As the owner of Mill Plain Cleaners in Danbury, Pierre Rochman occasionally receives an urgent request from a customer for same-day service. But the “pressing” request he got on Friday afternoon, September 22, had a bit of a twist. “Two gentlemen dressed in suits brought in a couple of flags and asked if they could be pressed that same day. There’s nothing too unusual about that, but then my secretary called back to me that the men insisted that they had to stay with the flags,” Pierre said.

Pierre, who was working in his back office, said it would be fine if the men wanted to wait while the flags were ironed, but his secretary called out to him that the men could not let the flags out of their sight. Now that, he thought, was a little unusual, so he went out to get the flags himself and press them. To his surprise, the men followed him right into the pressing room and emphasized, “We can’t let the flags out of sight.”

While the gentlemen stood not four feet away from the steam press, Pierre attempted to find out more about the flags and the situation. “The were pretty close-mouthed, though. I asked if the flags were very valuable and they only said, ‘Very valuable.’” Curious as to why Mill Plain Cleaners had been selected for the service, he inquired, but received only a small, quiet smile in response. “I did get the feeling they had checked me out,” Pierre said.

Pierre carefully steam pressed the two 3-by-5-foot flags, one the American flag and the other a heavily embroidered Presidential flag, under the men’s watchful eyes, folded the flags in layers of tissue to prevent further wrinkling, and sent the men on their way. Within the hour, they were back, this time with certificates of appreciation from the White House Communications Agency.

As a former Republican chairman for the Newtown Legislative Council for many years, Pierre said, “This is kind of a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling to have been able to do this for a Republican President.” Incidentally, President Bush was in Greenwich for a fundraiser on Monday, September 25. Coincidence?

It may be time for the President to order an update of the US Postal Service motto. For several hours last week, the main computer at the front desk at the Newtown Post Office was out of commission, the victim of a power surge. Apparently a squirrel on a power line outside the post office stood up for a stretch, completed a circuit, completed his life, and created the computer’s fatal power surge. The postal workers took it all in stride, however, and reverted to some precomputer-age methods long enough for the errant computer to be fixed. Neither snow, nor rain, not heat, nor squirrels…

Here’s a tip for the person who swiped four leashes from Steve, the ever-patient dog walker in The Pleasance: you could have gotten four leashes at the dollar store and kept your integrity intact for a paltry four bucks. Fortunately for Steve, both he and his dogs are statues, so the leashless canines won’t be wandering into the intersection anytime soon.

That intersection at Main Street, Sugar Street, South Main Street, and Glover Avenue, by the way, is scheduled to get a new set of traffic signals, courtesy of the State of Connecticut. The new traffic signal system is intended to improve traffic flow through the often-congested intersection. When in operation, Sugar Street motorists and Glover Avenue motorists will each have their own traffic signal phases, meaning that when passing through the intersection they will not have to compete with motorists approaching the intersection from other directions. Early this week, workers installed the new standards from which the new signals will be suspended.

I had a good time last Saturday night at Cherry Grove Farm, off Beaver Dam Road, where scouts from Boy Scout Troop 270 were having a campout, picnic dinner, performance of skits, and flag retirement ceremony. More than 100 people attended the event at the rustic area. Scoutmaster Peter Lubinsky presided over the activities.

I didn’t stay too late at the campout because I wanted to be well rested for the Newtown Historical Society’s 22nd Annual Autumn Antiques Show held at the Edmond Town Hall gymnasium on Sunday. The show is a fundraiser for the society. While at the show, I chatted with some local dealers including Peggy Jepsen of Ram Pasture Antiques, and also Louise and Dick Baker of Baker Antiques. Simultaneously, the society had an open house at its museum on Main Street where the featured attraction was a display on the manufacture of cloth painted dolls, which were common in homes about 150 years ago.

It was a busy weekend, but it seems like the season of special events is just getting started. When the trees start turning brilliant colors, people just want to get out and about. This weekend the Sandy Hook Fire Company is having its big tag sale, Canine Advocates is having its “Putting On The Dog” fundraiser on Saturday night, and the highlight of the weekend, from my perspective, will be Blessings of the Animals at St Rose on Saturday, and at Trinity Church and United Methodist Church on Sunday. Bless me, and…

Read me again.