D'oh!

Anyone who has ever handled a mass mailing will wince at the following, which I received from my college alumni office:
"Yesterday, we discovered that the recent mailing you received from the Annual Fund had an outside envelope that did not match the response card inside. The mail house which has served the college well for many years reported that they were responsible for collating this mailing incorrectly.
"You will receive an apology from our Vice President and the appropriate materials in the next few days. Your support and involvement is critically important to us, as is your trust that your support be handled in a confidential and respectful manner. I regret this very unfortunate occurrence and hope you will respond positively when you receive this follow-up mailing."
Sure enough, the response card I received was meant for a pair of alums in Brooklyn.
I can only imagine the panic and stress-filled meetings that ensued. Perversely, I'm going to give the college more money than usual this year just to show them I understand how easy it is for mistakes like that to happen.

Pancakes

Actor Michael J. Fox was in Greenville on Friday, Sept. 23, for an art auction and cocktail party to raise money for his Michael J. Fox Foundation, which supports Parkinson's disease research. Among the artworks auctioned off was a painting by Sarah Lamb of Downingtown depicting six delectable-looking pancakes; it brought $13,500!
Team Fox Delaware organized both the party and Pancakes for Parkinson's, the fundraising breakfast that was held the next morning on the Wilmington waterfront.

Big picture

When it comes to Chester County geography, I'm pretty sharp. But cross the line into New Castle County, Delaware, and it's a different story.
I can get to the Delaware location I want from Unionville just fine, but I don't have an overall mental picture of where First State places are in relation to each other, much less how to get from one to the other.
For instance, a friend said her new employer is near the intersection of Dupont Road and Route 48. OK. I could get there just fine: take Route 52 almost to Tower Hill and then hang a right. But until I looked on the atlas, I didn't realize how close that was to Greenville and Route 141, because I usually approach that area by taking Route 41 to Hockessin and then Route 48.
(And by the way, calling Route 48 "Lancaster Pike" doesn't help matters. That means Route 30 to a Pennsylvania native like me.)
I was glad to see that others share this blind spot. A very brainy Unionville grad said she even has difficulty getting from the Wilmington train station to the Concord Mall without returning to her home in Kennett!
(And speaking of things Delaware, happy eighth birthday to Susan Teiser's Centreville Cafe!)

They heard him

At lunch on Friday a friend told me a Verizon story with a happy ending.
The phones in his elderly father's house outside Coatesville suddenly went dead. The father went to a neighbor's house and called Verizon but got nothing but the automated menu, so he phoned his son for help. My friend got the same menu but kept pushing "O" for "operator" and after 20 minutes got through to a real person. Unfortunately, the operator said he was sorry, but no one was available to do a repair for several days.
"So if my father has a medical emergency and needs help, you'll be responsible?" said my friend. ("Hey, I had 20 minutes to come up with a good line," he explained to me.)
The operator promptly transferred him to a sympathetic supervisor, who not only sent a repairman out that very day but also called both my friend and his father back to make sure everything had been done to their satisfaction. The repairman even took out an old connection that was impairing the quality of the line!
Impressive.

National news

The Gustavsson family of Kennett Square was featured on page 1 of the "Wall Street Journal" on Sept. 17-18. Christina Gustavsson, age 15, is a Kennett High School student who suffers from the debilitating ailment chronic fatigue syndrome, and the story was about the difficulties that can arise between families and school districts when it comes to educating children with CFS and similar "hidden disabilities that are difficult to observe, evaluation or understand."
In addition to Christina, the reporter, Amy Dockser Marcus, also spoke to Sharon S. Bennett, director of special education for the Kennett Consolidated School District (yes, the reporter got the district's full name correct); Christina's parents, Nils and Michelle; and their attorney, Charles Pugh of West Chester. There are also two photos of Christina, and the story even carries a "Kennett Square" dateline.

Tell a friend!

Remember the old Acme supermarket on Scarlett Road in New Garden, the one that's been sitting empty since February 2008? There's a lengthy entry about it on the "Acme Style Blog," a website that "features pictures and stories of Acme grocery stores, including closed, abandoned and repurposed locations throughout Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania." (The blog entry was written in November 2010.)
And speaking of empty buildings, I see that Newton's on State Street has closed. At least it lasted longer than the previous two restaurants in that space, Courtney's and Trumpets.

Taking action

I took a three-hour First Aid/CPR/AED class last night at the Exelon office building. It was excellent, and I appreciated the variety of methods that Glenn, the American Red Cross instructor, used: lecture, videos, discussion, demonstrations and actual practice using class members and mannequins.
One thing the instructor stressed was the importance of recognizing that an emergency exists and taking action. I think a lot of us are so used to being spectators -- we grew up watching TV, after all -- that we see ourselves as bystanders rather than as participants in what's going on.
I noticed that when I was fence-judging last week. When a horse fell at my fence, it took me a split second to realize that I wasn't sitting at home watching sports on TV; it was my responsibility to get up and do something.
By the way, just FYI, the Red Cross certification is good for two years now instead of only one year. Also, check out whether your health-insurance plan covers the cost of the course ($71). Mine did.