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Town&CountryLivingThe Sturbridge Times

Magazine


Making Rainbows

Here in Vermont, by this time everyyear, people are so sick of the insides

of their homes that they can’t wait to getoutside to spruce up, rake up, and clean uptheir yards. The winters are so long anddark here that just being able to plant a smallgarden or watch tulips pop up through theearth is exciting to some of us. This year, aswe all can understand, such yearnings areeven stronger than ever.I probably already reported to you that

my three-year-old granddaughter Nahlaand I planned to make a small raised gardenpatch along the sunny side of our house.(Okay, so I did most of the planning, so if itfails it’s my fault.) It is true that we eventu-ally planted it together. (It’s surprising howmuch longer a project can take when youhave help.) I’ve never attempted one ofthese gardens before and have no idea if I(we) will reap crops worth more than whatI paid for wood and bolts and twelve bigbags of soil, but that’s sort of beside thepoint for Nahla and me. A day recently arrived when we seemed

to be past the last frost and snow in our area,(very hopefully.) The two of us ventured outwith a small tray of seedlings we had grownon the sunny windowsill for the past monthor so. I had loved watching this child’s ex-citement as those tiny plants sprungthrough the soil. It thrilled me that everymorning she would run to that window tosee how much more her ‘babies’ had grown.She often would even kiss them good morn-ing. I’m sure they appreciated that. Now wewere going to give those babies a new home,right beside our home.I soon discovered that I needed a new

hose nozzle. Old man winter had evidentlysnuck into our Northern state before I hadput the hoses away in the fall and hadcracked my nifty, multiple-setting, superduper plastic nozzle. I went off to the hard-ware store, found the hoses, and there it wason a peg hook, just waiting for me. It was anold-fashioned, simple, twist-to-turn-on,solid brass nozzle, exactly like the one myfather had when I was a child. It was alsothe cheapest nozzle on the display, which

didn’t hurt. Some things simply can’t be improved on.

That brass hose end is one of those things. Itworks perfectly, and sprays everything froma very fine mist to a full force stream ofwater. Nahla soon discovered this, firstlysoaking my shirt and pants with the hose,then excitedly wanting to share another dis-covery she had made, with me.“Look, Papa, look!”, she yelled, jumping

up and down as she did. “A rainbow!” Iwent to her and shared the sight of her beau-tiful little rainbow in the glistening mistmade by the fine spray of my new brasshose nozzle. It was actually quite beautiful. In times of trial, and this year seems full

of trials, it’s easy to forget to appreciate whatwe have. Less is often more if seen in theright light. Small simple things are oftenmore enjoyable than big fancy ones if thetime is taken to experience them. My grand-daughter’s amazement at the tiny rainbowshe had made was a very happy addition tomy list of simple but important things in life. Many of my days lately have begun with

walks, and swinging, and raking, and pam-pering little plants on the side lawn, all inthe company of a beautiful, wide-eyed, ex-cited child. When our morning ritual is fin-ished, Nahla runs over to the hose, pointsthe nozzle to the sky, and begins makingrainbows in the sun.

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the BlitzBy Erik LarsonCrown, 2020Hardcover, 608 PagesISBN-10: 0385348711ISBN-13: 978-0385348713


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By Richard MorchoeBOOKREVIEW

For the parents of early baby boomers,there were three eras of reference; before

the war, during the war and after the war.World War II impacted everyone. The memories shared with me as a child

were sometimes brutal but often happy. Myparents married while my father was on ac-tive service before going to The Philippinesand later Japan. They remembered fondlytheir time in Louisiana and Texas where shefollowed him to marry.It would, of course, have been different

had he not been able to return from the waralive and whole. For our nation, however, the war was not

an existential crisis. There was little chancethe country would be defeated. The othernations fighting, both friend and foe, hadbeen in the battle for years and had been wellbloodied.America had the world's largest economy

and was its own Saudi Arabia for energy.The best the Japanese Empire and the ThirdReich could hope for was a stalemate andthat was a faint possibility.Charles de Gaulle is said to have written

in his diary after Pearl Harbor, "The war isover." The fighting was not, though.For one country, the Second World War

was a life and death struggle. The UnitedKingdom was not sufficiently prepared, andwith her ally, France, would be strategicallyoutclassed.When the German army moved west,

Britain and France were outflanked and theBrits were lucky to get home to their islandwith at least part of their army, but littleequipment.The islanders were looking across the

channel at a victorious army that looked asif, with the right plans and their superb airforce, might be able to invade and conquer.What to do?Logic would have dictated that Britain,

standing alone, would face reality and makea deal with Hitler. Alas, that would neverhappen. When the war situation on the con-tinent turned bleak, the British Prime Minis-ter Neville Chamberlain, could no longercontinue in office as he had lost too muchsupport in Parliament.There was a man waiting in the wings to

do the job and the British would turn to him.He would come into the office of Prime Min-

Churchill; the man and his finest hour

Especially

Now.

