a good library distirct.

A good library district nurtures its

citizens of all ages.

This library district does that.  From

the wee ones story time, to the baby

lapsit program.

The Friends Friday night film series is

one of my special favorites.  It’s a great

chance to connect with friends and to

socialize a bit.

I really do feel sorry for those people who

have no life beyond television, and who

do not know the joys of friendships with

others.  A vibrant library district makes

this all possible.

The extent to which the town values its

library is evident in the Friends of the

library organization.  The whole town

stands behind the Friends and supports

events.

This is all something that I think both

Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Carnegie

would have approved of.  They could not

have forseen a coffee cafe in a library, of

curse. But the free exchange of information

and ideas is something they no doubt would

have approved of.

County and Westchester County as targets

for humor.

We’re easy to make fun of.

While the rest of the world is being

foreclosed upon and unemployed,

life goes on in its same pristine way

in Greenwich.  Yes, a little belt-tightening

for sure, but still holding on to that

semblance of sophistication that we’ve

always had.

The contrast between what some people

buy with their dollars (Walmart) and what

people buy in Greenwich is interesting.

Restaurant Jean-Louis is a delight.  But if

you order 10 pigs in a blanket there, you’ll

pay 20 bucks. 

Even take-out in Greenwich is expensive.

Take the to-go Valentine menu:

Foie Gras

Pistachio pate

Vegetables with hot pepper vinaigrette

Vermont quail

Lobster stuffing

Asparagus

Au gratin potato

Cognac sauce

Fresh roll

Bread of fruits

Mousse of chocolate

Fresh strawberries 

No doubt a delightful meal, but it will

set you back a hundred dollars.

This is not a town for those of light-weight

financial means, that’s for sure.

have time for a Sunday morning.

What could be better than a little spiritual

inspiration at church, followed by a little

gustatory inspiration at Arcadia in Old

Greenwich.

They make the best blueberry muffins.

Or maybe you want a full Sunday breakfast.

They can acocmodate that too, and everything

with a friendly Old Greenwich demeanor mixed

with European flair. 

There’s nothing like hanging out there in a

leisurely way, with a good cup of their

coffee and a copy of the Sunday NY Times.

The vibrations there are so good that I

normally make more progress on the

NYT crossword puzzle than I do at home.

 As kids, being stuck indoors in winter

would start to grate on our nerves.

Summer mean being about to go to

Greenwich Point and be out and about.

Greenwich Point was to us, what the

Mississippi was to Tom Sawyer.  A

place to be outside.  A place to swim.

A place to have a picnic.

Back in those days people also did

not worry about letting their kids

go out alone.  The kids would travel

in packs anyway.  Little kid tribes.

And also, admission was by park

pass, so not just anybody could come

in.

It was an idyllic time, and very memorable

for most kids of the area.

Another thing that stands out as a memory

is time on the sledding hill once summer

was over.  What child does not delight

in the pure motion of sliding down the

hill.

Even before the snow would  come we would

try to coax the season by using sheets of

cardboard to slide on the grass on a frosty

morning.

If there were outdoor games that kids could

invent, the kids of our neighborhood could

do it.  Quite a pleasant memory.

a subject of fascination.

One of my projects in high school was to

study whether ice is formed faster if one

puts hot water or cold water into the

ice tray and then into the freezer.

What do you think the answer was?

I cannot say this is a proven scientific

fact, but it was the result finding of

my experiment:  the hot water actually

formed the ice cubes faster.  The

presumptive reason for this would be

that the hot water set off the freezer to

begin readjusting the temperature more

aggressively, and therefore the freezer was

coler, and the ice cubes were formed

faster.

These are the important sorts of things

one learns in Greenwhich schools.  I am

not being sarcastic.  When one has an

attitude of learning and inquiry, anything

becomes possible. 

In my mind this is what acocunts for the

great success of Greenwich students year

after year, as they move through college

and into society.  Invariably they assume

great roles of leadership and influence.

very imaginative and innovative.

