The Neighborspaper – Page 5 – A Little Paper Big on Community

The Moon on the Breast of the New-Fallen Snow

By Bob Grindle

This evening grew dark with light-switch suddenness…and as I sit looking out the window into a gloomy, damp and chill Thanksgiving eve, I can almost hear the childhood refrain, “over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go…” playing somewhere in the back of my head; reminding me of a time when nothing, not even the raw, blustery and gray weather that is so common this time of year could spoil the welcoming and warming excitement of the holidays. It was a time when the comfort of people getting together, cooking and sharing food, enjoying the companionship of telling the stories of how the year had unfolded and listening to each other’s plans for the coming year felt genuine and could fill a child’s head with a sense of enthusiasm for growing up. It was a time of hope.

As I get up from my nostalgic drift and head out to do evening chores, the lights in the barn offer a sort of warming promise despite the marrow-chilling rawness that late November is so good at. The oddly satisfying crunch of straw and shavings underfoot and the rich aroma and sound of animals eating timothy pellets make the barn feel deceptively warm despite the early and unseasonable cold. The texture of the moment is almost as filled with promise and hope and a satisfying sense of “all is well” as the memories of growing up that I left back at the desk just moments ago.There is certain self-centeredness though, that can weave its way into our human recollections of the way things were…into the stories we recall or recalibrate. Perhaps our brain’s effort to clean up the frayed edges, replace the missing pages, or more, that have suffered the unrelenting wear and corrosive weathering of time.

A loud but distant crack of a gunshot clears my head of idling memories. The sounds of hunter’s guns and members of the ‘Fin’ practicing at the range that echo across this narrow valley are mostly still now as the day wanes, and the narrow valley that snakes its way between Parrish and Beaver Hill to the south and Clark Hill to the north has quieted for the day. The time when our pond laden, brook laced, boggy, and gently undulating landscape through Haven & Hartford Railroad on its daily whistle-stop, milk-can and orchard basket pick-up and delivery schedule to Boston is long past. Instead, the Connecticut Airline Trail State Park is a Johnny-come-lately repurposing of the 19^th century hand and machine hewn and blasted railroad bed, and is a welcome newcomer to the many hikers and bikers and horseback riders who frequent the trail.

As I walk back to the house darkness is at hand and the wind has picked up…late after-noon is feeling a bit like pre-winter. No matter the chill in the air, though, the sound of the wind singing through the towering stand of Norway spruce at the back of the garden chills the imagi-nation and cuts through human vanity, whispering that whether or not we understand it, our fate is intertwined with the world we live in and we ignore it at our peril. The night will be a clear one, and despite a few snowflakes in the air the nearly full Moon is at the eastern horizon and Jupiter announces the start of the show. The sky beckons

The skies of December are not known for being viewer friendly, with bluster and cold and occasional bursts of sudden winter snow, but with only a razor thin lunar crescent that will set early on the evening of December 13-14, this year’s Geminid meteor shower in the eastern sky should be the best of the year…a dark sky early and the promise of as many as a hundred meteors an hour. Plus, the Geminids start earlier than most. By 9 pm, Gemini has risen high enough in the east that meteors can be seen without having to stay up till 2 or 3 am on the 14^th. The show really gets impressive though when Gemini is higher in the sky later at night, with brighter trails and longer tracks across the night. While you’re waiting for those shooting stars, enjoy looking for Orion to rise in the east and identifying Sirius—the “Dog Star”—just below and to the left of Orion’s left leg.

For all of you who are inclined to a more traditional way of thinking of the skies of December, let’s look forward to the Full “Cold” Moon of Christmas Eve and Clement Clarke Moore’s class tale of Santa’s visit, “The Night Before Christmas:” ‘The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.’ Yep. Now all we will need is snow before a clearing sky and the fantasy comes to life. Enjoy the coming season. Be kind to all living creatures and to all a good-night.

Locals Reflect on Christmas Customs and Traditions

By Bill Powers

The customs and traditions of the Christmas time holidays are an integral part of our culture and collective psyche. Many of the customs and traditions celebrated by families today are pretty common, such as the belief that Christmas time is a special time when families come together to celebrate in a festive atmosphere and to enjoy delicious food. It is a time for love and joy and a time of religious significance for Christians throughout the world. Many of the customs and traditions around Christmas are conventional, such as the belief that it is a time for family, while at the same time the practices by individuals and many families are characterized by degrees of diversity.

The cherished annual Christmas traditions in our family include those stemming from the families of origin for my wife and me. They embrace the family gatherings for a Christmas feast, and that it is customary to exchange gifts and expressions of good will. The traditions go back for generations and involve long accepted beliefs and customs. At the same time, our family now includes new practices or customs that are now common to our family’s annual celebration of Christmas.

During November of this year, I casually interviewed a total of 30 local residents at the Windham Senior Center, Blondie’s Country Diner in Chaplin, the Bidwell Tavern in Coventry, and Bob’s Windham IGA store. Each volunteer was asked to respond to two questions: 1) What is my favorite Family Holiday tradition or custom at Christmas time? 2) What is another Christmas tradition or custom that I enjoy practicing separate from my family? Here are the results of their reflections:

Angela, age 47. “Getting together with family for presents, stockings and a meal. With my own children opening one gift on Christmas Eve.”

David, who is an “ageless” senior. “Going to Hartford for the Wadsworth Athenium’s annual festival of trees and traditions.”

Casey, age 51. “Time with the family especially since the interruptions caused by COVID.”

