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Some thoughts

Up here in the Green Mountain State, as in your state, every other state in the Union,

and across the world, 2020 has been one for the books. In fact, it’s been the ONLY one like itself IN the books. The ‘perfect storm’ of a worldwide pandemic, terrible racial unrest in our country, and a very contentious upcoming presidential election has knocked this entire year into a hur-ricane category of its own.

Do you remember the movie “Back to the Fu-ture”? Of course, you do. I recently heard of an editorial cartoon showing Doc Brown as he em-phatically admonished: “Marty, whatever you do, DON’T stop in 2020!” I thought that was brilliant, and quite good advice.

To get breaks from what I have come to call ‘Covid Cabin Fever,’ my wife and I, several times a week, get out of the house and just travel the back roads of our beautiful state. We have done this in previous years, but have had more incentive to since, this year, there has been little else to occupy our time. I know things are open-ing up a bit now, thankfully, but for several months we really couldn’t even stop for lunch during these trips. How many take out burgers can you eat in your car without feeling cabin-feverish in there too? (Gaining ten pounds in

two months has been a cinch for me.) Something I have come to notice during our

travels is that nature doesn’t seem all that af-fected by this corona mess, the presidential race, or even racial tension. The beautiful rivers here still flow as well as last year. The deer and cattle grazing in the fields are still doing just that. Squirrels scamper up the big trees as our car ap-proaches, and countless wild turkeys still hang around the tilled and planted farmland all across the state.

In general, what I have noticed in all these things is that nature, the natural world, doesn’t seem to need us a lot. We do need it, as do all liv-ing things, but it doesn’t really need us. I believe there is a place for us, (and the wild turkeys) here, and that we are free to use the resources of our large, global home. I don’t believe for a mo-ment that we are free to Abuse them, or each other.

In so many ways, this strange, almost surreal year of 2020 has taught me some lessons. I have had much more time than usual to think about my family, our state, our country, and our world. Pausing from the usual can be a time to refresh, rethink, and regroup. At least that is what it has meant to me.

The recent racial tension, stemming from the terrible murder of George Floyd, has added to that rethinking, also, at least for me. I agree with active but peaceful protests of injustice. I have never agreed with violence to prove a point, but I do understand the anger. I have a wonderful, 26-year-old black son and a beautiful 23-year-old black daughter. If either of them had been murdered by someone with his knee on their neck, (regardless of that person’s race,) it might be me destroying the place. There’s so very much to think about.

You probably have your own theories as to why, if you think there IS a why, this year has taken place as it has. As a Christian, my thought is that just perhaps God decided that 2020 would be the year to give some of us something closer to 20-20 ‘vision’ about some of these things.

As always, I invite you to take what you will from my humble column here in this great mag-azine and new e-zine. This year has been terrible in many ways, but also a jolt that has opened many eyes, including mine. Appreciate the things you have, the beautiful world we live in, and ALL of the people around you. You may need them more than they need you, as I do.

The World: A Brief Introduction By Richard Haass Penguin Press, 2020 Hardcover, 400 Pages ISBN-10: 0399562397 ISBN-13: 978-0399562396


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By Richard MorchoeBOOKREVIEW

There is a need for a book to explain where we are in time to citizens, espe-

cially the younger cohort. Richard Haass' The World: A Brief Introduction was written to fill that necessity.

Who is Richard Haass and how did he come to write the book?

Dr. Haass has had a long career in gov-ernment as a diplomat and policymaker, having been the elder President Bush's Mid-dle East adviser and served on the There is a need for a book to explain where we are in time to citizens, especially the younger co-hort. Richard Haass' The World: A Brief In-troduction was written to fill that necessity.

Who is Richard Haass and how did he come to write the book?

Dr. Haass has had a long career in gov-ernment as a diplomat and policymaker, having been the elder President Bush's Mid-dle East adviser and served on the staff of Secretary of State Colin Powell. He is cur-rently president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The book jacket bio terms the Council on Foreign Relations as nonpartisan and that is true enough. It may not be required to be a member, but to be chief officer, one has to be on Team Globalist and Haass is, though he has no problem pointing out some of the warts of that persuasion.

Haass came to write this book after com-ing upon the son of a friend. The young man was at Stanford and about to begin his senior year. Stanford is not the place you go if you're dull, the school only takes in bright prospects.

The student was a computer science major, but Haass wanted to know what else he was studying and asked what courses outside of his major he had taken. The an-swer he received troubled him. The young man had taken only the bare minimum of re-quired courses.

As Dr. Haass put it, "this intelligent

young man would soon graduate from one of the best universities with little or no un-derstanding of his own country or the world." I first heard the author speak of this in an interview on NPR, and was also trou-bled, but not surprised.

Young people do not seem to have the depth of knowledge my generation had, but they are sure of their opinions. Of course, every senior generation holds to that view of

youth. The author, however, was willing to look

into the subject with more depth than the re-viewer. What he found was that from the Ivy League on down, there are few institutions, as in almost none, that require the student to graduate having studied American History in more than a superficial manner, if at all.

As the young man is part of the best and

What the world needs now

Especially

Now.

