Pic Of The Day #650

Posted on January 27, 2019 | 17 comments

Manhattan skyline, from Beachside Avenue (Photo/David Squires)

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Photo Challenge #213

Posted on January 27, 2019 | 14 comments

Maybe the lousy weather meant everyone was binge-watching Netflix or making fires. Maybe everyone was away for Martin Luther King Day weekend. Or maybe everyone who leaves Granola Bar is so excited about their granola bars that they don’t look around.

Those are some reasons I came up with to explain the dearth of responses — and, after more than 24 hours, only one correct one — to last week’s Photo Challenge. (Congrats, Jay Dirnberger!)

Elaine Marino’s image showed a mysterious crop circle-like scene, all green and gray. It sure looked like an aerial shot.

It wasn’t. It was the design in the median strip at Playhouse Square — you know, the one right outside Granola Bar.

Click here to see Elaine’s photo. Then get ready to click “Comments” to answer this week’s Challenge.

It should be easier than last week’s. At least, you have to look up instead of down.

(Photo/Amy Schneider)

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Henry Wynne Won!

Posted on January 27, 2019 | 9 comments

On Friday, “06880” previewed Henry Wynne’s attempt to break the world 4×1 mile relay. The former Staples High School and University of Virginia track star now runs for the  professional Brooks Beast track club.

The race was yesterday, in New York. Many Westporters were on hand to watch Wynne and his teammates not only beat, but absolutely demolish, the world mark. Peter Gambaccini — also a former Wrecker runner, now a noted track journalist — reports:

Westporter Henry Wynne and 3 Brooks Beast track club teammates traveled 3,000 miles and fulfilled their mission by shattering the world record for the 4×1 mile relay by almost 9 seconds on Saturday, clocking a 16:03.68 at the Dr. Norbert Sander Invitational at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York. The quartet broke the old record of 16:12.81 set 2 years ago by the Hoka One One NJ/NY Track Club.

“Winning this race and not getting the record wouldn’t have meant nearly as much,” said Wynne, who established a Connecticut high school mark of 4:05.04 for the mile while at Staples, and has since gotten down to 3:55.23 as a pro with the Seattle-based Brooks team. Wynne ran a 4:02 for the second leg of the relay and gave the Beasts a slight lead in what remained a tight race with the Hoka foursome, before anchorman Izaic Yorks pulled away to give his team a victory by more than 12 seconds.

An extremely animated Wynne bounced up and down on the track, shouting and gesticulating with his arms as he exhorted his last two teammates through  the efforts that gave Brooks the triumph and a world best time. At the end, there were plenty of hugs. Brooks Beast coach Danny Mackey’s observation that “Henry’s a team guy” seemed like an understatement.

Henry Wynne and his father, after the race. (Photo/Jeff Mitchel)

“This is just a starting point for what we want to accomplish,” said Wynne. Indeed, he and his 3 relay partners have all broken 4:00 for the mile, and Mackey had declared before the race that the foursome might go under 16:00. With the confidence Saturday’s race brings, that could well be achieved if the team returns to the Armory in 2020.

Wynne, who had a sizable and demonstrative personal cheering section on Saturday, attended the University of Virginia after his Staples years and was the NCAA Indoor mile champion in 2016. In his senior year, his athletic life was undone by a bout of pneumonia and knee surgery.

Mackey couldn’t really know what Wynne’s post-surgery prognosis would be, but was drawn to his personality and believed he’d be “a good fit” for the Brooks Beasts. “He gets the details. Right away, he bought into everyone on the team.”

In 2018, Wynne set career bests for 800 and 5000 meters and the mile. “I owe him a debt of gratitude,” he said of Mackey. “He believed in me when a lot of others didn’t.”

Healthy and again making progress, Henry Wynne can continue paying that debt with his next race: an individual mile at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2 weeks.

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Idle Talk

Posted on January 27, 2019 | 17 comments

Alert — and concerned — “06880” reader Tracy Newman writes:

Last Sunday night marked the start of the Jewish holiday Tu B’Shevat. It originated as a way to calculate the age of trees. Today it’s evolved into a time to celebrate nature, and protect the environment.

The backdrop of this holiday is a good time to remind Westporters of one small change they can consider making, to help the earth.

One of our town’s greatest treasures — its beautiful coastline — is accessible to Westporters of all ages. Children crowd the playgrounds. Kiteboarders ride the waves on windy days. Sun worshipers soak up rays. Picnickers, shell collectors, fishermen, sand castle builders — the list of people and activities at Compo goes on and on.

Even during winter’s frostiest days, people still come to Compo. They walk their dogs. They gundle up and stroll the shoreline. They perch on benches, or sit in their vehicles and take in the view.

