Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. Not long ago I thought I’d leave school a little early. I had never previously violated the policy requiring faculty to sign out when departing before 2:45, but just this once I figured I’d escape without notifying the principal. I didn’t have a class […]

Kids cuss behind the teacher’s back. And the playground is the opportune place for potty-mouth. No adults listening. That’s what children tell me—the ones that are upset by swear words. Offensive language is common language in some homes and taboo in others. Toddlers start out by mimicking words and phrases. They don’t know what words […]

Should we save the planet or kill the enemy? Perhaps no question more succinctly separates the past from the future, or so it occurred to me after I read Rebecca Solnit’s stunning observation in a recent essay: that the mass murders in Christchurch, N.Z. on March 15 occurred on the same day, and in the same general […]

The country has been treated to a classic case of political theater, and few even knew about it. People missed the cynical drama staged by Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell mainly because much of the media spread what amounted to “fake” news. The story began in January when some newly elected House Democrats launched […]

It was just one of those things. It didn’t really mean Marvin Pincus had lost his mind. Consider this yourself for a minute. Marvin had opened the mail that morning and in it was the Fenwick glass fly rod he’d ordered. Oh, it was used, of course. But there’s a feel to a Fenwick that […]

The opioid crisis hurts families, our neighbors and our communities. This is not news. We’ve heard about how people struggle with addiction, especially across New England and in Maine. This problem won’t be solved with one piece of legislation, or one advocate for reform. As a social worker with more than 40 years of experience, […]

In the current College Admission Scandal some Hollywood actors have paid bribe money to get their children admitted into some prestigious institutions for which they are not qualified to attend.  But colleges have been on the defensive for some time for reducing campus free speech, at least for conservatives and constitutionalists, giving predominantly one side […]

In the crowd this morning are more beards than on an NHL playoff team, more winter fleece than in a factory outlet, more hiking boots than in an Appalachian Mountain Club high-altitude hut. In this atmosphere — a classic New Hampshire primary audience, not demure but demanding, not casual but committed — suddenly a voice […]

I was out of town yesterday and stopped in an unfamiliar mall to pick up a few things. It was one of those giant strip malls with a Home Depot on one end and a Target on the other. I could see another giant strip mall, with a Lowe’s at one end and a Wal-Mart […]