I plan to get up early on Saturday so I can be first in line at the pancake day that the members of the Hiram Lodge, the Sandy Hook fire company, the Newtown Police Union, and the Knights of Columbus are holding at the Sandy Hook firehouse. The flapjack feast, which runs until 1 pm, will benefit two local youths, Greg Chion and Thomas Ward, who have been treated for cancer. The price of the breakfast is a donation to help their families.

They start stacking the pancakes on plates at about 7 am, which should give me plenty of  time to eat and get over to the annual Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by the Park and Recreation Department. Virtually every child between the ages of 3 and 9 is expected to be at the event this year – a cast of thousands. It is Barbara Kasbarian’s one chance each year to play Cecil B. DeMille, directing the hoards of hunters across the landscape. 

Once the kids get their goodies at the egg hunt, it will be time for adults to go hunting for good stuff at the big tag sale that St Rose Church is holding. The sale will be on the church grounds from 8:30 am to 6 pm on Saturday, and after all the Sunday masses. Father Bob Weiss says there is a lot of “good stuff” in new condition as well as an ample supply of “old stuff,” including furniture. I think a lot of the old stuff came from the rectory when it was redecorated last year.

Deborah Wills was one of several members of the “Save Fairfield Hills for Newtown” group who spoke at last week’s Legislative Council meeting. During the presentation, Mrs Wills pointed out that her group is in favor of seeing Greenwich, Shelton, Canaan, Bridgewater, Fairfield, Norwalk, Kent, and Shelton be demolished. “The houses, not the towns,” she joked, referring to the buildings at Fairfield Hills, many of which are named after Connecticut municipalities.

Morning commuters on Monday may have seen this banner flying from the railroad bridge on Church Hill Road:

The message “DBOG EB66” seemed a little too cryptic for most motorists to decipher, especially first thing Monday morning. But wouldn’t you know it? There’s a Web site. Check out www.dbogeb66.org.

Not even on the hottest day of the year will you find the kind of crowd that was seen standing along the edge of the Dickinson park pool last Saturday. More than 200 kids and a lot of enthusiastic fathers converged on the park for the annual fishing derby put on by the Newtown Fish & Game Club. With anglers practically shoulder-to-shoulder, those casting their lines had to go to great lengths to avoid any snags. The fish being pulled out of the pool were generous in size, too, prompting one mildly jealous father to remark, “I’ve been trying my whole life to catch a fish that big,” as he marveled at his son’s catch.

There’s a new face on the sidelines of the Newtown High School softball diamond this spring. It’s none other than Lin Hertberg, a longtime Newtown resident who knows a thing or two about coaching softball. Lin is helping out varsity coach Paul La Francesca, whose team is off to a 2-1 start.

Speaking of girls’ softball, the distinct voice of Pete Samoskevich could be heard at Monday’s game at Treadwell Park. “Snow Bird” Pete is back in town after spending the winter playing golf in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Jim Crouch, Newtown’s chief 911 dispatcher, wrote an article, “On the Walls of the Beijing Command Center,” about his trip to China for the March issue of the magazine Dispatch Monthly.  The magazine has a circulation of about 50,000 in 13 countries.

I was happy to see that all the daffodils at The Pleasance survived their encounter with Old Man Winter earlier this week. Even after being buried up to their spindly little necks in heavy snow last Sunday, they still managed to maintain their sunny disposition.

I intend to follow their lead and maintain my sunny disposition – at least until next week, so be sure to…

Read me again.