The five-week series on "Faiths of Our Neighbors" at West Grove Friends Meeting ended with a panel discussion among a Sufi, a Jew, a Hindu and a Buddhist, each of whom had presented a lecture on his or her faith tradition in preceding weeks. I was struck by the way that the practitioners individualized their spiritual practices to create the most meaning for them: meditating alone or with others, or doing yoga, or praying to a favorite god at a shrine, or downloading a mindfulness chime to their smartphones.
The final discussion was a bit cerebral for me, but overall I enjoyed the Wednesday-night talks very much. I'm told they are thinking of doing another series in the spring.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
WAWA: Please build one in Jennersville!
Over large mochas in front of the cozy fire at Foxy Loxy one rainy morning last week, a friend told me that she learned that everyone's favorite convenience store, Wawa, is expanding into the Florida market.
"Florida!" she said with disbelief. "They can build Wawas in Florida but not in Jennersville!"
As soon as she said that, I realized that it would be perfect to have a Wawa near the Jennersville Giant, the Y, the hospital, and the Jenners Pond retirement community. Nary a Wawa exists between Avondale and Nottingham!
I'm sure Wawa's corporate office has a whole team of doctoral-level analysts devoted to crunching statistics on new store placement, but I can guarantee them that I would be a frequent customer.
"Florida!" she said with disbelief. "They can build Wawas in Florida but not in Jennersville!"
As soon as she said that, I realized that it would be perfect to have a Wawa near the Jennersville Giant, the Y, the hospital, and the Jenners Pond retirement community. Nary a Wawa exists between Avondale and Nottingham!
I'm sure Wawa's corporate office has a whole team of doctoral-level analysts devoted to crunching statistics on new store placement, but I can guarantee them that I would be a frequent customer.
Friday, October 24, 2014
BREEDERS' CUP: Win, place or show for these local favorites
The famed Breeders' Cup turf race will be run at Santa Anita Park, California,on Saturday, Nov. 1, and the Nielsen ratings will be sky-high around here, given that two horses with deep local connections will be vying for the $3 million purse. Main Sequence, trained by Graham Motion at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland, was undefeated this year and has won seven of his 17 starts. Hardest Core, trained by Eddie Graham here in Unionville, was the upset winner of the Arlington Million ("Million" as in a $1 million purse) back in August, making him eligible for the Breeders' Cup.
He is owned by Andrew Bentley, son of Greg and Caroline Bentley; his exercise rider is Jody Petty and his groom is Brianne Slater.
NEWLIN: Fallout continues from the new equestrian ordinance
A friend who sees many people from the Unionville equestrian community on a daily basis as part of her job asked me for details about the controversial ordinance regulating equine operations that the Newlin Township supervisors approved on Oct. 13. She said she's asked many of her clients about the specifics of the ordinance -- but they get so angry that she's given up on the idea. She knows I'm not a Newlin resident and don't own an equine business, so she figured it was safer to ask me.
WHITEWATER: Combat-injured vets visit the Grand Canyon
Henry "Hank" Detering of Cochranville, a former Octorara High School principal, is helping to organize a Colorado River rafting trip for 24 combat-wounded, ill, and injured, active-duty U.S. Marines. The 10-day adventure is set for the summer of 2015 and is being run by the Grand Canyon River Runners Association. Hank, a retired Marine, is looking for donations to support the program; the cost to sponsor one of these brave soldiers is $3,500. There is much more information on this program, including Hank's contact information, at the website gcriverrunners.org.
MEMORY: Y staffers have a good memory for names
Back in college my friend George felt a sudden need to improve his memory and, for a few weeks, every time you'd see him he'd be carrying his little brain-training book. One of the tricks, I recall, was to create a vivid narrative to associate people's names with their faces. You could see him trying to do this at parties -- he'd stare at people fixedly. I never noticed that it had much of an impact; maybe he didn't practice enough.
In contrast, whatever the front-desk people at the Y are doing to improve their memories, it's working. They greet me by name every time I walk in, even staffers I don't know and would swear I've never seen before. Very impressive! I don't think Google glasses or face-recognition software is in play, but maybe they have a stash of ginger tea in the break room.
In contrast, whatever the front-desk people at the Y are doing to improve their memories, it's working. They greet me by name every time I walk in, even staffers I don't know and would swear I've never seen before. Very impressive! I don't think Google glasses or face-recognition software is in play, but maybe they have a stash of ginger tea in the break room.
RIVER MUSEUM: A non-Wyeth landscape painter on display
The newest show at the Brandywine River Museum of Art, "Exalted Nature: The Real and Fantastic World of Charles E. Burchfield" was reviewed in the Oct. 7 "Leisure and Arts" page of the Wall Street Journal. The reviewer, Lance Esplund, writes, "On the museum's second and third floors, where foliage and tree limbs nearly press against the glass, one has the feeling of being suspended within the upper reaches of a forest." He finds this "a fitting perch" for the "charming" collection of watercolors and drawings. The show sounds mysterious, compelling and well worth a visit before it closes on Nov. 16.