Bill, age 77. In addition to getting together for a wonderful meal, we love listening to Christmas music and singing Christmas Carols.” Individually, I especially look forward to listening to Gene Autry singing ‘Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer’ and to versions of ‘O Holy Night’ and selecting and individualizing Christmas cards. “

Jack, age 80. With family – “A lobster dinner on Chrisman Eve.” Not with family – “Listening to carols.”

Robin, age 46. With family- “Decorating the tree.” Not with family – “Wrapping Christmas presents.”

Lori, age 62. With family – “Getting together with family”. Not with family – “Decorating”

Gail, age 72. With family – “Spending time with my family.” Not with family – “Volunteering”

Gary, age 82. With family – “Family Dinner.” Not with family – “Making Christmas cookies and stollen.”

Jim, age 74. With family – “When I was young, going to my grandparent’s house. Now we go to my sister’s and do a Yankee Swap, which is a hoot.”

Joan, age 79. With family – “In our family of two adults and eight children, we’d sit around the Christmas tree, each taking turns opening presents.” Not with family – “Secret Santa gift exchange.”

Joyce, age 79. With family- “Family getting together.” Not with family – “Church”

Vibian, age 43. With family – “Cooking and baking.” Not with family – “Decorating”

Ismael, age 75. (With the help from an interpreter) With family – “Family Christmas party, eating, drinking and having a good time.” Not with family – “Celebrating with my friends and co-workers.“

Amanda, age 38. With family – “Making molasses cookies with my 3 kids and decorating gingerbread houses with our family and friends.” Not with family – “Setting the Christmas dinner table with the special Christmas China.”

Marisol, age 61. With Family – “Decorating the tree together and spending time with family.” Not with family – “Cooking.”

Teresita, age 67. With family – “Cooking, eating, and time with my family.” Not with family – “Church.”

Jean, age 85. With family – “Christmas caroling.” Not with family – “During the Christmas season coming to the Senior Center to work on Christmas jigsaw puzzles.”

Kate, age 55. With family – “Our giant Christmas Eve gathering.” Not with family – “Going ice skating in NYC.”

Hermelinda, age 43. With family – “Singing carols.” Not with family – “Make pumpkin flan.”

Gaetane, age 68. With family – “Get the family together.” Not with family – Flying to Florida.”

Jack, age 48. With family – “My family is extremely large and we love to eat and watch football.” Not with family – “I put up the Christmas tree.”

Carmen, age 60. With family – “Opening presents on Three Kings Day.” Not with family – “I make potato salad for the celebration.”

Luquitas, age 71. (With the help of an interpreter)” Having fun with the children and opening presents.” Not with family – “Visiting with my friends during Christmas time.”

Rosa, age 60. With family – “A meal with my family, 8 members.” Not with family – “Cooking all kinds of things.”

Michelle, age 49. With family – “Celebrating on Christmas Eve.”

Muriel, age 98. “As a child waking up on Christmas morning to the wonder of a trimmed Christmas tree that wasn’t there on Christmas Eve. My children and grandchildren experienced the same excitement.” Not with family – “During World War II years, when my husband was serving in the Navy, attending church on Christmas Eve with my friends.”

Rob, age 57. With family – “Family Christmas feast.” Not with family – Shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts.”

Michele, age 55. With Family – “Getting together with family.” Not with family – Listening to Christmas music and baking my apple cake for everyone to enjoy.”

Candace, age 78. With family – “Spending time with family on a very special day.” Not with the family – “Listening to my favorite Christmas music.”

From the Ground Up – Buying Local in Connecticut

By C. Dennis Pierce

“Mushrooms are miniature pharmaceutical factories, and of the thousands of mushroom species in nature, our ancestors and modern scientists have identified several dozen that have a unique combination of talents that improve our health.”

… Paul Stamets

My dog decided that 3:10 in the morning was a great time to go outside and listen to the geese as they land in the nearby reservoir. She cocked her head and stared attentively into the dark as she listened to the geese who were checking in with each other as they settled in the water. I guess they were sharing whether to stay the night or head off to Chesapeake Bay as they headed south. Tinker, short for Tinkerbell, ultimately decided the need to go outside at 3:10 in the morning was a false alarm and she did not have to pee after all and trotted back to the house back to the warmness of her bed.

I should have been upset being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. Actually, not dragged since Tinker is a small terrier but more like licked to death which is her way of saying, “get up buddy I have to go”. As I have gotten older, I find this is not really an inconvenience at all. It provides me with a glimpse of nature that I would have missed. The stillness of the middle of the night is something to experience. During this part of the season which I refer to as the “shoulder season” where fall is here, and it is trying to coax winter into making an appearance. Old man winter is reluctant. He is not ready to make his blustery appearance. He is holding back in hopes of bringing in snow for Christmas or at least much colder, sweater weather. During the middle of the night this time of year you do not hear the crack of the frozen branches in the stillness at 3:10 in the morning nor the soft sound of snow as it falls to the ground. You are only fortunate to listen to the sounds of the honking of geese and an occasional car whose driver is on their way to work to start their milk route for the local dairy.

Over the years I have been fortunate to share the stories from my many interviews with farmers, owners of vineyards, and owners of distilleries. My recent interview which I found educational and interesting was the opportunity to meet Randy Collins and his wife Amada, proprietors of Collinswood Mushrooms in Tolland, Connecticut. Randy was a parcel delivery person and Amanda was studying to be a nurse when they got married. My interview with Randy was an eye opener. Mushrooms have always been a mystery to me. While walking through the many paths in Mansfield and those that are part of Josuah’s Trust, I have seen mushrooms appearing like magic after a few days of rain. So, when I had the opportunity of meeting Randy at the Storrs Farmer’s market, I arranged for an interview to learn more about mushroom farming.

