It’s the little things that matter
In an admirable show of restraint, candidate Mary Hasson earns brownie points for using sticky notes on newspaper machines instead of something bigger and louder.
Striking IBEW union members putting finishing touches on their guest mascot “Porkorate Pig”. They manned the picket lines all weekend and are out in force today, hoping for a better contract from Fairpoint Communications.
I look out on the nondescript Fairpoint building from my office window. I don’t know whether the deal these union workers get is any raw-er than the deal any workingman gets in these days of globalization and technological change. I also don’t know if Fairpoint is really any worse than any other big employer burdened with the bizarre legacies of the breakup of Ma Bell and the ensuing organizational and regulatory stew.
Whatever the merits of the situation, there’s never a winner, at least in the short term, when it gets to this point.
Really good, actually
We’ve eaten in some of the finest restaurants in Europe and America over the years, and now we’ve also eaten the Friday Night Fish Fry at the American Legion.
Priorities
While this stretch of road remains closed due to questions about the stability of the retaining wall below it, Brattleboro nonetheless keeps its high priority activities in clear focus.
On the West River today. Water crystal clear and smooth.
Fall arrives!
DysHarmony
The Harmony Parking Lot was developed with great optimism in the 1980s. The murals along the concrete base of the retaining wall are now faded and peeling, but still humorous…
Unfortunately, the upper section of that retaining wall, made from boulders, dates from about 1888, and a few weeks ago it “moved.” The road above is now closed, and structural engineers are being called into evaluate the extent of the problem, and begin to estimate the cost of repairs. High six figures is likely, and that is, once again, a whole bunch of money that is not in the budget, and that we don’t have laying around.
The round schoolhouse of Brookline
Today, I took my first ride with the Windham Wheelmen, a very friendly local bike club. It’s nice to find a group where I’m one of the young guys. It was a perfect late summer day, just the right temperature, the leaves are starting to turn colors, couldn’t ask for better.
In honor of this being my first ride, we made a short detour to the round schoolhouse of Brookline. At some point around the end of the 19th century, a former Scottish highwayman named John Thunderbolt Wilson came to town and built the schoolhouse, where he taught, in between acting as the local physician. Supposedly it is the only round schoolhouse in the country. Go figure.
As the Brooks House nears completion, someone decorated the remaining sheathing.
Or did they???
This cute elephant decorates the David Dubé Memorial at the Brattleboro Retreat. It would take an elephant’s memory to remember why they erected a Memorial to the Controller from 1939-1953. Maybe he was in charge of the Memorials budget.
Our local thrift shop benefits a hospice care service. They have a big problem with people dumping their donations off in the middle of the night, and so by morning there is often stuff scattered all over outside the store, and in many cases it’s stuff they wouldn’t have taken anyway, as not possible to resell.
Today’s offering was particularly poignant, a copy of a free tabloid called “Parent Express” and a scattering of discarded kids toys.
Obviously, somebody tried as hard as they could…
Running along the Retreat Trails yesterday, I came across this spectacular orange fungus.
In Brattleboro, it’s okay to display your entire collection of black duct tape on your car.
From time to time somebody runs a bubble machine off one of the rooftops on Main St. Last night was the first time we’ve seen that happen after dark. Magical!
Brattleboro Adventure – the Auckland Edition 