About Town: Events In Rye

Between the big bucks school budget votes coming up Tuesday and the rescheduled appearance of Grammy Award-winning country music artist and author Rosanne Cash  --daughter of superstar Johnny Cash – taking place that same evening at 7 p.m. at the library, there’s lots going on ‘round collective Rye over the next few days.

Which brings us first to “Adult Ed” at the , the Adult Education group that’s going to begin talking the talk starting Tuesday as part of a new casual community discussion group focusing on contemporary issues.

The group is called “Together on Tuesday at Ten” and will meet on the third Tuesday of every month from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to talk about anything and everything–current events, relationships, interpersonal dynamics and more.

Group participants will help determine the discussion topics to discuss, said Jane Mickatavage and Nancy Steed, who will launch the project and be the co-leaders of the group. They will set up the structure, prioritize topics, serve as co-facilitators and handle the publicity.

Ultimately others and potentially group participants will become more actively involved in the organization, including facilitating the group and handling the details.

The initial discussion topic will be "The Internet: Its effect on our lives, pro and con.”

The purpose of the program is to give intellectually-minded people an opportunity to mix and mingle while engaging in thoughtful discussions on a wide variety of interesting subjects.

Together on a Tuesday at Ten is designed as a no-pressure, drop-in gathering place with no need to commit to a certain number of programs, according to the founders. It is intended to be a highly interactive discussion group and not a time for presentations or outside speakers.

Further information: RPB, phone: 967-0842; www.ryepc.com or Ms Mickatavage (swingramm@aol.com; phone: 967-8659) or Ms. Steed (steedheart@aol.com; phone: 328-9658).

As for the school budget vote, enough has already been said pro, con, and “vox pop” (as in the Latin for vox populi as in the voice of the people) will speak in the voting booths.

As Roseanne Cash, she will be interviewed by Rye’s own, CBS-TV personality Anthony Mason, a RFRR Auxiliary Board member, responsible for getting the country music star to make her Rye appearance in the first place.

He will interview her on the joys and pains of growing up in her father’s giant shadow while trying to emerge with an identity and life of her own, an ongoing journey she writes about in her best-selling 2010 memoir titled “Composed.”

She will also discuss her illustrious, ever-evolving career that has produced 12 albums (including Right or Wrong, King’s Record Shop and The List), 11 number one country singles (perhaps  most notably Seven Year Ache) and won the 1985 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Perforrmance for her rendition of I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me.

Her music often reflects a fusion of country, rock, roots and pop genres with a knowing tone that comes from having been there and done that, which should make for an interesting conversation as she walks the line with Mason.

And while we’re talking about library goings on, save the date for the upcoming RFRR Vehicle Fair this Sunday, May 22, from 11:30 to 3 p.m. at the , rain or shine. It includes something like 35 vehicles to climb, ride and explore. It features all kinds of family fun– bouncy castles, plasma car races, and a silent auction to a raffle with great prizes. It is one of the prime fund-raisers for the cash-strapped library, which has been doing a great job in the face of severe budget cuts.

For example, did you know that in each month of 2011 60 new borrowers signed up for library cards? That 800 new books, CDs, DVDs and audio books were added to the collection? That 8,000 items were checked out, 1,600 reference questions got answered, 75 programs were presented with more than 2,300 attendees, and an infamous library character known as “The Weazel” just got busted for, in effect, using one of the library computers as his own personal office, bypassing the password so he could have unlimited access to the computers until his hogging was noticed by one of the reference librarians? So there was a change in the password, a shift in key that left the “Weaze” logged out.

 Only in Rye, kiddies, only in Rye.

Who else tells you things like this? No answer required. Just get out and vote. Walk the line.  Talk the community talk. And enjoy the goings on in and about Rye.