In 2012, while on his route while employed by a delivery service Randy was severely injured as another vehicle failed to provide Randy with the right of way. Randy’s injuries were mostly confined to his legs, but his rehab time was extensive and it was a critical turning point. During this period Randy realized that he needed to find a new path in life and through his research on the internet he came across several interesting articles that shared the knowledge on how to grow mushrooms. While this is a common practice of local farmers where they add inoculated plugs into fallen logs Randy was more intrigued with how to grow with the mycelium growing process in a petri dish. So, you ask what is mycelium? The dictionary defines mycelium as a network of fungal threads or hyphae. Mycelia often grow underground but can also thrive in other places such as rotting tree trunks. A single spore can develop into a mycelium. The fruiting bodies of fungi, such as mushrooms, can sprout from mycelium. In my interview with Randy, he shared the in-depth process, where he sources his strains such as one his buys from Mossey Creek farm in Tennessee and begins the growing process in a petri dish. He also shared that in the process of growing mushrooms he is able to create hybrid mushrooms that take on new flavors or should I say shared flavors. I found this interesting. Much like a wine connoisseur describes a bottle of wine, Randy describes the attributes that the various mushrooms offer. The flavor profiles of different mushrooms might have hints of cashews, others were beefy with a slight taste of anise.

Collinswood’s mushrooms have the ability to currently grow up to sixty pounds per week but also has the capacity to grow up to two hundred to three hundred pounds per week. They currently sell to chefs in the Hartford area, and in the Storrs, Ashford, and Tolland farmers market. Their mushrooms can also be found in the Heirloom’s market in Wethersfield. In my conversation with Randy, I was curious on how best to store mushrooms when purchased. Randy suggested that they should be stored in a paper bag in the refrigerator. Never a plastic bag since they are a living organism. Another lesson I learned from Randy was the proper way to prepare mushrooms. I have a culinary background and I can honestly say this was the first time I have ever heard of the dry pan method. The dry pan method is as follows: In preparing mushrooms they should be sliced or quartered as needed for your recipe. Use a heavy pan such as a cast iron pan. Use medium heat to heat the pan. Once the pan is warm add a handful of mushroom making sure not to crowd the mushrooms or they will release too much moisture . The heat of the pan will cause the mushrooms to release the liquid that they hold. This liquid will cook off as the mushrooms brown. Sir occasionally to prevent burning. When the mushroom are brown, they are done. That is the time you can add some butter and salt or garlic. The mushrooms will absorb the added ingredients, soaking up the richness of the butter. These can be added to omelets, or a mushroom quiche or to top off a burger.

Want to learn more about growing mushrooms? Randy follows Eric Meyers’ YouTube channel, Paul Stamets who has several books available and Peter McCoy, whose book is, Radical Mycology. Collinswood Mushrooms specialize in gourmet and medicinal mushrooms that are locally grown in Tolland Connecticut. Randy’s contact information is 860-906-2063 and randy@collinswoodmushrooms.com

Several years ago, I was fortunate to introduce Frances Moore Lappe, author of the book Diet for a Small Planet when she came to the UConn Book store while on tour promoting her 20^th Anniversary Edition of her cookbook. For those who do not know who Francis is, her book started a revolution in the way Americans eat. The Washington Post stated, “Diet for a Small Planet, holds that universal access to a healthy and sustainable diet provides a global springboard to a better environment, functional democracies, stronger economies and increased social justice. While the concept might seem commonplace today, it was revolutionary at the time. For Lappé, focusing her research on the merits of a plant-centered diet was inevitable, even though she was not herself a vegetarian at that time, because it was clear that growing legumes for consumption was more cost-effective and ecoecoconscious than raising animals for food.”

Over the years I have prepared the following recipe that is in Francis’s cookbook when I had an excess of mushrooms and also when I needed a meal where a vegetarian guest was present.

Mushroom Stroganoff

Serves 4

Ingredients:

½ pound of egg noodles (the flat kind). I supposed you can also substitute rice.

1 Tbs. of butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ pound of mushrooms, cut in half

2 cloves of garlic crushed

2 Tbs. of fresh parsley chopped (plus 1 Tbs. if you want to garnish the dish when completed) or 1 Tbs. of dried parsley

3 dashes of Worcester sauce

1 cup of cottage cheese

½ cup of yogurt

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare noodles and drain.

Heat butter and sauté onion, mushrooms and garlic until onion is translucent.

Add parsley when onions are almost done.

Stir in Worcester sauce

In a blender or with a hand mixer blend cottage cheese, yogurt and salt and pepper until smooth.

Add heated vegetables to blended mixture

Serve immediately over hot well drained egg noodles.

Garnish with chopped parsley

For those who embrace Nature and the earth’s cycles. You might have missed the viewing of the Beaver moon in the early hours of Monday, November 27^th. According to astrologer from The Cosmic Co, Betty Andrews, “This name has its origins in the traditions and practices of some Native American tribes and was later adopted by European colonists. The Beaver Moon is linked to the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having gathered enough food to last through the winter.” And least not forget Winter Solstices is December 21^st. NASA, defines the Winter Solstice, or the December Solstice, as the point at which the path of the sun in the sky is farthest south. At the Winter Solstice, the sun travels the shortest path through the sky resulting in the day of the year with the least sunlight and therefore, the longest night. In the lead-up to the Winter Solstice, the days become shorter and shorter, then on the evening of the solstice from then onwards the days become increasingly long leading up to the Summer Solstice or the June Solstice, and the longest day of the year.

