Monthly Archives: March 2015

Acknowledging Holy Week, ‘Bread & Puppet’ Perform ‘Fire’ at Old Lyme Church Tonight

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Tonight at 7 p.m. as part of the Holy Week schedule, ‘Bread & Puppet’ will  offer a performance called “Fire” at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.  The show dramatizes the effects of warfare on individual lives and will be followed by a time to eat bread, visit, and talk about the performance.

All are welcome.  A donation of $10 per person would be appreciated and will be gratefully received at the door.

The Bread and Puppet Theater was founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City’s Lower East Side. Besides rod-puppet and hand puppet shows for children, the concerns of the first productions were rents, rats, police, and other problems of the neighborhood. More complex theater pieces followed, in which sculpture, music, dance and language were equal partners. The puppets grew bigger and bigger.

 

Schumann says, “We believe in puppet theater as a wholesome and powerful language that can touch men and women and children alike, and we hope that our plays are true and are saying what has to be said, and that they add to your enjoyment and enlightenment.”

Annual presentations for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Memorial Day often included children and adults from the community as participants. Many performances were done in the street. During the Vietnam War, Bread and Puppet staged block-long processions and pageants involving hundreds of people.

In 1974 Bread and Puppet moved to a farm in Glover in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The 140-year-old hay barn was transformed into a museum for veteran puppets. Their Domestic Resurrection Circus, a two day outdoor festival of puppetry shows, was presented annually through 1998.

The company makes its income from touring new and old productions both on the American continent and abroad, and from sales of Bread and Puppet Press’ posters and publications. The traveling puppet shows range from tightly composed theater pieces presented by members of the company, to extensive outdoor pageants, which require the participation of many volunteers.

Today, Bread and Puppet continues to be one of the oldest, nonprofit, self-supporting theatrical companies in the country.

For further information, call the church office at 860-434-8686

Join a Community Conversation on Mental Health in Old Lyme Tonight

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One in four people has a mental illness.  It touches each of us — become involved and be a part of the conversation.

The Regional Mental Health Board, Region II, Catchment Area Council 10 is sponsoring two Community Conversations about Mental Health for the Lyme-Old Lyme community. One has already been held — the second is being held tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31, in the Old Lyme Town Hall, 52 Lyme St., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The first meeting brought together members of the community to discuss mental health and explore the issues and barriers in our community regarding mental health. The second meeting (March 31) will discuss and help determine what actions can be taken to break down the barriers and improve mental health in the community.

Trained facilitators assist the dialogues. Refreshments will be provided. There is ample parking at the location. Seating is limited so register promptly  to add your voice to the discussion.

Register today via email at olcommunityconversations@yahoo.com or call 860-262-5027.  Use the same contact information for questions.  Seating is limited.

Talking Transportation: Rethinking First Class

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Any regular reader of this column knows that I hate flying.  I love travel, but getting there by air is a pain … and getting worse.  Our local airports are vying for third-world status.  The security searches by the TSA make a colonoscopy look like fun.  And once on the plane, the airlines’ seats and service make The Fung Wah Bus seem like a viable alternative.

Why is it that airlines are all vying for the cheapest products instead of the best?  Why this race to the bottom where low-cost-carriers like Spirit and Southwest are the models instead of overseas service exemplars like Singapore and Emirates?

I, for one, am willing to pay more to get more.  I may not opt for first class, but I will only fly in business class on flights to California.  It’s worth it.

But the legacy carriers like American and United ask for $1600 one-way from NY to LAX, and they get it.  Their business class is full thanks to frequent flyer upgrades. But now there’s a cheaper, better alternative:  JetBlue.

When JetBlue began as a low-cost carrier in 2000, it found a loyal following by offering high frequency, friendly and comfortable flights.  Today they are an international carrier serving 87 destinations with more than 200 aircraft.  And they have one of the hottest terminals at JFK, T5.

And 10 of their newest planes, A-321’s, now offer a new product, “Mint”, with truly first class seating at lower-than-business class fares.  I finally had a chance to sample the service on a recent flight to LAX.

