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Current Affairs: Have We Reached the End of Reading?, Sep 17, 2026 @3:00

September 15, 2026 /

The first Current Affairs meeting of the 2026-2027 DMA year will happen on Thursday, September 17 at 3pm (NOTE TIME CHANGE!) in the Lillian Gade Room at the DCA and on Zoom.

Our topic will be: Have We Reached the End of Reading?
The Atlantic Monthly declared as much on the cover of the August issue. Let’s discuss whether we agree with the author’s diagnosis and assessment of the causes and impact on people and society. Joining us with first-hand reporting from the front lines will be Francis Janosco, longtime English teacher at Darien High School. I can’t wait to hear his perspective.

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The article providing our starting point is:  The End of Reading Is Here – The Atlantic (also attached).
Agree with it or not, it’s well sourced, well crafted, and a very interesting read. The article, unsurprisingly, generated what Barry on Wednesday crudely called “a shitstorm.” A more DMA-worthy way of describing it might be “a massive amount of serious reaction, much of it critical.” We’ve attached an extended and annotated reading list. Start with a NY Times rebuttal:  https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/opinion/reading-test-scores-smartphones.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AVE.7ylE.wE1xx8bLHDYa&smid=url-share (also attached, because the link in the reading list does not work)
Here’s what we want you to do. PLEASE do read and think about the two attached articles. Then wander through the reading list. Pick one or two that interest you, and bring those perspectives to the meeting. If you want a good place to start, these two contain some spicy criticism of the Atlantic piece:

Book Club: London Falling by Patrick Keefe, Nov 11, 2026

September 9, 2026 /

“From the bestselling, prize-winning author of SAY NOTHING, a powerfully compelling account of a family devastated by the apparent suicide of their nineteen year-old son, only to discover he had created a separate identity which drew him into the dangerous international criminal underworld underlying London’s glittering surface. In the early morning of November 29th, 2019, surveillance cameras at the headquarters of MI6, Britain’s spy agency, captured a video of a young man pacing back and forth on a balcony of Riverwalk, a luxury building on the opposite bank of the Thames River. At 2:24 a.m., he jumped. In a quiet London neighborhood several miles away, Rachelle Brettler was worried. She hadn’t heard from her son Zac, who told her he had gone to stay with a friend for the night, but wasn’t answering his phone. Five days later, a police car pulled up in front of the house, and she knew she was about to hear the news every parent dreads: Her son was dead. In their unbearable grief, Rachelle and her husband Matthew tried to understand what had happened to Zac. He had his troubles, but in no way seemed suicidal. But his death was just the beginning of the shocks: The man who owned the apartment in Riverwalk, a wealthy businessman named Akbar Shamji, told them he knew Zac by a different identity: Zac Ismailov, the child of a wealthy Russian oligarch, whose widowed mother was living in Dubai and freezing him out of his inheritance. Then they learned that the apartment was occupied by a notorious gangster known as “Indian Dave” in London criminal circles. Indian Dave had been implicated in a gangland slaying and fled the country, but for opaque reasons came back to England and was never prosecuted. From the physical evidence and recovered text messages between Shamji and Sharma, it appeared something very different than a suicide had taken place in Riverwalk that night. But to the immense frustration of the Brettlers, Scotland Yard seemed to have no interest in investigating. In a bravura piece of reporting and writing, Patrick Radden Keefe delves into a story that peels back multiple layers of mystery, and exposes the seedy truths beneath the glamourous London of posh mansions and private night clubs, a world sustained and abetted by fundamental corruption. Zac Brettler was not the only person in the tale spinning lies. London Falling is a mesmerizing investigation of an inexplicable death, fueled by multiple turns and revelations, but at its heart it is a deeply empathetic portrait of a family trying to understand not just why their son died, but who he was”– Provided by publisher.

