Danny Kearns has been in Iraq since January and is scheduled to return next month, too late for him to enjoy Newtown’s final summer extravaganza, the Labor Day Parade, with his wife Tammy and family. But out front of 18 Queen Street on Monday a chair was set aside for Danny. A poster honoring him was placed in the chair along with Danny’s favorite parade beverage, an ice cold can of Pepsi. “We Miss You At This Year’s Labor Day Parade,” read the poster, “We Love You — Return Home To Newtown Soon.” It’s a sentiment the whole town echoes for Danny and the many other locals who are serving overseas this fall.

Were those tears of pride parade president Kym Stendhal was hiding at the review stand during the parade? I think not. Settled beneath her chair on the grandstand to enjoy the parade’s grand finale, I could see Kym furtively checking her cellphone for a message from her first-born daughter, off to college this fall. I thought some loud purring would cheer her up, but Kym couldn’t hear me over her nose-blowing. “Parting is such sweet sorrow” must have been directed at a mother send her child off to school.

Well, it wasn’t all parade news this week. Congratulations to Cayenne Spremullo! While at Edmond Town Hall this week, I noticed a bright orange fish on the plaza in front of the building holding a placard proclaiming some good news. Okay, it was actually a painted plywood placard of Nemo of animation fame announcing that Cayenne, who works in the town tax collector’s office, had completed a round of classes on tax collection and had received a certification in that discipline. The placard reads “No more class,” Nemo says, “You Pass!” I should point out that appropriately enough, Cayenne’s astrological sign is Pisces, the fish.

The offices of The Newtown Bee are beginning to feel a little bit like a wildlife refuge. Last week, a chipmunk scampered in an open door and has taken refuge somewhere in the front office after mysteriously leaving behind a part of his tail for searchers to find. This workweek started out with an unusual visitor to publisher Scudder Smith’s office; you can see his picture here. The large spotted leopard slug left quite a slimy trail across the rug making him a rather unwelcome visitor, so he quickly found himself relocated to the great outdoors. What’s next? Mice? Now that would be an affront to my sensibilities.

There’s a new face at the Senior Center on Riverside Road. Well, not new exactly. Newtown exercise guru Pat Babbage has been helping Newtown’s senior citizens stay fit at the center for several years, but now she is wearing a new hat there. Pat started as assistant to director Marilyn Place on September 4 and oh, what a day she had. More than 180 seniors called or stopped by in just a two-hour span of time to sign up for the October flu clinic. Pat handled it with panache, Marilyn reports, and the seniors are thrilled beyond belief to have Pat a part of their day, every day, now.

Organic food shoppers will want to take notice that the Tuesday Organic Farmers Market in Sandy Hook has switched to new autumn hours. Fresh food fanciers can shop at the market behind St John’s on Washington Avenue from 9 am to 1 pm, every Tuesday through October 9. I’m going to trot right down next week and take advantage of the chair massage set up there before I fill my basket with peak-of-the-season tomatoes and corn.

And just as quickly as Labor Day is over, the days are suddenly full of fall activities. Steve Paproski has propped up a big yellow sign against a hay bale in his Route 302 pasture this week announcing the start of the Corn Maze and Pumpkin and Hay Ride season there. My days are a maze enough, but I’ll bet there are plenty of kids in town eager to mix together some fun and confusion at the Paproski Farm Corn Maze.

The annual fall country fair gets underway in Bethlehem this Friday evening at 5 pm, and features amusement rides, tractor pulls, oxen draws, dairy exhibits, and loads of other rural fair fun all day Saturday and Sunday, too. What I find intriguing is the announcement that the fair is going GREEN this year. All of the power at the fair will be purchased from nonpolluting sources, and fair organizers are also initiating a recycling program for all fair-generated waste. Go, Bethlehem!

She’s going for the hat trick: Newtown native Heather Gunn, who now lives and co-owns a fitness studio in New York City with husband Wil Rivera, will be hitting the road again this year with Trans-Siberian Orchestra for its annual holiday tour. Heather will again be a backup singer for TSO’s East Coast company. Rehearsals for this year’s tour begin October 15 and the first show for the East Coast group will be on November 1 in Youngstown, Ohio. As has been the case in past years, Connecticut fans will have two opportunities to catch this group’s tour. This year the first TSO shows will be on Sunday, November 11 (afternoon and evening performances), and then the group has a pair of shows at Hartford Civic Center on Sunday, December 9. By the time the tour wraps on January 6, Heather and friends will have performed 69 shows.

The tour starts weeks from now but I certainly hope you won’t wait that long to … Read me again.