The Lights Went Out, and the Party Went On
Wow! What a swell party! My fiftieth bash turned out to be one of the best nights of my life. Gathered were, as my pal Joe said, my A list, the people who mean the most to me. At seven o’clock as people began to arrive, suddenly the power went […]
A Crowded House: What Could Be Better?
My cell jangled and woke me at 6:15 am. It was Maggy with a question about our catering order for this morning. The cafe is making sandwich platters for a group of 55 people who are meeting in Greenfield to discuss the latest in the maple syrup business. We are […]
Acting Decisively, In Spite of the Market
There is now a house for sale, at 9 Mountain Rd. After nearly 20 years, my little pad is up for sale. I want to move to a new and bigger house, a little bit out in the country but still in Deerfield. It’s like a daisy chain…these homeowners want […]
Publicity? Oh, That’s Easy
One thing I never get tired of is free publicity. When Cindy sent me the notice in the Republican looking for people who have had experience with home heating oil contracts, of course I jumped in and sent the reporter, Stan Freeman, a link to this blog. I had ragged […]
If I Could Only Be The Editor…Oh Yeah, I Am!
Today I am working in the cafe on my birthday. It seemed appropriate, and since I couldn’t get anyone else to cover, I dove right in. I am thinking more about the post the other day, the one about what I am thankful for now that I’ve reached this milestone […]
Seaweed Market is Down, But It’s Still a Great Crop
Seaweed is cultivated and sold as a major cash crop in Indonesia, I learned tonight. That’s because certain types of seaweed are dried, ground up, and gives up a substance called carageenan, a common ingredient used to thicken many food products. There has been tumult in the seaweed market recently, […]
Tomorrow I Turn 50–This Is What I’m Thankful For
Last night as we sat by the fire, my daughter Kate asked me what it was like to be 50. I told her that in some ways it’s great…because I feel like I’ve got a lot to be proud of and a lot that my world has added up to. […]
Cursed by the Oilman, Stuck at a Terrible Price
I woke up this morning a bit later than usual, and heard the oil burner running. Oh no, it’s that time of year when we need to heat up the house with oil since it’s less than 30 degrees outside. I am in a quandry about this year’s heating costs, […]
A Tour of Holyoke’s Water-powered Mill Buildings
We spent Sunday afternoon in Van Dog land…the industrial area of the lower part of the city of Holyoke. We recently joined a group called Holyoke CRUSH, which seeks to restore, revitalize and appreciate this historic mill city, and the group organized a tour of one of the waterpowered industrial […]
The Visitors Bring Joy to a Man Who Rarely Smiles
Walter is an unenthusiastic professor at Connecticut College. He uses the same syllabus year after year, isn’t friendly with his students, and barely emotes with colleagues. We met him last night in a wonderful movie recommended to us by Nat and Val called “The Visitor.” Visitors in this film come […]
They Come to the Cafe in Escalades…and Priuses Too
We have a new favorite customer at the cafe. She arrived yesterday morning, by shiny, black Cadillac Escalade. She came in wearing an expensive coat that contrasted with her long blond hair, and was followed by her driver/bodyguard, a big burly Indian wearing a bluetooth earpiece and a suit. We […]
Mygazines: Good Idea, Too Bad It’s Illegal
Mygazines was a cool idea, offering free articles from a huge selection of magazines. How can they do this without getting sued? I wrote about this a few months ago, wondering the same thing. It was an incredible site, offering digital pages that turned and so many articles to read, […]
Joseph Strysko, Bowler, Square Dancer
I often think of what the world will be like when all of the veterans and war heroes die. Our society and the little town I live in are full of these guys, many of whom are still married to the woman they met three or four or even five […]
The Places We Live Bring Tough Lives Closer
Yesterday I stumbled upon one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time on the web. It was a site called “the Places We Live,”by Jonas Bendiksen, an art project that tells the first-person stories of people who live in some of the most crowded and dangerous cities […]
Philly’s Phamous Phans Get Ratted Out by SMS
I know a guy named Chet who is from Philly, and he is a rapid Eagles fan. It’s pronounced ‘Iigles,’ and he had that famous Philly accent that sounds a little like a Delaware or Maryland accent. I read today in the WSJ about how this city is combatting its […]
A Man Pedaled by, Alone on a Bike Built For Two
After the cafe closed, I walked the sidewalk and sat for a spell at our outdoor tables. Birds chirped and I savored the crispness of the late fall approaching evening. I sat and scanned the common, and the v of the two streets across the way. Then a man came […]
On the Cobblestoned Streets of Portland, Memories
Nostalgia rained over me yesterday as I retraced the steps of my callow youth. On our way back from Southport Island we stopped by Portland’s Munjoy Hill neighborhood where Kathryn and I lived from 1981-83. I drove around the gentrified area, glistening in the fall sunlight and full of colorful […]
The Real Lobstermen in Boothbay Harbor Maine
We plucked five 11-year-old lobsters from big green tanks at this lobster pound in Boothbay Harbor, Maine this morning. News reports say that the prices are too low, less than $3 per pound wholesale, and the lobstermen are suffering because people think of this food as something only for celebrations. […]