Take Two: New restaurant in town; a Sasso's update

Here's the latest on Marco's about-to-be newest restaurant at one of our town's oldest restaurant locations.

Bob Aylwin, managing partner at Sasso's, tells me he's hoping to open in early July. The key word here is "hope."

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Bob Alwin is one of the managing partners of the new Sasso's Restaurant, an upscale Mediterranean restaurant opening soon on Winterberry Drive, just off South Collier Boulevard.

"It's possible it won't happen, but we're coming this summer, one way or the other," Bob says.

"We're not rushing because we want to make sure we're doing everything right."

Aylwin, known to many islanders as Chef Bob from his time at Konrad's Restaurant, says the city has been "awesome" to work with.

"Someone said, 'You never hear that.' But the city has been great, working with us real well."

Sasso's, an upscale Mediterranean restaurant, is on Winterberry Drive, just off South Collier Boulevard, in the space once occupied by the Bavarian Inn.

Lifeguard stand upstanding at Residents' Beach

If you've not been to the Residents' Beach lately or maybe are going for the July 4 members' celebration, take a look at the new lifeguard tower, which should be up by now or surely by then.

The new stand is made of the type of composite material sometimes used on docks or decks — tougher and sturdier than the wooden tower that had taken a beating from weather and from young, mindless or mind-altered rowdies during spring break.

I hear that lifeguards will be on duty on holidays and most weekends.

Screen cage "protection"

Perhaps you'll recall the recent Naples Daily News headline, "Venice man charged with scamming residents over bogus screen-repair jobs after Wilma."

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An old wooden lifeguard stand on a Marco Island beach was tipped over by spring breakers.

It prompts me to share with you one almost foolproof way to avoid getting taken by scammers, should another hurricane strike here.

When my screen enclosure collapsed during Hurricane Wilma, along with many others on Marco, I had trouble getting cage people to even answer their phones.

Then it occurred to me to contact the company that built my house 13 years ago, still going strong, still in business, Roy Lansdown at Panorama Custom Home Builders. I asked Lansdown whether he could help.

Lansdown already had heard from others whose homes he had built and he had begun screening several screen-cage builders. He inspected their work here and elsewhere and made sure they were legitimate.

We waited six months like many other folks, but the screen went up in three days, under Lansdown's supervision. It's a good screen, built by a reputable firm. Even the code inspector praised the workmanship.

So if you are on good terms with the firm that built your house, maybe he or she will do for you next time what Lansdown at Panorama did for us, if, God forbid, there is a next time.

It may be "derring" but maybe also "harebrained"

Last week here I used the expression "derring-do," referring to Deputy Sheriff Geoff Fahringer and his three sons who have served in the military.

I'm embarrassed to reveal that I thought the expression was spelled "daring-do."

My wife corrected me and I declined to bet against her, which was wise. Here's the deal with "derring-do."

"Derring-do turns out to have an interesting history," says the Oxford English Dictionary. Well, mildly interesting.

It means "daring," "courage" or in some contexts, "reckless actions of bravery." In short, "derring-do" is a misprint from the 16th-century literature and a misinterpretation of a Middle English phrase. Therefore, it means what I thought it did — "daring-do" — but isn't spelled that way.

Go figure.

This reminds me of the day I discovered that the word "harebrained" was the way it is and not "hairbrained."

The easiest way to explain is to quote Dictionary.com: "Harebrained: Foolish; flighty: (as in) a harebrained scheme.

"Usage Note: The first use of harebrained dates to 1548. The spelling hairbrained (goes) back to the 1500s when hair was a variant spelling of hare. It is impossible to tell exactly when people began writing hairbrained in the belief the word means "having a hair-sized brain" rather than "with no more sense than a hare.

"While hairbrained continues to be used and confused, it should be avoided."

There, I feel better now that the hare is out of the hat.

• A friend who strongly supports the total sewering of Marco Island writes to me this line: "My apologies to the anti-sewer folks, but you must admit, this is amusing even if you disagree vehemently with its message:

"Question: What does C.A.R.E.S. stand for?

"Answer: C.A.R.E.S. = Canals Are Really Effluent Sewage.