Brattleboro Adventure – the Auckland Edition
In which we find ourselves in another part of the world
Crowell Park
Crowell Park is the proposed site of our forthcoming skatepark. But… the tussle over where to locate and how to pay for the park seems to have been going on for years.
The skatepark debate has gone on on almost as long as it took to open a Wal-Mart…
Update November 8: They’ve given up on this site, and it’s back to basics for BASIC.
This wasn’t taken in Brattleboro but I’m glad to learn that the duct tape school of auto repair has adherents in other places.
Our very own Darwin Award nominees
What a fine set of initials you have!
Yesterday, at the world’s greatest highway rest stop and tourist info center (who knew people even measured that sort of thing?), we got this brochure for Johnson State College up in northern Vermont.
Leaf-peep-alooza: Morris Dancing
We’ve blogged about the joys and perils of Morris Dancing before. But, perhaps we don’t have the storytelling skill to really convey the essence of this pastime… Perhaps our skill with words just isn’t up to the task. Perhaps, if we ever had it, we’ve lost the ability to write without irony or judgment or snark.
Luckily, we live in an age where pictures are easy and video of everything from elevator ascents to rushing waters can be captured in real time.
Today in Shelburne Falls, we parked and heard the unmistakable and intoxicating sound of a concertina and jingle bells… and so now you can see for yourself.
Leaf-peep-alooza: chance encounters
As we were sitting in Shelburne Falls sipping our brunch drinks, we got a call from our dear friends BADCo, who happened to be in the neighborhood. Wow! So, we got together for a beer and the Special Ploughman platter at the People’s Pint and caught up… wonderful to see them enjoying their new empty-nester lives.
We walked along Main St. in Greenfield, which frankly is pretty dead on a Sunday afternoon. However, the antique mall was open. We didn’t find anything we needed to buy, but we got this picture.
I’m pretty sure this shot will go viral and catapult me to Internet fame and ad-revenue fortune, because it is ironic and yet has an underlying serious message about Exploitation. And expresses my angst. Ironically.
Look before you leap
We have a couple of good vintage/antique shops in town, and we trawl through one or the other most weekends if we’re out and about.
They say the time to buy an unusual or appealing antique is when you see it, because it might not be there when you return and you won’t be able to find another one like it.
We haven’t always followed that dictum, and we’ve missed out on things from time to time. But, “buy it when you see it” puts some pressure on you… you can’t sleep on the idea, you can’t take time for your better judgment to kick in. It’s all id, no superego.
So, with all that in mind, we won’t judge too harshly the person who got up yesterday and bought themselves a faded overstuffed orange velour chaise longue… they certainly won’t be finding another one like it any time soon.
I’m sorry, but I’m officially tired of the phrase “I’m sorry, but…” as I hear it used in conversation.
There are lots of good reasons to say you’re sorry. These include “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t listening. Please repeat yourself.” Or, “I’m sorry, but I can’t give you what you asked for.” The key ingredient seems to be that you should actually be sorry.
However, the usage of “I’m sorry, but…” that seems most common and really gets to me is, “I’m sorry, but I think you’re an idiot.” Maybe you don’t actually say the word idiot, but that seems to be what is meant…so it’s not so much that you’re sorry, but that you hate to be the bearer of bad news. “I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but you’re an idiot.”
Here are some examples:
So, an October resolution: next time I want to disagree or reject or demur, I’m going to do my best to say something like “I disagree, because…” Or even – and this may seem radical – “no.” And the next time I want to tell someone they’re an idiot…
Brattleboro Adventure – the Auckland Edition 