By Bruce Watson |
A few nice spring days have brought out the rakes and lawn and garden tools as folks policed their lawns, picking up lawn debris that accumulated over the winter. Just when you think winter’s over, the flurries and cold winds return. March is such a cruel month and April can be a real teaser as well. But even so, isn’t the time change wonderful at this time of year? Congratulations to the cast and crew of Oklahoma at Owen D. Young Central. We attended the Saturday performance and the students (from seventh to twelfth grade) did a fine job! Kudos to teachers Tom MacMillan, Katie Perue, and Megan McCoy on their efforts. On April 24, Dawn Seamon will celebrate a birthday, and when the candles are lit on her cake, NASA has the crew of the international space station on alert to look for the cake from their vantage point out in space. This is a BIG birthday for Dawn and the tune ‘The Old Grey Mare Just Ain’t What She Used to Be” comes to mind. Happy birthday from your great kids and especially the Yaworskis who will be installing ramps at your house to help you get around! What a nice surprise to open the “Whatson” email and see that Nancy Schedivy sent an update on her family in Florida. Her son, Chris, and his wife, Kristy (Miller) just had their third baby boy, Jayden Colton. Nancy reports that he is just as beautiful as their other two sons. The Schedivys are now in Florida full-time. Their home was recently featured in a Historical Walking tour of the area and about 180 people came through their house. Check out this website address to see their home, which was featured on the front page of their paper: http://www.chronicleonline.com/cgibin/c2.cgi?071+article+News+20090303195740071326. The Schedivy family have certainly been missed and we wish Chris and Kristy congratulations. Nancy was once president of the Richfield Area Chamber of Commerce and we remember Canadarago Sports, The Pet Store and More, and having Danny, Jennifer, and Christopher in school. Chris is a real success story and he and I were pen pals for several months at one point in time. Turn Off the Screen Week will be held at RSCS the week of Monday, April 20. Many activities are planned including a dodge ball tournament, school game night, a multi-generational dance, and reading activities. All of the activities have been planned to give families alternatives to using televisions, computers, cell phones, and video games. Watch for materials coming home with your children on this week of worthwhile activities that involve families in good socialization activities. Last year our sons were both away for Mother’s Day, so I took my wife to Southern Comfort Bed and Breakfast, in West Winfield, for the special Mother’s Day Breakfast. It was a gourmet feast and made Mother’s Day a special event. This year it will be on Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10. It features a five-course candlelight breakfast with sparking juice beverages, raspberries in cream, cornbread and grits, apple bread pudding and bacon, mango sorbet dressed with fresh raspberry or raspberry stick, with tea and coffee. Live music will be featured. Saturday’s sittings are 8:30 or 11 a.m., or 1:15 p.m. Sunday sittings are at 9 or 11:30 a.m. It was a different way to celebrate Mother’s Day and for $12.95 we were served a sumptuous meal with southern hospitality. Call 315-717-1907 to schedule your sitting. Plan on having breakfast with other nice folks at this beautifully furnished, warm and hospitable bed and breakfast. Ask Teena, Clara, and Dick Shypski about it! They were there last year with daughter Marilyn and can attest to the fine cuisine. Writing for The Mercury has been a great experience and I have enjoyed writing simple articles about simple folks who were our neighbors and friends. The staff and students of Richfield Springs Central School, and more recently at Owen D. Young Central School, provided the backdrop for positive articles and photos on celebrating what was happening at our schools. Thank you to the staff and students who posed for photos and allowed me to write your stories as I tried to help readers understand what you do. The Mercury provided a pulpit for my pet peeves on dog walkers and the village’s #2 problem and the insurmountable tasks of schools meeting state mandates and state testing with cutbacks in state and federal funding. This week I have felt a deep sadness that The Mercury is ceasing publication and have appreciated the calls and visits with readers who are troubled that our hometown paper is no more. Thank you to Mike Root, Janine Giordano, the Bernhardts, and the Mercury staff who allowed me to write for you, the readers. Now I can finally devote time to my retirement goal of writing my book and getting it published! Let’s continue to celebrate each other and leave things better than we found them.
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