Wed. Feb. 26
Art Exhibit
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will present “Trail Wood Reflections: Writer & Artist In-Residence Exhibition” through Feb. 28 at the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. Free. 860-928-4948.

Art Exhibit
THOMPSON --- The Friends of the Thompson Public Library’s Art @ the Library will present “Perspectives” Works on Mylar by Al Mathes” through Feb. 28. The opening reception is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 10. 860-923-9779.

Thur. Feb. 27
Trivia Fund-raiser
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Lions Club will hold a Trivia Night fund-raiser at 7 p.m. at The Crossings. The fund-raiser will benefit the Putnam High School Wall of Honor.

Fri. Feb. 28
‘Agnes of God’
PUTNAM --- The Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut at the Bradley Playhouse on Front Street will present “Agnes of God” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 and 29 and at 2 p.m. March 1. Due to mature subject matter, discretion is advised for those 14 and under. $21 for adults; $17 for seniors and students. . 860-928-7887.

Sat. Feb. 29
‘Agnes of God’
PUTNAM --- The Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut at the Bradley Playhouse on Front Street will present “Agnes of God” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29 and at 2 p.m. March 1. Due to mature subject matter, discretion is advised for those 14 and under. $21 for adults; $17 for seniors and students. . 860-928-7887.

Sun. March 1
‘Agnes of God’
PUTNAM --- The Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut at the Bradley Playhouse on Front Street will present “Agnes of God” at 2 p.m. March 1. Due to mature subject matter, discretion is advised for those 14 and under. $21 for adults; $17 for seniors and students. . 860-928-788

Tues. March 3
Art Exhibit
THOMPSON --- The Friends of the Thompson Public Library’s Art @ the Library will present “Quilts by Laura Salo” through March 26. An opening reception will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. March 4. 860-923-9779.

Thur. March 5
Nature Program
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret will present “Woodcock Watch” at 5:30 p.m. starting from the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. $5 for CAS members; $10 for nonmembers. 860-928-4948.

Fri. March 6
Teen Weekend
POMFRET --- The Windham-Tolland 4-H Camp on Taft Pond Road will hold a Spring Teen Weekend from 5:30 March 6 through 9 a.m. March 8. $50. Pre-register by March 1:  860-974-3379.

Nature Program
HAMPTON --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret will present “Full Moon Walk” at 7:30 p.m. at Trail Wood on Kenyon Road. Free to CAS members; $5 for nonmembers. 860-928-4948.

Sat. March 7
Culinary Program
CANTERBURY --- The Finnish American Heritage Society of Canterbury will hold its annual Culinary Delights program at 1:30 p.m. at the Finnish Hall, on N. Canterbury Rd.   This year's theme is "Cakes Galore." Free. All welcome.

Prayer Day
DANIELSON --- The Killingly-Brooklyn Interfaith Council is sponsoring World Day of Prayer highlighting the history and current social, political and economic struggles of women and children in Zimbabwe starting with a luncheon at noon at the Danielson United Methodist Church on Spring St. Program follows lunch. 860-928-0308.

Nature Program
HAMPTON --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret will present “Trail wood Troubadours” from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Trail Wood on Kenyon Road. Free. Register at cdtaudubon.org/trail-wood.

‘Plogging’
PUTNAM --- The Putnam with Courthouse Bar & Grille will host a ‘plogging’ event for HMF at 10 a.m. starting at the restaurant. It involves about 2 miles of jogging as a group picks up litter on the trail.

Sun. March 8
Opening Reception
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will host the opening reception and exhibit of the nature photography contest at 2 p.m. For more info on the contest go to ctaudubon.org/Pomfret-home.

Nature Program
HAMPTON --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret will present “Hooray! It’s Daylight Savings Walk “at 4 p.m. at Trail Wood on Kenyon Road. Free for CAS member; $5 for nonmembers. 860-928-4948.

Mon. March 9
Nature Program
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret will present “Being the Change: A New Kind of Climate Documentary,” in partnership with the Pomfret Green Team at 6:30 p.m. at the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. Snow date March 10. 860-928-4948.

