Ways of Seeing: Universal health care not a myth

This past summer I had the amazing opportunity to visit Greece. It was a family event with eleven people participating, and as a group we stayed on two islands.

It’s such a strange experience to be far from home or traveling in an unfamiliar place, and suddenly come across someone familiar. Or to meet someone, start talking, and it turns out they are also from Vermont, or went to the same college as your sister, … (read more)

Since Harris’s candidacy became a reality, I have marveled at how beautifully and brilliantly she has navigated and executed countless challenging situations in such a short time.

A few weeks ago, I attended All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne because I was intrigued by the focus of the service, “Jubilee for the Earth.”

Sometimes our good intentions have unfortunate consequences.

It’s a rainy Monday afternoon in Ripton, and outside I hear crickets chirping. Tonight is the beginning of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and my heart is with the protesters calling for Kamala Harris to end all arms sales to Israel.

On the television is a vast landscape. The camera moves over brown spaciousness that reminds me of the Gobi Desert. I wait until the narrator identifies it as … Mars!

Insects have a bad reputation, but so much of summer is bound up in them: crickets chorusing in the hayfields, cicadas droning in the heat, jeweled dragonflies gleaming against the reeds, butterflies fluttering between flowerbeds.

As you enter the Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury, moving past the display of newly published books, you will encounter another collection of titles the staff has assembled. These titles relate to a rotating monthly theme — Women’s History, Horror Stories, … (read more)

I walk along a trail that winds into the woods. Leaves overhead dapple the sun, harlequin patterns of light and shade moving on my path. I breathe in; breathe out. Trees cool the air, embrace the earth.

This is the time of year when I struggle with the sheer amount of fruit I want to pick and consume. Why is there so much ripeness at the same time?

I don’t think it’s that people are concerned that Biden would do his job poorly, the question is, can he still beat Trump?

Three years ago, I joined Goodreads’ annual reading challenge. Since then, I’ve read between 65 and 100 books a year. Frequently, I randomly choose books, then find that their topics are connected, like Camille Dungy’s memoir “Soil: The Story of a Black M … (read more)

In a field overlooking an iconic Green Mountain vista we gathered a few weeks ago to celebrate principal Tory Riley’s retirement.

If you ask me how I am doing these days, I don’t know how to answer. My heart is breaking for Palestine. And my heart is breaking for American Jews, many of whom have dear friends and family in Israel, who are longing for safety and security.