A letter to ‘the kids’

Up until about 20 years ago, every four or five weeks, it was my habit to write “the kids” a letter, just to bring them up to date on the old man and let them know I was thinking of them. The letters contained some straight news and a hodgepodge of jokes, wisecracks, comments on the family news or news of the day, and opinions about everything from politics to pennant races.

The letters worked pretty well. I’ve decided to resume them. They will be addressed to my 10 “kids,” (who are now between the ages of 60 and 50), their nine spouses (one is unmarried), 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. They live in various parts of the country from this coast to that one, and half of them live in various places in Connecticut. Email makes letter-writing easier and less expensive than it used to be. Here goes.

Dear Fam,

How’s everybody? I have to begin with a hilarious double column, one-panel cartoon that appears each day in the Register Citizen. It’s authored by a man named John McPherson and called, “Close to Home.” It’s the first thing I look for every day. All the characters have the goofiest-looking faces you’ve ever seen, and Mr. McPherson almost never misses with his humor. Anyway, the cartoon I’m referring to appeared last Wednesday and depicted a psychiatrist seated in his chair next to a plump woman wearing an agonized expression, lying on a couch. He’s wearing a dippy grin and saying. “It’s unfortunate that people make fun of you because of your weight, Mrs. So-andSo, but keep your chins up. Ooops, sorry, I couldn’t resist that.’’ OK? See what I mean? This guy knocks my hat off every morning.

**My Birds: Well, they’re not mine, they’re wild, but they flock to the feeder I fill each evening, located some 10 feet beyond my bay window. Of course, each day there are a gang of sparrows, finches and gold finches and I like them, but more interesting are the ones that show up one or two at a time. Among these are a male and a female cardinal, one blue jay (who absolutely rules the damn roost when he arrives, which is infrequently), a downy woodpecker, who grips the feeder halfway up, and has his breakfast eating upside down, and a few more semi-obscure birds such as a red-winged blackbird and a red start. Now I know why your late grandmother loved her birds. If you remember, she had a feeder just like mine outside her window.

**Scoop: A friend at Atria, Fred Voelpel, made me privy to a bit of “inside Broadway’’ the other day, when we were discussing the death of the incomparable comedy playwright Neil Simon. Fred, you may remember, was for many years a set designer and lighting expert on Broadway, and a friend of Simon’s.

When he referred to Neil as “Doc,” I said, “What? Did you say Doc?”

Replied Fred, “No one on Broadway ever called him anything else.” So, now you know what Fred V. and I know.

**Gail Sends a Hello: Spoke with Gail Kruppa, curator of the Torrington Historical Society, a few minutes ago. She sends her best to y’all, especially twins Kevin and Kathy, who were her THS classmates lo, those many years ago. Gail and executive director Mark McEachern have two main project going, the Torrington House Tour and the World War One Exhibit.

The Torrington House Tour, a major fundraiser, will be Saturday, Sept. 22 and is sponsored by the historical society and the Northwest Chamber of Commerce Education Fund. The WWI exhibit is a self-guided tour and it’s all about Torrington’s contributions to the war effort in terms of personnel and industry. It’s a terrific exhibit, which will close on Nov. 11, the date the armistice was signed — remember the 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month, 1918? That will be a Sunday. The society is usually closed on Sundays, but will remain open on this special day.

OK. Gotta run . . . well, walk fast, anyway. Take care of each other, as you always have.

Love,

Dad