." 

She said the albino pileated they saw on several occasions "is almost pure white, retaining the flaming red crest on the top of its head.  This is a different bird from the “extinct” Ivory-billed woodpecker found in the south."

"One birder from the West Chester Bird Club said he sat at Shaw’s bridge last year after one was seen last January for over 4 hours – excluding the time he went for coffee - and never saw it."

Connie was kind enough to share two photos of this remarkable bird.