I saw a very moving play Saturday at the Wesley Methodist Church in Hadley called Crossing the Waters, Changing the Air by Ingrid Askew. It was a combination of songs, dances, and recitations written by an extraordinary group of pilgrims who took part in the Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle […]
Walking through Amherst’s West Cemetery last year on Memorial Day, historian Robert Romer noticed that there were no flags on the graves of five African American soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War. He notified the town veterans’ agent, Steve Connor, to procure Grand Army of the […]
What great fun I had this weekend at a three-day welding course at Snow Farm in Williamsburg. More than fun. It was an adventure. I had the opportunity to explore the nature of the universe and my own identity as an artist. The course took me out of my comfort zone […]
I picked up a novel called Poor White by Sherwood Anderson, who was a buddy of Faulkner and Fitzgerald and Hemingway and Gertrude Stein and John Steinbeck and lots of other literary luminaries including my grandmother’s cousin Edmund Wilson. It’s a long boring kind of weird book that I had […]
When you get old, you get used to brown spots and skin tags and different kinds of carbuncles and stuff like that and you don’t talk about it, because that’s really what they call oversharing. But when I got these polka dots on my feet, I was a bit bothered […]
My buddy Mike Chrisman and his daughter Moriah Sterling are a huge hit down in Antigua, Guatemala, where they live now. They’re making a few appearances in the Valley this month, but then they’re going back, so don’t miss them! I saw them at the Green Emporium in Colrain on […]
My daughter Sarah and I had twin scooters until hers got stolen. At first we hoped the police would find it, but that was a rather slim hope. I noticed that I wasn’t having as much fun as usual scooting around the Valley, because I kept thinking of Sarah down […]
I just finished a collection of short stories by Damon Runyon. There are lots of them, and they’re all great. The musical Guys and Dolls was based on his stories, as was the movie “Little Miss Marker,” which introduced the world to a new superstar, Shirley Temple. The story’s about […]
Jane Fonda is still hated by a lot of veterans groups for her trip to North Vietnam. They argue, and I admit they have a case, that she was giving aid and comfort to the enemy. I say let’s put her on trial for treason. And if she’s guilty… Let’s […]
While I was doing research for my trip to Squam Lake, aka Golden Pond, I picked up Jane Fonda’s book My Life So Far and Henry Fonda’s autobiography as told to somebody or other. Jane’s autobiography is a fascinating read — and amazing insight into that era by someone who […]