Author
Frost, friendship, and a longing for poetic simplicity
The Granite State claims the beloved poet Robert Frost as its own, and with one of his collections actually titled “New Hampshire,” it seems perfectly appropriate to do so. For those of us raised here, Frost became part of the fabric of our education, and many of us probably still carry visions of stone walls, […]
Summer is far from New England’s best season – but at least there are farmers markets
If pressed to list the seasons in order of preference, summer would land at the bottom of my list. Fall and winter are nearly tied for first place, and spring isn’t far behind. Maybe if summer was a steady 76 degrees with a breeze, I might reconsider. But those sweltering days really get me down. […]
Adventures in aging – and innkeeping
Aging has a solid way of directing our behavior. It gradually takes over our lives. It adjusts our bedtime, and clarifies what’s truly important in the grand scheme of life. It forgives the transgressions of our younger selves, and even sometimes those of others. It extends gratitude more often, and hopefully it embraces the unfamiliar […]
An open letter of thanks to the teachers who built me
Earlier this summer, I packed up my school belongings that found a home in my office as a school principal. Before that, many of these prized possessions lived in various classrooms. As one would expect, among these treasures are crayon drawings, mugs, unintentional abstract sculptures, exquisite paintings on canvas, and more than one apple-themed knickknack. […]
The scents that bring us home
Scent is powerful – and full of magic. The smell of wood shavings or bar and chain oil places me in my dad’s workshop, where he sharpened chainsaws and did a bit of carpentry. The fragrance of freshly mown hay conjures the maze of bales in the hayloft at a childhood friend’s farm. When I […]
Updating my subscriptions
Not too long ago I was a donor in the NH Gives campaign, a 24-hour online fundraiser for nonprofits in the Granite State. To be honest, I thought to do it only because a reminder about the campaign popped up in a newsletter from Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail. Distant Hill, in Walpole, is […]
Holding on to my dad
My dad always carried a handkerchief in his back left pocket. He was a southpaw, so that makes sense, I guess. He preferred the traditional red bandanna, but I remember plain white handkerchiefs, and blue bandannas, too. They were laundered, dried on the clothesline, and ironed into a perfect square by my mother, and he […]