How The Fox and The Turkey races in Batavia benefit the community

Many runners gravitate to competitive local events in which they can have finish times electronically certified before they move on to the next event. But they also keep an eye on what sort of organizations may benefit from their participation.

In that regard, if I were a runner (and believe me, I am not) the 2019 The Fox and The Turkey races held on Thanksgiving Day in downtown Batavia would be on my radar for a few reasons.

First, it is an event hosted by the Fox River Trail Runners and the Accelerated Youth Running Club, meaning that a lot of people, including sponsors, dedicated to running, are involved.

Second, it's not likely you're going to have any sort of guilt trip about eating that extra piece of turkey or pumpkin pie later in the day because you've turned in a nice round of exercise in competing in the 4-mile race (or the youth mile race).

Third, and most importantly, from my view, the races benefit the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry on Flinn Street. Race organizers are asking participants to consider an additional donation when registering or picking up their race packets for the event by bringing a non-perishable food item.

Some runners who sign up for the races may not even realize where their money may end up. That's OK, of course. But let me assure you that the Interfaith Food Pantry has done much over the years to help those in need in the Fox Valley.

The pantry is undergoing its own form of excitement, one that can often occur with a transition in personnel that everyone can support. Betsy Zinser stepped down on Sept. 1 after three years as executive director at the food pantry to high praise from the food pantry board.

In what appears to be the smoothest of transitions already, the board gave the top job to Eileen Pasero, who has been with the pantry for two years as the assistant director.

Those who work for the pantry or benefit from it know that Zinser accomplished much in keeping Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry at the forefront of the community.

More importantly, these people have made the pantry a fun place to work, and that always translates to good things for those they are trying to help.

As runners lace up their shoes before leaving the house on Thanksgiving morning to participate in The Fox and The Turkey Races, remember to bring along that extra donation.

Runners can still register online until Sunday, Nov. 24. Both races start on Houston Street in Batavia, with the youth mile race at 7:30 a.m. and the four-mile race at 8:15 a.m.

Bakery changes:

For the past several weeks, I was curious about what happened to Sweet Natalie's gluten-free bakery at 228 S. Third St. in Geneva. Owner Ilene Davis sent a note saying she relocated the shop to Wheaton. She opened the bakery last weekend at 2017 S. Hale St.

In the meantime, Lorena Juarez, owner of Eye Candy Bake Shop in Geneva, confirmed she'll be moving her business into the lower level of the former Sweet Natalie's location. That lower level has the kitchen space vendors previously used when selling goods at Sweet Natalie's.

Juarez said plans are in the early stages for moving Eye Candy from its current spot on Stevens Street, where she rents kitchen space.

"We'd like to be open along Third Street, hopefully in time for Christmas Walk," Juarez said. "But we have many things to do prior to that."

Regardless of when it opens, Eye Candy, which specializes in all types of goodies from wedding cakes to pastries for various celebrations and dessert displays, is likely to become a bit more of a retail walk-in bakery along Third Street with multiple goodies for sale.

The 'sneaves' formula:

Last year around this time, I lamented the messy mixture of raked leaves piled up along parkways with a few inches of snow on top of them. It's an ugly aftermath.

I called it getting "sneaved," meaning despite everyone's best intentions, the combination of leaves and snow somehow won out. It became a mess because of unexpected snowfalls before city crews could remove the leaves.

This must be how Mother Nature prefers it. At the end of October, we and nearly everyone else in town had leaves piled up and ready for the first scheduled pickups.

And it snowed a few inches on Halloween. Yes, it appears getting "sneaved" is just a fact of life now.

It doesn't work:

Ahhh, yes, modern technology. It is so wonderful. Or is it? Let us count the ways.

In the past couple of weeks, the number of robocalls coming in on my landline and mobile device created a considerable annoyance, and forced me to let everything go into voicemail.

I noticed my Apple TV remote control didn't work, even after I powered it up. So I unplugged everything, and it started working again.

I noticed Alexa on our Amazon Echo wasn't responding to my commands. So I unplugged her, and she started talking to me again. Why? I have no clue.

I noticed a weather app on my iPhone had suddenly dropped Geneva off the map as if the town didn't exist. It took a few days before Geneva, on its own, decided to come back into my digital world.

I noticed my iPhone wanted to do a software update but claimed there wasn't enough storage space on the phone to do it. So a note suggested how to do it through my computer. I tried that and it didn't work. Probably because the steps they described in the note didn't exist on my computer, even though I have a fairly new version of the operating system.

I noticed my laptop wasn't always responding to my finger commands on the keyboard pad. So I was thinking about attaching a mouse, but I didn't have one.

So, I went downstairs and put a Beatles album from 50-plus years ago on my 50-plus-years-old turntable and amplifier. And it worked perfectly, as they always have (yes, you can contact Ripley's Believe it or Not ... I have had the same turntable and amp since sophomore year in high school).

It made me wonder if all of these high-tech companies realize their stuff doesn't have the best track record for actually working.

dheun@sbcglobal.net