Congratulations to Holly and Phil Smith who celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Sept. 24, continuing in the ranks of us oldsters whose lives are intertwined with many memories. I am working on an essay about “Lov’en Life After 80,” mostly for my own edification during this time of relative quiet. If any of you has ideas or experiences to share, please email me at kitleigh@roadrunner.com

Beginning Oct. 1, the Southport bridge will open all 24 hours on demand, dropping the summer schedule of opening between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on the hour and half hour.

Not quite on demand, but beginning on Saturday, Oct. 17, following a phone call, we can once again enter our Southport Memorial Library to browse through offerings.  Look elsewhere in this paper for a longer article on the subject, but the bare bones of the opening are:  (1) you phone the library (633-2741) for an appointment time; (2) you may stay up to 30 minutes; (3) only five people may be browsing at one time.  If you do not feel comfortable entering the building, you may still phone in a request for a book, and Anne or Jen will put it outside on the bench for you to pick up. You can also find more information at www.southportlibrary.org

Our Southport Central School continues to be so creative. Be sure to enjoy the students’ pictures of themselves hung in our post office. How many schools could have a ‘Forest Friday” where children explore nature around them? For example, last Friday, the combined kindergarten and first grade used their five senses to find items around the pond that had different textures and smells. The second and third graders have been collecting Monarch caterpillars to watch their metamorphosis into butterflies, which they then release outside. So far three healthy butterflies have been released. Not only are the older children learning how the brain works, they have made paper mache brains, learning the different lobes and their functions.

Remember the Gift Barn at the Southport General Store is having a sale during opening hours Thursdays through Sundays with 25% off on many items.

With all three of the Sherrill offspring here this weekend and a rainy Monday so no tennis buddies from whom to gather information, this column is a little shorter than usual. I hope for more news next week.