Building our Killington Dream Lodge: Part 16 The second floor framing on our Killington Ski Lodge was growing a little week by week. One of the slowdowns was only two beams could be transported at the time atop our station wagon each week (to avoid caving in the roof). As Dad progressed, I stayed in…

In “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, Alice stumbles upon a large mushroom. She peeps over the edge and encounters a caterpillar “smoking a long hookah, and taking not the slightest notice of her or anything else.” If Alice had touched the creature, she might have been in for an even bigger shock—forked horns,…

There is such potency and power in the act of deciding. It’s so potent that in fact, it has the capacity to change everything. Once you’ve reached a conclusion and the choice is made, all there is left to do is follow through.  But why is the decision itself hard? Is it the narrative on…

Taken two years after the tragedy, members of the Green family gathered with the recipients of Nicholas’s organs. Back row (l-r): Reg Green, Maggie Green, Andrea Mongiardo (heart), Francesco Mondello (cornea), Tino Motta (kidney), Anna Maria Di Ceglie (kidney), Eleanor Green. Front row (l-r): Laura Green, Maria Pia Pedala (liver), Domenica Galleta (cornea), Silvia Ciampi…

Rutland City back in the ‘50s had three stores that could be considered “variety stores.” They were well known “chain stores” namely F. W. Woolworth, M.H. Fishman and SS Kresge. They were located just doors away from one another on Merchants Row. Of the three variety stores F.W. Woolworth was my mother’s favorite. We often…

The K Cloud had its way with us this Memorial Day, with a fog so thick that you didn’t realize you had gotten to the bottom of Superstar until you saw the two bright orange slow signs ahead in the mist. It was like being in a whole other world, our world, where only the craziest…

My wife and were out shopping recently when we stumbled upon a small concert taking place in a nearby park. It was one of those early evening performances that most cities sponsor throughout the summer months. There were people sitting on blankets in the grass while others had brought beach chairs. A few daring folks…

When I worked at a barn one summer during college, I marveled at the swallows that nested in the structure’s eaves and corners. I watched the iridescent birds swoop, flutter, and dart with amazing dexterity between the small spaces above the stalls. These acrobatic birds are aerial insectivores, a group that also includes other swallows,…

Building our Killington Dream Lodge, Part 15 Dad, a mechanical engineer, understood the principles of levers, pulleys and gears. He used them to lift heavy beams to the second floor and on top of the frame. It had to be done methodically, piece by piece with planning and forethought. He bought the materials as his…

By Isabelle Gieder My tires whiz as I zip down the mountain, darting through rock and sticks. I lean into a turn and whip my bike around. I see a jump in front of me. I steady the bike and pump. I launch off of the jump. Time seems to slow as I fly through…

The threshold has been crossed that will define the next 12 months.  To face towards the light, you must first face the depths of doubt, your shadows from the past and decimate all uncertainty. Bow only to those who can place judgement upon you. And that will not be who you think.Strike the match. Light…

By Merisa Sherman Then the tough choice of how to play today:ski, bike, paddle, fish, hike, run?  The bug went down my throat. Literally, flew down my throat and landed in the back at such speed that I had no choice but to just swallow. Mmmmm, gotta love that extra protein that Vermont provides during…

Vesna Vulovic is a name etched in the annals of miraculous survival — perhaps the most unlikely survival story of all time. She was thrust into the spotlight on Jan. 26, 1972, when she unwittingly became a symbol of human resilience.  A native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Vesna’s journey to that fateful day began like that…

By Emily Haynes A few ledges along the Connecticut River are home to a rare plant commonly known as Jesup’s milk-vetch (Astragalus robbinsii var. jesupii). In fact, this species, which has been listed as federally endangered since 1987, only grows at six sites along a 16-mile stretch of the river in New Hampshire and Vermont. But…

Building a Killington Dream Lodge: part 14 By Marguerite Jill Dye Dad made progress and forged ahead on our Killington ski lodge while Mom, Billie, and I toured Europe. Our extensive European whirlwind trip was the very beginning of my awakening to understand the world and how I fit in. I had no idea what…