No matter the weather, the Compo Beach view is gorgeous. (Photos/Betsy P. Kahn)

How fortunate are we that even those who prefer to stay inside their car, admiring the dynamic vista — from sunrise to sunset, low tide to high, bright sun to stormy clouds — can enjoy Compo? It is to those people that I make my heartfelt request.

Please, turn off your engine.

Chilly? Bring a blanket.

On the phone? Switch your headset to speaker.

Listening to music? On most newer cars, the radio continues until you open the driver’s door.

Why bother making these adjustments?

Because idling your car is bad for the earth.

The Environmental Defense Fund says, “For every 10 minutes your engine is off, you’ll prevent 1 pound of carbon dioxide from being released.” Carbon dioxide is the primary contributor to global warming.

Running your engine also costs you money. The EDF calculates that an idling car uses between 1/5 to 7/10 of a gallon of fuel an hour.

Idling your car makes people sick. It emits hazardous pollutants linked to asthma, heart disease, chronic bronchitis, and cancer.

Idling your car can even damage your engine. The California Energy Commission says idling leads to “the build up of fuel residues on cylinder walls that can damage engine components and increase fuel consumption.”

Finally, it’s against state law. Unnecessary idling for more than 3 minutes is illegal.

Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies (RCSA) 22a-174-18 prohibits vehicles of all kinds from unnecessary idling for more than 3 minutes.

So whether you do this for the earth, your wallet, your health, your car or your civic duty: Please, turn off your engines. Together, we can all make the planet a little greener.

And Happy Tu B’Shevat to you all!

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Pic Of The Day #649

Posted on January 26, 2019 | 5 comments

Downtown via drone (Photo copyright/John Videler for Videler Photography)

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Remembering Billy Mills

Posted on January 26, 2019 | 15 comments

Billy Mills — a descendant of one of Westport’s oldest families, now in its 10th generation here — died Wednesday. He was 75.

His nephew, Jacques Voris, writes:

Born in Norwalk Hospital at 13 pounds, 13 ounces, Billy grew up on North Avenue in a house his father, Homer Mills, built from materials salvaged from the Bedford family racetrack pavilion in Greens Farms. Billy was like his father: a frugal Yankee who did not let anything “perfectly good” go to waste.

When Billy was young, North Avenue was a narrow dirt road lined with ponds. When it snowed, men plowed it by hand.

He  attended Greens Farms Elementary School, Long Lots Junior High School, and was a member of the first class to go all the way through the new Staples High School up the street from his home.

Billy Mills, around 1960.

As a teenager he developed what became a lifelong passion for automobiles. He was a member of the legendary Downshifters, a car club that met on Friday nights at the YMCA.

In 1965 Billy married Judith Ann Nelson. They lived in his grandmother’s former house on North Avenue, adjacent to his boyhood home. He renovated the house using bricks from the original Staples High on Riverside Avenue, after it was torn down in 1967. The couple lived there until 2014.

Billy operated a refuse collection business for 15 years. He then worked for his father’s masonry company, Homer Mills & Sons. He left to work for AJ Izzo as a carpenter. Their most notable project was the development of Imperial Landing.

When AJ opened Crossroads Hardware, Billy set out on his own as a carpenter. He earned a reputation for quality work, with many repeat customers. He helped restore the Red Barn for the Nistico family, building the new back bar.

Billy was an immensely generous man, unconcerned with monetary fortune. His wealth was measured by the people who thought highly of him. He was always willing to help. A man might not have 2 nickels to rub together, but Billy would gladly give the shirt off his back. He had a legendary ability to borrow anything, and would just as readily lend.

The century-old Mills home at 54 North Avenue. It has since been torn down.

Billy is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Judith; son Christopher; sister Patricia; brother Homer; grandson Christopher Devon, and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 9 (11 a.m., St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Westport).

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Pic Of The Day #648

Posted on January 25, 2019 | Comments Off on Pic Of The Day #648

Everybody loves the Westport Farmers’ Market. The winter version is held each Saturday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, 7 Sylvan Lane South. (Photo/Lisa Lewin for Westport Farmers’ Market)

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Friday Flashback #126

Posted on January 25, 2019 | 24 comments

I’m never sure when it will happen. But certain “06880” posts elicit dozens of comments. Naturally, some of them wander far from the original topic.

A recent post on commuter train etiquette is a great example. One reader cited a 1975 New York Times story about a private railroad car “serving about 65 top NY business executives on daily trips from Southport, Conn, to Grand Central.” The price was quite a bit higher than the regular commuter fare.

In 1949, Life magazine showed Westport commuters enjoying a card game, in an elite railroad club car.

