Saturday was a red-letter day in Westport.
Actually, a red-white-and-blue day.
Early in the morning, community volunteers — including Scouts from Troops 39 and 139 — gathered at Assumption Cemetery on Greens Farms Road
They placed new flag holders and flags on the graves of veterans.
“Today was about recognizing our heroes, and making sure their sacrifice is remembered,” says Phil Delgado, quartermaster of VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399, which funded the project.
Donations to help fund more flags and holders are welcome; email delgadopa@icloud.com. If any veterans’ graves were missed (not all had military inscriptions), email VFW Auxiliary member Patty Kondub: Nortonpk@icloud.com.
(Photos courtesy of Andrew Colabella and Patty Kondub)
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This past Tuesday, a Stamford gala celebrated Michael Douglas’ career as an actor, producer, nuclear disarmament activist and philanthropist. The event was a benefit for the historic Avon Theater.
Among the star-studded crowd were politicians and businesspeople. Plus 3 former Downshifters — buddies from Douglas’ teenage years in Westport.
The trio flew in from across the country: Charlie Taylor (Kentucky), Tom Hatch (New Mexico) and Morgan Smith (Idaho).
Michael Douglas with Charlie Taylor, Morgan Smith and Tom Hatch, at Stamford’s Avon Theater.
The Downshifters were a civic-minded, educational and fun hot rod club, in the 1950s and ’60s. Parents Magazine named them one of the 14 outstanding youth groups in the country. (“There must have been a father in town who worked for them,” a member said.)
(Click here and click here for some great Downshifters back stories. Click here for one featuring Michael Douglas himself.)
A young Michael Douglas. He attended Bedford Junior High School, but his parents shipped him off to boarding school instead of Staples.
The Stamford event — emceed by Terre Blair — included a short film clip of Taylor’s music, with images of cars and people from the Downshifters days. Douglas was stunned.
Another, less important video tribute, came from Michael Bloomberg.
(Click here for the Downshifters video. The music is as good as the photos. After his hot rod days, Taylor had successful dual careers, with Vanderbilt University and as a noted Nashville singer/songwriter.)
As for Michael Douglas hot rod: He had a 1947 Mercury, with a Model A axle in the back. It was named the “Ruptured Duck.”
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Speaking of film stars: Wynston Browne has enjoyed quite a whirlwind of activity.
The Staples High School senior — a non-speaking autistic teenager whose communication via a typing device has opened up his own world, and shown the rest of the world his remarkable, wide-ranging and tremendous intelligence — was featured in a News 12 profile.
On Saturday, the Cablevision team — including host Mark Sudol and Frank Bruce Rosen, who conceived of and filmed the piece — were honored as an Emmy winner.
Wynston Browne
Meanwhile, the film “Presumed Incompetent” — starring and inspired by Wynston’s life — has been accepted as a finalist at both the Santa Monica, California ETHOS Festival (November 9) and New York’s Big Apple Film Festival (December 12, 657 West 57th Street, 5:45 p.m.; click here for tickets. Click here for a link to Wynston’s acting reel.)
ETHOS is an awards program and film festival recognizing impact-driven films casting lights on critical current social causes and themes.
Wynston will do talkbacks — using his communication devices — at both the ETHOS and BAFF festival screenings.
“06880” is proud to say we knew and admired Wynston even before he was a star!
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Everyone was a winner at Saturday’s Challenger baseball’s 12th annual Halloween game and party.
The Westport Winners — the team that competes in a league for boys and girls with disabilities — squared off for an intra-squad game: Team Spooky vs. Team Scary.
Thirteen buddies from middle school age to adult joined the young athletes, along with many families and spectators.
Afterward, everyone enjoy pizza and Halloween treats.
The vibe was as fantastic as the weather.
Dressed for Halloween — and baseball. (Photo/Beth Cody)
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Clarendon Fine Art — the great gallery at the head of Main Street — welcomes Craig Alan next month.
A reception for the solo show — featuring the artist’s distinctive images of iconic faces, buildings and abstracts, in hundreds of intricately painted figures — is set for November 22 (6 to 8 p.m.). Click here for details.
Art by Craig Alan
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There are just 3 days till Halloween.
So naturally, today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature features:
(Photo/Copyright DinkinEsh Fotografix)
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And finally … on this date in 1893, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique” premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.
He died 9 days later, of cholera.
(Today — if you enjoy any of these Roundup stories — “06880” challenges you to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
