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Farewell to New Canaan

Columnist Laurie Cantillo pens her final column.

My son recently graduated from and hit the road for a summer job and college. On his Facebook page he wrote, "Goodbye New Canaan. Stay classy."

Now it's my turn.

After two years as your humble weekly Patch columnist, I'm downsizing and moving closer to the city so I can spend my free time doing something besides riding the train. , but I've had enough of , leaky roofs, smelly bathrooms, and no AC. I'm so over your broken stabilizers that induce motion sickness. I'm fed up with riders who hog 2-3 seats, sighing heavily when you ask them to move. 


I'll miss this weekly dialogue with you. I've had great fun sharing my life as a mom and New Canaan newcomer. Hopefully I've made you laugh and made you cry; no doubt I've ticked you off on occasion.  

In addition to ranting about Metro North, my columns frequently centered around two of my favorite topics: kids and animals.  

I received a ton of fan mail and hate mail after my column appeared, in which I took some neighbors to task for shooting Bambi because she favored their lilacs.

I shared with you the heartbreaking , who was attacked by a coyote. I crusaded to raise awareness of this , which produced a coyote sightings map on Patch and hopefully saved some of our pets. I wrote of . I shared my dog and the .

Another column on the at Talmadge Hill drew considerable reader response, as well as some dirty looks from the workers on the project.

My life as a mom has been an open book, as we've discussed everything from to to why I need a case of .

Along the way we also debated politics, from to tax incentives for .

I'll miss and being a small part of the modernist movement in New Canaan. I'll miss the deer, red-tailed hawks, frogs, squirrels, and wild turkeys (but not the and raccoons). I'll miss the great schools, Waveny Park, and Pinocchio's veggie pizza on Friday nights. I'll miss my whip-smart editor Sheryl Shaker. I'll miss my delightful neighbors who to protect from falling trees. I'll miss hearing from YOU every week.

My kids won't miss living in a fishbowl.

Farewell New Canaan. Stay classy.

MPM July 27, 2011 at 11:30 am
Dear Laurie,
Good luck to you and "Le Mosquito" at YOUR "Next Station to Heaven". I've rarely agreed with you, but I haven't missed one of your articles. Always well written. Thanks for that. I moved here not long after you, and your very sad article about the loss of your dog, Crash, helped us make the difficult but much better decision to rehome a pet, rather than bring him here in the middle of winter. My whole family is grateful as our little buddy is quite happy in his new home. Bambi is still a Disney character.
Larry July 27, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Ms. Cantillo,
All the very best to you and your son. I will miss reading your column very much. Oftentimes your words pushed us into an uncomfortable place where we had to consider some aspect of our community that was previously "unspoken." If that nudged us toward being a bit more open-minded, God bless you! New Canaan needs someone to hold a mirror up to it every once and while to keep it real. Good Luck!
Audrey L. D. Petschek July 27, 2011 at 03:37 pm
Hey, met you after the Modern House tour at the cocktail party...will miss you here.
We can NEVER have enough animals lovers and advocates! Best of luck in your new life!!!
Eva Levine July 27, 2011 at 05:15 pm
Many thanks for your wonderful insights and humor, Laurie. Will miss your column (and the lively debates it prompted). All the best to you.

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