From preceding page

THE STURBRIDGE TIMES TOWN& COUNTRY LIVINGMAGAZINE6Page 18

ister and become the most renowned Brit ofthe 20th Century, even more famous thanPrincess Di and the Beatles and rightfullyso.He became Prime Minister of England on

the eve of Britain's darkest hour and didrally the nation in a perilous time. Erik Larson details how Churchill and

Britain went through the first year togetherin his The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga ofChurchill, Family, and Defiance During theBlitz.

Mr. Larson is a popular non-fiction writerwhose several books have sold over ninemillion copies. Dead Wake: The Last Cross-ing of the Lusitania was reviewed in thepages of the August, 2015 issue of this mag-azine. Winston Churchill came off muchbetter in The Splendid and the Vile than inthe former book.The title, The Splendid and the Vile

comes from the diary of one of Churchill'ssecretaries, John Colville. Colville sawbeauty in watching bombs fall on Londonand wrote, "Never was there such a contrast

of natural splendor and human vileness."Colville was part of Churchill's staff and

in Larson's book it almost seems as if we aremeeting an extended family. Certainly, notone big happy family, but, nevertheless, aneffective team that included officials andfamily members.Churchill was going to need that. After

Dunkirk, where the British Army escapedby the skin of its teeth, mere survival wouldtake the efforts of everyone in government.And they did give effort.Maybe the man most crucial in the prime

ministerial clan was Lord Beaverbrook.Canadian born Max Aitken moved toBritain and built a newspaper empire andbecame influential in politics and friendlywith Churchill. He was made BaronBeaverbrook.If Britain was to survive, its Royal Air

Force would be crucial. The under-equipped army would not stop the Ger-mans if they got to England, but there wasa competent air fleet. The problem was tomake sure the planes lost in battle were re-placed and the number increased.Churchill knew "his longtime friend and

occasional antagonist" "The Beaver" was theman for the job. Winston created a new en-tity, the Ministry of Aircraft Production andput Max in charge. The new minister wasa genius at getting things done and makingenemies, just what the job required.To call what the man accomplished

prodigious would be understatement. Then there was the "Prof." Frederick Lin-

demann who would serve as Churchill'spersonal scientific adviser. The Prof did notcome across as a warm and cuddly type.That is odd as he moved easily among theEnglish smart set. He was usually the onlyguest at dinner enjoying vegetarian meals.Blame it on his mom. She put the fam on

a strict vegetarian died and when aban-doned, he stuck to it with "vengeful obsti-nance." Prof would consume enormousquantities of egg whites without yolks andhad a huge sweet tooth.He could also be wrong. Lindemann

supported the idea of the "aerial mine" thatnever really became anything close to a suc-cess as a weapon. The Prime Minister, nev-

Churchill


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TOWNBUSINESS

By Elisa KrochmalnyckyjEnsuring social-distancing at the annual

Town Election is going to be easier than antic-ipated, since about half of expected voters willhave cast their ballots early by absentee ormail-in ballots.“My feeling is I will be looking at 500 early

voters, and another 500 people going out tothe polls,” said Town Clerk Lynne Girouard,adding that it’s hard to predict voter turn-out,but 1,000 voters is about average for a townelection.Election Day, rescheduled from April, is

Monday, June 8 from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at theOliver Wight Tavern at Old Sturbridge Vil-lage.Voters must request a mail-in-ballot appli-

cation from the Town Clerk. Those applica-tions are available on the town’s website andat the sign boards on Route 20 at Cedar Streetand Brookfield Road.Ballots will be sent to applicants in the mail,

and must be completed and returned to theTown Clerk’s office by Friday, June 5 at noon.Completed ballots may also be brought intothe polling location before 8 p.m., which al-lows voters to avoid having to check in andfill out their ballot on-site.

