My New iMac is a Radical Departure from the Age of Dell
I’ve joined the cult of the Mac. After decades of having an office full of Dell computers, I reached my last straw when all three of these hard-working machines slowed to a crawl and once again I was faced with having to get them cleaned up. Spend another $200 for […]
Green River Festival 2015: Sharing A Tradition with Newbie
It’s July again in the Valley and the best punctuation mark in this glorious vacation month is the annual Green River Festival at GCC. The weather yesterday was perfect–not too hot, but still worth bringing an umbrella to sit under, and the legions of old friends and acquaintances who I […]
Valley Venture Mentors: What Can You Tell Us in Two Minutes?
What can you tell me about your business in two minutes? That was the challenge tonight when Valley Venture Mentors met for the first time in Franklin County, bringing 10 entrepreneurs nursing their own small businesses and hoping for attention and funding to the John Olver Transit Center for some […]
Solid Sound 2015: The Spirit was There Despite the Rain
Every two years Wilco gathers the faithful at a fantastic venue for a festival…instead of a mountain slope ski area or a farmer’s alfalfa fields, they choose the run-down small city of North Adams where the biggest museum in the US is improbably located. Then they turn this former factory […]
Green River Festival 2015: Shopping, Music and Community
I know a lot of the people in the Valley who are eagerly waiting for a chance to again relax on the green lawns at GCC for the Green River Festival. And some of the more than 9000 fans who are coming will inevitably end up doing some shopping too. […]
Taste of Amherst: Watching Speed Eaters Compete
I always enjoy going down to the Taste of Amherst, though I usually manage to steer clear when rains threaten. This year we went over on Sunday and I got a chance to see some of the friends who I always seem to see just at this event. Tony Maroulis, […]
Bourillon-Dorleans: A Cave with a Sense of Humor
The drive in the summer sunshine from Tours to Rochecorbon provided me with one of those transcendent moments that make my travels so fulfulling. I had a zippy new car, a Volvo hatchback, I had music streaming from my phone to the well-tuned speakers, and I had an exciting destination, […]
The Tenderness of the Very Early Morning
There is something I love about early mornings, and experiencing the first few hours of the world as it is waking up. I remember the days when I’d be the cafe opener, and arrive ready for work at 5:45 am, getting everything ready for the customers who would begin streaming […]