So that ends another year of my Neighbor’s columns. Most of my previous columns can be found online at Neighborspaper.com. My first column was written in March of 2010. Seems just like yesterday. To all that follow my column, Happy Holidays. May the magic of the holidays fill your heart with peace and happiness. Wishing you a joyous holiday season! If you have a suggestion for a farm or a local grower or even a recipe that would feature a local ingredient, please let me know. I will do my best to share your suggestions in a future column. Drop me a line at Codfish53@Yahoo.com. So, Peas be with you. Come celebrate with me and remember, every day is a holiday, and every meal is a banquet. I’ll save you a seat at the table!

Unsung Heroes of Soul: Jackie Moore

By Dean Farrell

As host of “The Soul Express,” I play the biggest names in 1960s and ‘70s-era soul music. I also mix in the many great soul artists who did not necessarily become household names but were no less talented. This month’s column is about Jackie Moore, a Southern soul diva who transitioned to disco in the mid-1970s.

She was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1946. Not much is known about Moore’s early life, except that her admiration of Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin led her to pursue a singing career. By 1968, she was recording for Bert Berns’ Shout label in New York City. Berns released two singles on Moore, neither of which made the national charts. However, one song, “Dear John,” was a top ten hit on WJLD radio in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1969, another New York label, Wand, released one single on Moore. Although a fine ballad in the Deep Soul tradition, “Loser Again” did little.

It was in 1970, on Atlantic Records, that Jackie Moore enjoyed her first real taste of success. Released that fall, “Precious, Precious” got to #12 on Billboard magazine’s Soul Singles chart and #30 pop. It sold over one million copies and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in March 1971. “Precious, Precious” also charted in Canada, peaking at #70.

Moore stayed with Atlantic through the middle 1970s, producing additional Soul hits like “Sometimes It’s Got to Rain,” “Darling Baby,” and “Both Ends Against the Middle.” She then signed with Kayvette records, where she enjoyed her all-time highest charting Soul single, “Make Me Feel Like a Woman.”

By 1976, disco had overtaken soul as the driving force in Black music. Like many other struggling soul singers, Jackie Moore took a stab at the genre. Her efforts paid off with the top forty Soul hit, “Disco Body.” However, Moore would enjoy her greatest success as a disco diva when she signed with Columbia. Her 1979 single, “This Time Baby,” reached #1 on Billboard’s Disco chart that summer.

In 1982, Moore recorded “Seconds,” a duet with Wilson Pickett. It did not chart. That same year, Karla Bonoff’s remake of Moore’s four-year-old single, “Personally,” reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In his 1981 book, Christgau’s Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies, Robert Christgau wrote about Moore’s 1973 LP, Sweet Charlie Babe: “Figures that this should fall somewhere between state-of-the-art and great-mean soul. The five hits go back to ‘Precious, Precious’ in the winter of ‘71, with the two latest cut at a funkier-than-usual Sigma in Philadelphia and the others by a simpler-than-usual Crawford-Shapiro team at Criteria in Miami. Moore’s voice is simultaneously sweet and rough, an unusual combination in a woman, and the songs are pretty consistent. But she lacks not only persona but personality, so that what in technical terms is pretty impressive stuff never goes over the top.”

Rock critic Dave Marsh included Moore’s “Darling Baby” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.

Jackie Moore, 73, died on November 8, 2019.

Charted singles:

“Precious, Precious” (1970) R&B #12, Pop #30

“Sometimes It’s Got to Rain (In Your Love Life)” (1971) R&B #19

“Darling Baby” (1972) R&B #26, Pop #106

“Time” (1972) R&B #39

“Sweet Charlie Babe” (1973) R&B #15, Pop #42

“Both Ends Against the Middle” (1973) R&B #28, Pop #102

“Make Me Feel Like a Woman” (1975) R&B #6

“Puttin’ It Down to You” (1976) R&B #37

“It’s Harder to Leave” (1976) R&B #74

“Disco Body (Shake It to the East, Shake It to the West)” (1976) R&B #36

“Make Me Yours” (1977) R&B #72

“Personally” (1978) R&B #92

“This Time Baby” (1979) R&B #24, Disco #1 (1 week)

“Helpless” (1980) Disco #25

“How’s Your Love Life Baby” (1980) Disco #57

“Love Won’t Let Me Wait” (1980) R&B #78

“Holding Back” (1983) R&B #73

Other worthwhile Jackie Moore recordings include “Dear John” (1968), “Loser Again” (1969), and “Seconds” (duet with Wilson Pickett, 1982).

Please check out the Unsung Heroes of Soul blog at

Dean Farrell hosts “The Soul Express” Fridays from 7:00-10:00 p.m. on WECS, 90.1-FM (www.wecsfm.com) and alternating Saturdays from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on WRTC, 89.3-FM (www.wrtcfm.com). He plays vintage soul music of the 1960s and ‘70s, everything from #1 hits to long-lost obscurities. Dean’s e-mail address is soulexpress@gmail.com.

‘Out of Bounds’ and Unethical Behavior

By Bill Powers

Most of us have a pretty good understanding of the concept we call “out of bounds”. It is a term we often connect with sports, when operating within the predetermined field of play. Being out of bounds can refer to something that is forbidden, off-limits, barred, illegal, prohibited, or banned. In a close game of football, when the wide receiver inadvertently steps out of bounds just short of the goal line as time has just expired, it can be a tragic event. The team has lost on the very last play. There are times in government when employees, or elected and appointed officials step out of bounds.