Girouard and Assistant Town Clerk SheilaO’Connell have made every arrangementpossible to have the polls comply with thestate’s social-distancing requirements.“We can only allow so many people in at a

time, so people might have to wait outside thebuilding,” Girouard said.Nobody will be allowed in unless they have

a mask — no exceptions, Girouard said. “If you do not have a mask, you will not be

able to enter the building, even with a medicalexemption,” she said. “If you cannot wear amask, you should make every effort to com-plete a mail-in, so you can still vote.”Inside, voting stations and ballot boxes will

be spaced apart, as will poll workers, who willalso be wearing masks. Girouard said shethinks things will run smoothly.“Truthfully, I don’t expect we’ll be crazy-

busy, because we’ve been inundated withearly voting by mail,” she said.The downside of all of the mail-in applica-

tions and ballots is that it’s created a lot of pa-perwork.“We still have to process all of them indi-

vidually,” she said, then laughed. “That iswhere the issue is. But we’ll get it done.”There is only one contested race in this

year’s election. Three Board of Selectmen can-didates — Mary Blanchard, Priscilla Gimas,and Ian Dunnigan — are running for two po-sitions on the board.

Candidate profiles are available in the Aprilissue of the Sturbridge Times atsturbridgetimes.com.

Town Meeting: new protocols

Town arranges socially-distant Annual Meeting and ElectionAbundance of mail-in votes will reduce numbers at the polls

Town Clerk, Lynne Girouard sorts through mail-in ballots.

Next page

With 41 items on the agenda rangingfrom approving next year’s town

budget to paying for a drone to check onhow much more space the town landfillhas, the Annual Town Meeting will go on


Election and Town Meeting From preceding page

— but not until June 29.“Families and couples can sit together,

but we want space between other people,”said Town Administrator Jeff Bridges.“And everyone will have to wear masks,if it’s still the protocol.”The Annual Town Meeting, originally

scheduled for earlier in the month, is re-quired be held before the new fiscal yearbegins on July 1. The rescheduled June 29meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in Tanta-squa High School auditorium.“The auditorium holds 700 people,”

Bridges said. “I am sure we can providespacing for everyone.”The warrant, which includes details on

each of the 41 items, will be available onthe town’s website at least a week beforethe election. Among the non-routine items is one

that would exempt “Gold Star” familiesfrom paying property taxes. Gold Starfamilies are parents or spouses of soldiersand sailors who died in the line of duty.Currently, Gold Star families get a $400break on their taxes. If adopted, the ex-emption would cover the full amount ofproperty taxes.“This would expand it,” Bridges said.

“We do know there are people in townwho would benefit.”Voters will also be asked to approve a

tax-incentive plan for “New EnglandCold”, a cold-storage facility proposed forthe Sturbridge Technology Park. The incen-tive would give a 100 percent discount thefirst year; 90 percent the second year; 80percent the third year and so on, with a 10-percent discount the tenth and last year. Another item asks for funding for capi-

tal purchases, including a $750,000 newfire truck.“We have a fire truck — a pumper truck

— whose frame is cracked and is out ofservice,” Bridges said. “We’re borrowingone from out of town.”That truck was scheduled to be replaced

within the next few years, and officialsdid not think it made sense to repair it.“We could get it welded back together,

but nobody could guarantee that it wouldhold up, and that’s not safe for a firetruck,” Bridges said. “So an accelerated re-placement is a necessity.”Voters will also be asked to approve

spending $9,000 for a drone to fly over thetown landfill, which is next to the Recy-cling Center on Breakneck Road.“We need to see how much more capac-

ity we have, because if we don’t havelandfill capacity, we would have to figureout what to do with it,” Bridges said.“Trash is a big deal. People don’t alwaysrealize that, because they just put the trashin a bag and it goes away. But it has to gosomewhere.”Two items relate to the town’s historic

cemeteries — North Cemetery and theOld Burial Ground. One item asks for$13,500 to computerize existing cemeteryrecords, thus making them available toonline searchers. The other asks for $9,500of Community Preservation Funds to con-tinue restoring gravestones at the cemeter-

ies.Also up for vote is a request for extra

funding to pay for the lights at the TownBarn Little League field. Funds for thelights were approved in 2018, but becauseof site complications, the original amountwasn’t enough. If the additional fundingis approved, the project would go out forbid again.Several items involve the Community

Preservation Fund, including using$10,000 to upgrade the Recreational TrailsMaster Plan and $8,000 to construct trailson the Leadmine Parcel and restore theBurgess Discovery Trail.Bridges hopes there’s something com-

pelling for everyone, and that people takethe opportunity to be the ones to make de-cisions for the town — this year with so-cial distance.“We’re going to adhere to guidelines, so

again, there will be space between people,and, masks if still required,” Bridges said.“Other than that, wash your hands.” n

SampleBallotfor your planning

SturbridgeTown Election2020

Votingwill take placeon Monday, June 8,from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.at Oliver Wight Tavernin Old Sturbridge Village.


