Quad squad (+ no voting results yet)

AS THE DAYS get cooler and the daylight shorter, our Eat Outdoors Or Gag crowd dwindles. Yet we could not help noticing something afoot in the quadrangle. Six wooden stakes with yellow tape have sprouted up on either side of the OLOM kiosk. What gives?

No, it is not the layout for a bocce ball court in summer and curling lanes for winter as some have suggested. Rather, at the behest of the Ossining Fire Department, we are about to install special grating beneath the lawn so that firetrucks can have access to the southside of the building should (God forbid) the need arise.

Why now? Last year you may recall there was a real fire at the Knoll when a resident left a pot of water unattended on a burner in the fourth floor rec room. It was rather alarming to see smoke seeping out of the eaves of the library wing with several firetrucks answering the call. Luckily damage was confined to a scorched wall but the smoky smell lingered for weeks. T'was then the fire marshals noticed they could not approach the quadrangle (south) side of the building without getting mired in mud if, like this year, we have a particularly rainy summer. Ergo, the grates.

The lawn and topsoil will be removed, the grating laid down which will allow water to drain, and then the lawn replaced so that, God willing, you will never know its under there. The quadrangle will return to its serene glory, the main building will enjoy an extra element of safety and the die-hard outdoor eaters will nosh al fresco till the snow falls.

(Note, as of 10:30 a.m. EDT, no results from the voting for U.S. regional superior have been announced. Deadline was yesterday. Votes counted this morning, but Fr. Clyde first has to phone the results to our Super G who is in Rome with the General Council for their quarterly meeting. I guess being in Rome when we announce our choice for regional makes it easier to....nope...I ain't gonna say it.)