The 23rd Annual Amish Country Bike Tour on Saturday, Sept. 12, will have an added feature this year — a 25-mile competitive bike race.

    It is sponsored by the Prostate Cancer Awareness Program and Bayhealth Medical Center.

    The race will start at 7:30 a.m. on Legislative Mall and end at nearby Bayhealth Medical Center.

    No, Lance Armstrong isn’t expected to be among the racers.

    That’s not to say, though, that a future top professional racer won’t be there. While the course doesn’t contain any grueling mountain sections — not in flat Delaware — the competition in this first bike race in connection with the annual Amish Country Bike Tour is expected to draw some good athletes.

    Awards will be presented to the top three male and female finishers in different age categories.

    The sponsors of this special race figure that other events in the area are held for causes such as heart health and breast cancer awareness. They figure that prostate cancer, which affects such a large percentage of older men, is something that will benefit not only from the increased attention it generates but also from the funds raised for prostate cancer screenings and research.

    (I’m one who has benefited from early detection and successful treatment.)

    For more information about all the details of the well-established and always popular Amish County Bike Tour itself, register online at www.visitdover.com or call 800-233-5368 or 734-4888. Over the years the Amish Country Bike Tour has raised thousands of dollars for deserving local organizations.

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    While Mary and I were grocery shopping the other day it was a pleasure to run into Dolly Ingram after not seeing her for some time. And that in turn led to my getting a chance to walk outside and talk to her husband Vern, who was waiting in their car and resting because of his recent back operation.

    Vern and I go back a long time and his role in helping the Dover Post Company in its early years has never been forgotten.

    Vern was upbeat as he talked about the back operation at a Baltimore hospital and, in answer to my questions, mentioned the several other health problems he has faced and overcome in the past few years. He’s a fighter, and his positive attitude doubtless was a factor in his meeting a succession of health challenges.

    Vern is also the kind of quiet benefactor to individuals and organizations in the community who is well remembered by those whose lives he has touched.

    *****

    We often don’t go to the movies, but we had heard how enjoyable the “Julie and Julia” film was and ventured to the Dover Mall a few nights ago for the 7 p.m. showing.

    We got there a little before 7, expecting because of the publicity to see a crowd surging toward the ticket windows, but were surprised that we were able to get tickets immediately.

    And when we went to the seating area for the movie we were further surprised to be the only ones in the place.

    This didn’t last for long. A few more patrons straggled in. Even so, the attendance was sparse. It must have been that those wanting to see the film had already been there, or that a bigger crowd would be coming for the later showing.

    So, for being there on time, what did we see?

    We saw 25 minutes of commercials before the movie itself started!

    What’s odd about this situation is that you pay for the seats, and even senior seats  aren’t cheap, and find you also have bought a flurry of messages that you could well do without.

    Anyway, the movie itself was great. Meryl Streep is amazing. We think she is the best actress in Hollywood. You would have thought she was Julia Child herself as the movie unfolded.

    *****

    A bouquet to Congressman Mike Castle for holding public meetings on legislative issues, even though his experience in doing so hasn’t been entirely pleasant.

    But a brickbat to Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman for dodging such public meetings. Using electronic means to reach citizens is one way of making contact with constituents, but it doesn’t take the place of face-to-face encounters.

    While there have been shouting matches at public meetings around the country, I think this conduct has been over-emphasized in the television coverage and probably on the computer sites as well. My prediction is that in Delaware it would be possible for any one of the state’s three Congressional representatives to start off a meeting with an explanation of the need for restraint and have that advice heeded.

    Am I naïve about this? I don’t think so. This is Delaware. The state has a reputation for civility in its political conduct. If the two senators gave public meetings a try they might be pleasantly surprised at how they would go, and their reputations would be burnished in the process.

    *****

    Again the city employees who plant and tend to the flower gardens have outdone themselves at the many different flower patches around the Capital City. Especially in the area of City Hall the imaginative designs, involving a variety of blooms, are a delight to the eye and senses.

    It is well worth looking at these flowerbeds even if you don’t have time to smell them.

    For a while now it has been on my mind to mention another group of skilled city employees who also do their jobs especially well. I am referring to the men -— if there are women involved I haven’t seen them -— who pick up the city’s trash, both that in the big plastic barrels and the other items and branches left on the side of the streets.

    They all do an exceptional job and deserve the public’s thanks. These few words reflect my personal appreciation.

    *****

    A polar bear walks into a bar and orders a scotch …. and Coke.

    “Why the long pause?” the bartender asks.

    The bear answers, “I don’t know — they’ve always been this length.”