Living story sections
There was an unusual demonstration on Putney Road, this past Sunday.
Messages of hope. A number of people in fantasy costumes. Some of the banners and signs had a symbol which I am not familiar with — anyone have any ideas what it is?
As the death toll continues to climb in the U.S. and worldwide during the COVID 19 pandemic, economic and social needs are becoming more of a priority than the prevention of morbidity and mortality. Societies are opening and trying to be as cautious as possible, but even scientifically based efforts and careful monitoring are nothing more than a crap shoot. Every move we make is nothing more than wishful thinking, because we still do not know a lot about the potential of the virus
If you want to stay safe during the coming months the only way to do so is to minimize your contact with other people, wear a face mask in public places and use hand sanitizer liberally. This may sound like the same old mantra and it is, because the COVID 19 virus is still multiplying among us and we have no cure and only supportive treatment for those who contract the virus.
On Memorial Day, after mourning our loved ones, taken away from us by our ruling criminally insane murderous investors in Weapons of Mass Destruction on Wall Street, let us at least indict these pathetic racist colonial powered accumulators of capital in our hearts and minds and look to the day when pale skin bankers will no longer wield such incredible power over the planet and humanity.
On Wednesday, May 27, the State of Vermont will be distributing a large amount of free food in the student parking lot at Brattleboro Union High School from 10a – 2p. Everyone is welcome, you will be asked only the community you are from (this is for Brattleboro and the region around us) and how many people are in your household. You will not be asked names or your financial information.
I stepped out of the rally organizer’s van. It was like stepping into a churning river, the thought flashing through my mind, “I was coming out!” At last, my newly formed convictions of conscientious objection to war and oppression would become known. I was taking a big risk, but the world seemed entrapped in the deathgrip of war and injustice. Stepping up to the microphone I was in full dress military uniform. It was December of 1981 in Southern West Germany and many Germans were wanting to control their destiny.
King cried out “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world is my own government.” Obama’s pastor, “God Bless America? No! God damn America for her crimes against humanity!” Michael Moore, “sick and twisted violent people that we’ve been for hundreds of years, it’s something that’s just in our craw, just in our DNA. Americans kill people, because that’s what we do. We invade countries. We send drones to kill civilians.”
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu May 25 to May 29
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
May 25 CLOSED MEMORIAL DAY
May 26 Beef Stroganoff over Noodles
Glazed Carrots
Peas & Pearl Onions
Oranges
Brooks Memorial Library is part of the Growing Hope Campaign!
Come to the Main Street library entrance from 10AM – 5PM, Monday – Saturday, up a sign that says sunflowers, growing hope, or even a picture of a sunflower and we will give you a packet of seeds for you to plant! You can also request seeds when you order items through our curbside service.
The Growing Hope Campaign is a partnership between Brooks Memorial Library and Building a Positive Community in Brattleboro, to distribute sunflower seeds to people who would like to have some hope growing, wherever they are. You can now get sunflowers from Brooks Memorial Library, with curbside pickup. Packets may also be found at the tiny libraries on Spruce Street, Coombs Street, and near the Oak Grove School. Please let us know if they have run out!
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu May 18 to May 22
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
May 18 Quiche Lorraine
Oven Roasted Potato
Squash
Pears
As the pandemic evolved there seemed to be hope for a unified effort to combat a common enemy. Despite the political polarization in the United States, it did seem possible that we might be able to cast aside some of the “us vs them” mentality to join forces and minimize the death and destruction that the COVID 19 pandemic is causing.
Instead, we have business as usual. The U.S. president is displaying more and more signs and symptoms of progressive mental illness. Everything is about him and, if you don’t agree with his unfounded recommendations about dealing with the virus, then he will punish you by withholding support and supplies from your state.
As the viral pandemic of 2020 reached American shores, certain clear actions were required. Life is worth living, so it must be preserved! Those in positions of public responsibility bear the weight of decision-making. Our survival depends on their just policies. How would human lives be best safe-guarded? How would vital services necessary for our well-being be maintained while simultaneously curtailing public gatherings? A virus needs time to spread from person to person, ensuring its deadly existence.
Brattleboro, Vermont. May 20, 2020 10 -11 am Brattleboro Area Hospice’s Taking Steps Brattleboro (TSB) program will host a zoom Advance Care Planning/Advance Directive Question and answer Information session. If you are interested in attending, please contact Don Freeman by email: don.freeman@brattleborohospice.org or calling 802.257.0775 ext 101 and leave your contact information so that you can receive the emailed zoom invitation and/or telephone call-in number.
