On opening day of the Beijing Olympics, Chairman Mao Zedong gazed sternly from a large portrait looming above Tiananmen Square onto a China he would not recognize today. From the balcony where "The Great Helmsman" proclaimed on Oct. 1, 1949, the founding of the Peoples' Republic of China, there was no sign of the revolutionary zealotry that once fueled the creation of the communist superpower. Returning to China for the first time in 21 years, I didn't recognize it either.

Cousin Bob invited us all down to his farm last Sunday for the family’s annual end-of-summer gathering.

“Let’s not go,” my wife said. “Your family gives me the creeps.”

“We have to show up,” I replied. “The end-of-summer gathering is a family tradition. We have a lot of traditions in our family.”

TO THE EDITOR:

I wanted to make sure to thank Paul Bello of Chili Head Barbeque, Pat Brophy of Brophy Construction and the Lions Club of Easton for a fantastic Blues Festival last week at the Center School in Easton.  It was clear that the people involved in this family event put an awful lot of thought and effort in to organizing the evening.  The organizers made sure the event was safe, entertaining and delicious.

TO THE EDITOR:

On Saturday, Aug. 2, a hearty group of local volunteers showed up bright and early to help out with a rather unglamorous job. The Rockery, centerpiece of Easton’s historic downtown, was badly in need of a good weeding. At the request of the historical commission, members of the Easton Garden Club and the Easton Lions Club joined forces and cleaned up the site. The Easton DPW also provided a truck to haul away the debris. As a town-owned property, one which CPA funds helped restore, the Rockery is known and seen by anyone who travels through down town. As we all know, weeding is at the bottom of everyone’s to-do list. The project became necessary when the volunteer landscaper who had been maintaining the area was no longer able to do the job.