Hike Southford Falls State Park Hike September 10, 2026

September 9, 2026 /

On Thursday, September 10, the Hale and Hardy hikers will travel to Southford Falls State Park for a two-mile hike.  The park features impressive waterfalls and a beautifully restored covered bridge. The loop trail is marked in red with moderate climbing of some 400 feet up to a fire tower with a 360-degree view of the park’s treetops. There are some rocky portions of the trail where firm soles on your shoes are recommended, and a hiking pole may be useful, but not essential.

For those wishing to carpool, we’ll meet at the back of the DCA parking area at 9:30 am on September 10.  Ample parking is available for those not carpooling. Set your maps for the parking area at 175 Quaker Farms Rd, Southbury, CT. Non-DMA members and pets on a leash are welcome to join us.

After our hike, those who are able can join the group for lunch at Dock 34 on the way home in Seymour, CT. It boasts a scenic location and outside tables on the banks of the Housatonic River.

Wander Brooklyn, May 21, 2026

May 10, 2026 /

Thursday, May 21, at 8:36 a.m. at Darien Metro-North Station or 8:39 a.m. at Noroton Heights Metro-North Station

On Thursday, May 21, the Wanderers will travel to Brooklyn and wander across the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn to lower Manhattan.  We will take the Metro North train to Grand Central that leaves the Darien train station at 8:36 a.m. and the Noroton Heights train at 8:39 a.m. As usual, we will gather at the Information Booth on the main floor of Grand Central and proceed together by Subway to Brooklyn.

The Wanderers will wander on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade enjoying the picturesque views of lower Manhattan and New York Harbor and proceed through historic Brooklyn Heights and over the architecturally impressive Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan.  The Wandering will continue past City Hall to the South Street Seaport.

We plan to have lunch at a restaurant in or near the South Street Seaport and conclude with a Wandering around the South Street Seaport and to the Wall Street or Fulton Street Subway Station before returning to Grand Central and home via the Subway and Metro-North.

Contact:  Chet Cobb or Harry Bergen

Summary:

“On May 21, thirteen fearless Wanderers traveled to Brooklyn and braved windy and rainy conditions while wandering across the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn to lower Manhattan.

Notwithstanding the challenging weather, the Wanderers first enjoyed the picturesque views of lower Manhattan and New York Harbor as they wandered on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade beginning at the monument commemorating the site of George Washington’s headquarters. The Wanderers also wandered on the well-maintained streets of Brooklyn Heights admiring the well-preserved architecture and beautiful landscaping and paused at the historically significant Plymouth Church, sometimes referred to as “the Grand Central Depot” of the Underground Railroad, and viewed the statue of its founding pastor, Henry Ward Beecher.

The highlight of the day was of course the wandering over the architecturally impressive Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. When first opened in 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world spanning roughly 1.1 miles. The Wandering then took the wanderers past City Hall and down Fulton Street to the South Street Seaport.  There the happy Wanderers dried off and enjoyed a tasty seafood lunch at The Fulton by Jean-Georges with its impressive views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River before taking the Subway and Metro-North home.”

(1)  Wanderers Bill Waters, David Helgans, Letty Helgans, John King, Harry Bergen, Howard Courtemanche, Bob Hughes, Joe Spain, Albert Duryea, Mary Kay Cobb, Chet Cobb and James Hansford facing wind and rain while traversing the Brooklyn Bridge. Photo by Sam Bridges;
(2)  Wanderers Joe Spain, Albert Duryea, John King, Harry Bergen and Bill Flowers eagerly ascending the Brooklyn Bridge.  Photo by Chet Cobb;
(3)  Wanderers Albert Duryea, Joe Spain, Howard Courtemanche, Harry Bergen, Bill Flowers, Sam Bridges, Bob Hughes, Letty Helgans, Mary Kay Cobb, John King, James Hansford, Chet Cobb and David Helgans  preparing to enjoy a well-earned lunch and
4)  Wanderers Bob Hughes, Bill Flowers, John King, Harry Bergen, Albert Duryea and Sam Bridges happy after lunch. Photo by Chet Cobb

Wander to the US Naval Submarine Base. Sep 24, 2026

August 20, 2026 /

Happy Wanderers

  • Thursday, September 24th, at 9:15 a.m. at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, CT

PLEASE READ THIS EMAIL IN ITS ENTIRETY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THIS WANDERING TO THE U.S. NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE

On Thursday, September 24th, the Wanderers will drive to the U.S. Naval Submarine Base New London (SUBASE) in Groton, CT, known as the “Home of the Submarine Force,” and enjoy a visit to the Submarine Force Museum and Historic Ship Nautilus, a Windshield Bus Tour including a brief wandering on the Upper Base and lunch on the SUBASE.  As a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, DMA member Paul Hendrickson was able to open the door to this exciting opportunity.