From preceding page

THE STURBRIDGE TIMES TOWN & COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE6Page 18

brightest of his generation, we should all be concerned. Thomas Jefferson’s "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be" is often quoted such that it may seem trite, but if TJ was correct, Haass had his work cut out for him.

Richard Haass has noted what the rising generation does not know and The World: A Brief Introduction is his effort to provide a book for the young and for men and women

of all ages, as the changes in the world since he was young have been profound.

The author and I are contemporaries and for much of our lives, the Cold War was a major aspect of the world order. Then, in a historical minute, the Soviet Union and the Cold War were gone. Empires took centuries to, as Gibbon had it, “Decline and Fall” and here was one that peacefully disappeared.

Yet, history did not end and with all the hope that came with the disappearance of the US/Soviet rivalry, we are again confronting

Brief Introduction is his effort to provide a book for the young and for men and women of all ages, as the changes in the world since he was young have been pro-found.

The author and I are contemporaries and for much of our lives, the Cold War was a major aspect of the world order. Then, in a historical minute, the Soviet Union and the Cold War were gone. Em-pires took centuries to, as Gibbon had it, “Decline and Fall” and here was one that peacefully disappeared.

Yet, history did not end and with all the hope that came with the disappear-ance of the US/Soviet rivalry, we are again confronting the successor to the So-viet Union in Russia as well as a rising China.

Does Dr. Haass’ book succeed? As a broad outline, yes. In some important particulars, he could have done better.

He begins by explaining the state sys-tem that arose out of the 30 Years’ War in the 1600s. The Treaty of Westphalia that ended that long conflict led to nations re-specting other countries in Europe and not changing borders or interfering in in-ternal affairs.

It worked except when it didn’t. He notes that it kind of broke down as “The concert of Nations" as a result of the Crimean War.

The end of the chapter that takes one from the origin of the state system to the eve of World War I seems to blame Ger-many for that conflict. Bismarck’s suc-cessful unification of his country was brought about by a skillful statesman and his successors were not in his league and no little fault can be found. There was, however, much blame to go around among participants. This is a bit of a problem with the book. Haass does not question the accepted version as often as he should.

The two world wars and the years in between are well covered in one chapter, as is the Cold War. The post-Cold War era is as well, but where we disagree is the author’s, for the most part, adherence to

Book Review | Richard Haass


PERSONALSECURITY

By Elisa Krochmalnyckyj One of the Sturbridge Police Department’s

sharpest tools when investigating break-ins and thefts is in the hands of residents — home-surveillance cameras.

So police are asking that anyone with a se-curity camera register it with the depart-ment. While it doesn’t give police any access to the home cameras, it does let them know who to ask for help during investigations.

“Say there was a car involved in a robbery and someone saw a person on foot at about midnight,” said Police Chief Earl Dessert. “We would then ask the neighbors who have registered their cameras to check their video footage for a specific date and time that may show something that helps, like a getaway car, or the direction that a person of interest trav-eled.”

The registry is voluntary, and simply lets police know who has cameras that might have captured video, which is especially helpful in the early hours of an investigation. The more quickly police can get evidence, the better the chances of making an arrest are, Dessert said.

The need for vigilance is even more critical now, as Sturbridge is one of the local towns

that have experienced bouts of car thefts, in-cluding one in the Clark Road neighborhood. Among the victims was Kelly Rizy, whose husband’s car was stolen from their drive-way. Alt-hough the Rizys have a surveillance c“That makes sense. Even when you watch the news, you hear about a robbery, and that they caught the guy because of a neighbor’s camera that saw this suspicious car,” she said. “I always wondered if they went door to door and asked, but obviously, they knew who to ask because of the registry.”

Registering a surveillance camera is easy and can be done in minutes on the Depart-ment’s website. The form for “Sturbridge Po-lice Camera Registry Program (SPCRP)” is the last link under “Resources.” All it asks for

is whether the camera is interior or exterior, whether it’s for a home or business, and the owner’s contact information.

While the registry is relatively new, the idea of asking neighbors for help in investiga-tions is not.

“We already canvass a neighborhood where there’s been a problem,” Dessert said. “We go up and down the street and knock on doors to see what tips we can get. If they tell us then that they have a camera, we ask if we can review it. And again, they don’t have to let us.”

The department had an increase of regis-tered cameras after the car breaks in the fall, which was great, Dessert said.

“It really helps us out. We have the master list in our Communications Center, so when people say there was a car break on, say, New Boston Road, we can say ‘Mr. and Mrs. Jones have a camera, let’s see if they can pull the footage for us.’”

Even before the rash of car break-ins and thefts, home surveillance cameras were be-coming more common — mostly because they’re increasingly more affordable and con-venient, Dessert said.

Home surveillance cameras helpful to policeYou can now sign up for the Sturbridge Police Camera Registry Program if you wish

Next page


Page 10

Surveillance cameras

‘Fairies’ spread cheer across the (sister)’hood

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING WINE FAIRIESFrom preceding page

“With the new ‘doorbell’-type cameras, where you can see, hear or talk to people at your front door from your phone or your tablet, you don’t even have to be home,” Dessert said. “You are looking at a couple of hundred bucks for a very decent view finder.”

The cameras are also useful for alerting po-lice to problems when the owner is not at home.

“You can call the police from work, or wherever you are and say ‘There is someone in my yard who shouldn’t be there right now,’” Dessert said.