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Page 10

Ron Jablanski stood Marine-straight in-side the Town Common gazebo on May10, saluting, smiling and, just maybe,holding back a few tears as car after cardrove by honking.“It was amazing,” he said. “Amazing. It

never ceases to amaze me when the goodcomes out of a lot of people.”Having people drive by the gazebo was

the only rainy-day-in-quarantine way hiswife could think to celebrate Jablanski’s70th birthday and his finally receiving hisBronze Star with Valor from the MarineCorp after 50 years.It may have been the only way, and, for

Jablanski, it was the best way.“We got there, and there was already a

balloon that was put there by somebody— they did it unknown, anonymously,” hesaid. “And they put in some gift cards for

By Elisa Krochmalnyckyj

Community honors Bronze Star hero Ron Jablanski on his birthday

Ron Jablanski, recipient of the Bronze Star with Valor from the Marine Corp, salutes one of the cars that ‘honked for a hero’on the Town Common on Jablanski’s 70th birthday May 10.

©2020 Sturbridge Times photo by Elisa Krochmalnyckyj


Community comes out to honor one of Sturbridge’s resident heroes, Ron Jablonskius from Amazon. It was just so nice.”Jablanski’s wife, who wasn’t holding

back her tears, didn’t know how to be ableto honor him, with the pandemic and a fore-cast of thunderstorms. The night before, sheposted on the Facebook Community Pageasking if anyone could drive by and “comeand honk for a hero” at 6 p.m. on his birth-day.“I know it’s supposed to rain, but it’s all

I can really do for him that I think he’d like,”she wrote.Just before 6:00 the next evening, Jablan-

ski arrived with his family. A steady streamof cars began looping around the common,honking and waving, with balloons andsigns, some forming small parades, othersdriving by one by one.“A lot of Marines — a lot of marines —

showed up,” Jablanski said. “And at the

end, a really nice couple showed up, and hehappened to be a Vietnam vet who livesright down the street from me. We stayedafter and talked for a while from our cars.”It was in Vietnam that Jablanski earned

his Bronze Star, which is given to membersof the United States Armed Forces for hero-ics.“I was there six months and four days —

from March 13, 1968 until I got woundedSept. 17, 1969,” he said. “Then I was on ahospital ship. I was badly injured.”Several days later, he was told, his entire

battalion moved on, and Jablanski’s BronzeStar award got lost in the shuffle. He didn’teven know he had received it.“Later on I got this letter from a buddy of

mine and he asked me ‘how does it feel toget a Bronze Star?’” Jablanski recounted. “Iwas shocked, because I didn’t have any ideaI had gotten one.”

He didn’t spend much time thinkingabout it, though.“I had the distinct possibility of losing my

legs,” he said. “I was looking at some big-time surgery.”The recovery was rough, in more ways

than one.“What happened the night I got injured

was just brutal,” he said. “I don’t even havethe words for it.”A few years later, the same buddy came

to visit Jablanski’s home in upstate NewYork, and again mentioned the Bronze Star.“I told him I never got it, that it was never

handed to me,” Jablanski said. “I never didanything about pursuing it. It didn’t mat-ter.” He gave the award little thought until a

few years ago, when his granddaughter,then 8, came downstairs wearing the PurpleHeart that Jablanski had earned in Vietnam

From Page 8

Stay in. Stay safe.


Page 19

as well.“She came down with the Purple Heart

pinned on her dress, and said ‘look Papa!’”he said. “She was so proud of herself.”The girl’s father — Jablanski’s son — told

him he should think about finally getting theBronze Star.“He told me ‘that’s a legacy,’” Jablanski

said. “I never thought of it that way. Ithadn’t been a big deal for me, especially 50years later.”Still, Jablanski made an effort to research

it, and after some frustrating starts, finallymet with a dedicated veteran counselor inhis hometown of Hudson N.Y.“This guy helped me so much,” he said.