This visit to the SUBASE will begin at 9:15 a.m. with a self-guided tour and wandering through the Museum and onto the Nautilus.  At 10:15 a.m., a Public Affairs representative of the SUBASE will welcome us in the Museum Theater and provide an overview of the U.S. Navy, the Submarine Force and the SUBASE.  Following this presentation, a highlight of this wandering will be a bus tour of the Upper Base that will offer views of the Submarine School, galley, barracks, medical facilities, other key support structures and the Lower Base.  A Public Affairs representative of the SUBASE will be with us on this bus tour and wandering and will provide historical insights.  The tour will conclude with a brief wandering on the Upper Base followed at noon by a pizza buffet lunch at REUNIONS PUB on the SUBASE.  Lunch is expected to include assorted pizza, salad, cookies and soft drinks/water and social engagement with SUBSCOL Sailors.  Following lunch at 1:00 p.m. a bus will transport Wanderers to the parking lot adjacent to the Museum where Wanderers will have parked their cars upon arriving at the SUBASE and will drive home.   

Sign-ups for this tour and wandering will begin in person at the DMA meeting on Wednesday, September 2.  If interested in participating in this tour and wandering, please sign up in person at the September 2 meeting and provide when you sign-up the information and payment required below.  Sign-ups by email for this tour and wandering will not be accepted until after 1:00 p.m. on September 2, at which time an email signing up for this tour and wandering with the information required below should be sent to Harry Bergen at bercom100@gmail.com.  

The size of our group has been limited by the SUBASE to 36 participants so, if interested, please sign up in person at the meeting on September 2.  Sign-ups will be accepted on a first-come basis.  Due to the anticipated popularity of this tour and wandering and the group size limitation, we unfortunately are unable to include the spouses of DMA members.  A waiting list will be established if this tour and wandering is over-subscribed.  

All visitors to the SUBASE must be U.S citizens with a real ID or U.S. passport and must be ambulatory.  When signing up for this tour and wandering, you will be required to provide your full name, social security number, date of birth, place of birth, real driver’s license number including state of issuance or U.S. passport number as such information is required to be submitted to the SUBASE on Thursday, September 3.

The cost to each Wanderer to participate in this tour and wandering including lunch is $40 and is non-refundable.  Please pay such amount in cash when signing up.  The deadline for receipt of payment is Wednesday, September 17.  

For those who want to car-pool, we will rendezvous at the DCA parking lot at 7:15 a.m. and then organize into groups for the drive to the SUBASE.  Those interested in car- pooling from Darien should plan to park their cars in the rear of the parking lot at the DCA.  We will depart from the DCA parking lot by 7:30 a.m. and arrive at the SUBASE at 9:15 a.m. as the self-guided tour and wandering will start at 9:15 a.m. in the Museum.   We will park our cars just outside the entrance to the SUBASE in the parking lot that is adjacent to the Museum.  We will gather inside the entrance to the Museum to begin our tour and wandering.    

Contact:  Chet Cobb, Harry Bergen, or Paul Hendrickson

Hike Aug 13, 2026
Huntington State Park in Redding

August 6, 2026 /

On Thursday, August 13th, the Hale and Hardy will head out to Huntington State Park in Redding. This expansive, one-thousand-acre park showcases ponds, fields and densely wooded pathways. We will be traversing a 2.3 mile section that offers an excellent sampling of this varied terrain. 

 Woof. Woof. Dogs on leash are welcome and most of the ones you will encounter are wet from splashing about in the ponds.