Dessert stressed that there is no pressure to sign up.

“We don’t sales-pitch to anyone, or push anyone to register their camera,” he said. “We are just saying if you want to help the police, let us know.”

Rizy said she can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t want to register.

“I’ll bet you a lot of people don’t know it’s a service,” she said. “I think it’s a great thing to have, and I’ll bet when people find out, they’ll sign up.”

Dessert hopes that’s true. “We would love nothing more than to have

more cameras registered with us to help us solve crimes,” Dessert said, then cautioned, with a laugh, “But it does not make you agent of the police department.”

Women in and around Sturbridge are opening their doors and discovering

gift baskets that were randomly delivered by fairies — the “Sisterhood of the Travel-ing Wine Fairies,” to be exact.

“It is making everyone so happy,” said Carol Forand, who launched the Sisterhood Facebook group that became an overnight craze. “The pay-it-forward gets bigger and bigger.”

The group, which spawned 100 members in the first 30 minutes it was created, now has 1,500 members from Sturbridge, Charl-ton, Brimfield, Spencer, Monson, and all of the Brookfields. The idea is for members to create a wine basket, or any other themed basket, and deliver it to fellow members without being seen.

Brimfield’s Marie Dugay-Brusky has re-ceived not one, but four baskets — two on the same day, in fact. The fairies have good timing.

“It was a week ago. I had lost an aunt, and I was coming home from the wake,” Brusky said. “Everyone was in masks, and we couldn’t hug each other or get close. It was a sad, surreal time.”

After the long, heavyhearted day, Brusky pulled in her driveway and saw something on the porch outside of her kitchen.

“It was a basket — I got ‘wined!’” she said. “I brought it inside and took pictures of it and was about to post them when someone called and said she wanted to make sure I got the basket she left.”

Brusky assured her she had, and thanked her profusely. But after she hung up, some-thing was nagging at the back of her mind.

“The person who called had said the bas-ket was on my ‘front step,’ but the basket I got was on my porch step outside my kitchen,” she said. “So I read the gift tag, and it wasn’t the same name. It was from a

different person!” Brusky ran out to the front step, and saw

another basket. “I couldn’t believe it — I got wined

twice!” she said. “And it was on the after-noon of the wake. I thought ‘How beautiful is this? God works in mysterious ways.’”

Forand got the idea for the group in early May, when everybody seemed to be at the end of their pandemic-quarantine rope.

“I heard about a Sisterhood group in the Berkshires, and I saw how happy they were making people and I thought ‘why not?’” she said. “A lot of the women doing it were moms that are going nuts right now and need something to do other than to ‘mommy.’”

Participants sign up, then list their name, address and any other information they want to add — like whether they have kids, what kind of job they have, if they prefer not to have alcohol, or other preferences. Once someone receives a basket, she marks herself “wined” and posts pictures of the basket.

Typically, the recipients are so excited, they immediately start planning baskets to deliver. In fact, Forand said, somewhere along the way the thrill of giving baskets seemed to equal, or even surpass, the thrill of getting one.

Foran, who has a 8-year-old, 4-year-old twins and a 2-year-old, has found much satisfaction in helping to organize the group — not only for the cheer it spreads, but for her own fulfillment.

“All of a sudden I’m ‘Carol’ again, not just ‘mommy.’ I was thinking about it one day and called my husband and said ‘Honey, I did something! A thing that makes people happy!’ I am just over-whelmed with ‘wow.’ One lady was sick

By Elisa Krochmalnyckyj


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Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine Fairiesand couldn’t leave her bed wrote me that she got a basket. Wow.”

The Sisterhood wouldn’t have made it as far as it has if it weren’t for the other two administrators, Jennifer Gentile and Laura Dumas.

“They have been completely fantastic,” Foran said. “There are times I’m so busy I can’t look at the group for two or three days, and they’ve made sure everything stays afloat.”

As has been true for so many other mem-bers, the Sisterhood of the Wine Fairies spurred a friendship between Foran, Gen-tile and Dumas, who did not know each other before.

“They are two super funny, awesome women, and we’ve become friends,” Foran said. “When this is over, I can’t wait to hang

out with them.” While many of the fairies’ deliveries are

to strangers, some give to a specific group, or to people they already know.

“I have been wining first responders, and I wined my hairdresser, who in a tough sit-uation, because she just got divorced and has two young children and is in the pan-demic home with them, unemployed,” Forand said. “I gave her the ultimate Hawaiian basket.”

That included, among other things, wine, a bottle of Tito’s, daiquiri mixes, a beach towel, lavender bath salts, a bath bomb, lo-tion, and even an insulated thermos.

“I just kept grabbing stuff,” she said, then paused. “My husband wanted to kill me for what I spent on it. I had so much fun though. It was like Christmas. I loved it.”

Adding to the fun of creating a basket is

the challenge of delivering it without being seen. As evidenced by the hundreds of comical delivery videos posted on the group’s “Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine Sturbridge and Surrounding Towns” Face-book page, that can mean delivering in the cover of darkness, sending little kids to de-liver, crawling to the door, wearing cos-tumes, or, when all else fails, running really fast.

