Stories and Photos Bring Sierra Leone to Montague
Marina Goldman is just back from Sierra Leone, with stories to share and photos to show. We got a chance to see and hear about her trip, and about an organization she supports tonight at a party she had at her house in Montague. She made ground nut soup, and […]
Famous Oilman Ponies Up Billions for Wind Turbines
A few weeks ago I read a column by Thomas Friedman in the NY Times about the absolute lack of any energy policy in the US. The most galling fact was that at the end of this year, federal tax credits for installing solar and wind power systems will expire. […]
Kate Cosme, BS, Nursing 2008
Here’s my lovely daughter Kate at Elms College’s pinning ceremony, where she joined 35 other hardworking nurses who got their bachelor’s degrees last Monday. It was a wonderfully personal ceremony, with the speaker announcing each nurse’s background and ambitions for the future. While they said that Kate wanted to be […]
When Pigs Fly…Bill Shaves the Beard!
I first met this guy in 1978, when both of our daughters were in the womb and we took a birthing class together with our wives. At that time, and for the following three decades, he sported a big logger’s beard. Many times we’ve joked about whether he’d ever cut […]
This Isn’t The Way It Was Supposed to Turn Out
What kind of country are we to be? This question was posed to me last night in a profound column by Thomas Frank, titled “Our Great Economic U-Turn,” in the WSJ. Thomas began the story by stating some of the stark economic facts that begin to define our society in […]
Saying Good Bye to a Wonderful Gal
This morning we said good bye to a wonderful member of our cafe staff. Liz Bagley is moving to British Colombia, and is today picking up a puppy to join her on her long drive west. I wrote her a note of appreciation and inside I slipped two VIP passes […]
He Translates the Scribbles from Bloods and Crips
Nick Cotto speaks gang. His story was featured on Masslive on Sunday, this former military man who can read the writing on the wall. The writing scrawled by gang members, that he says warns of bad things to come and battles to be waged. He took a reporter on a […]
In a Saudi Desert, Thoughts Turn to Romance
The New York Times ran a story today that showed that love in Saudi Arabia is as arid and barren as the desert that surrounds the people there. Two cousins talk about romance in the safety of a remote desert outpost. Let’s listen in. “I am a romantic person,” he […]
A Final Thought About Sardinia’s Kidnapping Biz
On our final day of this trip to Sardinia, we took advantage of a long layover to take a train into Rome, where we had pizzas at the Campo dei Fiori. It was lovely sitting under umbrellas eating margherita pizzas and not having any wine, since last week had been […]
Moore’s ‘Sicko’ Gently Shows Us a Better Way
I remember trying to rent Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Colombine” at a video store here in Holyoke, and the clerk told us that they wouldn’t carry the movie. It was censorship, and too bad for them, since they’ve gone out of business, like many other video stores. Tonight through the […]
What’s The Best Thing About a Real Estate Recession?
While Kent enjoys dining beneath Frank Gehry-designed buildings in Dusseldorf, I am enjoying time at our comfy home in Holyoke. Here I got a chance to stay up a bit late reading a story in the WSJ about how the real estate drop is helping out conservation causes. It’s the […]
Sometimes Writing Is Easy…and Fun
Last night I had a lot of fun writing my article about Huntington Beach–Surf City USA. That surprised me, because as any of the many writers who read this blog know, writing is not usually fun. It’s a chore, it’s a pain, and it’s something we keep saying we’ll get […]
Want a Slightly Wet, New Mazda? Tough Luck
A few months ago I read a fascinating article in Wired about the Cougar Ace, a freighter that was disabled and sank two years ago with nearly 5000 new Mazda automobiles inside. The story focused on the team of rugged salvagers who managed to refloat the vessel and save it. […]
An Awful Bite of Lamprey, or Gamey Brown Bear
We were excited the other day when we got an email from a producer of the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods”. He asked us about Ethiopian cuisine, since they were doing research for an upcoming show. Since we had just published a wonderful article by Matthew Keady about a bike trip […]
The Bumpy Bikepath Is Finally Getting Fixed
I read today some fantastic news for those of us who enjoy riding our bikes on bike paths. Someone is finally doing something about the ridiculously bumpy Northampton to Amherst Norwottuck Rail Trail. Today’s Gazette had the story by Nick Grabbe. Originally, the path was built using recycled glass….sounds like […]
A Shepherd Turns a Spit in Supramonte
Today we got a chance to see the breadth of this huge island, the sweeping interior that is barely covered with civilization even though man has walked these hills and valleys for more than 6,000 years. Actually it was probably longer, since that only takes into account as far back […]
Here’s a Place to Stay That Won’t Break the Bank
This is the Hotel Arathena, a jewel in the Costa Smerelda town of San Pantaleo. While many of the fancy hotels that line the beaches go for $500 or $700 per night, this gorgeous place is just $70-140 euros per night including breakfast and dinner. It’s light and airy, and […]
Roman’s Yacht at Costa Smerelda
Ugh…you know that sinking feeling when you wake up later than you meant to? We are staying in a four star hotel on the fancy schmancy Costa Smerelda…where Roman Abramovich’s yacht (one of them anyway, a mere 300 feet) bobs in the harbor. Yet we don’t get a wake-up call […]