(From the continuing Bizarre Costa Rican Death and Reincarnation of the Fearless Puppy)

by Doug “Ten” Rose

My father died at the age of 89. This happened a little less than two years ago. I had not seen him during the last ten years of his life. No one notified me at the time of his death.

Several months after the fact, my estranged brother, the executor of Morris Rose’s estate, contacted me due to his obligation to comply with the terms of our father’s will. Much to my surprise, the old man had left a considerable amount of money to me.

I’ve been going over lists of what is accepted curbside (recycling), what is accepted at project COW, and other things accepted at WSWMD for a fee, as well as things accepted for free, what can go into a backyard composter, and what should not, what is hazardous waste and who will take it (when and where).

I’ve had many questions, found some of the answers and made notes on my list, and have turned my patio into a mini-sorting station, but still haven’t found a way to make a seamless trip from purchase to disposal for every little thing. A bag with odds and ends hangs on the closet door one day, the kitchen door the next. I’ve got a little “drib” of this, and a “drab” of that, and I continue to stockpile and plan my disposal attack.

(From the Continuing Adventures of the Bizarre Costa Rican Death and Reincarnation of the Fearless Puppy) by Doug “Ten” Rose

Did you ever see that National Geographic special about the effect of drugs on wildlife? One particularly impressive experiment featured a spider. They gave the unsuspecting arachnid a bit of LSD, in the hope of observing behavioral changes. They got their show. Our eight-legged hero began spinning a web for the camera. The web resulting from this marriage of spider and hallucinogen resembled an Escher staircase scene after a visit from the Unibomber.

Welcome to San Jose, Costa Rica, an architectural schizophrenia unparalleled anywhere in the known universe. An average city street can house a white stately-columned mansion next to a dilapidated red, yellow, and black Rasta restaurant next to a rococo masterpiece of a building in powder blue that neighbors an orange grocery store sitting next to a soot-charred auto repair shop beside a massive post-modern glass-front high-rise office building adjoining a cemetery fenced in protectively by concertina wire while the ornate church on the same grounds sits with doors wide open—and the beat goes on.

"How was Africa?" is a question I get almost everyday. If you've asked me I'm sure my answer was a short and simple, "Good." I learned so much during my three weeks in Tanzania that I haven't quite figured out how to put it all into words. What I did do to help portray my story as correctly as possible was make a video compilation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3wVwGU4JBI) and a list of the lessons that I have been able to unscramble thus far. Here are my words of wisdom:

1. Be thankful for the small luxuries in life, like clean tap water, cement trucks, and the ability to choose (even if it's as simple as having an entire menu in your hands).

BRATTLEBORO - Another fantastic ski jump competition for 2010! What a weekend.

Under the snow, compost soldiers on.

Day 8 was easy.
We walked 5 miles on Rt. 14 between the 7 Star Center in Sharon and the Vermont Law School in South Royalton. The White River was on our left (living up to its name in a coat of snow and ice) and the temps were much higher than I expected.


This is one of the frozen stretches of the White River.

Continuing our series of interviews with people working to close and replace the aging nuclear plant, we turn to Chad Simmons. Chad is a 31 year old Citizen Advocate and Organizer, who spends a majority of his days organizing throughout VT, NH and MA as part of this campaign to close and replace Vermont Yankee. "We’re so close! " he says as we kick off this email interview.

What attracted you to the Safe and Green Campaign?

I truly enjoy working with people, exploring the issues that impact our lives and communities as well as confronting excessive and oppressive corporate skullduggery. At its core, the Safe & Green Campaign infuses these elements to grapple with and act on an extremely vital and pressing issue. I was asked to join the group to facilitate the grassroots, people-powered activities of the communities surrounding VY and integrate our activities with the larger statewide campaign. Predominantly, I was moved by the diversity and vigor of voices coming from people in VT, NH and MA and wanted to be a part of bringing others into the fray.

Continuing our look at the people marching to Montpelier as part of the upcoming Safe and Green Campaign, I asked Peter Cooper about the event.

Peter is 67, and a retired school counselor living in the Brattleboro area.

What attracted you to the Safe and Green Campaign?

Keeping in mind that Safe & Green is more than the upcoming January Walk, I was attracted to the Safe & Green Campaign by the chance & challenge to work locally for green, healthy, safe, sustainable, affordable alternatives to Entergy/VY's nuclear energy. And Safe & Green does this for those most at risk from VY, those who live in the shadow of the plant in VT, NH & MA. While the case against VY is more or less the same throughout VT, the issues are quite intensified for those living within the 20 mile zone.

The lighting of the Christmas Tree kicked the evening off for many people.

About ten days ago I pulled into the High Grove parking lot facing east. I heard hammering and looked up to see these two guys pounding away.

Downtown Brattleboro is a dangerous place.

At least it was a few months ago, as the days got longer, the economy tightened, and we talked about our experiences and perceptions in our modern, urban environment.

Not much has been said recently, so I decided to take a look back to see how it began, what happened, and where we are today.

I have posted this 15-minute video to b'media but wanted to highlight it here also as a new story. This feature is sponsored by the Collaborative for Successful Aging.

(video below)

Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock" opens this week and careful viewers might recognize some Brattleboro residents as extras in the film. We caught up with Frederic Noyes and asked him about his experience working on the film.

Where did you first hear about the Ang Lee auditions?

I saw the news on iBrattleboro in June. They had been holding auditions in several college towns in the region. I guess it’s no big surprise that Brattleboro was considered a good place to look for people who could impersonate hippies!