Living story sections
The first few links at https://hollandmills.website document my ICCF career.
The two noteworthy aspects of this title are that it’s an international title and that it survives me.
Also, after over five years without a tournament victory, I finally placed first in a Master Norm tournament:
https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88928
CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL
On the 4th we celebrate our Independence from the tyranny of King George and the British Empire. Yet tyranny remains. Corporate tyranny and systemic racism enabled by our government. But all of us who are abused, misused, oppressed, even murdered- we all deserve respect and fair treatment. Civil rights for all people!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
Jun. 20 Rosemary Baked Chicken
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Blueberry Cobbler
Off in a corner
in the midst of a mid-town cocktail party,
sits a shy young lady with a small animal
Wrapped in a muff,
Sitting on her lap.
June 20, 2055- After more than 30 years of grassroots activism a constitutional amendment has been passed in the United States that will make it illegal for most citizens to possess firearms. The 28th amendment is short. It states that, “No citizen, with the exception of military, law enforcement and certified hunters shall be allowed to possess and use firearms. Hunters must be subject to a federal certification process requiring background checks and verification by one mental health professional of suitability to hunt.” The amendment also describes provisions for removing guns from circulation.
The organization No More Dead Children was created in the wake of deaths of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas in 2022. Chapters of the organization formed in communities throughout the U.S. and became the voice for gun reform. Many of the leaders of these organizations were survivors of mass shootings at schools.
Brattleboro officials notice the housing crisis: 500 units are needed — NOW. But recent proposals for construction of a dozen or so units are a pathetic response.
The selectboard and committees are fixated on new construction, as if that is the only way.
Brattleboro Common Sense (BCS) proposed rent controls and just-cause eviction controls (JCE) two years ago, and town government has done nothing. BCS is also proposing emergency measures to create new housing by increasing occupancy limits and allowing RV’s to be rented as bedrooms and mini-houses in private driveways.
SHOPPING DAY (no donations accepted) at Swap Shop at WSWMD on Old Ferry Road, Brattleboro on Saturday, June 18, 8:30 am to noon. ALL ITEMS ARE FREE. Photos of some available items are posted on Facebook’s Brattleboro, Vermont group page. MANY NEW ITEMS! WE’RE OVERSTOCKED!
SCHEDULE & HOURS:
Shopping Days- 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month
Donation Days- 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month
I’m watching a film on Netflix that takes place in Bilbao, a city in northern Spain.
I can’t stop remembering when, many years ago, I visited Bilbao, courtesy of the US Navy.
Our ship docked in San Sebastian, a sleepy fishing village where nothing EVER happens. However, a dozen miles away lay Bilbao, a thriving metropolis.
I have been writing weekly commentaries for 28 years and I am beginning to realize that the time has come to think outside of the box. All those words may have had some impact on the world. People have learned a few things, but I remain impatient for the kind of change I would like to see.
So I have decided to try something new. I will write what might be called wishful thinking news stories, not fake news. These will be stories written in a news format that describe how the world might be if we made some of the changes that many Americans would like to see.
It usually happens when a president is elected. His politics are antithetical to mine and I wonder how my country could have elected such a person who will set the U.S. on a bad course. I harbor thoughts of leaving the U.S. and moving to a place that is more aligned with my vision for a better world.
But there are so many political, economic and social changes happening in this country now that I am feeling the same unease I felt when the Bushes and Trump were elected. It has nothing to do with Biden, although I would like to see better positions on a number of issues.
I have come to accept the fact that the U.S. political process is so broken that it will never be fixed in my lifetime or in the lifetime of many more generations.
SHOPPING ONLY DAY at Swap Shop at WSWMD on Old Ferry Road, Brattleboro on Saturday, June 4, 8:30 am to noon. ALL ITEMS ARE FREE. Photos of some available items are posted on Facebook’s Brattleboro, Vermont group page. Loads of new treasures came in last Saturday!
SCHEDULE & HOURS:
Shopping Days- 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month
Donation Days- 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month
If a month contains 5 weeks, the Swap Shop will be closed
Hours are 8:30am-12pm. (Large donation loads may not be accepted after 11:30am)
It is time for the June 2022 dashboard summary. We continue regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them. Scroll down the new comments for the latest.