Designed to provide guidance for those serving in government about right and wrong behaviors, ethics codes are established, and rules of conduct are officially recognized. Some examples of ethical issues in government are: corruption, use of authority for private gain; the withholding of information from the public; the disclosure of confidential information; and, nepotism. Regardless of the level of government: federal, state or local, a code of ethics set in law is important so that the public’s trust can be maintained. Mechanisms for enforcement will help to assure ethical conduct, transparency and accountability if government employees, and elected or appointed officials are found to be ethically out of bounds.

In my town the “CODE OF ETHICS” is in the form of an “ORDINANCE”. It’s “goal is to establish clear standards of ethical conduct for all those who serve the Town of Windham, whether in a paid or unpaid capacity, without discouraging participation in Town government by talented and committed individuals on whose service the town relies.” The ordinance consists of the following sections: “A) Preamble; B) Standards of Conduct (including definitions); C) Organization and Administration; D) Procedure for Advisory Opinions; E) Whistle Blower Protection; F) Procedure for Complaints; and, G) Determinations (following the hearing).”

Our Ethics Commission believes that the education of the public as well as for town employees and officials about ethical behavior is crucial to its role. By Ordinance, there are five commissioners. At this time, we have an opening for someone who is interested in serving as an appointed volunteer member. If you are Windham resident, who is interested in and dedicated to assuring ethical conduct, transparency, and accountability, while helping to preserve the public trust in our local government, please contact the Windham Town Manager’s office for an application. However, if you are a registered Democrat, you need NOT apply at this time. It’s not that we dislike Democrats; the Code of Ethics specifies that “No more than three shall be registered in the same political party” and we already have three. You also may NOT be a town employee or serve concurrently on another town board.

Bill Powers is the chairman for the Town of Windham Ethics Commission

Common Sense Car Care

By Rick Ostien

Last month we talked about getting ready for winter. One thing I forgot was the time change. Most of us go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. I have noticed recently that many vehicles have one headlight out or headlights that look like two dim candles. If you cannot see in bad weather or be seen by others then bad things will happen. I encourage you to have your headlights checked. Sometimes they need to be replaced or realigned. This can be very important in bad weather and may help you avoid trouble on the road or even an accident.

This month I would like to share something that affects every licensed driver in our state. At some point many of us will replace or buy a first vehicle. Many of these vehicles are used. The last few years more people are selling vehicles privately with many of them unfit for the road. I want to remind people that when you purchase a vehicle from a private owner it comes with no warranty. This vehicle could be unsafe for the road. Usually with no warranty or recourse to return it, the buyer loses their money and may be saddled with very costly repairs to make it safe for the road. The state of Connecticut, as of right now, does not perform a vehicle safety inspection when someone is registering it. This does not protect the licensed drivers of our state. Please, before you make a purchase from a private owner have the vehicle inspected by a licensed repair facility. This will help to head off both current and future problems. The unsafe vehicle you drive can cause as much hardship as a loaded gun. Be sure to have it inspected and be sure to maintain it.

Another issue lately is that driving habits have gone to the wayside. This week I saw a vehicle drive through a stopped school bus with red lights flashing when a child was crossing the road. It appears stop signs, traffic lights, and double lines to indicate no passing have become nothing but a decoration. It is time for these infractions to have consequences. Work zones seem to mean go faster. What has happened to the move over law on the roadways? Then there is the driver who is trying out for NASCAR, switching lanes with no turn signals, and weaving down the highway trying to get ahead of anyone and anything in their way. The world is in a big hurry and many drivers just do not think far enough ahead. Sometimes what people call an accident really is not one. I encourage everyone to think about what you are doing when you drive and please drive defensively.

The new year is coming soon. Be kind and courteous on the roads. Think of the many positives in your life. With that being said, we at Franc Motors, wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Common Sense Car Care

By Rick Ostien

The weather is getting colder so it’s that time again to get ready for the W word. There are a few things that we should do to prepare for winter driving and the harshness of the elements.

One of the first things that should be done is often one of the least thought of and that’s a survival kit for your car. A well-equipped kit should include the following items: a snow shovel, a bag of kitty litter, a blanket, a flashlight and extra batteries, flares, a cell phone (be sure to have a car charger), a well-equipped first aid kit and mittens or gloves. I personally like mittens better as the hands tend to stay warmer in them. Drivers with a long commute may want to include a few nutritious snacks with a shelf life too. There are other items that can be carried but these items are really the essentials. The idea is to keep warm and as comfortable as you can just in case you become stranded. Freezing is not very pleasant so the idea is to be proactive and prepare in advance.

Another way you can prepare is to have the antifreeze in your cooling system checked. This actually should be done year round. The PH level of your coolant plays a large role in the deterioration of your engine parts. A good example of this was a Ford Taurus that came into our shop with an overheating problem. On examination, the coolant was rusty brown with a lot of sludge build up. The coolant thermostat was checked and replaced. The radiator flow was also checked. (This is the amount or volume of water passing through your radiator at a given time.) The radiator flow was checked again and was OK. The vehicle was then road tested. The engine temperature was lower but it still was not right. The technician then checked the water pump flow and found that it was not adequate. He removed the water pump and found that the impellent had rotted away. The water pump was replaced and a recheck found the coolant temperature to be normal. This is a good example of why your coolant should be checked for a high PH level once a year.

Your electrical system works harder in cold and hot weather and is another thing that should be checked in preparation for winter. Your battery should be checked for its cold cranking reserve and your alternator checked for its maximum output. Today’s computerized vehicles depend on these two components to function properly. When they don’t work properly the computer systems in your car don’t function properly and systems begin to shut down.

