Deej Webb has lived in Westport since 1967 and attended Saugatuck Elementary, Bedford Junior High and Staples High School. Self-proclaimed historic home lovers, he and his wife, Deborah, and two dogs, Zelda and Daisy, are riding out self-isolation in a rented home as they renovate their 19th-century house on Long Lots Road.
“I am retired from teaching and I am a docent / volunteer at The Fairfield Museum, The Westport Museum for History and Culture, The Pequot Library and The Sasquanaug Association and The Lockwood Matthews Mansion and serve on multiple Boards of non-profits. I miss my colleagues.
I have just finished up the second edition of my book Boats Against The Current, the story of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s honeymoon here in Westport in the summer of 1920 and am working on the companion website to be launched in June–being useless at tech it has been a challenge learning to build a platform. My partner Robert Steven Williams and I were to premiere our documentary Gatsby in Connecticut at the Asbury Film Festival this past Saturday but that obviously didn’t happen. But we are happy to say we will be doing the Westport premiere at the Westport Library Thursday September 10, hopefully.
Deborah works as a scientist in the Department of Immunology and Respiratory, at Boehringer Ingelheim and is considered an essential worker. They are working shifts then doing data analysis, meetings and training remotely. Deborah is reading much more on her current research projects and new technologies since they are rotating time in the lab and offices. She misses the daily interaction in the lab discussing science and troubleshooting experiments. Deborah, as a scientist, is thinking about new ways drugs currently on the market can be used for treating COVID. She is also confident that the great scientific community here in the USA and worldwide will come up with new testing, treatment and vaccinations for COVID19.
Deborah has a horse, Mason, that she boards in Redding and is a member of the Fairfield Bridle Trails Association. She can often be found riding at Huntington State Park or Fairfield beach. Deborah continues to ride 4 times a week and Mason is being taken care of by the owner of the barn.
We are doing lots of FaceTime with family in UK who live in Birmingham, Nottingham and Southport and virtual happy hours with friends through Zoom. We’re supporting local businesses where our friends work by ordering meals. We also had 20 extra N95 masks that we gave to a friend whose wife is a nurse in New York City. We’re also spending a lot of time walking our dogs—so much so that they are probably going to go on strike! And we are binging on Netflix big time.
While we have to distance, I think we have actually drawn together and people have kept a good sense of humor as to it all. I think there will be some revolutionary changes as to how we work, play, and do business going forward and that has been fascinating to see develop before us.
While we have to distance, I think we have actually drawn together and people have kept a good sense of humor as to it all.