First, there’s the seating. There are just 16 seats with full, six foot lie-flat beds. I lucked out and got one of the four “private cabins” with 22-inch wide seats and a sliding door to the corridor.  My TV was a 15-inch flat-screen with live satellite feed, movies and SiriusXM Radio.  I had two AC outlets and a pair of USB plugs keeping all my gear fully-charged.

When I boarded, I found a welcome note, written by hand, from the flight crew thanking me for my business.  Also awaiting was a full duvet and pillow, an amenities kit and free Wi-Fi, coast to coast.

After take-off came the usual beverages and a most unusual meal … the choice of three tapas-like entrees from a menu of five on offer, prepared by Saxon+Parole.  The lobster mac-and-cheese was to die for.  But they also had Kosher, vegan and gluten-free options.  And coming soon, an on-board cappuccino machine.

The service was amazing.  This was one of the best flights ever, and I’ve logged miles for decades on five continents.  And the ticket was only $599 one-way.  I’d gladly have paid more.

The bad news is this amazing product is only available on flights from JFK to LAX (seven a day) and San Francisco (five times daily).  Rumor has it they may also add transcon flights from Boston, but you won’t by flying “Mint” on your way to Orlando anytime soon.  To the Caribbean, maybe.

So kudos to “New York’s hometown airline” for continuing to be innovative in offering more for less and making flying fun again!

Jim Cameron

Jim Cameron

About the author: Jim Cameron is founder of The Commuter Action Group, and a member of the Darien RTM.  The opinions expressed in this column are only his own. 

You can reach him at CommuterActionGroup@gmail.com   For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com

Old Lyme Historic District Commission Announces Applications to be Considered April 6

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Dr. John E. Pfeiffer, Chairman of the Old Lyme Historic District Commission has issued the following announcement:

“Notice is hereby given that the Old Lyme Historic District Commission will hold Public Hearings on Monday, April 6, 2015 beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the upstairs conference room at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall, 52 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT. The HDC will hear and act on the following Certificates of Appropriateness applications:

    • 5 Lyme Street – First Congregational Church of Old Lyme: 1,000 gallon propane tank, and fence.
    • 31 Lyme Street – Hinckley: house addition
    • 90 Lyme Street – Lyme Art Association: banner

The public is invited to attend and express its views. Letters may be sent to the Historic District Commission, 52 Lyme Street, Old Lyme CT 06371.

Relevant supporting material will be available at the April 6 Public Hearing.

Old Lyme Land Trust Presents McCulloch Family with Land Saver Award

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At its 49th Annual Meeting on March 22, the Old Lyme Land Trust (OLTT) presented its Land Saver Award to the McCulloch Family in recognition of the family’s extraordinary vision and generosity.

Inspired by their mother, “Rook” Metzger McCulloch, who instilled in them the principle of stewardship, and by their love of the land, David and Jean McCulloch, Catherine Taffy Holland and Mary Jean McCulloch Vasiloff donated a conservation easement on 434 acres known as the McCulloch Farm in 2000. The easement, held by The Nature Conservancy, restricts the use and prevents further development of the property.

Lying in the Black Hall River Watershed, the land has extraordinary conservation value. With this portion of the watershed protected, the Great Island tidal marsh complex with its rich and diverse wildlife is protected as well.

Christina Clayton, President of OLLT, noted that Old Lyme residents receive benefits from the donation in addition to the conservation ones. The McCulloch Farm lies along Whippoorwill Road in the center of town and contributes significantly to the rural character of Old Lyme. And the taxpayers remain unburdened by the cost of services that residential development of this large tract would have imposed.

Dr. Robert A. Askins, Katherine Blunt Professor of Biology at Connecticut College, was the guest speaker at the annual meeting. Dr. Askins is a renowned ornithologist and expert on ecology and conservation biology, who recently published a book entitled, “Conservation of Deciduous Forests in New England, Japan and Europe.”

Dr. Askins spoke about the need for a blended approach to the conservation of New England’s forests, in order to protect the greatest number of both plant and animal species. Large tracts of unfragmented forest are necessary for a number of threatened and endangered species, but others, such as the endangered New England cottontail and several species of songbirds, require early successional habitats, such a thickets and grassy openings in the forest canopy.

The OLLT plans to incorporate Dr. Askins’s recommendations into the management plans for its preserves.