The tires you ride on are another item that should be checked before bad weather hits. Tires need to be checked for wear and they need to be inflated properly. Some tires are made for performance driving. You should be sure that your tires are at least mud/snow rated. This is easy to check and can be found by looking for the stamping of M+S on the sidewall of the tire.

Some people are lucky enough to have a garage and can keep the vehicle out of the elements and old man winter’s harshness. For those of you who are not lucky enough to have a garage, there are still some precautions and preparations that you can take. They are:

Spray silicone around your door rubbers. This helps to keep the doors from freezing.
Make sure your windshield wipers are clear of snow and not frozen to you windshield.
Always warm up your vehicle before driving. This gives the mechanical parts and fluids a chance to warm up. It also gives your windshield a chance to defrost so you aren’t looking out of two small holes with little or no visibility.
Put a can of dry gas in your fuel tank every third fill-up. This will help to stop fuel line freeze up due to condensation.

The last thing that we’ll discuss is what you as a driver can do. There are several things you can do to make winter driving easier to cope with.

Be sure you give yourself plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
If you have to talk on a cell phone or text, please pull over to the side of the road. Two hands on the steering wheel is a must when the weather is bad.
Pay attention to road conditions. If the pavement looks wet but you see no spray from the tires of the vehicle in front of you, there is a good chance that the highway is freezing.
Drive defensively and stay alert. It only takes a second for things to change.

I hope this article can help to make your winter driving experience a bit more pleasant. Keep safe and be alert and of course happy motoring.

“Novid” No More

By Delia Berlin

After almost four years of dodging the bullet, I finally left the ever-shrinking minority of “novids”—those who still have not gotten COVID. The Centers for Disease Control has estimated that as of July 2023, more than 77% of the U.S. population had experienced at least one COVID infection. Until now I had been lucky enough to avoid it, even when my husband got it last December. But then I was only two months away from my last booster. This time, things were different.

Last month, I was visiting family in NYC when David called me to report that, after feeling congested, he had taken a COVID home test that came out positive. Unfortunately, I had been with him up to that early morning. Now, I had already spent some time with my 12-year-old granddaughter, who immediately gave me a test. We both masked while we waited for the result. I was negative and felt well, but still wanted to be cautious. Since it was an unusually warm day, my granddaughter and I spent the rest of our visit outside, until she had to go to a theater rehearsal. Later, I dined outdoors with my daughter, while my son-in-law had work commitments.

While I was happy to make the most of my visit under the circumstances, I knew that returning home to David would almost certainly give me COVID. The updated vaccines were just beginning to appear in our area and most appointments were still being canceled due to slow-arriving supplies. My last bivalent booster was already six months old and unlikely to protect me against new variants. But staying in NYC while David’s infection evolved in unknown ways was not an acceptable option, so I returned the next day.

By the time I got home, David had started taking the antiviral Paxlovid and was already asymptomatic. Paxlovid works amazingly well when taken as soon as symptoms begin. It greatly prevents severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths, and reduces the chances of getting long COVID. David was fully recovered by the time I felt sick and tested positive. I was trailing him by three days. Fortunately, I had also started taking Paxlovid immediately and responded equally well, getting all better soon.

But just two days after I tested negative, I once again felt congested and tested faintly positive. This “rebound” seems to be quite common with Paxlovid, although the literature still calls it rare. But rebound cases tend to be mild and self-limiting, not calling for additional medical interventions. Still, they are inconvenient because they prolong the need for social isolation and masking precautions. In our household, with our staggered onsets and my rebound, this disruption covered more than two weeks.

Another type of disruption that a COVID infection imposes is a delay in vaccinations. We had planned to be immunized for flu, COVID, and RSV by the time the holiday season arrived. As I write this, about a month after our COVID infections, we have just managed to get our flu shots. The timing of our updated COVID vaccines is further delayed since it is recommended to wait approximately two months from an infection. We will get those as soon as we hit that mark.

Day after day, new scientific information emerges about the long-term risk of COVID infections. Contrary to popular belief, immunity via infection is neither durable nor safe. Even mild or asymptomatic infections can produce serious long-term consequences, and each subsequent infection is not necessarily milder. Counterintuitively, instead of reinforcing immunity, getting multiple infections increases the chances of getting yet additional infections. The lesson to be drawn from this evidence is not complicated: it is best to try to stay healthy.

Fortunately, there are many ways of reducing one’s chances of getting COVID and other airborne infections. A layered approach that utilizes all of them may hold the most promise, but any one of the mitigations reduces risk at least partly. Everyone should weigh the benefits of each strategy against their own objections. The list is short and sweet: vaccinations, ventilation, and masking.

While current vaccines are not very durable and the virus continues to mutate, they do convey excellent protection against severe illness and death. New and more effective nasal vaccines are coming, which is exciting. Meanwhile, ventilation strategies include avoiding crowded indoor spaces, using air filters or cleaners, selecting outdoor venues whenever possible, and simply opening more windows and doors in acceptable weather. Masking is nobody’s favorite, but a well-fitted, high-quality mask can be very effective against airborne pathogens. I still mask in most indoor spaces, including the gym. I never fail to mask in public restrooms and elevators, even if I am the only person in them. They are poorly ventilated places containing the breath of many previous occupants. Before getting COVID from my less-disciplined husband, I went four full years without even getting a cold—I liked that! I think it was a first for me and I attribute it to masking.

It would have been great if the updated vaccines had been rolled out before the start of the school year. Unfortunately, they are just now starting to flow. I am beyond disappointed in the low level of protection that we have been providing for our youth. Most schoolchildren are getting multiple infections, many of which could have been avoided simply by improving ventilation. In addition to reducing pathogens, good ventilation reduces pollutants, which are particularly harmful to children. I try to remain optimistic and hope that this will continue to improve gradually.

