Stents, and Bernie

About a dozen years ago, I was having heart problems. I couldn’t walk more than a block without needing to stop and catch my breath.

The docs said I had a blocked coronary artery (just like Bernie) and recommended a stent.

I went over to Keene to get it done.


A Tale of Two Cities

The southeast corner of Vermont, that includes Brattleboro and Windham County, is a unique place. There is an abundance of people whose sense of fair play compels them to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to commitment to social, political and economic issues.

Although there are what some might consider too many non-profit organizations, local people are generous and give time and money freely when they see a need. Windham County has a reputation of being a very liberal area and that has most people characterizing it as a harbor for activists who consider themselves far to the left on the political spectrum.


Breakfast at the Brattleboro VFW Saturday Oct. 5th – Public Welcome

The VFW will be having a breakfast Saturday Oct. 5th from 8 am – 10:30 am. This is not a buffet, but you may choose to purchase eggs made to order, sausage, bacon, tater tots, toast, homemade sausage gravy over biscuits, and pancakes or French toast with real maple syrup. This will be on the canteen side, not the hall side.


Autumn Crickets — Singing Their Way Back Home

Mr Cricket In Cup

At first, I thought our cat was bringing them in.  There seemed to be a cricket in every corner — crickets behind the bookcase, crickets in the sink, crickets behind the refrigerator, all chirping away.  As fast as we could catch them and put them back outside, more would arrive.  One cricket even had the temerity to hop back in the moment his feet hit the welcome mat on the other side of the door.  What was up with the crickets?


VFW $6 Lunch Specials Open to the Public 9-30 to 10-4

The Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served Mon-Fri from 11:30 – 1:30. Specials listed below are only $6.50 a plate. Hand made burger, fries, sweet potato fries, wings, onion rings, soups and sandwiches are also available. Take outs available by calling 257-0438
Sept. 30th – Oct. 4th

Mon – meatloaf, mashed potato, gravy, & veg


The Dismantling of American Health Insurance

Instead of repealing the Affordable Care Act Republicans have found other ways to erode access to health care for more Americans. Policy changes, budget cuts and the elimination of programs have made it harder for moderate and low income Americans to access Medicaid, family planning services and a host of smaller programs.

These moves don’t make headlines and the people who are hurt by the changes may not even realize that they have lost something until they need a service. They also may not know that they lost coverage they may have had because they never tried to access the kind of care they had not needed.


Vermont Workers’ Center Get Involved Meeting

Join us on September 25, 1-2:30 PM at Brooks Memorial Library Meeting Room, 224 Main St.
to learn more about the Workers’ Center, the Healthcare Is A Human Right campaign, and ways to be involved. We’ll share basic information about the Workers’ Center, a grassroots member-run organization that organizes for a more just and democratic (small ‘d’) Vermont.


Strength of the Storm Film & Discussion

As part of the week of climate action, the Vermont Workers’ Center and Extinction Rebellion of Southern VT are sponsoring a screening of the film, “Strength of the Storm,” directed by Rob Koier. The screening will take place on Thursday, September 26th, 2019 at 118 Elliot Gallery (118 Elliot Street, Brattleboro) from 7:30pm-9:30pm, and will be followed by a discussion.

This film shows Vermont residents who were directly impacted by climate change during the flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, as they realized that they were all in this together and organized after the destruction of much of their mobile home community.


VFW $6.50 Lunch Specials Open to the Public 8-23 to 8-27

The Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served Mon-Fri from 11:30 – 1:30. Specials listed below are only $6.50 a plate. Hand made burger, fries, sweet potato fries, wings, onion rings, soups and sandwiches are also available. Take outs available by calling 257-0438

Mon – chicken fried steak, mashed potato, gravy & veg


Some Thoughts On Climate Strike Day

Today there is a world Climate Strike. It is amazing, and amazing that it took this long.

As kids almost 50 years ago, we were already concerned about the environment. Earth Day got started, we read Ranger Rick and National Geographic World, and we knew that littering made an old Native American by the side of the road cry. We knew about animals going extinct from hunting and pollution. We used to plant trees on Arbor Day each June. We read the Lorax.


Disability Justice Advocate Lydia X.Z. Brown Speaks at Landmark College, October 1

The Fall 2019 Landmark College Academic Speaker Series opens with disability justice advocate Lydia X.Z. Brown on Tuesday, October 1 at 7 p.m. in the Brooks M. O’Brien Auditorium, located in the East Academic Building.

The talk, entitled “Cripping Intersectionality: Neurodiversity and Disability Justice” will focus on how disabled people’s cultural work, community building, and leadership offer necessary interventions for liberation work everywhere, from the streets to the ivory tower, grounded in intersectional theory and practice.


VT AFL-CIO Turns Left: Van Deusen Elected President, Adie Vice President

South Burlington, VT— This weekend, in its largest convention in two decades, the Vermont AFL-CIO elected a progressive reform leadership for its approximately 10,000 members statewide. The fourteen newly elected members of the slate aim to revitalize Vermont’s labor movement through organizing new unions, promoting activism among rank-and-file workers, and championing a Green New Deal to combat environmental crisis and economic inequality.

Said Liz Medina of UAW Local 2322 and new District Vice President for Washington/Orange Counties, “I am excited to be part of a rank-and-file slate that has a bold vision for the future of the labor movement.”
Asserting that they are not afraid of strikes, the newly elected members to the AFL-CIO state leadership pledge not to support political candidates in Montpelier who do not fight for union and social-justice interests.


Brattleboro Conservation Commission hosts Source to Sea Cleanup in the West River Park on September 24

Join the Brattleboro Conservation Commission on Tuesday, September 24 from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. to clean up trash along the West River as part of the annual Source to Sea Cleanup of the Connecticut River system. Volunteers of all ages are welcome and should meet in the West River Park at the entrance of the trail to down to the West River.


VFW $6.50 Lunch Specials Open to the Public 9-16 to 9-20

The Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road is open to the public for lunch. Lunch is served Mon-Fri from 11:30 – 1:30. Specials listed below are only $6.50 a plate. Hand made burger, fries, sweet potato fries, wings, onion rings, soups and sandwiches are also available. Take outs available by calling 257-0438

Mon – liver & onions, mashed potato, gravy & veg


Puppets in Paradise, Performances, Music, Food and Animals!

Puppets in Paradise, Sandglass Theater’s most beloved community event and biennial fundraiser, returns for its 8th edition. Now in partnership with Retreat Farm in Brattleboro, this year welcomes an exciting roster of first-time and returning performers including Joshua Holden, Chad Williams, Finn Campman, Liz Joyce, Faye Dupras, Rose Friedman and Justin Lander, Honey Goodenough, Cynthia Parker-Houghton, Eva Lansberry, Elena Day, Julia J. Slone and Sandglass co-founders Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass. Each company will perform four times and the puppet parade will process three times throughout each day. Please allow 2 hours to experience all of the shows.


Butterfly Season

Cabbage Butterfly on Zinnias

One of the consolations of the late summer season is the abundance of butterflies who flock to the open fields and gardens to enjoy the sunshine, sip the dew, and drink the nectar from the last of the summer flowers. We’ve had butterflies all summer long, but not in the numbers or variety that we have now. Earlier, Tiger Swallowtails prevailed, fluttering on their exotic yellow wings to the daisies and phlox where they made a long zig-zagging circuit of every promising flower. We saw at least one Zebra Swallowtail, bigger than its cousin the Tiger, out browsing red clover in the field next door. Silver Spotted Skippers were ubiquitous in midsummer. And later, I was happy to see a few Monarchs, with whom I have a long friendship going back to when I raised one from an egg as a child.