Bee Publisher Scudder Smith and Associate Editor Shannon Hicks both saw what may have been the first chairs set up this year to hold a place along the Labor Day Parade route, last weekend. They spotted four chairs in front of the Liberty & Peace Monument as early as 8 am, Saturday. Did anyone see anything earlier than that? Shannon was pretty disappointed when she rode down Main Street a few hours after the parade, however. “I don’t have much of a problem with people who, for whatever reason, don’t take their chairs with them at the end of the parade, but the amount of trash that was left along the road is inexcusable. How do people do that? How do they drop a can here and papers there and not bother to pick up after themselves like that? The monument in particular looked disgraceful,” she grumped. “I just don’t get it.”

The Labor Day Parade was a great venue for military trucks and even a helicopter. But post-parade was not so terrific for the helicopter: hauled down Route 34 on the flatbed it arrived upon, the rotors got all tangled up in some overhead wires near Jordan Hill Road. There was no up, up, and away for that bird.

Labor Day doesn’t have to mean the end of delicious outdoor cookouts. If you’re not in the mood to fire up the grill, however, local attorney Paul Lux has alerted me to a savory delight just up the road. Still drooling after a visit to The One-Eyed Pig on South Main Street, Paul says that he had “the best pulled pork barbeque that I have had in decades.” Raised on barbeque in Alabama among the people of his mother, “an Alabama bomber bride,” there is no pulling the wool over his eyes (or would that be the pigskin?) “I have sampled and searched for this delicacy all over North Carolina where I went to college and where I recently visited my daughter,” Paul raved on. “There is a famous ‘pit’ there in Raleigh which I tried…. The One-Eyed Pig was better.” So good, in fact, that Paul is going to take his mother there. And remember: If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

Dr Joshua Baum has the answer, in case you are finding that your bite isn’t biting quite right on that pulled pork, and lots of folks agree that he’s the man. The Church Hill orthodontist was honored to be featured in the August issue of Connecticut Magazine as one of the top orthodontists in the state. Congratulations, Dr Baum!

Main Street resident Laura Lerman is pleased with the new signage in front of Edmond Town Hall, and sent along this photo — in case you haven’t noticed the improved signs. The easy-to-read sign for the town theater, Lathrop School of Dance, borough offices, Chamber of Commerce, and VNA Thrift Shop has a nice Colonial look to it, blending in perfectly with Main Street’s traditional theme.

I’ve been taken to task by my co-workers for calling the school buses “orange” last week, when clearly, I’m told, they are yellow. School Bus Yellow, to be exact, an honest-to-goodness paint color. An informal poll was taken here in the office, and it turns out more people (here at The Bee, anyway) see the buses as yellow and not orange. The results came back with 18 votes for yellow, plus one vote for goldenrod, one for taxi cab yellow, one for French’s Mustard yellow, one for yellow like that Jeep that’s usually parked outside, two for yellow-orange, and two for orange. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Hey, what do I know? I’m a cat….

Well, I don’t know if he uses School Bus Yellow when he paints, but Magic School Bus illustrator and Newtown resident Bruce Degen is going to join dozens of children’s book authors and illustrators at Celebrate Children’s Book Day, a daylong gala devoted to children’s literature, at Sunnyside, Washington Irving’s homestead in Tarrytown, N.Y., on Sunday, September 19, from noon to 6 pm. The event, sponsored by Sunnyside Federal Savings and Loan of Irvington, will feature more than 50 book authors and illustrators for readings, demonstrations, magic, music, and more. For the full schedule and information, visit www.HudsonValley.org. Admission to Sunnyside is $12; $10 for seniors; $6 for children 5–17; free for children under 5. Sunnyside is at 89 West Sunnyside Lane in Tarrytown, one mile south of the Tappan Zee Bridge, off Route 9.

If you’d like to plan ahead for dinner, consider going to or ordering from My Place Restaurant on Tuesday, September 21. Between 5 and 9 pm that evening, My Place will be hosting a dinner benefit for Sandy Hook resident Detlef “Det” Dahlmayer who, very unfortunately, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. If you don’t know Det, you may know his wife Cathy, who is manager of Drug Center Pharmacy and is also an EMT with Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Association. Mention Det when ordering dinner on the 21st and My Place will donate 20 percent of your bill to support the family. This is an easy way to help some neighbors who need a hand with daunting medical bills.

Newtown resident Vincent Cuocci, center, celebrates with John Vikara, left, and Bob Giddings after winning the semifinal round of the “Know it By Heart” trivia challenge. The event was part of ConnectiCare’s “Setting the Stage 2010” series of free summer events for its VIP Medicare Members and was held at Mountain Ridge in Wallingford on August 24. The top winners from around the state will face off on September 24 in Cromwell, in the statewide finals, which will be hosted by WFSB Channel 3’s Scot Haney.

More than 1,300 museums around the country will be offering free admission on September 25; you need to select a museum in advance and two admission tickets will be emailed to you. To find out which museums are taking part, visit smithsonian.com/museumday. It’s the indoor alternative to leaf peeping, I guess.

It’s not too late to join in the fun and support a good cause this Friday night, September 10, at Reed Intermediate School. RIS teacher Gina Swanson, her parents, and her sister have organized a Master Zumba Class to benefit the American Society For Scleroderma Research foundation, of which they are board members. Scleroderma is a life-threatening autoimmune disease that afflicts 300,000 people in the US alone. Gina and her family hope to draw at least 200 Zumba enthusiasts and those who are curious about the high-energy international dance craze to the Friday night fundraiser. To purchase a $20 wristband, required for entry into the class, call 203-261-0795 or go to asfsr.org. Wristbands can also be purchased at the door for $25. The doors open at 6:45 pm, and the fun begins at 7:30 until 9 pm. I’ll be cha-cha-chaing my way to the school. See you there!

You don’t need to know any salsa steps to find your way to my column in The Bee. I’m making it easy for you to… Read me again.