“The woman who wined me the first time rang my doorbell, which made the dog bark like crazy, and when I looked out, I saw this red-headed curly-haired woman darting across my driveway trying to get away before I saw her,” Forand said, laugh-ing at the memory. “It’s like drunk ding-dong-ditch!”

For Brusky, it’s the thoughtfulness that means the most — not that she didn’t enjoy

From Page 8

Stay in. Stay safe.


© 2020 Sturbridge Times photo by Elisa Krochmalnyckyj

the contents of the baskets the fairies left her.

“I got salsa, a big bag of Tostitos, little nips to make drinks, jellies, some wine, a candle, lotion, bath soaps, chocolates, munches, some fancy-schmancy nail files, some hand-sanitizer spray…,” she said. “And they came in the cutest bas-kets, which I can reuse for garden-ing stuff.”

Brusky thought for a minute about how the Sisterhood made her feel.

“I just think it’s the most creative, thoughtful, caring, gesture,” she said. “In such a world of sad surreal times, this group, with its acts of kindness, brings happiness and will undoubtedly put a smile on some-one’s face.” n Carol Forand holds a bottle of champagne destined for a “Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine Fairies” basket.


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I, along with other Massachusetts gyms and fitness studios, closed my doors in March under Gov. Baker’s directive, and have kept it closed all this time. I started a virtual gym, live-streaming classes and offering online recorded versions of those classes for clients. In June, at the start of Phase 2, I was able to start having outdoor classes with 9 partici-pants, making sure that everyone stays more than 6 feet apart and that they bring their own equipment to the classes.

It has certainly been trying, negotiating this new atmosphere we find ourselves in from a business standpoint. Directives from the state come in last minute and are sometimes vague. People want to exercise, and the opinions of clients vary widely, with some eager to come back to inside exercise, while others say they will wait until there is a vaccine and will stick with the online workouts.

I have a lot of trepidation about reopening. I want to make the atmosphere as safe as I can for my clients, and at the same time make sure that all of the effort I will have to put in to as-sure that safety is economically worth it.

Phase 3 of the mass.gov plan says that fit-ness studios will be allowed to reopen inside with restrictions, although it does not say ex-

actly what they are. The date for Phase 3 to begin has been pushed off until July 6 at the earliest.

How many people will be allowed to work out at gyms? I think the amount of people al-lowed will be dictated by space, with so many people per square feet. Scientists have discov-ered that the virus is spread by close contact with sick people in confined spaces, and that heavy breathing can increase that spread. There will also need to be additional time al-lowed between classes or training to allow for disinfecting of equipment. Time that virus stays on surfaces?

Will exercisers be required to wear masks? I think they might, at least at first. This pres-ents problems as well, as many people will find it difficult to work out with a mask on. Breathing rates can double or quadruple when we exercise. A June 17 NY Times article, “Ex-ercising While Wearing a Mask,” (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/well/move/exercising-while-wearing-a-mask.html?searchResultPosition=1) says that heart rates are elevated higher than usual when a mask is worn during exercise, by 8-10 beats per minute, and “most pronounced dur-ing intense efforts, such as hill repeats or inter-

vals,” according to Cedric X. Bryant, president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise. This could result in light-headedness or dizziness. The right kind of mask for exercise can lessen or prevent this, with paper and cotton masks being a bad choice as they get wet and stay wet quickly during exercise, lessening their ability to block germs. Choose a cloth mask that is made of two layers or less of synthetic breathable ma-terial. Many workout wear companies (Under Armour, Athleta, Lululemon, and even Ama-zon) sell workout masks. These masks are dif-ferent from training masks, which are designed for wearers to get used to breathing in high altitudes, so make sure you get the proper mask for the activity you are doing. My opinion on wearing a mask is that it’s a good idea if you are working out inside or exercis-ing outdoors in a somewhat crowded area, both for your safety and that of others.

We may not want to wear a mask, and it may be difficult for us, but I think we should do it to show that we are trying to do every-thing we can to keep people safe in these un-certain times. Showing good leadership and erring on the side of caution is something that

greater sturbridge’s fitness expertHEALTH&FITNESS

Processing ‘fitness’ during these challenging days

By Julie GerrishPERSONAL TRAINER JULIE GERRISH FITNESS, STURBRIDGE

Next page


should be done from the top down, and I want to show that I care about not just every single person that walks through my door to work out, but also their families, their friends, their moms and dads, and the people they come in contact with in their community.

Last month I wrote about how we all need to step up and be strong emotionally and physically during the pandemic, and how we need to be kind to our collective brothers and sisters.

The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others in the black community have shocked me, and hopefully many others, into examining my be-

liefs and behavior and that of those around me, and realizing that I need to educate my-self, ask questions, and speak up to help create change.

I have been educating myself in these weeks since the murder of George Floyd, and have learned so much about the systemic racism in this country that has been allowed to slowly grow and fester unchecked for so many years, a racism that allows us to think and behave differently toward blacks and other races too. I realize that some of the poli-cies that our forefathers have enacted have cre-ated a culture that believes certain things to be true about blacks, and that has fostered atti-tudes and behaviors that we have allowed to

happen because we either were ignorant or turned a blind eye to it.

