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There is a huge movement toward living near railroad stations. Building techniques and quieter trains mean that people are paying top dollar to live right next to the tracks. To ditch one’s car commute seems like the ultimate urban treat. A story in the WSJ today included photos of Collingswood, […]
If I lived in Greenfield, I’d be in the majority of the voters who last night overwhelmingly approved borrowing $24 million to receive matching state funds to build a new $66 million high school. I think that anyone would agree that the existing school wasn’t up to any kind of […]
I often dig down rabbit holes chasing stories getting myself lost in tales of history and current events. I found out today at the NY Times website about a man who was known as the Rip Van Winkle of the Civil War. The piece was written by Albin Kowalewski. Isaac […]
When you die, what happens to the things that keep us all connected while we are living? What happens to someone’s Facebook page, or Twitter account? Who turns that off, who takes care of these details? How many people, I wonder, have left this earth with unread emails that nobody […]
I read on a scurrilous website called Jezebel a story about how a Mexico City park is dealing with dog poop. To encourage people to be vigilant about their collecting and scooping, officials have devised a box with a scale on it. For each dog poop deposited, it measures out […]
Tucked inside a supplement in last week’s Gazette was a fascinating story about what happens to the clothes we don’t want. A photo of bales of compacted used clothing each weighing half a ton was taken at the Salvation Army Donation Center in Springfield. I remember in the market in […]
In my country neighborhood in South Deerfield, we truly appreciate this slow, steady rain. Mostly because I live next to a tilled field, and since it was so warm in March, they plowed it much earlier than usual this year. Our window sills and our deck get caked with the […]
Have you ever broken a bone, or believed that your bone was more ok than it really was? After breaking my foot in March, requiring surgery and pins to hold the bones together, two weeks on I began relaxing and walking around with my black boot brace on. I was […]
Don’t you hate it when that happens? Today’s WSJ reports that the Coaches Trophy, awarded to Alabama after winning the BCS National championship in January was knocked over and shattered by the father of a Crimson Tide player. The $30,000 crystal football trophy wasn’t the first that was broken by […]
Have we become our cellphones? Many members of the Android club proudly eschew anything made by Apple’s arrogant late CEO, Steve Jobs. They proudly sit in front of PCs and for phones—no iPhones for them. They’re Android people. No music from iTunes? No problem, they’re just happy to not give […]
Today I joined what felt like nearly 1000 people to celebrate the life and untimely early death of a dynamo woman who made an impact across the valley and across New England. Among the speakers this morning at the very packed Log Cabin, in their biggest banquet hall, was a […]
Sunday afternoons can often be times of melancholy. I’m not sure why, but I’m pretty sure it goes back to my days as a schoolboy, thinking that no matter what I did, having to go to school was only hours away. Not that I hated school, it was just that […]