Spring Break provides me with a week away from my teaching responsibilities and affords me opportunities to attend local events during regular business hours. I had the pleasure of being able to attend the April meeting of the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce at Palmer's American Grille. I always enjoy meeting with the local chamber members and discussing their needs. The chamber does so much for the village and the surrounding community and I always try to attend when my teaching schedule allows me to. I was able to give their members a short update and answer some questions. The lively meeting and great food had me energized for my next stop. I was invited to speak with the residents of the Hardscrabble Senior Apartments on Main Street. When I walked into their community room I was met with applause and cheers. Honestly, I had to turn around to see if someone else had walked in behind me! Their sincere greeting did not stop them from asking some good tough questions. It was a pleasure to speak with them about the happenings in the village past and present. I was pleased to see them nodding their heads when I mentioned "the original Von Lessens" and their enthusiastic reactions when I discussed upcoming improvements at the Village Green. The seniors, many of them longtime residents of the village and the community, actually asked more questions and provided me with more suggestions and comments than at our liveliest trustee meetings. They were thrilled to hear about the new lighted crosswalks that are going to be installed at Main and Prospect and they were equally excited about the Village Green renovations and the new pocket park by Northside School. I was thrilled to learn that many of them take advantage of the special Senior Citizen Discount Taxi Program that the village sponsors. What really impressed me was their vast knowledge of the many different topics that I discussed. Their hard-hitting questions were sometimes tough, but they listened to my answers and explanations - usually to their satisfaction. All but the one resident, who from start to finish, demanded a nice clothing and shoe store on Main Street! I did promise her that we will continue to work toward attracting that type of store to the village. I had the added pleasure of speaking with many of them after the meeting; reminiscing, discussing issues and answering more questions about the upcoming changes in town. I promised to visit them again soon.