Meanwhile, David and I are gradually getting closer to getting our updated COVID vaccines. In the past, we have received a mix of Moderna and Pfizer shots. This time we will be looking for Novavax. This is a traditional protein vaccine, as opposed to a messenger RNA vaccine. It targets features of the virus that appear to be more stable than the spike protein, perhaps providing broader protection against variants. Also, it may be a little more durable and with fewer side effects. To be clear, head-to-head effectiveness comparison of all COVID vaccines is not complete, and any updated vaccine is better than none. In our area, Novavax is still more difficult to find, but since our recent infections have bought us some time, our search for it will continue.

Unsung Heroes of Soul: Otis Clay

By Dean Farrell

As host of “The Soul Express,” I play the biggest names in 1960s and ‘70s-era soul music. I also mix in the many great soul artists who did not necessarily become household names but were no less talented. This month’s column is about Otis Clay, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee who became popular in Japan.

He was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, on February 11, 1942. In 1953, the Clays moved to Muncie, Indiana, where Otis joined a local gospel group, the Voices of Hope. He later returned to Mississippi to sing with the Christian Travelers before settling in Chicago in 1957. There, he performed with a series of gospel acts, including the Golden Jubilaires, the Famous Blue Jay Singers, the Holy Wonders, and the Pilgrim Harmonizers. Clay made his first solo recordings for Columbia in 1962, but they were never issued. He later joined the Gospel Songbirds, who recorded in Nashville. Though the group released many singles, Clay appeared on just one.

By 1965, Otis Clay had decided to try secular music and signed with One-derful Records in Chicago. His first outing for the label, “Tired of Falling In and Out of Love,” became a local hit that fall. Clay’s first performance in a big auditorium was in Herb Kent’s Christmas Benefit Show at Chicago’s Capitol Theater in December 1965. His next single, “I’m Satisfied,” made Billboard’s “Bubbling Under the Hot 100” chart in early 1966.

In the summer of 1967, Clay recorded his biggest hit to date. A gospel-drenched heartbreak ballad, “That’s How It Is (When You’re In Love)” climbed to #34 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart. It was written by Cash McCall, an old friend of Clay’s from the Gospel Songbirds.

One-derful went out of business in mid-1968 and sold Clay’s contract to the Atlantic subsidiary, Cotillion. His initial release was a remake of the Sir Douglas Quintet’s three-year-old hit, “She’s About a Mover.” It made the bottom rungs of the R&B chart and became the only Clay single to make the Billboard Hot 100. When subsequent releases on Cotillion—including the excellent “Hard-Working Woman” and “Is It Over?”–failed to make much noise, Clay moved on to Hi Records in Memphis. There, he worked with producer Willie Mitchell.

Otis Clay made many of his best-known recordings at Hi, including the 1972 original of “Trying to Live My Life Without You.” A live performance by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band would hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. Seger even introduced it as “an old Memphis song.”

Clay remained with Hi until 1977, during which time he put out his first two albums: Trying to Live My Life Without You (1972) and Can’t Take It (1977). He next turned up on the Kayvette label, where Clay had his final charted single, “All Because of Your Love.” He later recorded for the Elka and Rounder labels, and on his own Echo Records, where he did the 1980 original of “The Only Way Is Up.” (A 1988 remake by Yazz & The Plastic Population was a #1 UK hit.)

Clay was a very popular live act—not only in the US, but also in Europe and Japan. He recorded four concert LPs: Live! (1978), Live Again! (1984), Soul Man—Live in Japan (1985), and Respect Yourself (2005). The latter captured his 2003 performance at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland. In the ‘90s, Clay recorded two albums for Bullseye Blues: I’ll Treat You Right and the Willie Mitchell-produced This Time Around. His 2007 gospel release, Walk a Mile in My Shoes, was Grammy-nominated.

In 2010, Otis Clay received a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in his hometown of Waxhaw. In 2015, his album with Johnny Rawls, Soul Brothers,won the Blues Blast Award for Soul Album of the Year. It also was nominated for the Blues Music Awards Soul Album of the Year and Living Blues Magazine Blues Album of the Year.And it was chosen as the #6 Blues Album of the Year in the Downbeat Magazine Critics’ Poll.

Rock critic Dave Marsh included “Trying to Live My Life Without You” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.

Otis Clay, 73, died in Chicago of a heart attack on January 8, 2016.

Charted singles:

“I’m Satisfied” (1966) Pop #105

“That’s How It Is (When You’re In Love)” (1967) R&B #34, Pop #131

“A Lasting Love” (1967) R&B #48

“She’s About a Mover” (1968) R&B #47, Pop #97

“It Is Over” (1971) Pop #128

“Trying to Live My Life Without You” (1972) R&B #24, Pop #102

“I Didn’t Know the Meaning of Pain” (1973) Pop #144

“If I Could Reach Out” (1973) R&B #73

“All Because of Your Love” (1977) R&B #44

Please check out the Unsung Heroes of Soul blog at

My Garden Path to the Quiet Corner

Old Connecticut Path

By Brian Karlsson-Barnes

Everything Is Connected. Native trails first led westward from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the Connecticut River Valley. Old Connecticut Path was first of North American routes west from the seacoast settlement that is Boston, founded 1630. From the Hub, everything was connected, land and sea.

The word Connecticut has little to do with our verb of connection, however; it is derived from anglicized spellings of Quinnetuket, a Mohegan-Pequot word for the state’s “long tidal river”.