The biggest realization for me is that there is much more to our health than bicep curls and squats, than sets and reps and weight. We cannot let prejudice be allowed to continue in our homes, in our professions, and in our community. Feeling safe and feeling under-stood is a huge part of acceptance, and of physical well-being. I will do my best to con-sider the needs of other races beyond how well their squats look or if their glutes are fir-ing. I will make sure that in my home, in my studio, and in the community around me that people feel safe, included accepted, and un-derstood. n

Iced coffee is brewed hot and served cold (ei-ther by pouring over ice or refrigerating it

before serving). Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coarsely ground coffee beans in room-temperature water for anywhere from part of day to days, which creates a coffee con-centrate you mix with cold water/ice or milk. Cold brew is not iced coffee and iced coffee is not cold brew. That’s really important to re-member when you are frequenting your fa-vorite café and make sure they know the difference.

Cold brew offers consumers a different ex-perience of coffee. When you pull an espresso shot, all the flavors are compressed together so you may not be able to pick them up. In cold brew, the flavors are more spread out, so it’s easier to pick up the flavor notes and nu-ances.

Cold Brew History

Even though cold brew seems to be rela-tively new, it is believed that the Dutch were the first to create cold brew coffee in the 17th century. Dutch sailors used this coffee brewing method as a means to preserve coffee concen-trate for long stints at sea. The cold brew coffee took up less storage space and made caffeine

more accessible for the sailors. It is also be-lieved that the sailors would mix some of the concentrates with hot water to produce a hot coffee rather than drinking it cold. By the late 1800’s cold brew coffee had started to make its way to other parts of the world and various types of cold coffee had started to make an ap-pearance in England and America where this coffee concentrate was a staple in military sup-plies. France later refined this simple coffee concentrate to become the drink as we know it today.

Later in the 1960’s a garden nursery owner Todd Simpson took a trip to Peru to source new shrubs and plants for his business. It was while Todd was in Peru that he discovered Pe-ruvian cold brew coffee for the first time. When he returned, he started experimenting with cold brew coffee and later produced the Toddy Cold Brewing System, which is one of the more popular cold brewing systems used by individuals and commercial businesses today.

Is it brewed with Cold Water?

Since it’s called “cold brew” is cold brew brewed with cold water? The term serves to differentiate it from traditional iced coffee,

which is coffee that required heat in the brew-ing process (and is then chilled), whereas cold brew does not. Cold brew coffee can be started anywhere from room temperature to below, so not necessarily brewed in ice-cold water. The key is making sure heat/hot water is not part of the process. This water temperature not only yield a bigger and better flavor, it pro-vides a lower acidity level.

Making cold brew is also a longer process. Although simple to make, time and planning are important. Other coffees can be ready in 5 minutes or less, however, cold brew takes time as the brewing process can be anywhere from 24 hours to days, depending on how the per-son makes it. That’s why sometimes you will see it sold out at places, because it’s not some-thing that can be made in minutes. Cold brew certainly takes planning.

How do I brew?

Coffee grounds in cold brew need to be coarse. The smaller a coffee ground, the faster it extracts. This is why espresso machines pull shots through a finer grind. Cold brew is ex-tracting for an extended period of time, so you don’t want to over-extract your coffee. Using

Julie Gerrish

Page 19

From previous page

By Elvis Dyer Owner/Roster Sturbridge Coffee Roasters Southbridge and Dudley

Cold Brew


r MUSINGS FROM LONG HILL s

BY RICHARD MORCHOE

AS THE WORLD TURNS

LEGAL BRIEF

M O N T H L Y L E G A L A D V I C E

F O R R E A D E R S O F

T H E S T U R B R I D G E T I M E S M A G A Z I N E

STURBRIDGE ATTORNEY

ROBERT A. GEORGE, ESQ.

New York Governor Cuomo was shocked. On the eve of allowing part of his state to

ease up on Covid-19 preventive measures, he was presented with evidence that did not com-port with accepted doctrine.

A CNBC article from May 6, 2020 quoted the governor that "66% of the people (infected) were at home, which is shocking to us,”

Up on Long Hill, we are taking a victory lap. True, that is hardly in good taste but you never know when the next triumph is going to come along.

In last month's issue of this magazine, your columnist cited a study published by a scien-tific journal that said the virus is almost impos-sible to transmit outdoors. So, his excellency, with far more resources than moi, is more than a day late.

The CNBC article displays a New York State graphic that has it that over 90% of infected were not pursuing a hole in one or birdwatch-ing in Central Park. At the bottom of the dis-play are the words: STAY HOME. STOP THE SPREAD. SAVE LIVES. It is, of course, the op-posite of the import of the words of the first cit-izen of the Empire State, or the stats on the graphic. Logic would dictate STAY HOME be changed to GO OUT.

To rub it in, The New York Times is not as ad-vanced as we are up our lonely little hill, but they finally got it. In a May 15, 2020 article Michael Levenson, Tara Parker-Pope and James Gorman report:

"The good news: Interviews show a grow-ing consensus among experts that, if Ameri-cans are going to leave their homes, it’s safer to be outside than in the office or the mall. With fresh air and more space between people, the risk goes down."

The "Paper of Record" was scooped by The Sturbridge Times Town & Country Living Maga-zine.

This does beg the question, why are not northeast governors getting with the program and telling folks to get out, with safe practices?

