Bruce the Spruce went minimalist with an outfit last week. Honoring our late publisher, R. Scudder Smith, Bruce observed National Bow Tie Day on August 28 by donning a simple red bow tie. Scudder was a man of tradition and steady habits, and became well known for his love of bow ties. His collection of the neckwear was colorful and iconic. When he died in August 2022 after a long illness, many of the stories people shared with us included mention of those wonderful ties. I think Kevin J. Tulimieri may have said it best when, writing for The Magazine Antiques that month, he described Scudder as being regularly “clad in his distinctively bold and precariously balanced colors.” Scudder often mentioned matching colors, not patterns, when it came to selecting the shirts and bow ties he wore. His confidence carried him much further than most others still dare with their fashion. In deference to the late master and dear friend, Bruce last week went with a bare tie and little more.

The 2025 CT United Ride is planned for September 7, rain or shine. That means around midday Sunday, a few thousand (not a typo) motorcycles, many with passengers and a large police escort, will arrive in town via Dodgingtown Road/Route 302 from Bethel, follow Sugar Street/Route 302 to South Main Street/Route 25, then follow South Main into Monroe and beyond. The event is the largest annual tribute to 9/11 in the state, and while many people participate in the ride, many others look forward to viewing it.

Local firefighters will again be staged at Dodgingtown firehouse, 55 Dodgingtown Road; Modzelewski’s Auto & Truck Center, 40 South Main; and Botsford Fire Rescue, 315 South Main. Each location will have a large American flag over the roadway for the motorcade to pass under. Spectators are welcome along the route, at any of the above locations or anywhere else it’s safe to stand and wave for a few minutes.

If you’re driving in the area on Sunday around the time the motorcade is here, please be patient. Drivers should not try to move between the motorcycles. Do not pull out of a parking lot or from a side road into the motorcade; people have been injured in past years when that has happened. Even those traveling in the opposite direction of the motorcade may want to consider pulling over and just letting the group pass before resuming their journey. At the very least, please slow down and be very careful as that large group travels.

To accommodate donors during the temporary closure of their space within 25 Main Street, the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library are still gratefully receiving donations, they’re just working off site for a few months. Until at least January — while C.H. Booth Library undergoes HVAC work — boxed or bagged items for the Friends can be taken to the storage building at 23 Old Farms Road just beyond Reed Intermediate School and the Second Company Horse Guard facilities, adjacent to the dog park. Regular hours are Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10 am to noon rain or shine. Volunteers will be on hand to help you empty your vehicle of new and gently used books, jigsaw puzzles, media and gift items. Tax receipts are available upon request.

NPR had a story a few weeks ago about Little Free Libraries. NPR Reporter Andrew Limbong spoke with Daniel Gumnit, the new CEO of the nonprofit organization behind those wonderful little book-sharing boxes that can be found around the world — including Antarctica, as the story noted — and they talked about the future of Little Free Libraries. There are over 200,000 of the book sharing locations registered, but that makes me wonder how many are actually out there.

If you go to the Little Free Library (LFL) online map, for instance, there are only two LFLs registered for Newtown. The online map recognizes Newtown Congregational Church and Treadwell Park’s libraries. We know, however, that there is at least one LFL at Dickinson Park, at least two if not three within Fairfield Hills, and one at FAITH Food Pantry. I encourage those who build and host these libraries to please add them to the maps so that more people can find and enjoy them. There is a $50 fee to register a library, however, but it looks like that covers a charter sign printed with each library’s unique number, as well as access to discounted books and a private Facebook support group (and no, I don’t receive a commission or even a small supply of sardines for recommending this). I’ve donated books to LFLs and borrowed from LFLs, and love finding new ones. I hope to learn about additional locations soon. I have some travel plans in my future, and I’ll be checking the online map for nearby libraries.

As I have been out and about traversing Newtown, I stopped in and visited with our dear friends at Mexicali Rose. Marklin Hidalgo and his family are all safe and sound after a car drove through the front window of the Ricky’s Plaza restaurant. The restaurant is open again, despite the boarded up window. Some seating is available for those who wish to dine in, though it is limited. Be sure to stop in, say hello, and order some traditional Mexican food, and maybe some fish tacos for me. Tell Marklin The Bee sent you, and check out Dorian’s snapshot interview on the wall behind the register.

Of course, my travels also took me up and down Church Hill Road Monday morning to check out the Labor Day Parade. It was quite a spectacle to see! Luckily, Reporter Jenna Visca did not fall this year like she did last year. Her second time at the annual march was spent firmly planted on her two feet. She came back into the office Tuesday talking all about it, including the traveling circus that marched up and down the parade route. She said they wore big smiles as they juggled, blew bubbles, and gave out high fives, even though they were taller than everyone there. I think I could have climbed those stilts, too, if I wanted to, like how I used to climb the tree out in front of the office as a young kitten. I can’t quite do that anymore, as age has settled into my bones, but that won’t stop me from dreaming.

Things have moved around a bit in the office, too. Readers should know that our summer interns are back in school and our new copy editor, Tamar Mayer-DeAngelis, has moved into the editorial section. They are now sitting with Reporters Jenna Visca and Sam Cross. I am excited I don’t have to walk all the way into the Antiques section for pets now. I have another lap to sit on and soak up the sun.

Well, readers, that’s all I have for now. Return next week to ... read me again.