“Nobody else seemed to care as much as thisperson did.”Jablanski told the counselor his story and

showed him the letter from his friend, whichwas the only knowledge Jablanski had of theaward.“Not even two weeks later, the man called

me and said ‘you were definitely awardedthe Bronze Star, and as a matter of fact theyhave your original declaration and themedal,’” Jablanski said.So last June 1, in a small gathering in Hud-

son, Jablanski was set to receive his award.But there was one last twist. The colonel

who gave it to him told Jablanski it was foractions the afternoon of Sept. 13, 1969. “I kept telling him ‘you have the dates

wrong, I was wounded on Sept. 17, 1969,’”Jablanski said. “I knew that’s what I got theaward for, because I knew what I did thatnight to survive, and what I did to help oth-ers that night.”But the colonel knew better.“He said to me ‘You don’t even know

what you did on the 13th? Wait until youhear it!’” Jablanski recounted. Jablanski had been a “point man” for his

Marine company, it was his job to be the firstto walk into any situation. On that afternoonof Sept. 13, the Marines came out of a path

into a 200-foot clearing. Despite almost-indisputable informa-

tion to the contrary, Jablanski’s instinctstold him there was an ambush set up,and he followed those instincts. Follow-ing orders, he brought the company in,but as soon as he saw the ambush,turned around and went back to get re-inforcement, putting himself in the lineof fire. He led the reinforcements into theclearing, again putting himself in the lineof fire. He was credited with savingcountless lives.As the story was told, it all came back

to Jablanski.“About halfway through, it hit me,”

he said. “I almost became speechless. Iremembered. I was 19 years old and Iwas responsible for the whole company.I just did what I did so we wouldn’t gethorrific losses.”After Jablanski got his award and the


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As I write this, Massachusetts is just start-ing to come out of our Stay At Home order,and it is a hugely stressful time for everyone,a time of fear, uncertainty, and sacrifice.Some of us are more fortunate than others fi-nancially and healthwise, but we all face thathuge undercurrent of now knowing if wewill get sick, if those we love will get sick, ifwe will have a job tomorrow, and if we willbe able to get the things we need for our fam-ily. A lot of us have been isolated from theoutside world for months now, not able tosee or connect with friends and family, andthis loneliness is taking a toll on some of usthat is hard to deal with and may seem in-surmountable. Some of you may have the opposite situa-

tion and be sequestered with your family inclose quarters, trying to juggle the responsi-bilities of work, raising children and operat-ing a household, which may involve homeschooling, learning to operate technology inways you never had to, cooking and cleaningmore than you ever thought you would, andperhaps also trying to keep peace during in-evitable clashes of opinion.

Over time, it becomes hard to stay positiveand see an end to the situation, harder to dealwith your partner or your family or thestresses of everyday life in lockdown. Every-thing seems harder, in fact, where just goingto the store to get bread and milk becomes anordeal of masks and gloves, staying awayfrom people, and wondering if the personnext to you is going to get you sick. Dealing with stress is hard even in normal

times, but much harder now when we haveso many restrictions on our daily lives. Howcan we stay positive when there is so muchsadness, anger, grief, and instability aroundus and on the news?Staying positive and helping to motivate

those around me has always been one majorpart of my job, but right now it is even moreimportant, and something I have to work atfor myself as well. Like any job, it takes prac-tice and awareness to stay positive and notlet feelings of fear and sadness overwhelmoneself. These are the things I do to stay pos-itive during this pandemic:Get outside. Getting fresh air and moving

is a great stress reducer. Nature is calming

and meditative. Don’t pull out your phone,and don’t put the headphones on. Really bea part of nature, experience the sounds andsights firsthand. During the quarantine, I tryto walk every day, even if the weather is bad. Move as much as you can. Exercise every

day, whether it’s a walk or jog outside, a yogasession, lifting weights or dancing aroundyour house. Exercise reduces stress and helpskeep our bodies strong and our minds sharp.You can workout with a friend virtuallythrough Skype or FaceTime. There are loadsof options available through social media. Ihave some free workouts on my Julie GerrishFitness Facebook page, and I offer a virtualmembership of live and recorded workoutsthrough my website.Interact with family and friends, virtually

or in person with social distancing if needed.Do a mental check-in on yourself and touchbase with those around you. Staying presentand engaged takes work and practice. Doesyour son need a hug today? Is your wife feel-ing angry about something? Do you need tocall your dad and check in and see how he’sdoing? Or text a friend you haven’t heard

greater sturbridge’s fitness expertHEALTH&FITNESS

How to stay positive during a pandemic

By Julie GerrishPERSONAL TRAINERJULIE GERRISH FITNESS, STURBRIDGE


from in a while? And how are you doing?What do you need to do to feel better rightnow?This recent quote from therapist Terry

