By Kevin Theissen If you want to retire with confidence, you need a good plan. As you near retirement age or better yet, decades before retirement age, it is time to start doing some serious financial planning. Retiring with confidence means you developed a logical plan, are executing it, and review it regularly to make…

If you live in the Killington region, you have probably heard of the awesome musician I interviewed this week. If you’re not, get to know him here. Either way, you should head to the Pickle Barrel this Thursday night, Feb. 9 and see Bow Thayer rock out with his modern mountain music band. It’s influenced…

By Mark Bushnell, VTDigger The movie is long forgotten, but the scene is well remembered. It is a classic of the silent-movie era. A young woman lies unconscious on an ice floe as it floats downriver toward a waterfall. All the while, her lover braves the teetering ice sheets, desperately trying to reach her. The…

By Marguerite Jill Dye I hate politics. But I have deep convictions of what’s fair and just and don’t hesitate to stand up for them. I respect authenticity and can spot insincerity a mile away. I’ve always been hyper-sensitive, but have finally reached an age where I’m not afraid to speak out from my heart. It’s…

By Joe Rankin It’s winter. Hardwood trees are bare. But that doesn’t mean the woods are bereft of interest. Winter, when sunlight slants in, is the time when bark comes into its own. Pause to take in the aged-brass bark of a yellow birch, or the hand-sized bark plates on a big white pine. Bark…

In a recent column I mentioned that Rotary Rink in Rutland was a popular place to ice skate during my youth in the 1950s and 60s. However, its history dates back to the 1930s. The Rotary Club turned the property over to the city in 1946 and the Recreation Department began using it year round…

Note: the Democrats’ last four presidential inaugurations have included readings by American poets. Poetry has never been featured at a Republican president’s inaugural ceremony. This poem is tremendous. Believe me: poems don’t get any classier than this— The best words, the smartest rhyme scheme, Big-league prosody. When you take other poets—look at Robert Frost. He…

Every Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m., head over to JAX Food and Games to check out Annie in the Water. Don’t be surprised when you don’t see Annie but you’re welcome to all the water you want, free of charge. I had heard some good reviews of the group and I, too, expected to see…

When I was younger this time of year used to depress me. I pushed myself through it by fueling up with tons of calories and reminding myself that it was only going to last a few weeks. Taking off for the tropics wasn’t in the budget. Having money in the winter meant getting Fuel Assistance…

“Communally Acquired Pneumonia.” While this sounds like the way a deity might punish hippies, what this really means is that it is a case of pneumonia that was not acquired in a hospital (aptly named “Hospital Acquired Pneumonia”). Ask me how I know. Remember that cold that settled down in my lungs for a long…

By Marguerite Jill Dye “You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise,” said Maya Angelou, an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. The day after the inauguration, women’s marches took place in 673 American cities and…

By Meghan McCarthy McPhaul If the river otter is the most aquatic member of the mustelid family and weasels represent the terrestrial branch of the clan, the American mink is the adept middle child, taking advantage of its adaptations both in the water and on land to make a living. Like both otters and weasels,…

A couple weeks after the presidential election, I compiled and published here a top-50 movie list in which I selected my favorite film for each U.S. state, based on narrative setting rather than filming location: a sort of cinematic travel guide for our large, fractured nation. New England yielded “The Fighter” (Massachusetts), “Far from Heaven”…

By Susan Shea “Jay, jay, jay!” Every morning last winter I awoke to the loud cries of a flock of 17 blue jays dancing around my feeder. They gorged on sunflower seeds and suet, scaring away smaller birds, then left, only to return in the afternoon. I ended up buying a second feeder for the…

By Marguerite Jill Dye If you’ve followed “Mountain Meditation” for a while then you know how I feel about our political situation. My spiritual friends say: “Stay positive to help raise the vibration.” “Don’t worry. All is in divine order.” “There is a reason for what has transpired.” “Stay connected and act on inspiration.” So I…