Interested people are encouraged to attend this informational session to ask questions about how to complete or update an Advance Directive for healthcare including where do I find the forms, who should be named as an healthcare agent, who do I give the completed form to, and how do I talk with my family about my healthcare wishes if I am unable to speak for myself? Anyone over 18 years old should have a completed Advance Directive. This is the third weekly zoom informational session, which will be held each Wednesday from 10-11 am through June 24, 2020.
I just found a bunch of respirator-style facemasks in my closet. I’don’r even remember how I got them. I’d like to get ‘em out on the street, where they’re needed.
Right now, they are in two boxes, one containing 20, and one with 60 masks. I’d like to sell them in those quantities. Please call me if you can use them.
Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months of age and older must be licensed per Title 20, Section 3581(c) of Vermont State Statutes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all licenses being renewed must be processed through the mail or online at www.brattleboro.org. Alternatively, you may drop your payment and forms in the black lock box in the Municipal Parking lot, attached to the wooden light pole.
Vaccination against rabies is required by Vermont Statutes before licensing. A current vaccination means:
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu May 11 to May 15
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
May 11 Turkey Burger on Bun
Pasta Vegetable Salad
Pineapple Cole Slaw
Peaches
Every year about this time, I grapple with the dilemma of what to weed. It’s not that I want my garden to be overrun with volunteers, but over the years I’ve become more and more averse to killing living things. This includes plants, with which I’ve always had an affinity. I think I was a plant in a former life, and probably something weedy.
This year’s problem plant is a grove of daisy fleabane which seeded in on barren ground near where I had misguidedly let their mother bloom the year before. There they all are, her strong and healthy children, forming their sturdy basal rosettes with taproots to Eden. Part of me says, pull ’em up. Another part doesn’t feel like it — I tried pulling one up by the roots the other day and it wouldn’t budge. But the strongest part of me, the part that has the upper hand at the moment, is suffering moral pangs at the thought of all those soon to be dead plants in a pile next to my empty flower bed.
It would seem that Major League Baseball (MLB) would have been able to figure out how to resume their season without fans in the stands by now. They have nearly unlimited financial resources and they certainly have the personnel to work on solving all of the logistical problems that have to be dealt with. Players have made comments that they would find it difficult to play without fans, but if they really had a love for the game they would realize that the fans would adjust temporarily. They owe it to their fans to make a better effort.
Professional sports in this country are driven by obscene salaries and, no matter what well-intentioned people might say, money rules. Consider these numbers.
There’s a beautiful, unknown 3-mile loop trail on Wantastiquet. I discovered it a few years ago. I’ve pushed fallen branches to the side, so now it’s sort of possible to follow it. I’ve posted a GPS track “kmz” file here that can be used on a smartphone to help stay on the trail, www.danaxtell.com/Wantastiquet_Flank_Loop.kmz . Google Earth will show this track as an overlay.
The trail goes nowhere near the summit, but does visit the best panoramic lookouts on the mountain—the ones that photographers have been using for 170 years. The loop is possible only because there is a carefully graded trail and retaining wall through the rockslides on the steepest section. I have never seen a mention of this stretch of trail. I found it while exploring the various lookout points in the area. It’s a mystery.
Brattleboro, Vermont. May 13, 2020 10 -11 am Brattleboro Area Hospice’s Taking Steps Brattleboro (TSB) program will host a zoom Advance Care Planning/Advance Directive Question and answer Information session. If you are interested in attending, please contact Don Freeman by email: don.freeman@brattleborohospice.org or calling 802.257.0775 ext 101 and leave your contact information so that you can receive the emailed zoom invitation and/or telephone call-in number.
Interested people are encouraged to attend this informational session to ask questions about how to complete or update an Advance Directive for healthcare including where do I find the forms, who should be named as an healthcare agent, who do I give the completed form to, and how do I talk with my family about my healthcare wishes if I am unable to speak for myself? Anyone over 18 years old should have a completed Advance Directive. This is the second weekly zoom informational session, which will be held each Wednesday from 10-11 am through June 24, 2020.
Brattleboro Senior Meals Menu May 4 to May 8
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU
May 4 Baked Stuffed Shells
Ratatouille
Garlic Bread
Mandarin Oranges
