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Like many East End residents, I am breathing a sigh of relief that the Food Network is back on Cablevision’s Channel 66. The Scripps Network and Cablevision had a squabble over money and yanked the channel as of January 1. Whatever deal they have hammered out has put a smile back on many faces.

My relief comes not for myself, but for my mother, who, by her own admission, is completely addicted to the Food Network, or “Food Porn,” as I call it. I received a frantic call from her on January 1, informing me that the network was no longer on. She was bordering on tears.

“How am I going to watch Ina and Giada?” she said, referring to her two favorites, Ina Garten and Giada De Laurentiis. “And, there’s a new ‘Iron Chef America’ competition at the White House! I can’t miss that. And, what about Paula Deen and Bobby Flay? How could they do this to me? Those bastards!”

Clearly, she was taking this very personally. She even considered writing Congressman Tim Bishop to vent her frustrations—she was that mad.

Each day, she would turn on the T.V. in the hope that somehow, Channel 66 had miraculously reappeared. It wasn’t looking good and she sullenly had to settle for channel 21’s meager culinary offerings of “Lidia’s Italian Cooking” and the occasional episode of “America’s Test Kitchen.”

In support of her ire, I joined several online protest groups, wrote a letter to Cablevision, and griped about it to anyone who would listen. Surprisingly, many people felt the same way my mother did. They were lost without their beloved Food Network. Then, one day, a glimmer of hope appeared in the form of an e-mail from one of the protest groups.

“We won! Food Network is back on!” it said.

I ran to the T.V. to check and sure enough, there was Paula Deen up to her elbows in butter and sugar. I called my mother to tell her the good news and listened her shout and whoop with glee. Life is good again—she studies the chefs and recipes on Channel 66 and whips up batches of new and innovative food that I get to sample. Long live the Food Network.

Priscilla Egan and Gaylord Hoffert, M.D. received a desperate call last Sunday night from a rescuer with Last Chance Animal Rescue. A dog was in dire need of a temporary foster home. They agreed to take him in and within two hours, Simon, a 1-year-old mixed breed was making himself comfortable at their home in Water Mill. What happened next is truly remarkable and their new four-legged guest turned out to be a hero.

Priscilla said, “Simon woke us in the middle of the night with urgent barking. We looked outside and saw a fire on the telephone pole in our yard. Once Simon saw that I was aware of what was going on he quieted down and went back to his bed to watch the rest of the festivities. The fire resulted in the wire falling to the ground and igniting the fence and shed into full flames. Fortunately, by that time, the fire department was already there and ready to put it out.”

She continued, “Had Simon not made such a commotion, we would have not been aware of the flames up on the pole and the fire would have ignited and most likely traveled to the house. We were fortunate to have agreed to foster Simon that day and if not for him alerting us to the problem, we would have had a much larger fire.

“Simon was supposed to stay with us for only one night and then be boarded in a kennel until he was adopted. We have agreed to keep him until an exceptional adopter comes forward for our little hero!”

An amazing story and an amazing dog—if you are interested in adopting Simon, contact Last Chance Animal Rescue at 793-8980 or visit LCARF.org.

At the Library

The library will offer “A Lunchtime Walk Through the History of Jazz” on Wednesday, February 3, at noon, with Shenole Latimer on saxophone. Through the music of Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, Mr. Latimer will provide an illustrated journey through the uniquely American sounds of music from the early 1900s to today. Reservations are appreciated.

The Southampton Historical Museum and the library will host the King’s Chapel Church of God in Christ’s gospel choir, Showers of Blessing, on Saturday, February 6, at 3 p.m., at the Rogers Mansion, located at 17 Meeting House Lane. In honor of Black History month, the hour-long concert will feature a variety of uplifting music. Donations will be accepted at the door, and reservations are required. Call 283-2494 to register or for more information.

To reserve space in any library program or for more information, call 283-0774, extension 523.