Archive - Mar 11, 2010 - Editorial

I admit the last time I read Plato’s works had to be in the early 1970s as a college student. And, like most of you, I hadn’t thought much about it since; at least not in a direct way.

My loss.

So it was with interest that I met Victor Nuovo, professor emeritus of philosophy at Middlebury College, a few months ago to talk about a series of essays he was writing on Plato’s last work called “Laws.” As the front-page story in today’s issue reports, after a few conversations, we decided to run them in the Addison Independent.

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Editor’s Note: This editorial by the Hardwick (Vt) Gazette spotlights a House bill that limits access to public records. The examples used are local to Hardwick, but could easily pertain to Addison County.

Vermont state law gives people the right to see public records concerning matters conducted by public bodies. The law states “it is in the public interest to enable any person to review and criticize their decisions even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment.”

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“He’s dying!”

The shrill cry cut like a knife through the searing Costa Rican air that had been doing a lethargic tango with the sounds of crashing surf, clinking glasses and Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise” crackling through a primitive boom-box.

It was a jarring wake-up call from a pool-side seat last month during a family vacation to the warmer climes of Central America. Our family tries to join the snowbirds for a week each February to recharge the batteries. A little fun in the sun, some family togetherness and some memories to last a lifetime.

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Not sure whether spring has arrived? Just ask a turkey. Judging from the way ours are acting, it’s been spring for weeks.

Mingling among our dozen or so free-range chickens, we have eight Slates and Bourbon Reds, two breeds of heritage turkeys. These old-fashioned breeds of turkey are heavier and tamer than the wild turkey and smarter than the genetically “improved” supermarket turkey, which in terms of adaptive intelligence ranks just above a cinder block. They let us know loud and clear when mating season — what we more politely refer to as “spring” — has arrived.

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