Is it a coincidence that American Diabetes Awareness Month, November, follows smack-dab on the heels of Halloween? Whatever the reason, the American Diabetes Association has made it a goal to help others understand diabetes and its consequences. Diabetes is the body’s inability to produce or use insulin, resulting in high glucose levels in the blood. This year, the association is urging everyone to “get started living a healthy active lifestyle through the America Gets Cooking to Stop Diabetes campaign.” According to the American Diabetes Association, almost 30 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes, and another 86 million are prediabetic. As many as one in three adults will have diabetes in 2050, if preventative measures are not taken. Find out more about diabetes, and simple ways to change your lifestyle and food habits to prevent this debilitating disease, at www.diabetes.org.

I don’t know if this was someone also in line, or a phoned-in act of paying if forward, but the Sandy Hook Promise office got a call last week from a teacher in Marysville, Wash., who said that “a Sandy Hook parent bought her a Starbuck’s coffee.” If only there was enough coffee to heal the heartbreak.

Political supporters outside of the polling places on Tuesday must have sighed a sigh of relief at the balmy temperatures. No matter how dedicated one is to a cause, standing out in weather like the windy chill of the days preceding Election Day would have tried anyone’s enthusiasm.

November 11 was originally designated to honor the end of World War I, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Known as Armistice Day for many years, the date has become a day to honor all veterans of all of the wars in which this country has been engaged since World War I. Schools in Newtown learn about Veterans Day and host various programs next Tuesday, including breakfasts and luncheons for veterans and their families. If you want to be a part of a Veterans Day program, the VFW will host a Service of Remembrance, Tuesday, November 11, at 11 am, at the VFW Post 308, Freedom Way, off of Wasserman Way. The public is welcome to attend.

It is never to soon to think about the holidays, and how we can share our bounty with those who may have less. Newtown firefighters will host two Fill-The-Fire-Truck Food Drives this month, both to help FAITH Food Pantry, as Thanksgiving approaches. Members of Botsford and Dodgingtown will be collecting donations outside Stop & Shop in Sand Hill Plaza on Sunday, November 16. Their counterparts in Hawleyville, Hook & Ladder, and Sandy Hook will follow suit the following weekend, with their annual collection Saturday, November 22, at The Big Y on Queen Street. Both collections will run from 9 am until 2 pm, and all donations — nonperishable items or financial offerings — will be delivered to the pantry immediately following each event.

If you can sneak out of town for just a little while this Saturday, a trip to Roxbury might be in order. “Familiar Paths,” an exhibit of mixed media sculpture by Liz Alpert Fay of Sandy Hook and photographs and paintings by former Newtown resident Kimberly Day Proctor, now a resident of Southbury, will open with a reception at Minor Memorial Library, 23 South Street in Roxbury, on November 8, from 2 to 4 pm. Both artists are excited about the show, which will include Ms Fay’s interesting, unusual, and sometimes humorous sculptures, alongside Ms Proctor’s photographic scenes of New England and Pennsylvania, and landscapes inspired by her home state. “Familiar Paths” will remain on view through January 3. The library can be reached for additional information by calling 860-350-2181.

Newtown resident Rosemary Rau has been busy curating two new art exhibitions, the first of which will be a pop-up exhibit this weekend in the center of town. Bottle Stop Wine & Spirits, at 5 Queen Street, will host a two-day exhibition of works by Adele Moros and Aline LaPointe. Both are members of The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown, which is sponsoring the show. The works can be viewed Saturday from 9 am until 9 pm, and Sunday, November 9, from 10 am to 5 pm.

Rosemary’s next project will be later this month, when her home gallery, Art In Residence, presents a show at Avancé Esthétiques Day Spa in Sand Hill Plaza. That show will feature watercolors by DeAnn Prosia, jewelry by Justine Aspinwall ,and glass art by Heidrun Morgan. “Holiday Arts Show: Shoppers Delight” will be on view November 23 until December 31, and will open with a celebratory reception on the 23rd. Additional details are still being planned, according to Rosemary, who hopes to have what she is calling “an informal jewelry fashion show” among the special offerings. Stay tuned.

Thanksgiving is looming on the horizon, and that means turkeys. I scratched around and came up with some facts about wild turkeys, just in case you prefer these birds roaming the woods, not your plate. In 1930, turkeys had been hunted nearly to the point of extinction. Today, healthy-sized flocks have returned to the woodscapes. Did you know that a wild turkey has almost 6,000 feathers? While “beards,” those feathers popping out from the chest, are mainly a manly thing in turkeys, 10 to 20 percent of female turkeys also have beards. Turkey chicks feed on bugs, berries, and some seeds, while mama turkey adds small reptiles to her diet. And that old expression “Run like a turkey” may be based on the fact that turkeys can hoof it at 25 miles per hour — and wing it twice that fast. If you’re planning to catch your own turkey for T-Day, looks like you better put on your running shoes. (Thanks to www.nwtf.org for fun facts.)

I would look like a turkey if I didn’t come up with more news next week, and that is just not an option for me. Find out what I find out when you… Read me again.