One of the things that I as a child was

interested in was the telephone. The

old-fashioned kind, not a cell phone.

So one of my projects in the program,

was to explore the telephone.  I expect

they imagined that I would create

a diagram after studying some library

book.

Not me.

Instead of books, I set about to do a

scientific dissection of the telephone.

First, I had to procure one.  That was

no small matter, but I did finally manage

to secure one.

Then I took the entire phone apart.  Now

this sounds quite methodical.  In point of

fact it was anything but.  I tore into that

thing and who knows what I found (I didn’t).

Still it stands out as one of the more meaningful

events of my education. I wanted to study

something, and I did.  That is success.

took place without folks knowing about it til

after the fact.

Lawrence Otis Graham Esq., a Princeton and Harvard man, an

educated corporate lawyer, took a job as a busboy at the

Greenwich Country club.  Then he wrote an aticle about

his experience, and this article made quite a stir.

At the time there were issues of race and class that came

into discussion.  But I at the time, found his rendition

of kitchen rules to be most captivating.  Who knew? 

If you ever wonder about things like that, here are the

rules he was taught at the time:

-A hot roll dropped on the floor in the dining

room proper, should be tossed.

-A hot roll dropped on the floor in the cooking

area, should be picked up and re-served.

 -Silverware that you are 75% confident the

member did not use, could be replaced

in the silver tray and re-used. 

-If you forget whether you poured a glass

of regular or diet soda, put your finger

into the glass and taste it. 

-If you are supposed to serve decaf but don’t

have time to make it, just add some water. 

-If the diner says the chili is too spicy, bring

it back to the kitchen and add chocolate syrup. 

-If there’s a burnt side on your toast for a sandwich,

slather on extra mayo under the burnt side, and

then add the tuna.   

Now, aren’t you glad I told you all that?

Norman Rockwell paintings.

 You know, the all-American life of

close-knit families and patriotic feelings.

Just that ideal life.

In some ways, Fairfield County is like that.

4th of July is one example of that. 

Just imagine, an old-fashioned parade

where everyone participates at one time

or another in their life.  Marching down the

street while the observers wave flags, and

look at the Dog Days of Summer sales in the

stores.

After the parade,  you have to either swim

or have a grill party or both.  This all depends

on how hot or humid the day itself is.  The

green leaves of the tall trees are good for shade

but if the weather is too hot, one might be

inclined to go indoors during the heat of the

midday.

At night, it’s time to come out to the park for

the fireworks festivities.  Spread out a blanket

and sip on a cool soda pop from your cooler.

The best part for me is always the little kids,

maybe the three, four, and five year olds.

When the rockets go up in the sky and then

bloom, they never fail to say ooohhh and

aaahh.  It is a delight to see the event each

time through their eyes.  Truly one of those

Norman Rockwell moments.

Specifically because growing up, Riverside

was a home stomping ground.

Where else could you go down the street

and buy penny candy.

Where else could you ride your bike to

the store.

Where else could you bumble in the

neighborhood and point to Dorothy

Hamel’s house.

If your car breaks down and someone

offers you a ride, you have no fear

accepting it.

There is something to be said for growing

up in a place where the normal population

has above normal IQs.  It promotes an

attitude of literacy and excellence.

Not only that, but in a community like this

there was an appreciation for the arts that

one does not find elsewhere. And by that

I do not mean going into the city for

theater, I mean home-grown local talent

that is appreciated and nurtured.  Local

arts and theatrical productions abound.

Like I already said, life is good here.

in Connecticut.

Not too exciting here, but the slow pace is

what I like about it.

Beverly Hills 90210 has nothing on Connecticut.

You know life is good if you live in a zip code

that starts with 068,  specifically 06807,

06878, 06870, 06830, or 06831.  If you

know the zip codes, I need not say more.

If you don’t know what they mean, I’m

probably not writing to you anyway.

It is a place where life is good.  Work is

just a train ride away.  Weekends are

spent out on the lawn or at the beach.

Like I said, life is good.