Oh well, from stats we are watching on Long Hill, it appears New York State is doing better than Charlie Baker's Massachusetts.

Massachusetts has a law that is supposed to protect you from being left penniless when

your spouse writes you out the will and then dies. It’s called the spousal elective share law and it’s

archaic, confusing and largely useless. The way it’s supposed to work is that if

your estranged – and rich – spouse writes you out of the will and dies, you can claim what’s called the elective share. This is supposed to be a fair amount of the estate left behind, at least enough to keep you living a decent life style.

In fact, however, the spousal share is only $25,000.00, plus the right to receive income from a third of whatever is left over. If a house is what’s left over, you get the right to live there until you die.

This isn’t much when the spouse had millions and you’ve been married for decades. The courts generally hate this law as whenever it comes up there pretty clearly a spouse who’s been shafted the very person who was supposed to provide for him or her.

Over the years, courts have interpreted the law in ways that it hopes will benefit the poor spouse, such as allowing the spouse to liquidate real estate and get an amount equal to what the life estate is worth. But every time the court revisits the issue, it notes that the legislature should take charge and change the law so that it’s more in line with what an estranged spouse would get in a divorce.

That, by way, is usually 50% of everything for a long-term marriage.

This begs the question: If your rich spouse hates you so much that you’re being written of the will, why aren’t you divorcing him before he dies and leaves you with nothing?

Both states are "opening up" sort of. In the Commonwealth, it's a four-phase plan that sounds vague except for part four: "The final phase is what Baker calls the "New Normal," which won't happen until a vaccine or therapy has been developed to effectively treat COVID-19."

Phase Four means probably never. Vaccine's take a long time if they happen and every time a therapy has been mentioned once, it's rarely heard of again. It does not matter as long be-fore the fourth phase, the dynamic will have changed.

Gov. Cuomo has a four-phase plan that is not much different from the Bay State's. There is a little bit more detail than ours.

Your columnist was looking forward to our governor's proclamation. It seems my only ambition left in life is to get a haircut. I hope to see the inside of the one chair chop shop that I formerly frequented.

One place that is opening up is the Amherst Farmers Market. Your columnist is a vendor and is wondering how it will go. Saturday Morning in Happy Valley when the sun is shining and people are glad to be out and buy-ing fresh produce and other goods was a great pleasure.

The Town of Amherst is a rule-making ma-chine. They have, of course, ordained that the mask is a necessity. As we have made clear in previous columns that is not something we have a problem with.

The committee that deals with we vendors has ruled that all sellers must put a piece of Plexiglas between the themselves and the buy-ers. Seems like a bit of overthinking, but we comply.

Government has had its share of failures in crisis management. Gov. Cuomo sent recover-ing Covid-19 patients to nursing homes and Charlie had the Soldiers' home fiasco. Don't get me started on Washington.

So, you probably think I am whining and complaining. No, all this was to be expected and is part of the natural order of things.

We cite Vaughan's law ad nauseam, which

Page 16

Spousal Elective Share


By Tom Chamberland

Get up early! Summer mornings are an absolutely magical time for a hike (or, for that matter, a bike ride or paddle outing). The world is quieter and, most important, cooler early in the morning. Most people have a set distance they want to hike in a day. Summer days are so long that if you start at first light (or even before with a headlamp) you can get in your three, five or even 10 miles before the heat really builds. If you are climbing a hill, it's a wonderful bonus to get going early and be on top to watch the sunrise. Sunset hiking can be nice, too, but the day's heat sometimes lingers into the dusk and you had better be prepared for night hiking if your journey takes longer than you initially thought. One note about hik-

ing at dawn and dusk on hot summer days: Mosquitoes tend to be more active then, so be prepared with repellent or bug-proof clothing. This isn't a bad idea even if you are hiking mid-day. Deer flies can be annoying and a longer hike might take you into mosquito time. Another important tip for enjoying summer hiking is to choose your route with the sun and heat in mind. Trails that cross open, rocky ledges can be ovens on a summer afternoon, while trails that follow flowing brooks in the shady forest can seem 20 degrees cooler than the ambient air temperature (and you can always splash in the water to cool off). The most important tips for safe sum-mer hiking are the same ones you hear on the evening news: Human beings are pas-sive solar collectors, so if you want to stay

comfortable, cover up when you're in the sun with light-colored, lightweight cloth-ing. And drink lots of plain water, not sugary drinks with caffeine. Even if you have a means of purifying it, water sources along the trail are often unreliable in summer, so make sure you carry plenty. One more safety tip: Don't go out on open ledges if you hear thunder or see storm clouds. That's just common sense. Summer hiking is meant to be fun, so do it safely! Life isn't a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!

Tom Chamberland is a retired Park Ranger with over 20 years’ experience in trails and trail development. He is certified in Universal Trail Assessment, an associate member of the Sturbridge Trail Committee.

Hints for safe summer hiking


Morchoe columnFrom page 14

states, “there will always be a government, but nobody knows how to run a government.” It is true enough, but the state and its apparatus functions, if not with the white heat of effi-ciency, at least tolerably so we don't grab the pitchforks and storm the castle.

