A Town on Tenterhooks
In the NY Times, Northampton was described as a “town on tenterhooks.” This expression goes back to 14th century, and refers to the ‘tenters’ which were used to stretch out wool in the sun, so that it wouldn’t shrink when it was being cleaned. The woodent tenter held it stretched tight, and like people who are anxious, the wool was stretched uncomfortably over the frame.
I spoke with Shoul today, he has written a blog about his feelings as he covered the events with his camera. We agreed that despite the terror that this has brought the calm way of life in Noho, it has done a lot to show us how we can mobilize if threatened. The speed with which people rallied and fought back has been awesome and gratifying.
I think it also is a rallying point for the nascent NorthamptonMedia.com. This city news portal is trying to make inroads and an event like this is a natural chance to see them succeed. Masslive too, is jumping on this big time, I read the twitter feed for #northamptonfire and felt like I was at the meeting.
I think this person is going to be caught. The eyes of the city and of the connected citizens will get them.
December 31, 2009 @ 3:25 am
And for all we know Max he reads your blog, reads Northampton Media and attended the public meeting last night.I truly hope he get caught…but I've also been hoping and praying for eight years now that Osama bin Laden gets caught. And we know how well that has worked out.