MEETING ROOMS: Meetings rescheduled to accommodate the election
Municipal meetings are askew for the first week in November to accommodate the Nov. 4 General Election (perhaps you've heard some talk about it). In West Marlborough the monthly township meetings will start at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 3, instead of Tuesday. In East Marlborough the supervisors will meet for their regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5 (and as a bonus, according to the township's website, "immediately preceding the meeting, the Supervisors will hold a public hearing to take comments regarding the Zoning Ordinance Amendments under consideration").
Sunday, October 19, 2014
FAREWELL: Service for Marcus Macaluso
Just a reminder that the memorial service for Marcus Macaluso will be at London Grove Friends Meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25. Marcus died on Oct. 3. I'm told a large crowd is expected because he had so many friends and loved ones in the community.
LONDON GROVE: Faith, practice, tradition and a chicken dinner
London Grove Friends Meeting's 300th birthday party on Saturday was a highlight of the season for me. The chicken dinner by Hood's BBQ was delicious, as were the home-made pies for dessert. The slide show of weddings under the Penn Oak, roast beef suppers and Christmas pageants from years gone by was wonderful. I missed my neighbor Charlie Brosius's burial ground tour but I heard it was fascinating.
My favorite part of the celebration by far was the fellowship. It was so great to see so many friends (or should that be "Friends"?): Barb Pusey, Elinor Thomforde, Betsy Walker, Peg Jones, Anna Myers, Margaret Walton, the Mooberrys, Pat Horrocks, the Newbolds, Dawn Thompson, the Brosiuses, Edyie Joines and Ron Fenstermacher, Ellen Marsden, Karen Halstead, Georgia Delaney, Kelli Trice, Rebecca Mitchell, Eddie Paschall, Ruth Thompson and Leona Provinski, Cintra Murray, Grace Pfeifer, Cathy Quillman, Jill Benjamin and John Hodges, Lou Mandich, the Ciganeks . . . As my date said in amazement, "Every five seconds people were coming up to us!"
I could go on and on -- but I'll stop and just say thank you so much to Sandy Reber and everyone else who worked so hard to pull off this event.
My favorite part of the celebration by far was the fellowship. It was so great to see so many friends (or should that be "Friends"?): Barb Pusey, Elinor Thomforde, Betsy Walker, Peg Jones, Anna Myers, Margaret Walton, the Mooberrys, Pat Horrocks, the Newbolds, Dawn Thompson, the Brosiuses, Edyie Joines and Ron Fenstermacher, Ellen Marsden, Karen Halstead, Georgia Delaney, Kelli Trice, Rebecca Mitchell, Eddie Paschall, Ruth Thompson and Leona Provinski, Cintra Murray, Grace Pfeifer, Cathy Quillman, Jill Benjamin and John Hodges, Lou Mandich, the Ciganeks . . . As my date said in amazement, "Every five seconds people were coming up to us!"
I could go on and on -- but I'll stop and just say thank you so much to Sandy Reber and everyone else who worked so hard to pull off this event.
DOWNWIND: Sending best wishes to Caryl Huffaker!
Best wishes to my friend and fellow columnist Caryl Huffaker. Caryl has been writing her "Downwind" column for as long as I've been reading "The Kennett Paper," and that's been more than 25 years. In last week's column she reported that she was at Chester County Hospital with two infections, and was being kept in isolation -- what a dreadful fate for such a gregarious soul!
THE LAURELS: The covered bridges are open again
What a beautiful autumn day it was for the reopening of the covered bridges in the Laurels, the Brandywine Conservancy's nature preserve off Route 82 near Doe Run. The bridges, used by many hikers and equestrians, had been shut for months so that critical structural repairs could be made.
Speaking at Saturday afternoon's ceremony at the Mary Ann Pyle Bridge over the Buck Run were Virginia Logan and "Frolic" Weymouth from the Conservancy, Amy McKenna of the Buck & Doe Trust, and D. D. Matz, representing the Robert J. Kleberg Jr. & Helen C. Kleberg Foundation (the Klebergs owned the King Ranch).They all thanked the donors who contributed to the project.
Among the "country casual" Unionville crowd I was happy to see the McClungs (human and canine), Janet and Tom Kenny, Georgie and Walter Stapleton, Richard Buchanan, Beth Harpham, Pat Branum, Nancy and John Mohr and their daughter Margot, Ed and Susan Brown, Liz and Jack Bailey, and Charlotte and Frank Reilly.
The event organizers had us enter the Laurels via the Fairview Road gate rather than the usual Apple Grove Road entrance. I'd never driven into the preserve that way before, and the views were stunning.