Angel investor and entrepreneur Balaji S. Srinivasan put it as succinctly as anyone I've ever heard,

“Democrats need to learn experts aren’t al-ways right, Republicans need to learn experts aren’t always wrong, Libertarians need to learn that a state can succeed, Progressives need to learn that a state can fail.”

A pandemic arrives and even the best ad-ministration is at a functional loss. You can't put out an ad that your state government wants to hire someone with a Ph.D. in Pan-demic Management, because they don't exist.

As I've been through a few emergencies, now would be a good time to consult our offi-cial think tank, The Long Hill Institute for the Study of Once in a Lifetime Events to find out why when something big and unique happens we have a leadership problem. The Institute, having been around awhile had the answer: there is no baseline.

It happened over three decades ago so memories might have dimmed, but the Bliz-zard of 78 is still remembered by Massachusetts residents for the chaos it brought. Every night, Gov. Michael Dukakis was on TV in his

sweater giving reports as leaders are doing now.

When the old normal returned, his friends and supporters lauded his performance. Dur-

ing the next election campaign ads touted how "he got us through." Not everyone bought it. The voters sent him to the political wilderness for four years.

Could he have done better? Could he have done worse? Who knows without a baseline?

The next fellow to claim the mantle of hero was Rudy Giuliani. On 911, he was at the job managing the city's response. Afterward, rightly or wrongly, he was tabbed, "America's Mayor" and became a national figure.

His performance did not waft him into the Oval Office as he had hoped.

Could he have done better? Could he have done worse? Who knows without a baseline?

Gov. Cuomo, in noting the value of the great outdoors did something rare in government. He admitted his prior position was wrong and that it was a shock. That response made him seem human. Cuomo has been bandied about as a possible replacement for his party's pre-sumptive candidate for the presidency, if that man falters, which he seems to be doing.

They could do worse. The problem is what sane person would want the job, especially now?

Yahoo Finance reports that 42% of layoffs will become permanent. If, as a result of the pandemic and the financial excesses at the Fed and the Treasury, we do not have a depression of unprecedented severity, your columnist will ever after believe in miracles with an enduring childlike faith. n

Send resume and a letter of interest in confidence to

[email protected]

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and an ability to write is all it takes.

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3 area WriterS


Though we technically eat the fruit of the tomato plant, the tomato is typi-

cally treated as a vegetable in eating and cooking and, thus, commonly categorized as such. But either way, tomatoes are a great summer treat. A ripe red slice on my burger, counts as a vegetable, or another sprinkled with a little sugar is a great sweet treat!

HOW TO PLANT TOMATOES: Although you may already have your tomatoes in the ground, I thought I would still cover some basic planting tips. How-ever, if not, it is not too late to plant them. Select a site with full sun and well-drained soil. For us in the Sturbridge area, it is VERY important that your site receives at least 6 hours of sun. Tomatoes love a hot sunny area, try some in large pots if you do not have a garden area. If possible, in the spring, two weeks before transplanting, till soil to about 1 foot and mix in well-aged manure, compost, or fertilizer. Establish tomato stakes or cages in the soil at the time of planting. Staking keeps developing tomato fruit off the ground, while caging lets the plant hold itself up-right. Some sort of support system is rec-ommended, but sprawling can also produce fine crops if you have the space, and if the weather cooperates. Pinch off a few of the lower branches on transplants and plant the root ball deep enough so that the lowest leaves are just above the surface of the soil ( 3 to 6 inches) New roots will grow from the stem under-ground, helping to anchor the plant.

HOW TO GROW TOMATOES:

Water well throughout the growing sea-son, about 2 inches per week during the summer. For the best tomatoes, it’s impor-tant to keep watering consistent or you will end up with cracked or split tomatoes, a sure sign of an uneven watering schedule.

Mulch five weeks after transplanting to re-tain moisture. To help tomatoes through periods of drought, find some flat rocks and place one next to each plant. The rocks help to prevent water in the soil from evap-orating and reduces the needed weeding area. Fertilize two weeks prior to first picking and again two weeks after first picking. If using stakes, prune plants by pinching off suckers so that only a couple stems are growing per stake PESTS & DESEASES: Tomatoes are susceptible to several pests and diseases, I could write an entire article just on this topic, but for now here are a few of the most common.

Tomato hornworms can be up to 5 inches long—which can be quite a shock when you first come across one! They do the most damage in the caterpillar, or larvae, stage. They are pale green with white and black markings, plus a horn-like protrusion stemming from their rear. (Don’t worry, they aren’t able to sting!) The caterpillar also has eight V-shaped stripes on its green body. Tomato hornworms come from a mottled brown moth. The larvae blend in really well with the plant greenery. Just get used to a daily patrol, looking for horn-worm eggs and small caterpillars.

Blossom-end rot. It is a common problem on tomatoes, eggplants and squash and is caused by a low concentration of calcium in the fruit. (Calcium is needed for normal cell growth.) Blossom-end rot usually oc-curs when there are wide fluctuations of moisture, which reduces uptake and move-ment of calcium into the plant. When the demand for calcium exceeds the supply, the tissues break down. Calcium defi-ciency during fruit formation can also be caused by too much nitrogen fertilizer,

high salt levels in the soil, or damage to plant roots during cultivation.