Come to BEEC to explore, discover, imagine, and play!
Nature Explorers Summer Camp is for the young person who enjoys the natural world. Our goal is to foster children’s love of nature in a fun, safe and supportive environment. Children spend each day outdoors exploring the forests, meadows, and waters of BEEC’s 60 acres. Children return year after year, excited to visit special places such as Grandmother Tree, Mossy Rocks, and Frog Pond.
Mass murder in this country will continue unabated no matter what happens next. More dead children. More grieving families. More meaningless words spoken by politicians of all viewpoints.
If we are ever going to have any hope of diminishing the level of gun violence in this country we have to stop looking to politicians as our only hope for change. Guns kill people and no matter how you twist it, mass murder would be difficult without access to automatic weapons as well as guns of any kind.
The issue is about guns. Those who don’t think so will never change their minds and we have to accept that reality if we are ever going to change anything. That means moving away from the political arena into the court of public opinion. Mass protests and demonstrations can make a difference and that is the only way we will ever slow the death rate from gun violence in this country.
On behalf of some of Windham County’s more vulnerable residents the Windham County Heat Fund would like to thank our generous community for support of our efforts this year. The Windham County Heat Fund was created in 2005 by Richard Davis and Daryl Pillsbury to help people in Windham County Vermont who were not able to buy enough heating fuel to make it through the winter. In 2010 the Heat Fund was incorporated as an IRS 501 C 3 non-profit entity. At the time, oil prices were escalating and we thought our efforts would only be needed for a year or two.
Over the years, we have come to learn that there is a constant need to supplement state and federal fuel assistance programs for those who fall through the cracks and for those who run out of fuel assistance allotments.
SHOPPING ONLY DAY at Swap Shop at WSWMD on Old Ferry Road, Brattleboro on Saturday, May 21, 8:30 am to noon. ALL ITEMS ARE FREE. Photos of some available items are posted on Facebook’s Brattleboro, Vermont group page. WE ARE OVERFLOWING WITH TREASURES! Please help us clean out our space.
SCHEDULE & HOURS:
Shopping Days- 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month
Donation Days- 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month
If a month contains 5 weeks, the Swap Shop will be closed
Hours are 8:30am-12pm. (Large donation loads may not be accepted after 11:30am)
The deadline for registrations is fast approaching for “CORNSTOCK: Cornhole for a Cause!”, according to organizers at Youth Services. The inaugural year of this new fundraiser, Youth Services is offering space on Saturday, May 21 for 12 teams to play this popular lawn game every hour, between noon and 5, on the Farmhouse Square at Retreat Farm on Rt. 30 in Brattleboro, Vermont.
CORNSTOCK: Cornhole for a Cause! is presented by Chroma Technology. Sponsors for all Youth Services events in 2022 are Pacesetters Brattleboro Subaru, The Richards Group and Headwater Precision.
American women will soon find it more difficult to make decisions about pregnancy thanks to the persistent bullying of a minority of Americans. When the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, abortion will be an issue that will be controlled by individual states.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, “If Roe were overturned or fundamentally weakened, 22 states have laws or constitutional amendments already in place that would make them certain to attempt to ban abortion as quickly as possible. Anti-abortion policymakers in several of these states have also indicated that they will introduce legislation modeled after the Texas six-week abortion ban.”
Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months of age and older must be licensed per Title 20, Section 3581(c) of Vermont State Statutes. For dogs not previously licensed in Brattleboro, a new dog license application form is available on the www.brattleboro.org website; go to Departments; Town Clerk; on the right-hand side bar is a section on Dogs. From that page on the right side bar look at Licensing a New Dog. Licenses being renewed may be processed in the Town Clerk’s office (in-person or by using the drop box in the Municipal Center parking lot), through the mail or paid online at www.brattleboro.org.
There is something programmed into the human psyche that hopes for a better world than the one we have. Hope is important.
The problem is that what some people think makes a better world can be at odds with what others think. That is the world as it is.
When the pandemic unfolded it looked as though the leaders in this country were finally beginning to understand how dysfunctional our health care non-system is. It became clear that those at the lower end of the economic ladder did not have access to the same level of health care as those with more resources.
