Don’t worry, I’m still here. I didn’t wash away, though the rain we had last weekend and early this week had me a bit worried. A low center of gravity can stymie a lot of rushing water. While sitting outside having cocktails late Sunday afternoon, the White family thought they saw me combing up and down Willowbrook Lane. Sorry, it wasn’t me. I was on the other side of town, watching the cleanup efforts from last Friday’s storm.

The storm sure has been a topic of conversation this week. Marty Ferreri couldn’t believe the damage surrounding Leo’s when he arrived at his restaurant on Route 25 early Saturday. The house next door had two trees fall on its roof – one tearing through the kitchen. There were 20 trees down behind the restaurant, and a huge pine tree and telephone pole toppled across the highway, closing the road overnight between the Botsford Drive-in and Stop & Shop. “The devastation was everywhere surrounding us, but we only had a ripped awning,” Marty said. “I told the CL&P guys who were working outside that if they could get my power back on, they could have breakfast free. They did and we were able to open at 9 am, just an hour late.”

Leo’s phone was off until Monday, but that didn’t stop customers from coming, and each had a different story to tell about the storm. According to Marty, all were impressed by how Leo’s escaped almost unscathed. Alluding to a sign outside that describes Leo’s as “Connecticut’s Favorite Breakfast and Lunch,” one customer told Marty “This must be God’s favorite breakfast and lunch, too.”

Jan Andras was afraid she was going to have the distinction of being the last person in Newtown to get her power restored. But her home did finally get its power back Monday afternoon, beating out six other Newtown homes.

Janet Hovious is just back from a week fly fishing in Arkansas where she caught her first brown trout. Janet says she was the least experienced in her group, but caught the first fish on her sixth cast. It was her first experience wearing waders, too, but she’s really getting into it. Her group fished offshore near the Whitewater property that Hillary and Bill Clinton made famous. Except for one house, the property is undeveloped, Janet noticed.

Speaking of new experiences, I just couldn’t convince myself to climb up the ladder of Newtown Hook and Ladder’s ladder truck. The truck was on display at St Rose Church’s safety fair June 3. Firefighter Chris Belair repeatedly climbed the ladder to display firefighting techniques. I expect that from the top of the 100-foot- tall ladder you can see Brookfield on a clear day, if not the curvature of the Earth.

This time of year is when a lot of people start planning those weekend backpacking and hiking trips. I’ll tell you one thing: if I were headed out into the woods, I would want to bring Newtown resident Steve Farrell along. Steve, an ecology and environmental technology major at Paul Smith’s College, proved his wilderness savvy when he and a classmate came across an injured man and his wife on a Vermont trail earlier this year. Dr Smith, professor emeritus at Middlebury College, had severely injured his knee and could not negotiate the difficult trail. Steve and his friend encouraged Dr Smith to stay where he was and used the clothes in their packs to elevate his leg. They stayed with him for another hour, talking him through the emergency, until another hiker happened onto the situation and was able to go for help. Steve’s background in first aid is extensive. He is certified in first aid and CPR and has been certified as a Medical Response Technician. Both his parents are EMTs and his father is chief of the Hawleyville Fire Department. Steve says he would also like to become an EMT or firefighter, “as a way to stay involved and give back to the community.”

Congratulations were needed this week for Dan and Mary Rosenthal, who are the proud parents of a baby girl, Hana, who was born in the early hours of the morning last Friday. Hana weighed seven pounds, six ounces and was 20 inches long at the time of birth. Mother and baby are reportedly doing just fine. Dan also appears to be doing well.

 First Selectman Herb Rosenthal was all smiles this week, too, as was Jack Rosenthal, who was surprised to hear everybody tell him he was now a great-grandfather. “I’ve been a great grandfather for years,” he said.

Fire Marshall George Lockwood has received more than his share of ribbing the past couple of weeks after his picture appeared on the front page of The Bee – mouth open wide. But the ribbing was reportedly still going strong on Thursday morning when he blew out the candles on his birthday cake, which contained that same photo on top. George’s age was unavailable at press time.

But Andrew Sirois’ was. The musical virtuoso turned 19 on Thursday. Happy Birthday, Drew.

The strike by the American Red Cross blood collection workers finally ended last weekend so blood drives will resume throughout the state. Most were cancelled during the strike, except for the one at the Sandy Hook firehouse on May 8. Ed O’Malley of Western Connecticut Federal Credit Union, which co-sponsored that blood drive, said he finally has learned that 120 units of blood were collected during the four-hour blood drive, almost as many as have been collected in all-day blood drives. “That just shows how the people of this community respond when there is a need,” he said. The May 8 blood drive was dedicated to Greg Chion, a local youth that had a stem cell transplant for treatment of acute myelocytic leukemia.

Thirty potential donors showed up at a bone marrow drive that was held Tuesday from 4 to 8 in Bethel. Organizer Frans Van Vliet said he believes the bad weather kept some potential donors from showing up for the tissue typing drive. He said he is thinking about sponsoring an annual drive because the need for bone marrow is so great in the treatment of diseases like leukemia.

This weekend a car wash and a tag sale will be held to help Bill Marsilio, a Sandy Hook resident who also has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. The car wash will be at Berkshire Motors, across from Newtown High School, on Saturday, June 10, from 10 am to 2 pm. The tag sale is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 9 through 11, at 33 Appleblossom Lane. Bill’s family also has vouchers for tickets to Bridgeport Bluefish games for the entire season. The tickets are $7 but the amount will be split between the Bluefish and the Marsilio Fund. To buy tickets and help Bill, call 270-1216 or 270-9778 in Newtown, 857-0668 in Norwalk, or 925-9331 in Huntington.

On Sunday afternoon, Roberta Jones and Andrea Zimmermann, sisters and both Newtown residents, will pay homage to their mother with a special reception at C.H. Booth Library. Lois Zimmermann was a professional artist for nearly 30 years before she passed away earlier this year. Andrea and Roberta have gone through a large number of their mother’s artworks, and a collection of these works will be on view at the library through June 20. There are oils, pastels, watercolors, and acrylics on view, in a variety of styles.

The town’s social services department has moved into new quarters in the lower level of a refurbished Town Hall South. The renovated interior is a big improvement over the cramped quarters that the agency formerly occupied behind the stage of the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall.

There’s also been some moving around at the police station – of vending machines, that is. The station has a new soda machine in the lobby. It’s a big machine with big bottles of soda and a big price to go along with them. Visitors can now spend a dollar to buy a 20-ounce soda. The only problem is the soda machine is so big that it eliminated some of the space formerly occupied by the candy machine. The candy machine has been moved into the police station proper for safekeeping.

So go to the station and have a coke and a bag of chips. Just make sure you’re back here next week to…

Read me again.