Some say small-town politics are more vicious than the big-city variety because the stakes are so small. They can be vicious, that
I was 19 years old the first time I rode a train, and in a foreign country. England doesn
I don't know anything about zombies, but I promise that I am not using the word just to increase my blog's search rankings. It's my kids who like zombies, and love forcing me to try things I am sure I will not like
The need for "a place to call home" has been on my mind for many years, since the day I realized that I would have to leave London but didn't have anywhere else on earth that I could call home. I resolved that my children's lives would be different, and I settled in a small town in New England. This didn't work out as I hoped, and I have mixed feelings about whether Great Barrington is "home" for me, but our house here certainly is home for my wayfaring children, [...]
It often takes an outside eye to help one see things close at hand. Last night, a friend came to my house for supper. I'd made a rhubarb crumble, and mentioned that it really should be served with ice cream. Everyone agreed, and my daughter said, in the most ordinary way, "I'll go get some at the coop." The Berkshire Coop is a small version of Wholefoods and it's about five minutes' walk from my house, straight down the hill and across Main Street. She picked up her purse and [...]
Berkshire Publishing used to have offices on Main Street and my walk to work was down Castle Street - the prettiest and shortest commute in the world, I often thought. It's still my most frequent walk because I'd do just about anything to avoid driving and have the good fortune to live in a neighborhood within a few minutes' of a small-town downtown with hardware stores (yes, that's plural), groceries, library, restaurants, and one of the best cheese shops in the United States. I used to go into Covent Garden [...]