Late Blight is a fungal disease that can strike during any part of the growing sea-son. It will cause grey, moldy spots on leaves and fruit which later turn brown. The disease is spread and supported by persistent damp weather. This disease will overwinter, so all infected plants should be destroyed.

Cracking & splitting: When fruit growth is too rapid, the skin will crack. This usually occurs due to uneven watering or uneven moisture from weather conditions (very rainy periods mixed with dry periods). Keep moisture levels constant with consis-tent watering and mulching. HARVEST & STORAGE: Leave your tomatoes on the vine for as long as possible. If any fall off before they appear ripe, place them in a paper bag with the stem up and store them in a cool, dark place. If temperatures start to drop and your tomatoes aren’t ripening, cut them off in bunches, and place in a worm dark room to ripen. Or cut up the green tomatoes for pickling. Never place tomatoes on a sunny windowsill to ripen; they may rot before they are ripe! If your tomato plant still has fruit when the first hard frost threatens, pull up the entire plant and hang it upside down in the basement or garage. Pick tomatoes as they turn red. Never refrigerate fresh toma-toes. Doing so spoils the flavor and texture that make up that garden tomato taste.

Tom Chamberland is the retired Tree War-den for the Town of Sturbridge and a Certi-fied Arborist, TRAQ qualified, Massachusetts Qualified Tree Warden. He enjoys caring for plants that grow in his yard and welcomes reader suggestions for future articles.

YARDWORKSBy Tom Chamberland, ISA/TRAQ

Caring for what grows in your yardNext Page

Tomatoes


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From Page 6

Book Review

the globalist view. To his great credit, Haass was opposed to

the accretion of the Eastern European states of the old Warsaw Pact and some former USSR states into NATO. As he stated on Page 78, "My own view (a view that is a minority per-spective in the U.S. foreign policy world) is that NATO enlargement was an error and that the security concerns could have been addressed by other means than bringing them into NATO.”

This is true in that we would have been bet-ter off with a whole passel of buffer states be-tween the old Soviet Union and core NATO. Instead, the alliance is up against Russia now and understandably they are not amused. Es-pecially as James Baker, when Secretary of State in 1990 promised Gorbachev that NATO would move “not one inch eastward.” The au-thor should have mentioned that.

Also in his favor, is that Haass, while in gov-ernment at the time did not favor the invasion

of Iraq. That alone puts him head and shoul-ders above the cheerleaders for war at the time

The World: A Brief Introduction is ordered the-matically. It is thus not just history, but dis-cusses the regions of the world, the global era and dealing with order and disorder as we are now. This is a lot to include in one book and

could easily be expanded to a full four-year curriculum. Alas, there would be few takers.

The chapter on global health was impres-sive and covered a lot of ground and men-tioned the possibility of a pandemic occurring. Though written beforehand, it was released as Covid-19 was happening.

That is a problem for Dr. Haass’ work, or any book that attempts to do what The World: A Brief Introduction does. It is almost impos-sible for it not to become at least slightly dated upon release, but if colleges are not going to re-quire a full year’s World Civilization course to replace the now almost completely disap-peared Western Civ curriculum, this book is important.

So, if your son or daughter, niece or nephew is a recent grad and their college was soft on history, a gift of this book is not perfect, none are, but at least as an introduction it will be a valuable addition to their library. Before you pass it on to them, giving it a read yourself would not hurt. n


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Cold Brewa larger grind size will make sure this doesn’t happen. And the coarser grind is easier to filter at the end and eliminates coffee sediment in your finished cold brew. The immersion method is simply the process of steeping these coffee grounds in room temperature/cold water. Once the coffee grounds have finished steeping, they are then strained by using a reg-ular paper coffee filter, muslin, cheesecloth, a French Press, or even felt. The other option is to use a slow cold drip, or Japanese Kyoto style, which is a brewing device that utilizes an extremely slow dripping method of cold water over a bed of coffee grounds.

More than the Drink

Cold brew can be used for many things other than enjoying over ice. We recommend experiencing the fullest taste and experience of cold brew by drinking it on its own, how-ever, we’ve seen many other ways to use it

and bring out the flavor – including mocktails, cocktails, cake, ice cream, etc. And, if you are not a cold coffee drinker, you can heat it up on the stove or microwave and drink it as hot cof-fee (while maintaining the complex flavor pro-files and lower acidity).

Caffeine Content

Is cold brew loaded in caffeine? Yes, and de-pends. There are a lot of factors that come into how much caffeine is in the cold brew you purchase or make, including the type of coffee

beans used, roast level, brew time, and coffee to water ratio. Just like hot or iced coffees, the cold brew flavor will differ depending on these factors.

Nitro cold brew has also hit the mainstream market. For this beverage, cold brew is mixed with nitrogen gas at a high pressure and then served through a tap. This produces a cascade effect as the nitrogen is released and leaves you with a foam top, similar to what you would find in beer.

Cold brew may sound fancy, and although there are a lot of factors involved in a delicious glass of cold brew, you can make it at home. The key is to steep your grounds well in ad-vance of when you want to drink it. Although there are dedicated cold brew makers, all you need to make cold brew is coffee grounds, water, a container and something to filter out the grounds at the end. Then you just have to strain, pour and mix (with water, ice, milk, etc.) and enjoy! n

From page 13

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