Living story sections
Welcome to July, and continued reporting of COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro.
You can find the June numbers here, the May dashboard reporting here, and the April numbers here.
Now that it is clear that commerce, trade and most of life as it existed prior to COVID will never be the same, it is time to figure out ways to reconstruct the world so we can move on. Rather than re-opening restaurants with changes that reflect government policies, owners should be looking ahead a year or two and developing new business plans.
No doubt there are many forward thinking business owners who are sitting down and making plans for how to move beyond basic survival and how to thrive in the new world that has been thrust upon us. Large retail stores and supermarkets can probably do well with a few simple measures in place such as requiring that employees and customers wear masks and that crowds be controlled.
$7 Lunch Specials June 29th – July 3rd
Mon – meatloaf, mashed potato, gravy & veg
Tues – chicken n’ biscuits w/ salad
Wed – potato salad, macaroni salad, and cold meats
Thur – roast pork, mashed potato, gravy & veg
Fri – no lunch, open 1pm-7pm
Registered Voters can deliver #ReferndumPetitions in an envelope addressed to the Municipal Clerk’s Office into the black box at that says, “For Tax Payments” at the parking lot entrance of the Municipal building.
REFERENDUM PETITION for Annual Municipal Ballots
Whereas the 2020 Selectboard has approved a budget without resolve of enslavement reparations, police and prison abolition, the undersigned voters of the Brattleboro/Wantastegok Municipality hereby petition for referendums pursuant to Charter article 3 section 4; motioning a direct democratic public vote on the entire FY21 and budget ballots (which the 2020 Selectboard, acting as Representative Town Meeting, approved April 16, 2020) to be scheduled, warned, and accessible online.
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu June 22 to June 26
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
June 22 Manacotti
Squash Medly
Garlic Bread
Tropical Fruit
The Brattleboro VFW at 40 Black Mountain Road is open to the public. Our hours are Mon-Fri from 11am-7pm. Sat & Sun from 1pm-7pm. We will be serving lunches Mon-Fri from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, with doors opening at 11 am. There will be slight price increases at this time, with prices subject to change. Our lunch specials will now be $7. Lunches will be served on our hall side due to social distancing restrictions. Entrance will be through the glass doors, and the public is welcome. Per town ordinance, masks must be worn while walking around the hall, but not while seated at your table.
Why do so many Americans value the lives of others so little? Why are they willing to allow the spread of disease, disability and death with such arrogant defiance so they can eat at restaurants, have their hair cut and mingle in public crowds at beaches and rallies?
Some argue that if more businesses do not re-open then the economy will suffer too much. We have a society that worships commerce and the power of the dollar and that is one of the reasons so many Americans are deciding to stop taking measures to spread the COVID virus.
We must re-tool our economy in the face of the pandemic while also making the decision to value life above all else. Our collective ethos is heading in the wrong direction and a lot of people are going to suffer and die.
Coronavirus. Protests. Police. Elections. Masks. There is a lot to be thinking about right now.
Add that pesky climate emergency back on the list:
“The world has only six months in which to change the course of the climate crisis and prevent a post-lockdown rebound in greenhouse gas emissions that would overwhelm efforts to stave off climate catastrophe, one of the world’s foremost energy experts has warned.
We are opening June 15th! Our hours will be Mon-Fri from 11am-7pm. Sat & Sun from 1pm-7pm. Yes, we will be serving lunches Mon-Fri from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm. There will be slight price increases at this time, with prices subject to change. Our lunch specials will now be $7. Lunches will be served on our hall side due to social distancing restrictions. Entrance will be through the glass doors, and the public is welcome. Hand made burgers, fries, chicken wings, chicken fingers, sandwiches, etc. are still available. Take outs also available by calling 257-0438. Pie slices while supplies last.
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu June 15 to June 19
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
June 15 BBQ Chicken
Sweet Potato
Roasted Cauliflower
Apples
American protestors have forced the world to examine racism and the issues that contribute to it. It is a monumental milestone in American history but these protests, fueled by the death of George Floyd, will hopefully be the opening round of the battle for systemic social reform that has been needed in this country for too many decades.