Happily, there is ample parking on-site at our entrance on Sunset Hill Road in Redding, so feel free to go directly. For those wishing to carpool, we will meet at the DCA lot at 9:30AM and sort ourselves. When parking for our outings, please remember to use the back portion of the lot.

 Per usual, spouses and significant others are welcome. Post-hike, we will enjoy a repast at The Olde Blue Bird Inn at 363 Black Rock Turnpike in Easton, just north of the Merritt Parkway.

And most importantly when you see him, please give a hearty welcome to Peter Smith, a new frontier guide for our treks!

 Alec Wiggin 

Peter Smith  p

Golf Aug 20, 2026, Country Club of Darien

August 3, 2026 /

We are more than halfway through golf season and our next golf outing is August 20th at the Country Club of Darien 9-10 AM. We have 20 DMA members signed up however, we have room for 24. Please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to join us.

 

The price is $212 for golf and lunch. The club will accept checks only and should be made out to CCD upon arrival August on 20th. There will be a final email with tee times shortly.

 

If you would like to sign up, please respond to my email.

 

Best, Steve Tru

Book Club Jan 13, 2027
Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

August 2, 2026 /

November 11, 2026:  pick up Culpability by Bruce Holsinger (fiction), for your January 2027 discussion. Pub date of the book: July 8, 2025/380 pp.

Set at a summer rental on the Chesapeake Bay, a riveting family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence, from the bestselling author of the “wise and addictive” (New York Times) The Gifted School.

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret that implicates them in the accident.

During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie’s future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And Lorelei’s odd behavior tugs at Noah’s suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident—suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal. When Charlie falls for Monet’s teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI.

Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.

Book Club Dec 9, 2026
The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the remarkable American Life of a 109-year old Man, by David Von Drehle

August 2, 2026 /

October 14, 2026:  pick up The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the remarkable American Life of a 109-year old Man, by David Von Drehle, for your December discussion.  Pub date of the book: January 1, 2023/205pp.

(suggested by Chip Schroeder) 

Goodreads Choice Award

Nominee for Readers’ Favorite History & Biography (2023)

One of our nation’s most prominent writers finds the truth about how to live a long and happy life in the centenarian next door.

When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship—and a profound lesson in the meaning of life. Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom. Thus armored, Charlie’s sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey across the continent, and later found him swinging across bandstands of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru’s president.

David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie’s resilience and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. As a gift to his children, he set out to tell Charlie’s secrets. The Book of Charlie is a gospel of grit—the inspiring story of one man’s journey through a century of upheaval. The history that unfolds through Charlie’s story reminds you that the United States has always been a divided nation, a questing nation, an inventive nation—a nation of Charlies in the rollercoaster pursuit of a good and meaningful life.

 

Book Club Nov 11, 2026
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, by Patrick Radden Keefe

August 2, 2026 /

September 9, 2026:  pick up London Falling:  A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, by Patrick Radden Keefe, for your November discussion.  Pub date of the book: April 2026/384 pp.

A spellbinding account of a family devastated by the sudden death of their nineteen-year-old son, only to discover that he had created a secret life which drew him into the dangerous criminal underworld that lies beneath London’s glittering surface

In the early morning of November 29th, 2019, surveillance cameras at the headquarters of MI6, Britain’s spy agency, captured video of a young man pacing back and forth on a high balcony of Riverwalk, a luxury tower on the bank of the river Thames. At 2:24 AM he jumped into the river.

In a quiet London neighborhood several miles away, Rachelle Brettler was worried about her son. Zac had told her that he had gone to stay with a friend, but then he did not come home. Days later, a police car pulled up and two officers relayed the dreadful news: her son was dead.

