SPRING: A welcome change

Maybe it's just because Old Man Winter overstayed his welcome (all those curtain calls!), but hasn't this spring been especially delightful? My spirit has been warmed by the blooming forsythia, spirea, maples, and redbud; the daffodils, grape hyacinths, bleeding heart, bloodroot, and trout lily; and the cheerful songs of the birds and the pond peepers. The goldfinches at my backyard feeder are already in breeding plumage, the bunnies are frolicking, the Weaver's Mulch trucks are much in evidence, and the garden centers are full of folks getting their properties in shape.

KENNETT: Plant sale

The 52nd annual Kennett Beautification Plant Sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28, along the Genesis Walkway in downtown Kennett Square. You can park in the parking garage for free. On sale will be plants to attract bees and butterflies, annuals and perennials for sun and shade, herbs, vegetables, hanging baskets, unusual specimens, and plants grown and dug by garden club members and friends from the community. The sale will also feature a local grower of dahlias. Proceeds benefit those beautiful barrel plantings along State Street that help make the town look so attractive.

KENNETT: Check your medicine cabinet

Most of the items in my little column are, as you've doubtless noticed, pretty light fare. This one is not. It's about the prescription drug takeback program that Kennett Township and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency are holding. On Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can drop off pills or patches, no questions asked, at the Kennett Township Building at 801 Burrows Run Road.
All you need to do is read the obituaries to see what a scourge drug abuse has become even here in Chester County. People get hooked on pain medications and then move on to heroin because it's less expensive. At least once a week I see an obit of a youth in his 20s, with his whole life ahead of him, and I can't imagine the pain his family and friends have gone through -- and are still going through. Sometimes I'll visit the youth's Facebook page and see that he has written about his multiple attempts to beat his addiction, sometimes even recording his "clean time." We had breakfast the other day with a Landenberg woman who lost her son to addiction; she's now focusing her energy on publicizing the problem, lobbying lawmakers, and helping other youths to stay sober. 
The press release for the April 28 takeback program reports that "Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards."

KENNETT: Bella notte

The social hall at Kennett Friends Meetinghouse was transformed into an Italian restaurant on Saturday for Boy Scout Troop 24's spaghetti dinner, complete with red-and-white checked tablecloths and even an accordion-player to serenade us (he's a Scout dad). The tomato sauce, meatballs and mushrooms were delicious as always, and the uniformed Scouts were prompt and polite waiters and bussers. We said hi to Scout mom Sally Warren, who was setting out the array of desserts. Our decadent choice was chocolate cake topped with chocolate icing and chocolate chips.

PENNSBURY: Pocopson Road to be closed

Starting at the end of April, Pocopson Road is going to be closed from Route 926 to Parkersville Road so that PennDOT can rebuild the "structurally deficient" bridge over Pocopson Creek. The project is expected to last until September. PennDOT says that 1,685 vehicles cross the 89-year-old bridge each day.

TIME TRAVEL: A book report

If you're looking for a great read, get a copy of Stephen King's novel "11/22/63." I finished it last night and enjoyed it more than I have any book in a long time. In the 2011 novel, schoolteacher Jake Epping goes back in time to 1958 (through a portal tucked away in a diner) to try to prevent President Kennedy's assassination and a few other tragedies along the way.
I loved the way that Jake noticed and tried to adapt to the 1950s and early 1960s in terms of cars, clothes, language, music and morals; one time he forgot himself and belted out "Honky-Tonk Woman," raising his girlfriend Sadie's suspicions. He doesn't miss computers or the internet at all -- though his cell phone certainly could have come in handy.
I hadn't read any Stephen King books since "Salem's Lot," many years ago, and had my doubts when a dear friend started raving about "11/22/63." I was quickly drawn in.
Although the book is 850 pages long, you'll have no trouble keeping the characters or the plot straight. It's a terrific, suspenseful page-turner and kept me enthralled throughout.

CHADDS FORD: A new challenge

A group of us were chatting the other evening about the changing of seasons, and our friend who is a recent transplant from Manhattan to Chadds Ford is realizing that he is going to have to mow his lawn -- a new challenge for the former urbanite.
Let the yard dry out a little, a friend advised; you don't want the tractor making ruts.
I suggested that he hire a lawn service, but he rejected that idea forcefully: he is bound and determined to become a suburbanite.
Another friend looked over at me skeptically.
"Right," he said. "Let's see what he says in a few months."