We must admit that we quite enjoyed an e-mail that we received from another reader. She wrote: "Re your column this am: I too have noticed some strange phenomena on Main Street: Yesterday about 3 p.m. after Bob drove the getaway car and I ran into the Library to return a book I had forgotten to return on my walk at 9 a.m. (a quiet time on Main Street), we continued down Main Street (he driving, I would have turned off asap) and passed four (4), count them, empty parking spaces on the north side of the street. I wanted to stop and park just because they were there but refrained from the temptation and passed up all opportunities. I agree with Wendell Tripp: what parking problem?" We must admit that we would not have been able to restrain ourselves from pulling into one of these four empty parking places. If we find ourselves on Main Street and there is a place to park, we take it just because it is there. Besides, we can normally come up with some errand that we would run if we could, so if we can, we do.

We also received a telephone call from a reader who wished to point out that the intersection of Beaver and Chestnut Streets is not the only troublesome intersection in town. Recently our reader, who lives in Fly Creek, drove into Cooperstown entering the village on Glen Avenue. At Chestnut Street she turned right and then wanted to turn left onto Elm Street. Much to her dismay, there were two cars in what we would consider to be the right hand "Y" of the Elm Street/ Chestnut Street intersection that were situated in such a way that she was unable to make a left turn into the "Y" and then continue onto Elm Street. And since the traffic seemed to be rather heavy, she sat for quite a few minutes, while traffic backed up behind her, before she was able to convince the two cars in the "Y" that they needed to turn left, which was their plan, onto Chestnut Street before she could turn left into the "Y." To say that she was not pleased was, we think, an understatement. Again, our solution would be to post a "No Left Turn" sign in the right "Y" and a "No Right Turn" sign in the left "Y." Who knows ... perhaps there might be a special on such signs. Mayhap there might be a buy one, get one free sign offer in which case the village should consider clearing up both of these troublesome intersections before someone gets hurt. Thus ends the "From the Mailbag" section.

We must admit, however, that traffic does not present the only hazard about town, particularly if one is clumsy. We discovered this past week, that it is quite possible to inflict unnecessary damage upon one’s self by tripping up a set of back porch steps and falling, in no way like a gazelle, flat out on the porch floor. There were, however, two good things about this particular fall. No one was around, so know one knows what a klutz we really are. And we were able to get up and retreat in a timely fashion. We intend to be more cautious in the future as we discovered it was much easier to fall up stairs at the age the eight than it is at the age of almost, but not quite, 60.

Last weekend we had an experience we don’t believe we have ever encountered before. We were invited to a picnic, which was not the unusual part, to which several of the guests made their arrival by skydiving, which was the unusual part, out of a very sleek and very black helicopter. We must say, when we saw the two guests jump out of the helicopter we rather doubted they would land anywhere near the big white X which had been placed in the middle of the designated landing field. But, since they obviously know much more about it than we do, both of the skydivers landed within 10 to 15 feet of the X. We were duly impressed. And we thought it gave new meaning to the phrase "dropping in for lunch."

In closing, we recently watched, and greatly enjoyed, the 1948 movie "The Paleface" with Bob Hope and Jane Russell. In addition to the actual movie, we partook of the various add-ons which included two shorts, "Entertaining the Troops" and "Command Performance 1945," a "Buttons and Bows" sing-along and a theatrical trailer which announced in no uncertain terms "Step Aside Crosby! Now HOPE’S a CROONER TOO!" We got quite a kick out of that pronouncement but we did wonder how old one has to be to understand it.

We remain,

In these Otsego hills,

The Ellsworths

The Ellsworths may be reached by mail at 105 Pioneer St., Cooperstown, N.Y. 13326, by telephone at 547-8124 or by e-mail at cellsworth1@stny.rr.com. They look forward to hearing from you.