Mary Ann Pyle was an ancestor of one of my neighbors (he has a picture of her in his living room), and he told me the workers named the bridge in her honor because she kept them well supplied with beverages. Her hospitality continued at Saturday's event with the amazing vegetables, olives, cheeses, dips and other appetizers provided by the caterer, Jamie Minnick, who is based at the New Bolton Center (cateringbyjamie.com). More than one guest told me the food was the best they'd ever seen at such an event and urged me to head straight for the food table -- and these were buffet-hardened cocktail-party veterans! Needless to say, I did -- and in penance refused the golf-cart ride back to the parking area.
Speaking at Saturday afternoon's ceremony at the Mary Ann Pyle Bridge over the Buck Run were Virginia Logan and "Frolic" Weymouth from the Conservancy, Amy McKenna of the Buck & Doe Trust, and D. D. Matz, representing the Robert J. Kleberg Jr. & Helen C. Kleberg Foundation (the Klebergs owned the King Ranch).They all thanked the donors who contributed to the project.
Among the "country casual" Unionville crowd I was happy to see the McClungs (human and canine), Janet and Tom Kenny, Georgie and Walter Stapleton, Richard Buchanan, Beth Harpham, Pat Branum, Nancy and John Mohr and their daughter Margot, Ed and Susan Brown, Liz and Jack Bailey, and Charlotte and Frank Reilly.
The event organizers had us enter the Laurels via the Fairview Road gate rather than the usual Apple Grove Road entrance. I'd never driven into the preserve that way before, and the views were stunning.
Mary Ann Pyle was an ancestor of one of my neighbors (he has a picture of her in his living room), and he told me the workers named the bridge in her honor because she kept them well supplied with beverages. Her hospitality continued at Saturday's event with the amazing vegetables, olives, cheeses, dips and other appetizers provided by the caterer, Jamie Minnick, who is based at the New Bolton Center (cateringbyjamie.com). More than one guest told me the food was the best they'd ever seen at such an event and urged me to head straight for the food table -- and these were buffet-hardened cocktail-party veterans! Needless to say, I did -- and in penance refused the golf-cart ride back to the parking area.
ST. MICHAEL: Bernie would have loved this service
I'm sure you've all sat through dull speeches at memorial services that offer little but bland, generic platitudes.
That was totally not the case at the unforgettable service for the late Bernie Langer on Saturday morning at St. Michael Lutheran Church. (Bernie, who lived in Springdell, West Marlborough Township, died Sept. 24 at age 78.) The Rev. Frederick DeRasmo Jr. donned a blue hard hat while speaking, a nod to Bernie's extremely active role on the church's building committee. "Pastor Rick" had us alternately laughing and reaching for our tissues as he recounted just a few of his experiences, good and bad, over the past two decades with Bernie, who was, in his words, "a character."
Andrea Loveland, who worked for Bernie and his wife, recalled accompanying Bernie and his beloved dog, Alfie, to the Jack Russell races recently; the dogs, she remembered, were not the only ones barking at her. And Gordon Rowe, who brought his adorable newborn daughter to the service, spoke fondly of the life-changing times he spent in idyllic "Langerland" along the banks of the Doe Run.
The music -- traditional hymns and Bach -- was beautiful and entirely appropriate to Bernie's tastes.
The standing-room-only service was a perfect sendoff for a man who will be missed by so many people.
That was totally not the case at the unforgettable service for the late Bernie Langer on Saturday morning at St. Michael Lutheran Church. (Bernie, who lived in Springdell, West Marlborough Township, died Sept. 24 at age 78.) The Rev. Frederick DeRasmo Jr. donned a blue hard hat while speaking, a nod to Bernie's extremely active role on the church's building committee. "Pastor Rick" had us alternately laughing and reaching for our tissues as he recounted just a few of his experiences, good and bad, over the past two decades with Bernie, who was, in his words, "a character."
Andrea Loveland, who worked for Bernie and his wife, recalled accompanying Bernie and his beloved dog, Alfie, to the Jack Russell races recently; the dogs, she remembered, were not the only ones barking at her. And Gordon Rowe, who brought his adorable newborn daughter to the service, spoke fondly of the life-changing times he spent in idyllic "Langerland" along the banks of the Doe Run.
The music -- traditional hymns and Bach -- was beautiful and entirely appropriate to Bernie's tastes.
The standing-room-only service was a perfect sendoff for a man who will be missed by so many people.
PINK FLOYD: Everything under the sun is in tune
A Baby Boomer-age friend reported that earlier in the day she had been listening to Pink Floyd's 1973 classic album "Dark Side of the Moon" -- but for some reason she was feeling discombobulated rather than soothed; her head was "filled with dark forebodings." Eventually she realized why: her device was playing it in "shuffle" mode rather than straight through, the way it should be played and the way she was used to hearing it -- like all of us who grew up in the 1970s. After dozens of listenings, you sensed without thinking when the screaming lady was going to start screaming, and you knew to turn down the volume before the alarm bells blasted out your headphones.
"Dark Side of the Moon" was a soundtrack to our adolescent years, the backdrop to many enjoyable moments, and it just doesn't sound the same broken up into individual tracks. Then again, it was still great listening, even when the car's eight-track tape player would click over to the next track in the middle of a song.
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