Columns

It’s completely rare, but we left Killington this past week. We went skiing—at another resort.  We always joke that we all get this Beast365 with the Ikon attached, but rarely venture out of town to use it until our west coast vacation. I mean, there are several iKon resorts in Vermont, but you seldom hear of Killington folk making…

My son made a claim recently that I disputed. It was something outrageous about how much money athletes were making playing basketball outside of the NBA. He cited a social media-driven league I had no knowledge of and then boasted that most of the players were making millions of dollars. When I questioned his primary…

Young people in Rutland City experienced a true a “neighborhood concept” as they were growing up back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. There were neighborhood schools, playgrounds, tennis courts and skating rinks. Back in that time period, most families had only one car. For that reason children walked to school and to activities with their…

The Northeast has experienced significant ice storms throughout history, and we may be due for another one. Though we see icing in many winter storms, including recent ones, major ice storms cause widespread damage to forests and infrastructure and occur in the Northeast every 15 to 25 years. Our most recent one was in 2008.…

Each one of us has the capacity to go with the flow. To look at something, then look away. If it doesn’t concern you, then no harm, no foul. Just keep doing what you were doing. As you were. You draw your line. You blur your line. Then, sometimes, something happens that forces you to…

Award-winning Brazillian filmmaker Walter Salles does what all great filmmakers do when tackling heavy subject matter; he drills down to focus on one family amid tumult, providing the viewer a ringside seat into life under a Brazil’s brutal military dictatorship without trying to tackle every facet of the history behind a regime which lasted from…

We all do dumb things in our 20s, right? When you are testing the boundaries of life to see which lines are flexible and which are legit. But in your 20s, you don’t have any experience in life, and you certainly cannot imagine listening to those who went before you. You might not mean to…

Many years ago, when my son was a budding teenager, I got into a heated debate with him after coming home from baseball practice. The details are foggy, but my recollection is that I was disappointed with his effort that day, so I lectured him about the benefits of focus and hard work. I’ll admit…

On a subzero morning, I clip into skis and head out across my meadow, gliding between desiccated husks of sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis) poking up above the snow. I imagine this spot eight months ago, as I watched bumblebees, mason bees, and sweat bees forage among them. Back then, in June, the world was exploding…

As we came through the mid-station the other day, the lifty handed us a sticker and asked if we would put it on the cabin for him. Not really paying attention, we took the sticker and looked down. The sticker announced the final days of the Skyeship. That 1990s art gallery in the sky is being…

It’s been almost one year since my family traveled to Vail for a ski vacation. I have a brother who lives in Denver, so we like to visit annually. While we’re there, we take advantage of the looming Rocky Mountains and the fun they offer. After a couple of days in the Mile High City,…

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. In today’s world it’s a holiday filled with romance and love as shown through flowers, candy and a special dinner. However, the origin of this day does not have romance associated with it. According to history it began as Saint Valentine’s Day and was added to the Catholic…

Happy Valentine’s Day! Where would we be without friends and loved ones? Valentine’s Day gives us an excuse to celebrate all of our friends and family. February is the month of love, and hopefully, we are surrounded from all directions. Love and kindness make a difference and are never wasted. Please add a random act…

Driving on Vermont’s Interstate highways in winter, I often notice large hawks perched in trees on woodland edges at regular intervals along the road. With the stark landscape providing better visibility and many bird species gone for the winter, this is a great time of year to hawk-watch. The raptor I see most along the…

One of the history-making stories at the 2012 London Olympic Games was the addition of women’s boxing to the competition. The United States, which had struggled for decades to win any medal in the boxing category, won the first gold medal awarded in the 75 Kg Middle Women division, thanks to 17-year-old Flint, Michigan resident…