The yin and yang of June

June is a transitional month, marking (for many) the end of
the school year and the beginning of summer recess. On the last day of school,
we marked the occasion with a small parade though our neighborhood, led by my
wife and my daughter (with our dog Gigi in tow). We bopped to the Ramones’s
“Rock and Roll High School”; my wife cued up “Limbo Rock” and everyone took
turns to see how low they could go.

For every June beginning, there are other endings. By the
end of June, the Fast Ferry will resume service, but Donuts Delite, a longtime
family favorite, will close after 47 years of operation. The Malleys always
delivered a product superior to the lackluster efforts of the now ubiquitous
donut chains. When we were expecting our first child, I made frequent trips to
satisfy my wife’s cravings for their delectable pumpkin donuts and french
crullers. I’m sure our kids would gladly surrender themselves to a diet of
chocolate-frosted, Bavarian-Cream-impregnated love bombs.

We’ll take a few more trips to Donuts Delite before truly
saying goodbye. I overheard a waitress say she plans to “eat a donut a day
until I’m sick of them; that way I won’t be sad about the closing.” However,
she lamented, she wasn’t sick of them yet.

With the Malleys leaving the scene, that leaves the Ridge
Donut Café as one of the last real donut shops. When Torontonians disembark
from the Fast Ferry, we’ll have to shuttle them over there and show ’em what a
real donut tastes like.

— Stan Merrell

This week for
families

Arnett Branch Library Wed, July 6. magician Bill Gormont, 310 Arnett Blvd, 2 p.m. 428-8214

Brighton Memorial
Library story times: Mondays 10 a.m. (ages 3-4), 10:30 a.m. (ages 1-2.5);
Thursdays 7 p.m. (families) | Thurs, June 30, read a good movie lately? Harry
Potter, ages 9-12, 3-6 p.m. | 2300 Elmwood Avenue. 784-5300,
www.brightonlibrary.org

Cool Kids Days Fri, July 1. Jay Stetzer: Worlds Full of Stories, Sagawa Park, corner of Erie
and Main Sts, Brockport, 7 p.m. Free. 637-3984

Henrietta Public
Library Thurs, June 30, comic books, 7-8 p.m. | Thurs, June 30, Faries and
Other Magical Beings, ages 5-10, 10:30-11:30 a.m. | Fri, July 1, patriotic
craft, 12:30-1:30 p.m. | Wed, July 6, family bingo, 7-8 p.m. | 455 Calkins Rd.
359-7092

Rotary Sunshine Camp
Open House Wed, June 29. Muscular Dystrophy Association, 809 Five Points
Rd, Rush, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 424-6560

Summer Food Program through Aug 26 (except July 4). Breakfast and lunch served to people 18 years
and younger, at sites throughout Rochester. Free. 428-6896, 325-1440

Summer Institute Thurs, June 30. seminar on the college admission process, St. John Fisher
College, 3690 EAst Ave, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. 385-8070

Bowling for the future

How will our kids ever make it in the future? Some of them
will never learn to tie their shoes, opting for Velcro or slip-ons forever.
Some won’t learn to add or multiply in their heads, using calculators instead.
And some will never know the true joy of bowling, because they don’t know how
to keep score.

We are now well into the new millennium. But I still miss
the old one, and keep a few reminders around. I have a rotary phone. I fondly
remember getting up to change the channel on the TV, and I also remember the
mental workout of keeping score while bowling. Sadly, most kids today only know
about push button, cordless, and cell phones. They only know about changing 500
channels with a remote control device. And, perhaps saddest of all, they only
know their bowling scores by looking up at computer monitors.

The true pleasure of knocking down ten pins was knowing that
your next two balls would count twice. What a great idea. This device could
give you hope: just when things seemed bleakest, you could knock down all ten
pins and suddenly be in contention again.

The 21st century, following in the steps of the 20th, is all
about making things faster, better, and easier. But what, pray tell, are we
doing with all this extra time? Maybe we appreciated a show a little more when
we had to get up and change the channel. And maybe that 81 in bowling meant a
little more when we saw how the pins added up.

— Lynn Malooly

This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 5, 2005.