Weston Versus The New York Times

"It's not hard to understand why Puritan settlers in Connecticut slapped the Devil's name on so many ridges, rivers, and gorges. These barren areas were probably so difficult to farm or even traverse that they might have seemed cursed."

Who on earth would want to live there? Aside from Keith Richards, Jose Feliciano, Johnny Depp (ok, we aren't 100 percent on the facts surrounding Captain Jack Sparrow's Weston residency, but we'll pretend) and many other luminaries too fabulous to mention who enjoy the bucolic nature of our fine town, with its excellent schools, well-run and fiscally sound government, and friendly residents?

Apparently not C.J. Hughes, intrepid New York Times reporter, who so described lovely Weston. Patch figures he must have spent roughly 30 minutes in town, although he did take time to note our "stoic" white colonials (huh?), dams (we have dams?), and the indigenous alewife (that's a fish. Endangered, apparently, by our devilish dams).

What a shame that Hughes did not spend a bit more time investigating Weston and its extraordinary residents (although he did manage to locate Dawn Egan, a pillar of our community, and give a brief mention of the Weston Warm-Up Fund).

Had Hughes simply asked around, at , for example (he did visit there, noting that we lack a "quaint village shopping district"), he would have discovered that our town's residents have an extraordinary commitment to the community, the schools, and the environment at large.

Weston is well-known for its spirit of volunteerism — he would have learned that on the town's website — and its residents who care deeply about the quality of life here. He also would have learned that Westonites like the town just the way it is, thanks (although we could, in truth, stand for a tax reduction, because enough already).

And although it's true that we could probably use a teen center or coffeehouse and a nail salon, we did just get a new dry cleaner. And he does note that Westport is just down the road.

He was right about one thing: change does come slowly here. But that seems to be just the way we like it, and the reason why our town is as lovely as it is.

It seems that Hughes visited Weston with preconceived notions, to which we say, return, whence you came.