By Dee Richard
A good way to enjoy an autumn day is to take your family for a ride upstate to enjoy the magnificent coloration of the fall foliage. But don't take the thruway – while it is an efficient way to travel, it is not exactly the scenic route. Try Route 9, which is full of interesting towns, antique shops, charming restaurants and in the fall the farm stands are loaded with crunchy delicious apples that you can buy by the basket at very reasonable rates.There is a large stand on the left side of Route 9 driving south from Albany toward New York City. Aside from the aforementioned apples, there are plums, pumpkins and a large array of seasonable vegetables. They also have gallons of fresh pressed cider, their own honey from their own hives, homemade jams and home-baked goods of all varieties. One of our favorites is the New York state homemade cheeses.Try it. You'll love it. Your taste buds have become rather dulled down by all the commercial products we purchase at our supermarkets. When you taste the real deal it's a revelation. It's like comparing buying tomatoes in the store in a plastic box with enjoying some tomatoes that a generous neighbor picked fresh from his garden. Yes, Virginia, there is a difference. Try the trip or not, it's just a thought but it's also a day during which you and your family can enjoy togetherness, a concept that seems to be in short supply these days.Last Thursday was one of our usual killer days. It started at noon with a tree-planting ceremony at the Queens Botanical Garden. The planting of the tree was in memory of Christopher Reese. Chris was Georgiana Reese's husband and if you recall, he died a short time ago. He was such a dear sweet man. We all miss him. Planting a living tree for all to enjoy and remember you by is such a nice memorial.The event was arranged by Frank Macchio and the Flushing Rotary Club. The ceremony was followed immediately by a buffet luncheon in the Queens Botanical Garden main building. Frank arranged for Peter's market on Francis Lewis Boulevard to cater the event. The food was super. If you have a need for such a service, don't hesitate. They are great.Susan LaCerte of the Queens Botanical Garden helped facilitate the festivities, and the children participating in several of the botanical garden programs were on hand to sing as part of the commemorative ceremonies.Some of the guests were Joe Previte, Estelle Cooper and Betty Letterece, in addition to board members of both the Queens Botanical Garden and the Flushing Rotary.I sat next to Virginia Dent, a local community activist and longtime Flushing Rotary member. Virginia did not exactly have an enjoyable summer this year. She went into the Long Island Jewish Hospital in May with a double whammy – a stroke and cancer. She left the hospital in early August and Chris' tree-planting was her first public appearance. She said she feels a little better each day and is looking forward to gradually easing into her busy schedule of community involvement. Good luck and get completely well soon, Virginia, you know you are in all our prayers.Seated on the other side of me was a charming young woman who I believe was the executive director of the Queens Symphony Orchestra. She gave me her card, which I laid on the table, but someone must have inadvertently picked it up. I must confess, I do not remember her name but I do remember she said the Queens Symphony Orchestra is going to hold a Halloween concert at Queensboro Community College. The concert will be preceded by a children's best Halloween costume contest. I will fill you in with additional details later.At 7 p.m. state Sen. Serf Maltese held a meet-the-candidates night at the GOP headquarters on Myrtle Avenue in Glendale. Fourteen candidates were invited, but only six showed up. They were Maltese, who is running for state Senate; Cassandra Mullen, who is running for civil court judge, Stephen Graves, a candidate for the 5th Congressional District; Joseph Cinquemani, who is running for the 7th Congressional District; Meilin Tan, a candidate for the 22nd Assembly District; and Peter Boudouvas for the 26th Assembly District. The other candidates had other commitments. Those who did show up handled themselves rather well. Can they make it? Only time will tell. They seemed very sincere and dedicated to projecting their ideas of what they could contribute to the Legislature.Maltese also announced the delegates from Queens to the Republican National Convention. They are Tan, Phil Ragusa, Katherine James, Morris Lee, Alma Whittaker, Edward Coyne, Maltese, Marge Adams and Lauren Cacioppo. There were also an equal number of alternate delegates. Good luck and well wishes to all the candidates and delegates.After leaving the GOP headquarters we dropped by Assemblyman Mark Weprin's annual pool party at the Deepdale Swim Club in Little Neck. While there, we ran into the Weprin brothers Mark and David, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, state Sen. Toby Stavisky, Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn, Honey Miller, Martha Taylor and more than 100 of the regular faithful too numerous to mention.I can't believe time and space have run out this soon, as we had so many more things and events to tell you about. I guess they will have to wait until next week.Keep the e-mails coming at deerrichard@aol.com, the voice mail messages at 718-767-6484 and the faxes at 718-746-0066.Make sure you enjoy the last weekends of summer.Till next week,Dee
