Ways of Seeing: Pandemic offers a ‘reset’ moment

New things can be scary, but they also can open us up to better ways of living, better ways of structuring our institutions, our interactions, our society and our environment. 

In the ACSD, each town has at least one representative on the school board. You might ask, “Why are there a specific number of seats allocated to each town if we vote for them all district-wide?

Recently, I found myself recalling some paintings I had seen as a child: Norman Rockwell’s “The Four Freedoms.”

Walking through the forest as these late fall days lingered with unnatural warmth, I found the woods filled with life and light.

When I entered college, a science class was required. I chose geology. Biology, chemistry and physics had been included in my high school education, and I had no plans to become a scientist. (I was going to be a writer!) Also, the geology course descripti … (read more)

The summer I turned 13, a friend told me how she made a lot of money picking strawberries. It sounded like a relatively easy deal, so my sister and I decided to give it a try.Lunch sacks in hand, we ferried to a nearby island and were loaded in the back o … (read more)

With a bit of optimism on a late winter day, you put on your boots and outdoor gear, thrust a couple of tools in your pockets, grab a stack of buckets and lids, and head into the woods. It’s about to be sugaring season. We began sugaring shortly after mov … (read more)

As we approach this year’s Town and School Meetings, things will be very different, especially for those used to attending in-person meetings for voting, or informational discussion. This year, all meetings will be virtual. Conversations that happen quite … (read more)

“If the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the State, and support of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous store held by the people of this brave little town of Ripton.” Shamelessly paraphrasing Pre … (read more)

Riddle: Why did the man throw the clock out the window? Answer: Because he wanted to see time fly! I can still see the accompanying cartoon in my big sister’s book — a round alarm clock with little wings flying from the window. That may be when I first re … (read more)

“If you build it, they will come,” is a phrase that haunts the main character in the movie “Field of Dreams.” In that film, the thing to be built is a baseball field for spectral players from the early 1900s, but it got me thinking, and not about baseball … (read more)

When I was about 4 years old, my mother taught me to sew on a button. Likely, she too was sewing something, and I expressed an interest. While it was a useful skill, I never became a dedicated sewer. In my early adulthood I made curtains and even the rare … (read more)

About eight years ago I began doing hand-built pottery. Some people make beautiful bowls or whimsical wall hangings; I like to make sculptures. Probably all of you have made things out of clay, even if it was simply Playdough. I remember making an elephan … (read more)

On a warm spring morning during my sophomore year of high school, I gathered with my P.E. class to form teams for a softball game. Chatting as we stood in line along the backstop, we watched the boys’ class run laps on the nearby track. Suddenly there was … (read more)

Once upon a time, I was young. That’s a statement everybody, other than the very young, can make, but I state it for a reason. There was a time when we were going to change the world. It’s been 50 years since the environmental movement got started with th … (read more)