“You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream”-C.S. Lewis  According to the Gregorian Calendar, the month of May is named after Maia, the goddess of springtime and growth. Historically, the gentle warmth of the month caused flowers to bloom, crops to sprout, and people to dance. Children made garlands…

Downtown Rutland had quite a few “specialty stores” in the ‘50s and ‘60s. They were a nice addition to the department stores, and their specialties made for a full downtown shopping experience. One of the more unique “specialty” stores testifies to a woman’s accessory from that period that would not be needed in today’s world.…

During my formative years, my mother made me attend church fairly regularly. I had to sit in the pew for the first several years, but when I got old enough, I was ushered into the world of an altar boy. (For those uninitiated, an altar boy (or girl) generally assists the priest during the Eucharist…

Fractals are sometimes referred to as a “visual representation of math.” They can be observed in the spatial arrangements found in many familiar forms, patterns, and shapes in nature: from the branching of trees, ferns, river systems, and lightning to the patterns found in leaves, seedheads, crystals, seashells, snowflakes, clouds, hurricanes, and geologic terrain. The…

Do you feel that? Peace, calm, and serenity. Strangely, amid some of astrology’s most historical skies, this week brings the chance to catch your breath and slow down a bit.  That isn’t to say that things will actually get slower because they won’t, far from it, in fact. Consider this week a bit like an…

Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, the writers, directors, and executive producers of the new series "The Studio," now streaming on Apple+, have cultivated their long tenure within the Hollywood system to create a comedic gem of a show where every episode seems wildly outlandish yet is more than likely based on truth.  Making a show…

On June 11, 2023, a tanker truck full of gasoline was traveling on Philadelphia’s Interstate 95 when it approached an off-ramp and overturned. The truck spilled 2,500 gallons of gasoline mixed with ethanol, which then ignited. Philadelphia Fire Captain Boyd reported, “Every square foot of the underpass was nothing but flame.” The fire ran into…

When I went to Kent Pond the other week to launch for the first time, I was all stoked to enjoy the beauty of nature right from the boat launch. But the joke was on me because right behind the treasured bench was a bag of unattended—you guessed it—dog poop. How nice of someone to…

Over the years, I’ve told my son at least a thousand times, “It’s a puzzle, figure it out.” Borne of necessity, I used the phrase to promote action in my child, given that his first response to difficulty, traditionally, was to either give up or make a half-hearted attempt. Because of his laissez-faire attitude, my…

Muskrat mating is so sensational that songs have been written about it. Fans of 1970s pop music might be familiar with a certain ballad, written by Willis Alan Ramsey and popularized by bands like America and Captain & Tennille, about two anthropomorphic muskrats falling in love. Though you probably won’t find breeding muskrats “nibblin’ on…

At almost every turn, the landscape looks different. Times have changed, people have changed, and cities have changed. Nothing looks like it once did. Historically, humans aren’t fond of change. Change is inevitable, but growth is not.  There is a chance to pause and to put your feet on solid ground this week. To catch…

As a kid, I couldn’t pay attention to the reality of the classroom’s chalkboard world. My pencil was always scribbling from its warped source of reality, fueled by hours and hours of maniacal Saturday morning cartoons—a happy place vividly logged under nostalgic memories in the farther recesses of my data banks. Back in the day,…

It’s proving ever more challenging to drag a group of people into a movie theater to see a film that isn’t either a children’s movie translation of a video game, a Disney reboot of an animated classic that was better off the first time around, or the latest Marvel retread. But if there was a…

This week, we will explain the “tax” in Tax Increment Financing (TIF), clarifying what the “tax increment” is, how funding flows and who covers the cost for infrastructure improvements. Importantly, TIF does not create new taxes on our residents. Tax increment and the flow of funds First, it’s key to understand that in order for…

Steve Turner, 57, a small-business owner with 30 years of experience in the trade of auto and marine upholstery, is on a mighty mission to encourage more participation in the trades, especially by young people who want to work with their hands. In 2017, Turner, a fit and animated then 50-year-old, turned a slogan on a…