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The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel’s Messiah by Charles King is a delicious mix of history and music, against the backdrop of 18th century England. George Frideric Handel had grown up in Halle, Germany, worked…
Read More »The Lowell City Council met on Tuesday night, but first I’ll mention an event at UMass Lowell on Monday at which the University welcomed its newest partner, Weston & Sampson, to the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC). Weston & Sampson is an employee-owned, environmental and infrastructure consulting firm with over…
Read More »Sky Bar by Paul Marion The barbershop on upper Merrimack Street had a candy vending machine against the long side wall where customers waited in padded steel chairs. When I had a dime, I’d slot the coin and pull the handle for a Sky Bar in a yellow wrapper with…
Read More »Writers’ Block by Leo Racicot For nine years, I was lucky to live on what’s known as The Writers’ Block; two streets, Francis Avenue and Irving, a stone’s throw away from Harvard College, Cambridge. In exchange for my room, I worked for two former members of The Roosevelt Era, caring…
Read More »‘Tis of Thee By Jessica Wilson (Re-posted from Jessica Wilson’s own blog, A Year of Firsts.) There was a very specific moment in my life when I formed my idea of what America means – what she is. I was a junior in college, and because I was almost done…
Read More »Go jump in the …Seine! 2.0 By Louise Peloquin During the summer of 2024, seven blog pieces covered the Paris Olympic Games with three on swimming in the Seine. (1) A year later, Paris mayor Annie Hidalgo and her team want to keep Parisian dog day blues at bay with a…
Read More »The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is one of the most captivating works of fiction I’ve read in a long time. (I thank my reliable source Beth G. for the recommendation.) Set in rural England, this is a story of…
Read More »The Lowell City Council had a special meeting this past Monday night to complete the agenda for last Tuesday’s meeting. Usually, unfinished business would have been kicked over to the next regularly scheduled meeting, but on Tuesday when the clock slid past 10 pm, Mayor Dan Rourke asked his colleagues…
Read More »July 4, 2025 By Steve Edington It’s a beautiful day here in my part of New England, coming as it does after several days of very high heat and humidity. I’ll do some yard work later today and then take a walk. My walk will be through a wooded area…
Read More »IN THE MINORS Terry Downes The old coach squinted towards the mound To watch the youngster there To see if he might have the stuff Or just be ordinaire. It was a dusty afternoon And hot in late July A blazing sun above the field Turned green turf tough and…
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