It’s the green, green grass of home

On a trip to New York in 1988, my wife and I were in midtown Manhattan when the lunch hour arrived. For most of us, that’s a casual time of day, when we take a little time to relax before completing the rest of our duties.

Not in Manhattan. In Manhattan, the lunch hour is a race against the clock and your fellow man. The loser is the person who did not get his or her order in at the deli in time, or who did not bring sneakers in order to get in some power shopping.

At what seemed to be precisely noon, thousands of people streamed out of the surrounding buildings. It happened so quickly that to some people it could have been scary. Having seen it before, I was OK, but Cay looked like she needed some breathing room, so I hailed a cab and whisked her away to Central Park, where we had a glass of champagne at Tavern on the Green.

Champagne has a way of correcting or improving almost anything.

Some of the lunch-hour people in New York hurry to their favorite spot to relax. Usually, that is a small patch of grass in a tiny, worn-out park or the steps of some inspirational building.

Fortunately, here in Newport-Mesa, we can walk two steps in any direction and find more grass on a front lawn than we can in all of Manhattan. And there are plenty of inspirational sites to enjoy, even if it is just for lunch.

One of the most magnificent places is the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach.

Our family’s experience with the center has lasted about 10 years. Our daughter started in their nature camp many years ago and has been putting in time there over the past couple of summers as a junior naturalist.

The center is a haven.

Sunday, the nature center is hosting its annual Fall Faire and Pumpkin Patch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The fair is attended each year by thousands of supporters who value the contributions their programs have made and who want to support future programs by buying a pumpkin, eating at one of the booths or participating in the silent auction.

Plants are for sale, as well, at very reasonable prices.

Once there, kids can participate in a cool scavenger hunt that takes them all over the center, or they can visit the new butterfly house.

The Fall Faire is the nature center’s largest fundraiser, supporting environmental education programs throughout the year. Last year, more than 16,000 students participated in educational programs at the center.

No reservations are necessary.

Please support this wonderful, special place by visiting on Saturday and buying a pumpkin, participating in the silent auction or eating lunch there.

The Fall Faire is presented by the center’s board, staff and volunteers, including the National Charity League, Campfire Boys and Girls, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America and students from Ensign Intermediate School, Costa Mesa High School, Newport Harbor High School and Corona del Mar High School and more.

The nature center is a place to get away from it all without leaving home. It’s not Central Park, and there’s no champagne, but in this case, that’s a good thing.

The center is at 1601 16th St. in Newport Beach. For more information, call (949) 645-8489. Better yet, just show up for the fun.

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While I was away on a long weekend that included watching the Angels spank the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, a Corona del Mar resident wrote to chastise me for my “righteous indignation” over the waste of water that I am witnessing from time to time and for my willingness to call out to the violators.

I am choosing not to mention the person’s name because I don’t want to come off as a bully simply because a reader has different opinion and chose to call me names rather than address the issue I raised.

Telling people they are wasting our most precious resource is, to me, not an option; it is a duty. The letter writer may be right that readers want to read about more pressing local issues, but at this time, I can’t think of any that could be more important.

Without enough water, everything stops -- everything. And if you’ve lived through either of the major droughts we’ve had in the past 20 years, you know how much we depend on what some people seem to be so willing to waste.

Most important was the writer’s angst at my righteous indignation. Obviously a new reader.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to dailypilot@latmes.com.

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