Jeff Danziger's take ...
Earlier in the week, I found myself all in, anticipating a nor’easter that eventually failed to fully materialize, thwarting visions of taking to the woods in a foot-and-a-half of light, fluffy powder, quelling thoughts that increasingly border on paranoia and offering me a much needed reboo…
Here it is Monday morning, and every news source I’ve tapped for information has assured me the Northeast (that’s us) is in the grip of a ferocious winter storm. “Hammered,” “blasted” and “buried” are the verbs of choice. “Onslaught” leads the nouns. That may be true somewhere, even in Vermo…
My wife recently received a message from a friend who said she admired what we were doing in moving from white-collar careers in Washington, D.C., to operate a farm in Vermont, but she couldn’t imagine why we were doing it.
It is so tempting on this day, Dr. King’s birthday, to despair.
“I don’t take responsibility at all,” — former President Donald Trump blamed his administration’s lagging ability to test Americans for the coronavirus outbreak, insisting instead — without offering evidence — that fault lies with his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Every evening, Abby and her human patrol the half-acre of snow and trees that divide the house light from the outer darkness. Most nights, Abby’s senses tell her danger is safely distant.
It’s challenging to find silver linings in this pandemic.
In early 2019, when news of the spreading coronavirus was beginning to circulate, few people beyond the global community of epidemiologists suspected that we were in for such a long haul. Most of us wishfully hoped COVID-19 would, in a year or so, take its place in history alongside previous…
As a feminist writer, I often view the world through “the lens of gender,” a term that means looking through metaphorical glasses in order to see people and explore events with a special filter. That filter reveals women’s experiences, needs and perceptions while also recognizing the realiti…
Open letter to Vermont’s elected leaders:
From Mexico, I have just finished watching and reading the U.S. commemoration/discussion of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Having this distance provides a certain perspective. One thing noticeable by its absence is any mention at all of the role religion played in the Jan. 6 events, and le…
COVID-19 came back after Christmas, stalking schools with renewed vigor, and administrators are again resorting to remote learning and expanding the role of education technology. My dictionary defines technology as “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.” For many te…
You’d think Democrats — who, by any measure, should be the last party standing — would catch a break once in a while simply by existing in objective reality. Instead, they somehow wind up repeatedly gifting the GOP powerful talking points, easily translated into bite-sized slogans. Teacher’s…
First of all, thank you.
My letter today is to sincerely thank Rutland High School Board President Hurley Cavacas, Commissioner Tricia O’Connor, Commissioner Charlene Seward, Commissioner Stephanie Stoodley, Commissioner Brittany Cavacas and Commissioner Erin Shimp for having the courage to honor not only the histor…
We’ve grown fond of saying “It’s not rocket science” while chiding a confused someone into divining their own solution to what they mistakenly perceive as a particularly challenging problem. Since we’re inundated with a near constant buzz of technology reinventing itself every 30 seconds or …
If I were a historian, I would try to compare American behavior during other lengthy crises in history. Since I’m not, I am left trying to understand the world I suddenly live in.
Two climate crisis authors have recently brought a long-asked question to the fore.
When I decided to teach my young Afghan friend to drive, Middlebury is where we needed to go to practice.
As we usher 2021 out the door, there is much to frighten us, making hope hard to come by. In the arena of climate change, progress is achingly slow. Coal-producing countries still produce coal, while people the world over buy and drive ever more cars. But peering through the smoke of massive…
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, of the Chittenden District, has indicated she intends to introduce a ranked-choice voting bill this session that will allow voters to rank the candidates on their ballot in order of preference.
Back when chalk was considered high-tech and we were younger men, Poor Elijah and I attended a conference for English teachers. The highlight was the imported keynote speaker. He captivated us — or more accurately, held us captive — while he shared his allegedly student-appropriate technique…
Some insurrections are better than others.
At the onset of 2022, the United States of America appears to be heading for possible major change. Opposing forces and ideologies are so hostile toward each other that there is clearly the possibility this former relatively pure democracy will be taken over by an entirely authoritarian management.
A lightly worn trail runs up a north slope in Hubbard Park, where Kiki and I walk most days. Near the top, in a grove of magnificent red oaks, stands a beautifully built stone bench, just the right height, that invites a sit-down to think and breathe and watch the woods below. Beside the ben…
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As I take my initial steps onto what appears to be a miles-long, block of ice, I’m momentarily glad to see the road crew has preceded us, sanding the length of Nelson Pond Road after an all-day Christmas glaze of light, freezing rain. It only takes a step or two to realize the coating is lar…
Out with the old, in with the new.
Sorry to mention Donald Trump again — it’s a nasty job, but somebody’s got to do it. Trump recently did a long interview with Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, of Tel Aviv — an interview that has blown up in his face on account of his use of long-standing antisemitic attitudes and tropes. None…
Dear Vermont voters:
When my siblings and I were growing up, and we did something untoward that got us into trouble, my mother would say, “Let that be a lesson to you!” I’ve remembered that line whenever someone thinks I’m overreacting when I say the Trump administration has opened the way to a functioning autoc…
Much of our holy days celebrations center around a table with food. Our family tries to hit the middle between gluttony and deprivation with what we call elegant peasant feasting.
I’ve never really gotten the hang of New Year’s resolutions. The strangest part is, we designate a date after which we resolve to do what’s right, but before which we implicitly resolve to continue doing what’s wrong. Imagine resolving to stop tap dancing blindfolded on the Garden State Park…
Being a teacher in our age of perpetual school reform, I’ve often thought about Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell’s "Nineteen Eighty-Four." Smith works in the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites history so it conforms to Big Brother’s current version of the past and the facts.
