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In view of the foregoing facts I find myself compelled to report to your Honorable Board my firm conviction that there is danger, both constant and grave, in the water of the Merrimack River at Lowell.” William T. Sedgwick Professor of Biology at MIT Biologist to State Board of Health…
Read More »Our far-flung contributor Jim Provencher in Australia sent us a poem in response to my essay about hometown baseball from a few days ago (“Organized Ball”). Jim spent youthful days in Portland, Maine, playing Babe Ruth League, high school, and American Legion baseball. Here’s what he told us: “It’s weird,…
Read More »The Elusive Nature of British Punk By Malcolm Sharps You say you wan’ a revolution. Well, you know, we all wanna change the world. …
Read More »Boarding School Blues: Ch. 53 By Louise Peloquin Ch. 53: A turtle’s heart Maman and Blanche thanked Madame Briard for the lovely collation and quickly took their leave. Before bidding her guests farewell, the hostess extended another invitation. “You must return to my library once my latest accession arrives, an…
Read More »Heat pumps have been much in the news recently as an alternative to traditional gas- or oil-fired boilers for home heating. I became especially interested in heat pumps two years ago when my gas-fired boiler needed replacing. I knew that a heat pump was the environmentally preferred home heating option,…
Read More »Tom Sexton, a frequent contributor to this blog, sent us a new poem that he worked on for some time. The length of a poem doesn’t guarantee that the composition was written swiftly. In the title, Yellowhead is the Yellowhead Highway, a main route in Western Canada. I like the…
Read More »Spring training reminds me of the magnetic pull of baseball in our culture, even for those of us who don’t follow the game closely. So an essay by Paul Marion on his paulmarion.com website, illustrates why baseball is so important in our culture and our lives. Organized Ball By Paul…
Read More »The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. After three years of not being on an airplane due to COVID concerns, we decided to take a winter break. I should have chosen my words more carefully. Friends ask me how was my trip to Florida. A…
Read More »Today, I’ll jump from local to world events for a brief comment about the Chinese balloon that was shot down by the US off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, 2023, after transiting much of the United States. I assume it was an intelligence collection platform that vacuumed…
Read More »Living Madly: By Any Other Name By Emilie-Noelle Provost Every year around Valentine’s Day, when advertisements for engagement rings and wedding venues start popping up in newspapers and on billboards, I start thinking about names. When I was 11 years old, a friend and I would sometimes walk through the…
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