Real (The Goop podcast, 4/22/20), really res-onated with me: ”This is an occasion to riseto. This is not the time, particularly if thereare kids in the house, to hold your grudges,or to process the terrible feelings that you’vebeen keeping inside for the last ten years, orto blow up at each other if you can possiblyhelp it. This is the time to deal with the im-mature parts of you that will inevitably gettriggered, rather than act them out and foistthem on your partner to deal with. It’s timefor us to show up in this crisis like adults. I

want to empower you to bring your bestselves to this crisis because you deserve itand your family needs it.”This time is a trial for all humanity, and we

need to step up to the plate right now. We allhave choices for how we are going to handlethe stresses we have been given. There are still so many great things hap-

pening in the world around us: flowers areblooming, babies are being born, strangersare reaching out and helping people getthrough their tough times. Let’s look for thegood in ourselves and in each other everysingle day. We will all get through this to-gether. n


r MUSINGS FROM LONG HILL s

BY RICHARD MORCHOE

AS THE WORLD TURNS

LEGALBRIEF

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 easeup on Covid-19 preventive measures, he waspresented with evidence that did not comportwith 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 neverknow when the next triumph is going to comealong.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 thana day late.The CNBC article displays a New York State

graphic that has it that over 90% of infectedwere 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 THESPREAD. 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 thegraphic. Logic would dictate STAY HOMEbe changed to GO OUT. To rub it in, The New York Times is not as

advanced as we are up our lonely little hill, butthey finally got it. In a May 15, 2020 articleMichael Levenson, Tara Parker-Pope andJames 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 tobe outside than in the office or the mall. Withfresh air and more space between people, therisk goes down."The "Paper of Record" was scooped by The

Sturbridge Times Town & Country LivingMagazine.This does beg the question, why are not

northeast governors getting with the programand telling folks to get out, with safe practices?Oh well, from stats we are watching on

Long Hill, it appears New York State is doingbetter than Charlie Baker's Massachusetts.

Massachusetts has a law that is supposed to pro-tect you from being left penniless when yourspouse writes you out the will and then dies.

It’s called the spousal elective share law and it’sarchaic, confusing and largely useless.

The way it’s supposed to work is that ifyour estranged – and rich – spouse writes you outof the will and dies, you can claim what’s called theelective share. This is supposed to be a fair amountof the estate left behind, at least enough to keep youliving a decent life style.

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

This isn’t much when the spouse had millionsand you’ve been married for decades. The courtsgenerally hate this law as whenever it comes upthere pretty clearly a spouse who’s been shafted thevery person who was supposed to provide for himor her.

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

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

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

Both states are "opening up" sort of. In theCommonwealth, it's a four-phase plan thatsounds vague except for part four: "The finalphase is what Baker calls the "New Normal,"which won't happen until a vaccine or therapyhas been developed to effectively treat COVID-19." Phase Four means probably never. Vaccine's

take a long time if they happen and every timea therapy has been mentioned once, it's rarelyheard of again. It does not matter as long be-fore the fourth phase, the dynamic will havechanged. Governor 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. My only ambitionleft in life is to get a haircut. I hope to see theinside of the one chair chop shop that was for-merly frequented.One place that is opening up is the Amherst

Farmers Market. Your columnist is a vendorand is wondering how it will go off. SaturdayMorning in Happy Valley when the sun isshining and people are glad to be out and buy-ing fresh produce and other goods was a greatpleasure.The Town of Amherst is a rule making ma-

chine. They have, of course, ordained that themask is de rigeur. As we have made clear inprevious columns that is not something wehave a problem with. In light of the evidencethat ran into the New York governor and thestudy cited last month, it may be unnecessaryon the Amherst Common, but as a better safethan sorry practice, it couldn't hurt.The committee that deals with us has ruled

that all the vendors must put a piece of Plexi-glas between the sellers and the buyers. Seemslike a bit of overthinking, but we comply.Government has had its share of failures in

crisis management. Governor Cuomo sent re-covering Covid-19 patients to nursing homesand Charlie had the Soldiers' home fiasco.Don't get me started on Washington.So, you probably think I am whining and

Page 16

Spousal Elective Share


Morchoe columnFrom page 14

complaining. No, all this was to be expectedand is part of the natural order of things.We cite Vaughan's law ad nauseam, which

states, "there will always be a government, butnobody knows how to run a government." Itis true enough, but the state and its apparatusfunctions, if not with the white heat of effi-ciency, at least tolerably so we don't grab thepitchforks and storm the castle.Angel investor and entrepreneur Balaji S.