For those of you who read my bimonthly columns regularly for the past 17 years, you know I wrap up the year with my take on what happened. The events of 2021 were shaped by the events at the end of last year, so, let’s get going, shall we?
Working lands are central to Vermont’s identity. Vermont is the fourth most forested state with 4.5 million acres of forest covering a whopping 75% of the landscape. Vermonters have been working in the woods, playing in the woods and using wood products for generations.
With the holidays now upon us, we are eager to slip into our traditional routines.
Since you are reading this over Christmas, it is fitting that I wrap up this year with the truth that sets you free in honor of the indigenous teacher, Jesus. He asked that we align directly with the living Earth, the Creation and the Creator and act on her behalf, not human self-interest an…
Apart from being a pillar of strength, comforting young men far from home, some for the first time, the base chaplain’s duties included gently placing the plaster Jesus in the official Air Force creche, under cover of darkness as the clock struck midnight on that starry New Mexico night half…
Every year in the darkest days, “A Christmas Carol” finds its way to Poor Elijah’s desk. It’s equally the way of things that every Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge visits his past, his present and his likely future escorted by three spirits. As my friend and I travel with them, we see Scrooge…
This past month, rich countries made it very clear that least-developed and under-resourced nations — the ones most vulnerable to extreme climate impacts but the least responsible for the global warming that generated them — are on their own.
What kind of farmer was I? Really.
The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark outside already.
The primary thing about what the techie was telling me concerning the upgrade my several-years-old desktop computer might need to keep it running with the wolves, or at least within hailing distance of the 21st century, was that I didn’t really understand much of what he was saying beyond “A…
No one should live in fear of an intimate partner or family member. And yet it is a daily occurrence for thousands of Vermonters.
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Five Questions With
Just over three months ago we started “Five Questions With ...” to put a human face to this pandemic. Today marks the final installment in this stage of the project, but it will continue with a new set of questions more focused on Vermont’s recovery. Here, Paul Costello, of Montpelier, offer…
Marlee Brunton, of Middlesex, talks about the pandemic and its effects on her family.
Marlee Brunton, of Middlesex, talks about the pandemic and its effects on her family.
Alayna Martel, of Barre Town, is a registered nurse at UVM Medical Center. She talks about how, as a frontline workers, her life has been affected by the pandemic.
Gayle Townsend-Lang, of Rutland, works full time wearing many hats for the Rutland City Public Schools as “Miss Gayle.” Here she talks about how she has been affected by the pandemic.
Stefanie Schaffer, of Rutland, talks about how she has been coping with self-isolation and dealing with the pandemic.
Stefanie Schaffer, of Rutland, talks about how she has been coping with self-isolation and dealing with the pandemic.
Yankee Notebook columnist Willem Lange, of East Montpelier, talks about how he has been affected by self-isolation and the pandemic.
CPA Thomas Lauzon, of Barre, discusses how his life has been affected by the pandemic and self-isolation. Earlier this spring Lauzon was named to the governor’s Economic Mitigation & Recovery Task Force.
Chrispin White, of Rutland, discusses how he has been adapting to self-isolation and how the pandemic has been affecting him.
Christina Sweet, of Rutland, discusses how she and her family have been affected by the pandemic and self-isolation over these months.
Educator and Vermont Mountaineers General Manager Brian Gallagher, of East Montpelier, discusses how the pandemic has affected his life. Earlier this spring, the Mountaineers’ organizers announced they would cancel the 2020 season.
Cat Heatley, of Rutland, talks about how her life has been affected by the pandemic in recent weeks.
Cat Heatley, of Rutland, talks about how her life has been affected by the pandemic in recent weeks.
Salon owner and fitness instructor April Rogers Farnham, of Plainfield, talks about how she has been affected by self-isolation.
Barre Partnership Executive Director Tracie Lewis talks about self-isolation and how the pandemic has been affecting her life.
Montpelier writer Thomas Greene discusses how he has been affected by self-isolation and the pandemic.
Drew Smith, of Rutland, talks about self-isolation and how the pandemic has affected his life.
Jessica Van Orman talks about her experience in self-isolation and how the pandemic has affected her life.
Artist Jen Rondinone, of Rutland, reflects on self-isolation and how the pandemic has affected her and her family.
Mark Breen, the "Eye on the Sky" guy from the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, shares his thoughts in self-isolation and how the pandemic has been affecting his life.
Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe discusses how self-isolation and the pandemic have affected his life.
Executive Director of the Paramount Bruce Bouchard, of Rutland, talks about how his life has been affected by the pandemic and its consequences.
WDEV radio talk show host Dave Gram, of Montpelier, talks about the pandemic and how it has been affecting him and his life.
Stay-at-home mom and low-income advocate Roni Lynn Shrout, of Montpelier, discusses how the pandemic has affected her family.
Carrie Allen, of Rutland, explains how she has been coping with self-isolation and what she hopes will come from it after the pandemic is over.
Vermont cartoonist Tim Newcomb provides a bit of levity to his answers about self-isolation and how he is coping.
Recovery Vermont’s Melissa Story, of Montpelier, shares her thoughts on self-isolation and how it has affected her.
Major Jackson is a poet and professor at the University of Vermont. He lives in South Burlington.
Former governor Jim Douglas shared his thoughts on self-isolation.