By Brett Yates The University of Vermont’s commencement speaker this year was James Fallows, a journalist for The Atlantic magazine. I’ve followed Fallows’ writing off and on since Obama’s election, more for familial bonding purposes than for his ramblings about China and airplanes and his milquetoast political observations: the educated, reasonable, center-left perspective of Fallows…

By Marguerite Jill Dye A dear friend asked, “Aren’t you afraid of expressing your opinion in such a public venue? I lived through the McCarthy era when people were blacklisted for speaking their truth.” Most of my life I’ve been afraid of voicing my feelings for fear someone might disagree or disapprove. In Argentina, we quickly…

We don’t have to be very old before we acquire items that are dear to us and just can’t be thrown away. When you’re a child, it could be a doll, a toy fire engine or a baseball card. It just means too much to you, so into a storage box it goes. If you…

By Kevin Theissen The road to better health may sometimes involve an extra expense here and there, but you should be careful about wasting money on diet ideas wit  promises that are based more on myth than fact. If you’re considering a diet, you should consult your physician to determine the best approach for you. Identified…

By Dom Cioffi In 2006, a tinted piece of paper with a rushed sketch of a comic book character sold for $75,000. The image was the work of illustrator H.G. Peter and featured the first recorded drawing of Wonder Woman. (Google this to take a look; the rendering is very close to the superhero we…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Scorpio Moon, with aspects that make me smile and breathe a deep sigh of relief. The geometry of the chart for this week is suspended within the framework of three Mystic Rectangles. This may not mean…

By Susan Shea If you take a walk in the woods on a summer evening, you may be treated to the ethereal, flute-like song of the hermit thrush, often the only bird still singing at dusk (and the first bird to sing in the morning). In 1882, naturalist Montague Chamberlain described it as a “vesper…

By Kevin Theissen We are all, inexorably, marching toward old age. By 2030, 72 million Americans will be age 65 or older. The good news is longevity has been improving, and people are remaining healthy and vibrant at older ages. The bad news is cultural perceptions of “old” people have not kept pace. A 2016…

Ah, spring, when young men’s thoughts turn to … well, to skiing. Also to mountain biking and road cycling and rock climbing, and softball. I skied what I think was day 213 today (it starts to get confusing when I am not only operating by scans, but by counted uphill days — simple math has…

By Marguerite Jill Dye Inspiration may strike at the oddest hour betwixt and between deep sleep and dreams, then an idea floats into my head and I have to get up. It can’t be ignored. If I don’t jump up out of bed right then and I mull it over again and again, by the time…

By Brett Yates The fifth season of “MasterChef Junior,” the competitive reality series on Fox, concluded in May. One of roughly 90 shows hosted by the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, “MasterChef Junior” is a spinoff of “MasterChef,” an amateur cooking contest, replicated exactly but for the ages of the participants, who, in this iteration, range…

By Dave Hoffenberg and Rick Redington If you’re free Wednesday, June 7, I highly recommend you go to the West Rutland Town Hall Theater to see an incredible show. For only $20, you get to see a legend in the business—and some local legends, as well. Ike Willis, singer and guitarist from the Frank Zappa…

By Dom Cioffi I returned to Jacksonville, Florida, this past week for my first three-month, post-cancer check-up. In February, after several months of radiation and chemotherapy treatments, I received the “cancer free” label. However, I will still need to visit the Mayo Clinic every three months for the next three years and then every six…

By Cal Garrison This week’s Horoscopes are coming out on the cusp of the Moon’s passage from Cancer to Leo. I see good things holding sway over the next few days. This is a blessing for all of us, given the state of the world and the warlike energy that gets stirred up here in…

By Marguerite Jill Dye I think of Mom when I wash dishes, and relive my childhood memories. We camped in a tent, then lived in the basement of the ski lodge we built off Roaring Brook Road. Dad stoked the pot belly stove for heat with firewood he’d felled and chopped. When it was cold, Mom…