Village Green/Town²

In hyperlocal news, the tree I brought home from Frank’s in December… ….that graced our home through the holidays… …and stared wistfully out the window afterwards… …has gone to a new home in the country, thanks to a good friend who came to the rescue. I hope the transition to wintry weather hasn’t been too much of a shock to its system. I already miss the little guy. Speaking of weather, I’ve enjoyed seeing people’s snow days pics on social media. Here’s mine. It’s a lovely peaceful view until you realize one thing. The art project I had intended to do while snowed in? It’s in that cute little red car. On the far side of the parking lot.  Oh well. Finally, I’ve noticed a new visual approach from local meteorologists lately. From the Capital Weather Service: Sleet vs Freezing Rain courtesy of Capital Weather Service And this from Justin Berk: Freezing rain, sleet, plus winter precipitation from Justin Berk You may recall that local weather folks have been on a kick of using various ...

Somewhere people grow the food, harvest it, process it, package it. Other people raise animals to be eaten, chickens for their eggs, cows in a dairy barn… Truckers bring the food and supplies to our community. Then employees at the store unpack it and put it out for sale. Clerks check us out, one transaction after another in long, long lines before the forecasted snow. At the hospital staffing plans are made to cover the coming days. Workers are needed in many positions from surgery and patient care to food service and cleaning. Folks with four wheel drive are signed up to get the workers to and from the hospital. Those whose job it is to keep the roads safe will be out from early until late. They will work in almost every stage of the snowstorm. A truly good night’s sleep is something they will have when it’s all over. Over at the county government they plan for things like this. Now they are set up to work the plan and to deal with any unexpected challenge or emergency as they arise....

  In the past year several new local newsletters have popped up. “Give us you email address and we’ll send you all the cool local info!” But who are you?  They don’t say.  I am not giving my email address to anyone under those circumstances. I want to know who is behind this and what their goal is for publishing a local newsletter. Sure, I’m retired and I have too much time on my hands. I have more ability than most to do the amateur detective work involved but: I shouldn’t have to. You shouldn’t have to. I feel the same way about people who ring one’s doorbell with the story that your roof is in dangerous condition, they are working for unnamed people in your neighborhood…etc, etc. If someone shows up and you did not call a reputable company to make an appointment with them, then they are uninvited and you are not obliged to spend one minute talking to them. You do not even need to open your door. In a local Facebook page that supports education a representative from a g...

  For reasons unknown to me, January 2nd was my lucky day. During my iced coffee run to our village Dunkin I received a free doughnut.  But wait, there’s more. It was gift wrapped. As unlikely as it sounds, Dunkin’s New Year promotion included not only one free doughnut with the purchase of a beverage but also a free reusable gift bag. Dimensions of said bag: 4 inches by 5 inches by 3.5 inches.  Doughnut-sized. Made out of synthetic, non-woven fabric it is probably washable and certainly reuseable. But, how?  I’d love to know what the discussion at Dunkin Corporate was like when they sat around thinking up this promotion. Sadly, the point was not to be able to bring it back on future occasions for more free doughnuts. I hate the idea of putting more purposeless junk into the universe so I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with alternative uses for this itsy bitsy carry-all. The only one that came to mind immediately was collecting a bunch and using them a...

  Monday evening found me doing something I had never done before: sitting around a table at a book club. Something familiar to all my years in school: I hadn’t finished the book yet.  The place was HoCoLocal indie bookstore Queen Takes Book. We were all there to discuss: Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross. (Yes, I wrote about them back in March after hearing an episode of Kelly Corrigan Wonders about Making.)  Drawing helps me listen. I don’t go out much, and I’ve never done the book club thing, but I felt that the universe was telling me that this was the one. So I signed up and bought the book. True to form, I left it until after Christmas and then discovered it was not the easy read I had expected it to be. I purchased the audio book to use in conjunction with the print version and by the day before the event I had also downloaded a study guide. I’m still working on it. I refuse to be defeated by a book about the arts! But, enough about me.  ...

  One year ago today. What do you remember?  1/20/2025 At twelve noon I made a cup of ginger tea   And reached out to tell my children  How much we love them. It was like death was hurtling towards me, Nothing in its way.  I saw the destruction of all that I love before my eyes. The tea was warm.  The day was bitter. There was no holding back the great death,  The waves of loss.  Silently the minutes passed.  When I realized the day was over  My cup was empty. And my heart was numb. The great death had begun. The messages of love are all that’s left - -  Last minute incantations of protection. Just wanted to let you know how much we love you  and that we are here for you no matter what.  Dear God, please keep them safe.  ***** Every act of ignorance, cruelty, and injustice: sponsored by people we know. People in our community and across the nation.  I need a day off. See you tomorrow. Village Green/Town² Comments...