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I posted a note on Facebook about new opportunities to travel to Cuba, at least if you can claim to be a part of an educational tour or study group. A bunch of friends commented on how much they too want to go there. Tonight I read a column about […]
As the ten members of Bella’s Bartok milled around the back of the Rendezvous, getting ready for their Saturday night gig, I thought about how hard it must be to keep all of them on the same musical page. What a diverse ensemble, so many instruments–trumpet, trombone, violin, accordion, guitars, […]
The battleship USS Iowa, mothballed off the coast of California. Now LA and Long Beach are battling to be the city where it will be turned into a museum. photo by Scott Haeffner.[/caption] Scott Haeffner is a daring man who could not resist exploring a forbidden part of the California […]
Our lives plunge forward through hills of fear and loneliness and through great valleys of joy. There is hardship, and suffering and sadness and then there is Sofie, outside playing on the neighbor’s new swingset, cries of joy emanating from her as she watches Magnus climb up little toy ropes. […]
Today Governor Patrick saluted Ann Hamilton, the longtime director of the Franklin County Chamber, by calling her “The Phenom.” He was in town to officially open the newly renovated Greenfield Visitor’s center that’s been combined in one state-owned building with the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The governor called it a […]
I can’t remember a book that I more look forward to picking up than this history of the Cape and Islands by Paul Schneider. Maybe because he delves into so many topics in the same book…the Pilgrim’s early foray into settling in the area, and then the details about the […]
This year is the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy’s many different states into one country. One of these states is Umbria, located in the middle of the country. Tonight we met Stefano Cimicchi, Umbria’s director of tourism, who told us what has made this province a favorite destination […]
In all of our individual avocations, there are people who shine brighter, and sometimes pull out a twingeof envy as they seem to be able to say it better, get it published in bigger outlets, and just have a sort of star power that dazzles. I never stop giving props […]
My days are much simpler now, and it’s amazing how the fog and fear has lifted. I felt positively joyous upon my return from a stellar press trip up in Montreal. While it might have been all of that endorphin-inducing bike riding through the city streets, I think it was […]
The Jetboating trip was scheduled while our lunch was still being prepared, so some of our group rushed off to catch it, while we took a more leisurely approach and delayed until the next departure, at 4 pm. If I had known what was in store, I would have ordered […]
One of the best parts of a group press trip are the people you end up getting to know, who sit with you at the table, take the tours, and join you in the many activities that are packed into the full schedule. This is the first time I’ve been […]
You’re Bashar al-Assad and it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. Your dad spent decades confounding the Americans and he sent you away to London to become an eye doctor…and now here you are, the ruler of your country since 2000 and no matter where you turn, things are […]