Remember mom? She warmed my milk as a kitten and warned me not to waste my nine lives by lying in the windowsill and gazing at the birds all day. Well, while I sit in the warmth and gaze out at chipmunks and squirrels I ponder the many important things a mother can be. She is patient as her child becomes tall enough to reach the countertop and topple a full cereal bowl. She is clever when she tells us that monsters are too big and noisy to ever fit beneath a bed. Mom is full of fear for us, and compassion. Wasn’t she always the first person to reach us after we slipped off the bars in the playground? Every time I ventured away from my sunny spot beneath the window I would most likely return with a scratch that need mom’s TLC, and who could outgrow that feeling?

Even as adults we see mom and when she asks, “How are you?” we hear the same soothing voice that asked us, “Where does it hurt?” as we turned our frightened glances away from staring faces on the playground and settled our watery eyes on mom. My feline sense is telling me that there are enough florists and nurseries nearby to find some flowers, enough salons and shops that offer gift certificates, and certainly enough locations to find a card, that each of us should spend a little time thinking about mom.

When Labor Day Parade chairperson Kym Stendahl limps up on her crutches to ask for a donation to defray parade costs, it’s pretty hard to say “no.” It turns out that the crutches aren’t part of an act, though.

Kym was admiring the waves from a ledge early one morning while vacationing in Turks and Caicos last month when the ledge gave way, dashing her five feet down onto the boulders. It was a pretty long walk back to her hotel on a badly broken foot, and she was ever so grateful to discover that two orthopedic surgeons were vacationing there. They didn’t quite get her back on her feet, but along with the help of her daughters and the hotel staff, the doctors did get her back in condition to lie on the beach comfortably and sip Piña Coladas for the rest of her vacation.

Kym says the amazing manner in which everyone flocked to help her made her realize how wonderful people can be, and except for the fractured foot, “I’d do it all over again.” By the way, if you don’t want to make Kym hobble all over town on her crutches begging for funds, send your donation to Labor Day Parade, Newtown Savings Bank, PO Box 746, Newtown CT 06470. Despite Dr Baum’s generous donation, there is still a long way to go to cover the nearly $25,000 in parade costs.

There is still time to donate books to the library for the big 32nd Annual Book Sale sponsored by the Friends of the Library. The sale will be held at Reed Intermediate School on Trades Lane, June 30 to July 4 this year. Drop off donations at the C.H. Booth Library on Main Street or call 426-4533 for assistance with large donations.

While visiting Edmond Town Hall this week, I noticed several workers wrestling into place some rather heavy looking pieces of granite in front of the building. They are assembling what will become a rather handsome memorial to the town’s tercentennial, which was celebrated in 2005. Though, as George Caracciolo pointed out in a letter to the editor this week, the town’s name seems to be broken in two: NEW TOWN. Well, at least it was not spelled “Newton,” which is the usual way in which people mangle the spelling of our town.

During the past several days, dry conditions have raised the brush fire hazard quite high. Firefighters responded to several fires in the area apparently caused when smokers carelessly tossed away cigarettes that were still ignited. We should all take a lesson from Los Angeles, which this week burned a big hole in one of its nicest parks, and be careful to stamp out those cigarette butts.

While we’re all in stamping mode, be sure to help “Stamp Out Hunger” on Saturday, May 12, when mail carriers and other volunteers will pick up any bags of nonperishable food items left at the mailbox and deliver them to the Newtown Social Services food pantry. This food drive helps replenish local food pantries, which got a lot of donations around the holidays but are running low just about now.

Gasoline prices in Connecticut have jumped an average of 27 cents per gallon in the past month, according to the latest AAA survey. That’s nearly a penny every day. The nine percent increase raised the cost of a gallon of regular unleaded from $2.89 in April to $3.16, giving Connecticut the highest prices in the Northeast. I expect that $4 per gallon gas is just around the corner. I hear all the big oil companies are busy printing extra 4s for the gas price signs.

At that price, you could subscribe to The Bee for a year for the price of a half tank of gas and save yourself the trouble of running all over town to find out what’s going on. Plus, every week you would get a chance to …

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