Author
Editor’s Notebook: The most important Election Day is the next one
If you ask quarterback Tom Brady, winner of seven Super Bowls, which championship ring is his favorite, he always answers the same way: the next one. It’s the answer I would give if someone asked about the most consequential election of my lifetime: the next one, always the next one. But I also have a […]
Editor’s Notebook: Our teenagers deserve a better path
My younger daughter started her first job this week. She was nervous on Monday but excited to begin earning her own money instead of waiting for birthday cash or the glacial accumulation of a small allowance. I’m excited, too. As long as the after-school job doesn’t interfere with her class work and sleep schedule, I […]
Editor’s Notebook: The rocket science of renewal
My family and I have big plans this weekend: We’re heading to a local pharmacy to get the latest COVID-19 booster along with a round of flu shots. Back at home we’ll toast to good health with Smartwater and Gatorade in hopes of avoiding the worst of the vaccine hangover. And then, through autumn and […]
Editor’s Notebook: Another chance to say goodbye
When our daughters were young, my wife and I worked opposite schedules – she during the day and I at night. It wasn’t a bad situation for a young family that couldn’t afford day care – and it worked for us right up until both girls were old enough to be in school all day. […]
Editor’s Notebook: A plot twist in mid-August
We’re using blankets again. For most of this scorching August, nighttime meant waking up every hour or so to kick away any bit of bedding touching feet or legs. We would turn our pillows – and turn them again – searching in vain for a cool spot to rest our damp heads. But then, just […]
Editor’s Notebook: A natural balance
I repaired a small retaining wall on Saturday. The decorative concrete blocks stacked in rows in front of the workshop were undermined by the spring melt, and the right side had been toppling in slow motion ever since. A more willing landscaper would have addressed the problem as soon as the ground thawed, but I […]
Editor’s Notebook: Five days at the edge of the world
Earlier this month, on the day the Bulletin published the first of two Amanda Gokee stories about how climate change is already affecting coastal communities in New Hampshire, I drove northeast for nearly five hours with my wife and daughters. We were headed toward the sea – not for science but spirit. Every day there […]
Editor’s Notebook: A field of white clover
“What I want to do as a musician is provide a soundtrack. Life is the film, and I’m doing the soundtrack.” – George Winston George Winston, a brilliant musician with an affinity for “Charlie Brown” composer Vince Guaraldi, was the first performer I saw in concert. My older brother had discovered Winston in college and […]
Editor’s Notebook: The flip-flop-ability of things
Hours before the alarm is set to go off, the worrying begins. Real and potential work crises swirl in a jolted mind and are soon joined by financial concerns and sundry negative fantasies about tomorrow or next week. As the minutes tick away, you think about how difficult the day will be without sleep, and […]
Editor’s Notebook: A win for the Bulletin, a win for New Hampshire journalism
Last week, the New Hampshire Bulletin took home 10 awards from the New Hampshire Press Association Distinguished Journalism Contest. As I said in a short story we posted on Friday to announce the awards, “I couldn’t be more proud of Amanda, Ethan, and Annmarie” – and I meant it. It’s not easy to keep track […]
Editor’s Notebook: The good old (sick) days
I remember being sick a lot as a kid. High fevers, ear infections, strep throat, tonsillitis, bronchitis – an all-star cast of illnesses that would interrupt the routine of childhood for a week or two from time to time. There were many missed school days, marked by sleeves of saltine crackers and glasses of ginger […]
Editor’s Notebook: A broken rhythm
Temperatures reached the 90s in central New Hampshire over the weekend, and the cats seemed as surprised as anyone. Juno, the more serious of the two and a talented bully, spared Lobster the daily deluge of jabs and combinations that defines their relationship and instead busied herself by looking for a bearable spot for a […]