A side effect of the world being upside down for a year is the unexpected beauty and wit that the universe continues to throw at us. My oldest son, 10, has blossomed into an avid collector of ski trail maps, the origami squares you kept jammed in your parka to look at on the lift before smartphones changed our world. Occasionally, I look up a resort and see if it is easy to contact customer service or the ticket window. Most times, corporate America thwarts my efforts. (Calling Vail and hoping for a quick answer instead of getting trapped in an endless labyrinth of “press 1” options is a little like standing in front of the White House thinking Joe is going to come out and say hello just to you.)… Read More

We’re Vermonters, the gentleman standing outside the Norwich Inn said. “We’ll survive.”

True, his words made my inner Deadhead do a little twirl (I know you don’t need help for such an obvious one but…“Touch of Grey” people, “Touch of Grey”). More than that, his confidence was – like this virus – infectious. Suddenly, I had a little spring in my step, like a man headed to the golf course when it was a workday for everyone else.

It wasn’t the only example of hope out there in our town. In conversation with a neighbor, he pointed out that when Vermonters say “Hi, Neighbor” it actually signifies something, with due respect to Narragansett beer’s official motto.… Read More

While perusing the pears at the farm stand, I heard a voice say, “Next week, we start impeachment.” I looked at the back of a head, and thought, “There’s an educator ready to walk his students through a constitutional complexity.” Then I remembered I lived in Norwich, and it clicked: that’s no social studies teacher; that’s our congressman. Over a couple of minutes, the farm stand employee, the congressman, and I chuckled, queried, and opined.

For a political nerd like me, those 100+ seconds were a unique gift: impossible to steal, replicate, or purchase. The experience got me thinking, in this season of gift-giving, how many presents we give each other in our community that simply cannot be wrapped.… Read More

One treasure of Norwich that you will never find in a real estate listing, a guide book, or a town report is “the Block.” It is the two-mile loop comprised of Main Street, Turnpike Road, Moore Lane, and Beaver Meadow Road. It has about as much in common with a city block as a crow has with a flamingo: some similar features, but radically different.

From a distance perspective, the Block is a beaut. Little Legs can handle it, especially if Big Legs remembers to bring a couple bribery snacks. For Schnauzers, poodles, beagles, and the people they manage, the Block is ideal for the daily constitutional.… Read More