Wed. March 11
Blood Drive
PUTNAM --- The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Putnam Elks Club on Edmond Street. 1-800-RED CROSS.

Fri. March 13
Fund-raiser
WOODSTOCK --- The United Services 19th Annual Irish Night will be held at 6 p.m. at The Mansion at Bald Hill in Woodstock. Dinner and music plus a silent auction and drawings. $40 per person or $350 for table of 10. Benefits United Services Children and Family Programs. unitedservicesct.org/events/irish-night.

History Program
CANTERBURY --- The Canterbury Historical Society will present a program “Over There: The World War I Diaries of Dr. Jessie Weston Fisher” following the 7 p.m. business session at the Community Room of the Town Hall. Free. All welcome. Refreshments.

Sat. March 14
Nature Program
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret will present “Woodcock Watch” at 6:45 p.m. starting from the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. $5 for CAS members; $10 for nonmembers. 860-928-4948.

Sun. March 15
5k Run
PUTNAM --- The Courthouse O’Putnam 5 k race will be held today.

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There are several advantages to booking a flight that has connections, with the two main ones being price and convenience.  For these reasons, I will book a flight which has connections, but connecting flights are cheaper and more convenient for ONE major reason; they open up a greater possibility of delayed and, in some cases, even missed travel.
I first experienced the misery of a ‘hiccup’ in my travel plans due to a poor connection when I was just barely 18 and traveling alone for the first time.  My plane was still circling above, in a holding pattern, when my connecting flight departed below.  With the threat of flying without fuel, my plane was diverted to an alternative airport. Twelve hours past my originally scheduled time, and three plane rides later, I finally arrived at my destination.  Back then, I simply turned over my paper ticket, called the airline’s 1-800 number from a pay phone, using my calling card, and the customer service lady actually rebooked all of my travel for me.  Today, unfortunately, airlines do not operate the same.
Recently, we were scheduled to connect, on our way to Boston, through Toronto.  We had a rather long layover and, after our unsuccessful attempt in catching an earlier flight, we proceeded to wait the four hours until our flight. After three and one-half hours, it was posted with a delayed status.  Soon, the gate agents started asking the massing crowd, if there would be ONE passenger willing to give up their seat for a $300 voucher and a seat out on a plane departing the next morning.  A passenger near us went up to investigate the offer and discovered that the flight out the next morning was a connecting flight, taking a total of 10 hours of travel to reach the one and a quarter hour by direct flight, Boston airport. No one accepted the offer. Ten minutes later, the next offer came out for a $500 airline voucher, free hotel room and a seat on a direct flight the next morning. The lovely lady next to us took it.
The delayed time of 30 minutes soon became another 30 minutes and then another 30 minutes. I knew there was bad weather in Boston and began to doubt that the flight would actually happen.  Then, by a miracle, they changed our status to boarding and we all piled on, only to hear from the captain, once we were all settled in our seats, that we were still delayed. We sat on the plane for over an hour before the captain finally said, our flight had been cancelled.  We were instructed to leave the airplane and contact a customer service representative who would assist us with rebooking.
Interestingly, there were no customer service representatives who were willing to assist us with any rebooking and if you called the number provided by the airline, you were connected to a recording telling you to wait and then, after about 20 minutes of no one coming on the line, were told to please try again at another time and then disconnected.
Ultimately, unwilling to spend an additional $2,000 to rebook ourselves on a flight departing three days later, we rented a car and set out, at 11:45 pm for the 10-plus hour drive home.  At that point, we had been travelling and awake for nearly 22 hours.  It was a long night and we learned a valuable lesson; when a flight is overbooked, and they make a good offer to give up your seat—take it!
Cancelled! Cancelled!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!


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Win arts awards
HARTFORD — Two local groups were recently awarded grants from the Connecticut Arts Endowment Fund. The Theater of Northeast Connecticut/Bradley Playhouse of Putnam was awarded $645 and Pomfret’s Opera New England of Northeast Connecticut won $500.
The endowment fund was established by the Connecticut State Legislature to stimulate the development of private sector funding resources and to ensure the long-term stability of Connecticut’s arts industry by providing funding to organizations. The program is administered by the Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA).  Awarded were 147 grants totaling $803,442.

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