That brought a reaction from another reader. He said:

The New Haven/Penn Central provided several club cars for private membership-only groups who leased them. They featured more spacious seating and had a private attendant serving food and drinks. The cars were discontinued when the state took over in the early 70’s and bought new equipment that was incompatible with the existing club cars and declined to configure new equipment for new club cars, though the Southport Club members offered to pay “any price” for a new car.

And that brought an email from Bonnie Bradley. The Westport native and longtime resident now lives upstate. But she recalls the Southport Car well.

Many Westporters rode it — including her grandfather, James P. Bradley.

He started as a clerk at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Fifty years later, he retired as secretary of the entire firm. Bonnie writes:

“Every workday from the early 1930s through the early ’50s he rode the Southport Club Car (which stopped in Westport). He and his cronies, including Fred Bedford, played poker every day in the Southport Club Car.

Bonnie sends 2 photos. Here, her grandfather is the handsome man in the center:

Here are the cards he held on December 3, 1956, when he won a hand with a once-in-a-lifetime event. His poker mates took the cards, signed their names, and had them framed for him.

Does anyone play cards on the train anymore?

Does anyone talk to anyone else, in fact — beyond someone Very Important on the other end of a cell phone?

Why should they? We’ve got podcasts, Spotify, laptops and tablets. There’s work to be done, or so many ways to entertain ourselves.

We’ve come a long way since 1956.

Or have we?

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Will Henry Wynne?

Posted on January 25, 2019 | 8 comments

Henry Wynne is at it again.

The 2013 Staples High graduate — the greatest male runner in school history, who set a state scholastic record in the mile (4:05.04), then starred at the University of Virginia, and has since roared to a personal best 3:55.23 — aims for a world record tomorrow.

Wynne is now based in Seattle. He runs professionally for Brooks Beasts. He and 3 teammates will compete in the Dr. Norbert Sander Invitational at the New York Armory. Their goal: beating the 16:12.81 time for the 4 x 1 mile relay.

Henry Wynne (Photo/Paul Merca)

That record was set 2 years ago by the Hoka One One NJ/NY Track Club. They’ll run at the Armory too.

All 4 of the Beasts have sub-4 minute mile times.

Tomorrow’s race begins at 1:46 p.m. It will be televised on NBC Gold.

(Hat tip: Peter Gambaccini)

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VanGo Paints A Pretty Transportation Picture

Posted on January 25, 2019 | 4 comments

Once upon a time, parents (aka “mothers”) hauled their kids all across town, to all their different activities, all the time.

Then came Uber. It’s a great, easy-to-use driving service. The downside is: You’re never really sure who is driving your kids.

Enter VanGo.

The app is — well, an uber-Uber. Aimed specifically at the pre-teen and teenage market, it addresses the sketchy-driver question head-on.

Drivers are nannies, teachers, babysitters — and especially mothers. In fact, 85% of all drivers are moms.

Each is carefully vetted. They must have at least 3 years of childcare experience. They’re fingerprinted, and their driving records checked. They must supply references. Their vehicles are inspected too.

VanGo is the brainchild of Marta Jamrozik. (The app’s great name was her husband’s idea.)

Marta Jamrozik

Marta lives in Norwalk; her parents are Westporters. A former management consultant with a Fortune 500 company and a Forbes “30 Under 30” honoree, she’s intimately familiar with the pressures of suburban parenting — including how to get your kid from Point A to Points B, C, D, E and F, then home for dinner.

While dads do their share of driving, Marta knows the burden falls disproportionately on women. By easing it for them — and hiring so many women as drivers — she calls VanGo “a feminist company.”

Since the June launch, the app has been downloaded over 1,000 times. Many of those users are Westporters.

“There are so many working parents” here, Marta notes. They use VanGo not just to manage their schedules — to stay later at work, for example — but to manage their personal lives too. A parent who is not chauffeuring can squeeze in a yoga or fitness workout, she notes.

VanGo is not just an after school service, Marta says. Parents also use it during those stressful mornings, when driving a child to school may clash with an early train or meeting.

A VanGo screenshot.

More features: Parents can schedule “recurring rides” (say, ballet every Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m.) with ease. They can book in advance. And they can track each ride from start to finish, via GPS.

Feedback has been strong. A single mother of a pre-teen son was frustrated with Uber. “They often get our address wrong, do not wait, and are really not geared toward younger riders,” she says.

VanGo’s drivers wait. Her son often has the same drivers. And when she speaks with them, “they’re parents themselves — so they get it.”

It is a little more expensive than Uber. But, this mother says, “the peace of mind is worth it to me.”

Slide over, Uber. There’s a new driver in town.

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Posted in Children, Local business, People, technology, Teenagers, Transportation

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