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The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. North Woods by Daniel Mason is an exquisite book about a house in a forest in western Massachusetts, and all the people who have lived in that house going back to colonial times, starting with a pair of lovers…

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. Former Ambassador Nikki Haley and Governor Ron DeSantis were like two playground kids pretending to be scorpions in a bottle in Wednesday night’s debate, jabbing at each other, oblivious to the big foot about to crush them…

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. Few windows into today’s higher education leadership were as shocking as the testimony of three distinguished university presidents (from Harvard, Penn and MIT) before the star chamber hearing of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce…

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron own blog. It’s bedtime for 2023. It has been an ugly year. Ukraine. Hamas’ October 7th attack. Bloodshed in Gaza. Wildfires and floods from global warming. House of Representatives chaos and gridlock. Biden’s slump in polls. Social media’s pollution of young…

This essay by Henri Marchand was first heard as a radio essay on the “Sunrise” program of WUML, 92.5 FM, at UMass Lowell. Today we continue our tradition of reposting the essay each year at Christmas.     The Christmas Fruitcake: An Ageless Tradition By Henri Marchand I think there…

In December 2012, fifty-six people from Lowell, Massachusetts combined to recite “A Visit From St. Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore. Here’s the result:

Living Madly: The God of Doors By Emilie-Noelle Provost One of my father-in-law’s favorite sayings was: There’s always the unexpected. No matter how carefully our plans are laid out, or how much we might want a particular thing to happen, or not, the possibility that something unforeseen will derail our desires…

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. Small wonder that public approval of Congress ranges between 13 and a scant 15 percent. The year started with chaos and the gelding of Speaker Kevin McCarthy after 15 marathon rounds of voting. It ends with the House commencing an…

Joyeux Noël (PIP #12) By Louise Peloquin A meeting takes place in the long rectangular room where jacks-of-all-printing trades feed linotypes with a cornucopia of lead letters. They are working on important December issues – important because the holidays bring an abundance of ads, important especially because local events, duly…

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. As the nights get shorter and colder, here are some novels to curl up with by the fire, even if you read them on Kindle. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is a delightful novel set…