Indians already knew the efficient trails, skirting wet meadows of river bottoms, crossing streams at the easiest fords, and walking the ridges. When Bay colonists were short of grain in the early 1630s, Nipmuc farmers in Connecticut took surplus maize along this familiar route to the mouth of the Charles River, trading food for metal goods and woolen cloth (and unintentional disease for which no immunity).

1635 Watertown settlers took this route moving to Wethersfield, Connecticut. In 1636, Hartford was founded when Congregational minister Thomas Hooker (advocate of universal Christian suffrage who disagreed with the Puritans) took a hundred of his dissenting congregation on a two-week trek with 160 cattle along the Path to the Connecticut River, a place called Saukiog, meaning “blackness of earth”. Early colonists driving cattle made the Path wider.

By 1643, Sudbury Village in Massachusetts, documents called this trail “Old Connecticut Path”. With a postal system in 1672, “The Great Trail of New England” became the first colonial Post Road. The Path crossed the Blackstone River, crossing known as North Bridge, and the Quinebaug River crossing was South Bridge, thus naming Northbridge and Southbridge. The Path still partly follows Routes 9 and 126.

The ease of growing corn led to small grist mills on waterways throughout the region, as in Gurleyville near Storrs, dating to about 1749 on the Fenton River near Mansfield Hollow and the Nipmuc Trail.

GARDEN PATH Everything Is connected. Moving to Boston in 2004, I often drove Route 9 from Jamaica Plain to Hopkinton’s Weston Nurseries, my first connection to the Path. JP is also home to Arnold Arboretum, nature’s solace for many, where I was a volunteer docent. In the1970s, architectural studies at the University of Minnesota connected with spatial work at Bachman’s Garden Center in Minneapolis, and Dundee Nursery in Plymouth MN.Unitarian-Universalism taught its 7th Principle:

Respect for the Interdependent Web of All Existence of Which We Are a Part.

Not apart.

Route

Centuries before European settlement, Old Connecticut Path led west from Massachusetts Bay along the north bank of the Charles River … to Cambridge (New Town) and newly settled Watertown, through now-Waltham and Weston… curving south to Wayland where Route 126 still bears the Old Path name. (Wayland, where “Bay Path” diverged from Connecticut Path to head straight west through Worcester to the Connecticut River from Mass Bay.)

Southwestward, Connecticut Path passed along the north side of Cochituate Pond to cross the Sudbury River in now-Framingham (Route 126 also retains name), then threaded between the Charles and Sudbury Rivers. From Framingham, Old Connecticut Path ran south through Ashland (Megunko, where I later lived on Sudbury headquarters) through Hopkinton (Quansigamog) into now-Westborough.

Native Indians were coerced to settle in “praying towns”, instructed in European customs and converted to Christianity. Trekking over Fay Mountain to Grafton, known as the praying town of Hassanamesit / Hassanamisco, the Old Path led through Sutton woods to Connecticut. It entered at the praying town of Mannexit, now Thompson, continued into Woodstock and crossed the Quiet Corner through Eastford, Ashford and Willington.

Today, travelers in the Quiet Corner can walk Old Connecticut Path in Fenton-Ruby Park (Willington) and along the Nipmuc (aka Nipmuck) Trail north from Mansfield Hollow (Windham) to Bigelow Hollow (Union) at the Massachusetts border.

NIPMUC TRAIL A west branch starts on Puddin’ Lane in suburban Mansfield, and the east branch extends north from Mansfield Hollow State Park (Windham), through the Natchaug / Nipmuck State Forests and Yale Forest, into Bigelow Hollow State Park (Union). The 45-mile trail hikes woods, open fields and ridges, to which many other trails connect town and conservation lands, notably Joshua’s Trust.

Westward, the Old Path crosses Tolland, Vernon and Manchester to arrive at the Connecticut River.

GARDEN PATH Working in Hopkinton, Weston Nurseries’ vast inventory of plants instructed me. Better than a graduate degree. Working at Bachman’s and Dundee Nursery in Minnesota, had converted me to Horticulturalism, but WN enhanced my sense of landscape design and my earlier experience with plants suitable to Minnesota’s bitter winters.

My mantra: Suit the Site, Fit the Space, Then Seek Beauty

Master gardening was most instructive. This interconnection of all things horticultural was studied at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Elm Bank, Wellesley, as I began KB garden design in Jamaica Plain.

2018 My path arrived in the Quiet Corner at a 1750 farmhouse in Chaplin near the Natchaug River with a scary basement and two wooded acres. Over sixty more trees, many flowering, and many more shrubs and herbaceous perennials have been planted, coexisting with glorious weeds. Love the wild landscape.

Learn

What I most want to take root, however, is the notion of horticultural interconnection. Spiritual respect for the environment assists book and field learning. Key for me was master gardening training with MassHort.

Locally, the UCONN Master Gardening Program is in Storrs. Volunteer to learn more. Arnold Arboretum taught me more about mature growth and landscape design; in New London, learn from ornamental and natural habitats at Connecticut College.

Master Gardener is an amateur designation; Horticulturist is a professional one. Skill and passion overlap, and becoming a Master Gardener doesn’t replace a professional degree or working as a project manager at a “design-build” nursery, but master gardening connects many variables. Gardening benefits all landscape designers. Nothing beats experience, except imagination.

Dedicated to the memory of Ryan Lefsky who died unexpectedly in October, a hard worker with overwhelming family responsibilities who loved walking the woods of Sutton, Mass.

Brian Karlsson-Barnes, Master gardener/designer, Chaplin CT

Briankarlssonbarnes@gmail.com