Postponed

If only I got paid by the meeting like I did at the beginning of my journalism career! On Jan. 17 the West Marlborough supervisors had a conditional-use hearing that lasted all of two minutes; their only action was to postpone the Russell Jones spent compost hearing until 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21. One resident came in a few minutes late and missed the whole thing!
The court reporter, Bill Handy, had been forewarned that it was going to be a very brief meeting, so he brought his wife along and the two of them headed out to The Whip for dinner as soon as he packed up his court reporting machine.

Tires and turtles

Sure, a lot of places boast that they offer their customers "free Wi-Fi," and that's great, but really: how many have waiting rooms with two turtles and a great big South American fish swimming in a huge tank, overstuffed chairs, and a coffee table piled with current newspapers and magazines? Colledge Tire on West Cypress Street does, as I found out when I got a tire repaired there yesterday. The cause of the slow leak (which was quickly becoming a fast leak) turned out to be an inch-and-a-half-long nail. They fixed it and had me on my way in a half-hour. Loved those turtles!

Chasing

Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing "Chasing," a short documentary about steeplechasing and specifically about Unionville's own Jake Chalfin. 
According to the press release: "The 23-minute film, produced for horse racing cable channel HRTV’s “Inside Information” series, looks inside the world of American steeplechasing through the eyes of an injured former jockey learning to cope with his new reality. The uplifting film features the beauty of steeplechasing and Thoroughbred racing as well as one person’s struggle to deal with a life-changing blow. An amateur jockey, Chalfin was injured in a fall at a point-to-point in 2010 and paralyzed from the chest down."
Jake is the true star of the show: he's articulate, inspiring and genuine. But it's also fun to see several locals on screen, as well as lots of shots of the Willowdale Steeplechase and some "helmet-cam" footage. The gorgeous green fields and hills of summertime Unionville are on full display, a welcome contrast to our current boot-sucking mud.
The premiere, hosted by Jake and filmmaker Kristy Cecil, was held at the Stroud Water Research Center in West Marlborough on Friday (complete with popcorn!). The film will be aired on the cable channel HRTV at 8, 8:30, and 11 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27.
Congratulations to everyone involved in making this beautiful and deeply moving film. At dinner afterward a friend of mine said he could have sat there and watched it several times in a row, and I completely agree.

Time to de-decorate

Not to sound like one of those zero-tolerance homeowners' associations ... but, really, it's nearing the end of January. Your Christmas wreath and garlands are turning brown and depressing, and it's high time to take them down. Christmas lights I will tolerate a little longer just because I love that super-bright gaslight blue color. Thank you.

Silver lining

I decided to clean out my jewelry box, getting rid of anything that's not wearable or that no longer carries any sentimental value, and this afternoon I boxed it up and took it all to Kennett Square Jewelers at 123 West State Street. They quickly sorted out the "good stuff" from the costume jewelry, peered at stones and chains under magnification, did an actual acid test on one antique piece (it was indeed gold!) and paid me a surprising amount for the whole kit and caboodle. The cozy little shop sells lovely things, including some nice amethysts and opals in vintage settings; definitely worth a visit whether you're buying or selling.

Flu days

Let me tell you, it was pretty much a Slough of Despond at the local drugstore this morning. There was a long line of sick people waiting dispiritedly for their prescriptions, one looking more miserable than the next. One poor fed-up guy took issue with the prescription he'd been given, telling the pharmacist that he was certain it wasn't what his doctor had ordered, nor had he been given the proper number of pills. Meanwhile the intercom kept announcing yet another phone call for the pharmacist. It was about as cheerful as the Mines of Moria, if the Mines of Moria sold lozenges and tissues. I felt like apologizing for being so perky and healthy; I was just there to purchase a cane for an injured friend. I got out of there as fast as I could to avoid inhaling germs.

Jam for the Soldiers

My pal Dave Dickens is organizing a music festival on March 9 to benefit Project Healing Waters, which provides therapeutic fly-fishing programs for active-duty soldiers and veterans. 

Dave reports that the band lineup for "the 1st Annual Jam for the Soldiers" is "Hake and Jarema, Gateway Drugs, HellSaddle, Josh Komorowski and the Sons of Thunder, Mason Porter, The Rolling Thunder Blues Revue, WaveRadio, The Sermon!, and The Wallace Brothers Band. We may have a surprise visitor from Nashville as well. Talk about a lineup!" 

The event will be at the Dixons' Thorncroft Equestrian Center, 190 Line Rd., Malvern. Tickets are $20 each (you can get them at the door), with all proceeds going to Project Healing Waters.

Chinese food

I had lunch today at the Kings Island Chinese restaurant on Baltimore Pike and was pleased to see that they're having their all-you-can-eat Chinese New Year buffet again. This year it's on three Sundays: February 10, 17, and 24. "Happy Snake Year!" reads the poster.

Slow down

If you're heading north on Newark Road from Toughkenamon, lighten up on the accelerator: the speed limit has been lowered to 25 m.p.h. I think the change was made quite recently, because there's still a warning sign at the curve in front of Modern Mushrooms telling motorists to slow down to 30 m.p.h. The limit goes up to 40 m.p.h. near the Route 1 bypass.

Tapeworm Road

An author named Dennis Wolfe of the Columbia-Mountour Area Vocational-Technical School in Bloomsburg wrote to me asking if I know how Tapeworm Road here in West Marlborough got its name. He said he's working on a book about "scenes and events" throughout Pennsylvania, and one chapter focuses on odd road names. This one certainly qualifies. If you have any information, you can email him at DWolfe@cmvt.us.
Dennis sent me two funny photos from his collection of Pennsylvania road signs. One sign welcomes visitors to Freeland, which it boasts is Pennsylvania's highest borough, with an elevation of 1,942 feet. A contradictory sign, from the borough of Eagles Mere, however, gives an elevation of 2,126 feet.

Under construction

As the next step in Kennett Y's ongoing renovation, the cycling studio, located off the gymnasium, is being expanded. This means that the adjacent equipment-storage room has to be emptied, so all the mats, dumbbells, bars, weights, and other equipment have been moved to the periphery of the gym (transferring all of the weights must have have been a good workout in itself!). I was in a hurry to pick up my hand weights before class on Tuesday and grabbed a 10-lb weight and a 12-lb weight instead of an identical set. I realized the discrepancy surprisingly late into class.
Before the workers dismantled it, the vacant equipment-storage room looked like something out of that old furniture store, This Side Up, with a wooden ladder and plywood platforms. The Y tells us that this phase of the work will take about two or three weeks.

Ice cream in downtown Unionville?

An article in last week's Kennett Paper mentioned that an ice-cream parlor is being proposed for downtown Unionville! Being a big fan of ice cream, I asked around to find out a little bit more information. Jerry Brown of Newlin Township is the one who's contemplating the venture, which would be located in the building that until recently housed Andra Rudershausen's quilt shop. The East Marlborough Township supervisors are researching how such a business should be categorized and regulated under the zoning code, as either a retail shop or a restaurant.