In 1973, John Darley and Daniel Batson conducted the Good Samaritan experiment at Princeton University’s Theological Seminary, where participants were studying to become religious leaders. The parable of the Good Samaritan is about a traveler who is beaten and robbed and left half dead alongside the road. Two separate religious leaders pass by and avoid…

My friend, Diana, told me recently that she likes to try on clothing before she buys it. I totally agree! However, that option is becoming less available as brick-and-mortar stores close. Internet shopping seems to be the preferred method in today’s world. Scrolling through a worldwide selection of clothing is hard to pass up. My…

I woke up ready to go for my regular morning walk—just a quick jaunt out the door for a few miles to get my circulatory system up and going. Usually, I just throw on the appropriate footwear for the weather—this week, it ranged from flip-flops to snow boots—and throw a coat over my pajamas. I…

The older I get, the more solitary my life becomes. This isn’t a sad or deliberate thing but rather an unconscious choice to lean into more peaceful, less dramatic activities. I’ve always loved team sports, parties, holidays, concerts, sporting events, etc. – undertakings that involve large groups of people. I thrived off these activities throughout…

When the winter snow melts and the spring rain begins, vernal pools appear on the landscape. These ephemeral wetlands form in depressions in forests or ridge lines and offer essential breeding habitats to amphibians and invertebrates, including wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp. Because vernal pools dry up in high summer and are disconnected…

Your 2025 trial period ends this week as Mars returns to the sign it started the year in. The long and arduous journey of retrogrades has now come to completion. This week brings an opportunity to hit the refresh button. This isn’t just about starting over; it’s about starting better. Don’t discount the fact that…

Getting a comic delivered by mail rules! A couple of days ago, “Batman: Court of Owls,” the graphic novel, flew straight into my snail-mail inbox hot off the reprint press of comic book land—perfect timing for this week’s column. Shout-out to Jon M. from Connecticut for sending it my way—and for getting me back into…

Stop by the Clear River Tavern in Pittsfield this Friday, April 18, at 8 p.m. to catch Nate Martel and his four-piece psychedelic rock band Outer Stylie. If you can get there early, Space Mooves & The Cosmic Cows kick off the evening at 6 p.m. Outer Stylie started in 2008 at UMass Amherst. Joining…

If you didn’t get the opportunity to see The Dirty Water Dance Band (DWDB) at Killington Resort’s Cooler in the Mountains concert series in 2023, you’re in luck because Killington is bringing them back this Saturday, April 19, outside the K1 Base Lodge, as part of Dazed and Defrosted at 1:30 p.m. They share the…

Val Kilmer (December 31, 1959- April 1, 2025) is gone. While celebrities pass on, as do we all, sometimes a loss hits home harder than others. Why? It’s difficult to say. But for this filmgoer of a certain age, Kilmer was a part of that '80s experience. He left an impression, and although his health…

When the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, and the Vermont Dept. of Economic Development’s Community Recovery and Revitalization Program pool their resources and commit to spending $536,000 per apartment to build a 25-unit mixed-income development, the last thing they want to experience is an obstacle. From my perspective, the Wilco…

It had been years since we were all together. A decade and a half since we had all been scattered to the wind, each of us going our own direction, traveling wherever the wind may take us. To Colorado, to DC, to Toronto, to California, to Okemo. They had all been rookies together, ski patrol…

My wife and I rented our first apartment from an elderly couple right after we graduated from college. The space consisted of three rooms and a bathroom squeezed into a renovated attic above the main house. It was a relatively cozy spot; however, the ceilings were sloped, which meant I would always knock my head…

As the frost line retreats northward in the early spring, its withdrawal is often closely followed – and occasionally preceded – by the arrival of our most common flycatcher: the eastern phoebe. Depending on where you live, you may already have one nesting above your front door. Have you ever wondered why these small, onomatopoeic…

The astrology of 2025 thus far has brought its fair share of challenges. Old wounds from the past, long forgotten and assumed healed, resurfaced. In turn, this brought desire into question. It can be a humbling experience for it to dawn upon you that maybe you no longer want what you once did. Thus calling…