The length and breadth of the protests show that there are significant numbers of Americans who are willing to use their voices to promote short and long-term change. The big question hanging over all of this is whether or not politicians and policymakers will listen thoughtfully and work to implement meaningful systemic change.
In addition to the baby foxes this spring, we were treated to a robin’s nest outside of our dining room window. An enterprising pair of robins built a really great nest in the rhododendron bush, and three blue eggs were sat upon by mom.
I got a bit of video every day, from egg to feathered baby robins leaving the nest.
With an uptick in online ordering, I’ve had to work a bit harder to avoid using Amazon. Jeff Bezos doesn’t need any of my money, and just about everyone else does, so I make the effort.
Search engines conspire against this quest. Search for almost anything and the top results, plural, are Amazon. It’s annoying.
When I use it at all, I use Amazon as a free product research tool. I’ll look at product specs, manuals, reviews, Q&As… and then go somewhere else to buy it.
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu June 8 to June 12
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
June 8 Quiche w/Ham & Cheese
Tater Tots
Broccoli
Yogurt w/Fruit
Amazing! The Brattleboro VFW and Brattleboro Elks have taken in more than $6000 for our food drive and delivery program since we started. We are still taking names for those that need a little help during these trying times. If you need groceries, please call 802-257-0438 and leave your contact information so our Quartermaster Lisa Lofting can get back to you.
This includes the Brattleboro, Guilford, Putney, Vernon and Dummerston areas.
Good news!! The Brattleboro VFW at 40 Black Mountain Road is scheduled to open Monday, June 15th. Our new hours will be Mon-Fri from 11am-7pm. Sat & Sun from 1pm-7pm. Yes, we will be serving lunches Mon-Fri from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, with doors opening at 11 am. There will be slight price increases at this time, with prices subject to change. Our lunch specials will now be $7. Lunches will be served on our hall side due to social distancing restrictions. Entrance will be through the glass doors, and the public is welcome to lunches. Hand made burgers, fries, chicken wings, chicken fingers, etc. are still available. Watch our Facebook page for changes and updates (Vfw Post 1034, Carl Dessaint, Brattleboro, Vt)
Another black man is murdered by American police. People are outraged and they take to the streets. Their protests help to ease the pain of injustice every black person has to endure every day while trying to enjoy the privileges and rights of citizenship that the rest of us take for granted.
Those in power will sit back and do nothing to change the root causes of injustice that have led to yet another horrific moment in American history. They will engineer sound bites and they will pick out easy political memes to try to ease their base of the brain-dead followers who also are in the same political camp as the rich and privileged. They will even go so far as tear-gassing crowds of people near their home so they can take a walk whose purpose is to use the Bible as a prop in a culture war of their own creation.
For better or worse, we start the June dashboard numbers roundup, with numbers from the Vermont Department of Health and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital with looks at nearby counties in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
You can find the May dashboard reporting here, and the April numbers here.
I was part of the Vermont Peace Movement from 1882 to 1984. A very short time indeed. However it was packed full of intense moments of friendships and activism with David Dellinger (who then lived in Peacham, Vermont) and Abbie Hoffman both of the Chicago 7. We were arrested numerous times during those Nuclear Freeze days of Helen Caldicott. When David Dellinger endorsed Jesse Jackson for President in the 1984 Vermont primary I deeply pondered what it would take to bring about a world where “Imagine All the People Living Life as One”. How do you vote in a change of heart?? So here is another page of my life to consider as once again our country is in the midst of anguish and pain. Thank you, Melevav of the old Common Loaf Bakery, Brattleboro.
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Radical of Radicals – Depth of A Movement
Hundreds of protestors in Brattleboro on Sunday joined in the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd.
Lining Main Street from one end to the other on both sides of the streets, were social-distanced people with masks and signs, chanting and singing. This crowd was probably as big if not bigger than the Iraq War protests in 2003.
A sampling of signs:
Black Lives matter
Justice for Floyd