Srinivasan put it as succinctly as anyone I'veever heard,“Democrats need to learn experts aren’t al-

ways right, Republicans need to learn expertsaren’t always wrong, Libertarians need to learnthat a state can succeed, Progressives need tolearn that a state can fail.”A pandemic arrives and even the best ad-

ministration is at a functional loss. You can'tput out an ad that your state governmentwants 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 theStudy of Once in a Lifetime Events to find outwhy when something big and unique happenswe 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 Massachusettsresidents for the chaos it brought. Every night,Governor Michael Dukakis was on TV in hissweater giving reports as leaders are doingnow. 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 wildernessfor 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 jobmanaging the city's response. Afterward,rightly or wrongly, he was tabbed, "America'sMayor" 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?Governor Cuomo, in noting the value of the

great outdoors did something rare in govern-ment. He admitted his prior position waswrong and that it was a shock. That responsemade him seem human. Cuomo has beenbandied about as a possible replacement for hisparty's presumptive candidate for the presi-dency, if that man falters, which he seems to bedoing.They could do worse. The problem is what

sane person would want the job, especiallynow? Yahoo Finance reports that 42% of layoffs

will become permanent. If, as a result of thepandemic and the financial excesses at the Fedand the Treasury, we do not have a depressionof unprecedented severity, your columnist willever after believe in miracles with an enduringchildlike faith. n

Send resume and one clipin confidence to

[email protected]

3 Local WriterS

Yahoo Finance reports that 42% of layoffs will be permanent


Page 19

What is fertilizer? When do we apply fer-tilizer? And how do we apply fertilizer tothe garden? In this article, I will cover the ba-sics of using fertilizer in your garden.

WHAT IS FERTILIZER?Think of fertilizers as nutritional supple-

ments. Plants need a variety of life-sustain-ing nutrients—such as nitrogen andphosphorus—which they take up from thesoil. Many soils contain adequate nutrientsfor the plants to absorb, but some soils donot, which is where fertilizers come in. Fer-tilizers are plant nutrients that are added tothe soil. The plants absorb these essential nu-trients to improve health, growth, and pro-ductivity. Soil nutrient deficiencies reduceand modify plant growth. You can also tellwhich nutrients your soil is lacking by thedeficiency symptoms they display, whichcan range from yellow leaves (lack of nitro-gen) to reduced flowering (lack of phospho-rus) to weak stems (lack of potassium) toblossom-end rot (lack of calcium). Not all soil needs fertilizer. Think about a

natural setting where fallen leaves andplants decompose in place. Nutrients arenaturally recycled into the soil and madeavailable to growing plants. If your soil is

rich in nutrients and the microbial life thataids in the plants’ uptake of these nutrients,(think well composted), then adding morecan upset that healthy ecosystem. In fact,more fertilizer is not better! Plants use onlythe nutrients that they need. To absorb morethan are unnecessary can result in abnormalgrowth. However, many annual garden soils do

need fertilizer. If you have grown and har-vested plants in your garden in the past,they have taken up nutrients from the soil,and those nutrients need to be replaced be-fore more plants are grown there especiallyif you do not add a good amount of composteach year.. This is where fertilizer (organicor processed) plays a role. Fertilizer replaceslost nutrients, which ensures that soil nutri-ent levels are at an acceptable level forhealthy growth.

ALWAYS TAKE A SOIL TESTThe only way to truly determine the level

of nutrients in your soil is to test it. Soil testsare generally available for free or low-costfrom your local cooperative extension, Visit:https://ag.umass.edu/soil-plant-nutrient-testing-laboratory/fact-sheets/sampling-in-structions-for-routine-soil-analysis or

purchase a test kit from a good garden cen-ter. A soil test is easy to do, and the resultsguide your fertilizer applications. You mayeven find that if your garden has high levelsof nutrients, so adding more will do nogood, and just cost you money.

HOW TO READ FERTILIZER LABELSEver seen those confusing labels on fertil-

izer bags? The numbers can seem dauntingat first, but once you know what they mean,they tell you exactly what you need to knowabout a fertilizer.The fertilizer label on a package will have

three numbers, such as 5-10-10. These num-bers refer to the percentage of Nitrogen (N),Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K), thethree nutrients that plants need the most. Ifyou add up the numbers, they are the per-centage of the bag’s total weight (the rest issimply filler to make it easy to handle).There may also be other nutrients, includingcalcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese.You can find these nutrients in manystrengths; they can be processed or organicand may come in liquid of granular formu-lations. “Complete” fertilizers contain allthree nutrients (example, 10-10-10). The nu-

YARDWORKSBy Tom Chamberland, ISA/TRAQ

Caring for what grows in your yardNext Page

Fertilizing your garden

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From Page 6

Churchill

ertheless, supported Lindemann's idea all theway. This speaks well of his concept of friend-ship, if nothing else.Most of the extended official family worked

well. One who did not was the son, Randolph.Randolph was often drunk and a gambler withan ability to lose most wagers. This led him tobe often in debt and a burden to his folks. For-tunately, he was away on military servicemuch of the time.His wife, Pamela, would become close to

