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It’s the final day of 2008, and outside it is snowing hard. I love it when it’s like this, although as I business owner I realize it’s not very good for business. But it’s soooo cozy inside the cafe, with people reading the paper, hunched over their laptops, and outside […]

This week in between the holidays is a notoriously slow time for anyone who sells things for a living. I remember so well those many years, no, decades, anticipating January. Oh January. At the Valley Advocate when the office was in Amherst, we would have to take the first one […]

Here is a help wanted ad I just posted on Craig’s list. More on Craig later. Despite the terrible recession and panic across the nation…the GoNOMAD Cafe is a beacon of stability…full of customers and busy as hell. We need someone to join our staff immediately and bake, make sandwiches, […]

Elbert and Bernice live just above Cindy’s house in Holyoke. Their dwelling, which they designed themselves, is one-of-a-kind; an octagon with a round ceiling and lots of odd-shaped windows. We joined them in this house for dinner last night. The couple embody the idea that keeping your mind busy keeps […]

After reading about George Bush’s voracious reading habit, I felt like I had to increase the amount of pages I consume yearly. So I picked up a book I’ve been reading for too long called American Nomads, where the author loosley follows the trail of the conquistador Cabeza de Vaca, […]

We had big news in a teeny tiny package last night, as Valerie Sofia Cosme came into the world. What a little joy she is! My second grandchild emerged healthy and happy at just under eight pounds at Franklin Medical, where Kate works…the ultimate busman’s holiday, on December 26. We […]

Up very early today, delivering Sam to the Northampton bus station so he can make it back to work today. This is a big day in our household: Kate is having her daughter today at Franklin Medical. I’ll spend the day with Nathan, a daunting task to an old guy […]

It’s time for the post Christmas layabout. Time to look at the gadgets and toys and to charge the new devices and digest from the big breakfast by the daytime fire. Outside there is still snow and it’s cold, nice to have a white Christmas once in a while. I […]

It’s a rainy, horrible day, ironically, one in which many people will be traveling up and down the roads and over the snowy railroads to get together with family and friends. I remember before I was a grandfather, I used to make similar treks down to New Jersey. Now though, […]

I’m irritated today as I sit at my desk. Ugh…things going wrong and I am being annoyed by many things that grate at me. Let me recite a few of them. There was a fire in the apartment above the cafe this morning. Old wires connected to about six extension […]