Ways of Seeing: Gaye’s musical message endures

Recently, I got the urge to listen to Marvin Gaye’s album “What’s Going On?” I’m fortunate enough to own the CD and, yes, I still have a CD player.

A few weeks ago, I read a New York Times article that both intrigued and annoyed me: “Vermont May Be the Face of a Long-Term U.S. Labor Shortage.”

I’m an introvert, a term I embrace with pride, though I didn’t always see this trait as positive. Throughout my life, I’ve heard people refer to me as “quiet,” in a tone suggesting I have a terminal illness or that I’m hiding something.

In the few months that I’ve been a volunteer at the Lawrence Memorial Library, I’ve realized that many of my activities require using tape: Scotch tape, binding tape, that wide tape I call “gorilla tape” because it’s relentless (once in place, it cannot b … (read more)

As someone who finds it hard to nap, resting as a practice is a revolutionary and challenging act, but during the holiday season I gave myself that gift.

Emotions aren’t just internal; they are shared with others and can influence others. In other words, they have a social function.

For several years, one of the assignments for my Community College of Vermont students has been to explore the concept of war and the possibility of world peace.

For the past few years, I’ve had an aversion to the word “productive” or any terminology that hints at it.

I never realized how much faith and patience I had until I’d harvested my first crop of garlic over twenty years ago when I lived in Charlotte.

My summer tires were switched over to winter ones on a warm, sunny December morning. It was one of those days that made me forget that it had snowed a few weeks earlier and that I was welcoming the warm breeze on my face while standing in front of Heffern … (read more)

Some time ago, an acquaintance invited me to become a regular contributor to a regional publication, then added, “You could write about race.” My immediate response was, “I will not be doing that.” To her credit, she understood my reluctance to be limited … (read more)

It’s raining and I imagine the water washing away the fear. The squirrels running in my yard don’t care about rain or coronavirus. They flit up and down trees, twitching their tails, digging furiously into the ground, scratching themselves, then staring i … (read more)

Recently I listened to an interview of Micah Mortali by Tami Simon, of Sounds True. Mortali, who is director of Kripalu schools, spoke about the practice of “rewilding,” which he explores in his new book, “Rewilding: Meditations, Practices, and Skills for … (read more)

When late October arrives, lots of people are planning this year’s Halloween costumes, buying candy for trick-or-treaters, or otherwise filling their days with happy anticipation of a sugar-filled holiday. Not me. I am thinking about the time. Every year … (read more)

This is a confession. I am a hoarder of the written word. I am surrounded, subsumed, obsessed by ideas, humor, thoughts, possibilities, fantasies, and happenings that are manifested in books and articles. This obsession is very obvious in my personal surr … (read more)