Churchill and his wife, Clementine. She wouldshoulder the responsibilities of the new childand Randolph's debts.The young daughter, Mary, is also a pres-

ence. Early on she is a teenager enjoying life.By the end of the book, Mary is commandingan anti-aircraft unit. She never comes off as anairhead, but did grow up as the war pro-gressed.The secretary Colville defected to the air

force which Churchill both respected and re-

sented.As well done as the book is regarding the

story of the Churchill team is, it is also abouthow he won the war. No it isn't because hedidn't.The best Britain could hope for was to hold

off the Germans and that was only because ofthe moat called The English Channel and Win-ston knew that.If the goal was not to survive but to destroy

the National Socialist regime he would have tobring in the ringers. Churchill knew it even be-fore giving voice to it.On Page 24, in an exchange with his son he

exclaims, "I think I see my way through” Ran-dolph asks can we avoid defeat "Or beat thebastards?" "Of course we can beat them"Churchill "snapped." Then he said "I shall dragthe United States in."That was his sole strategy. He would court

the special envoys President Roosevelt sent,Harry Hopkins and Averell Harriman, moreardently than the suitor of a rich heiress.

In the end, it worked, or seemed to. TheFDR administration was ill disposed to theAxis powers and did not need much coaxing.The result of the war was not a British victory,but an American. Britain was bombed out asLarson details how it happened. She was un-able to keep her possessions and one by onethey were gone.Still, if the goal was to see off Hitler and his

regime, Winston was a roaring success. If itwas to preserve the Empire he was a failure.Larson did an excellent job bringing to life

wartime England in a time of great peril.Churchill was larger than life and in the wholeof his career there were some aspects that werequestionable. That first year of his government,however, was as a line of the speech has it, his"finest hour."He has one other claim to fame that makes

him unique. He would take more than onebath every day. Winston may have been his-tory's most hygienic head of government. n


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From Page 11Ron JablonskiBronze Star recipient Tom Chamberland - Yard

dust settled, his wife thought it was evenmore important to celebrate him on his up-coming 70th birthday, which led to the “honkfor a hero” on the Town Common.The were many things about the day on the

Common that Jablanski will always remem-ber — the balloon, the cards, the honks, thepeople. But two things stand out in his mind.“One is seeing the flags that people had

there,” he said. “I love the American Flag,and I love the Marine Corp flag.”

The other was his family. Jablanskiwas there with his wife, son, daughter-in-lawand grandchildren.“To be able to celebrate anything with your

family is a blessing,” he said. “Even just aSunday dinner. It may seem like just anotherday, but it’s not. Whether it comes from es-caping death, or from faith, or a combination,I don’t know, but it’s not just another day. It’sa blessing.” n

trient ratios are important. For example, ifyou want a lush green lawn, or growthwithout flower blooms, you have high ni-trogen. For more plant production (fruit)you might choose a fertilizer label with 3-20-20 (low in nitrogen). PROCESSED VS. ORGANIC FERTILIZERSProcessed fertilizers (also called “syn-

thetic” or “chemical” fertilizers) are man-ufactured from natural ingredients such asphosphate rock (P) and sodium chloride(NaCl) and potassium chloride (KCl) salts,but these are refined to be made more con-centrated. Many processed fertilizers arequick release in a water-soluble form todeliver nutrients quickly to the plant,which can be useful in some situations.Some processed fertilizers are coated toslow down the release.

Organic fertilizers are materials de-rived from plants that slowly release nu-

trients as the micro-organisms in the soilbreak down. Often applied in granularform most organic nutrients are slow re-lease, adding organic material to the soilso that you do not need to apply it nearlyas often. (Plus, they don’t leach into andpollute waterways, as do many of the syn-thetic, water-soluble fertilizers, whichplants cannot fully absorb.) While mostorganic fertilizers are slow-release prod-ucts, some release a portion of their nutri-ents quickly, like animal manure and fishemulsion.Chemically, the nutrients for processed

and organic fertilizers are the same. Ide-ally, slow is the way to go. Slow-releasegranular fertilizers meter out nutrients ina controlled, “digestible,” and safe man-ner, as opposed to fast-acting, synthetic,water-soluble fertilizers, which are, inessence, an overdose.

From Page 17

A fuller version of this story appears in ourelectronic magazine available to you. See page 15.

june 20 the sturbridge times town&country living · this magazine is published 11 times a year,...

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