In their unbearable grief, Rachelle and her husband, Matthew, struggled to understand what had happened to Zac. He had his troubles, but in no way seemed suicidal. As they would soon discover, however, there was a lot they did not know about their son. Only after his death did they learn that he had adopted a fictitious alter-ego: Zac Ismailov, son of a Russian oligarch and heir to a great fortune. Under this guise, Zac had become entangled with a slippery London businessman named Akbar Shamji, and a murderous gangster known as “Indian Dave.” As the Brettlers set about investigating their son’s death, they were pulled into a different and more dangerous London than the one they’d always known, and came to believe that something much more nefarious than a suicide had claimed Zac’s life. But to their immense frustration, Scotland Yard seemed unable—or unwilling—to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In a bravura feat of reporting and writing, Patrick Radden Keefe chronicles the Brettlers’ quest, peeling back layers of mystery and exposing the seedy truths behind the glamorous London of posh mansions and private nightclubs, a city in which everything is for sale, and aspirational fantasies are underwritten by dirty money and corruption. London Falling is a mesmerizing investigation of an inexplicable death and a powerful narrative driven by suspense and staggering revelations. But it is also an intimate and deeply poignant inquiry into the nature of parental love and the challenges of being a parent today, a portrait of a family trying to solve the riddle not just of how their son died, but of who he really was in life.

Book Club Oct 14, 2026
Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind
by Simon Winchester

August 2, 2026 /

August 3, 2026: pick up Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind, by Simon Winchester for your October discussion.  Pub date of the book:  November 18, 2025/416 pp.

New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester returns with a thought-provoking history of the wind, written in his edifying and entertaining style.

What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by the National Weather Service.

In 2023, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds—the force at the center of all these dangerous natural events—are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency.

While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind—a vital source of clean and “safe” power.

Between these two poles—wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet—lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the “natural disasters” that are becoming more frequent and regular.

The Breath of the Gods is an urgently-needed portrait across time of that unseen force—unseen but not unfelt—that respects no national borders and no vessel or structure in its path. Wind, the movement of the air, is seen by so many as a heavenly creation and generally a thing of essential goodness. But when it flexes its invisible muscles, all should take care and be very afraid.

 

Oct 28, 2026
Samantha Gault and Tim Smith
The Mather Legacy: An American Story Film; Narrated by Scott Pelley

July 28, 2026 /

Tim Smith

Over the last 25 years, Tim has excelled as a television news producer adept at producing top rated and award-winning documentaries, interviews & news segments for America’s leading news outlets. The quality of his work is attested to by winning a national and regional Emmy, five Emmy nominations, two Gracie Awards, Grierson Award, Genesis nomination & Cable Ace nomination.

Tim has worked with and directed top news talent including Lester Holt, Brian Williams, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Judy Woodruff, Norah O’Donnell, Jim Lehrer, Bob Woodward, Chuck Todd, Charlie Rose, Natalie Morales, Roger Mudd and Savannah Guthrie. His strong record of big gets includes interviews with Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Dick Cheney, John Updike, Joe Biden, Audrey Hepburn, Ted Kennedy, Sandra Day O’Conner, Gerald Ford, Laura Bush, Donald Trump and Mitt Romney.

Samantha Gault

Samantha is the Executive Director of the Mather Homestead Foundation and has a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA from Middlebury College. This beautifully preserved house and landmark offers a glimpse into American revolutionary history through rich and engaging programming, including literary conversations, lectures, and events. This past year Samantha and the Mather Homestead have had a focus on the America 250 celebration from the point of view of Middlesex Parish. Samantha reflected, “for me, studying history and looking back has always been about not losing my way.  How can you know where you are or where you are going if you do not know where you have been? That is as important for nations and communities as it is for individuals”.

The Mather Legacy

Directed by Tim Smith and narrated by Scott Pelley, this short film is a powerful tribute to both the Mather family and the enduring American spirit. Spanning nearly four centuries and interviewing experts in American history, The Mather Legacy chronicles the family’s journey from their 1635 arrival in the New World to the present day.

Darien’s Mather Homestead. Built in 1778 and raided by Tories during the Revolutionary War, Mather Homestead was home to six generations of Mathers, including Moses Mather, Darien’s leading voice for freedom in 1778. It is now dedicated to historical education.

There will be discussion after the 30-minute film.

 

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