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Several days ago my nearly three-year-old granddaughter Nahla and I went on

a great explore up the sidewalk of a nearbystreet, in our small town, in our little North-ern state. We do this often on sunny springand summer days. Nahla dons her bunny, which is a stuffed

toy that she wears on her back. The bunnyhas little straps that buckle at Nahla’s frontand a long one with a loop at the other end,that Papa, (that’s me) puts around his wrist.The strap keeps the bunny safe and stopsher from hopping out into the street.On this exploration, on that particular

day, several days ago, the three of us,(Nahla, Papa, and bunny) discovered manywonderful things, as we always do. Therewere trees with big green leaves, and birdsand bees to see. There were also all manner of tiny crawl-

ing things minding their own business onthe sidewalk, completely unaware thatsome of them would soon be dispatchedfrom this world by the intentional smack ofa toddler’s well-placed sandal.One way to tell for certain that warmer

weather is finally here, here in the GreenMountain state, is the arrival of a youngchild’s favorite flowers that have spreadand blossomed all over the lawns that linethe edge of our special sidewalk, and, prob-ably, yours. The golden blossoms of allthose dandelions are, truly, gold to a tod-dler as she gathers as many as will fit in hersmall hands, gifts, wilted or otherwise, thatMom and Grammy will receive when ourexplore is over. There is ‘another’ flower, or at least a

completely different looking flower, a lofty,fluffy-ticklish one inhabiting those samelawns. For some reason, my granddaughteris almost innately aware, as are millions ofother toddlers, that if you pick one of thesewhite, feathery things you can blow on itand something wonderful will happen.

This flower’s seedlings will loft to the air,‘like the down of a thistle’ as one old storydescribes a different occurrence, on an ad-venture, an explore, of their own. The tiny seeds, which some believe, even

with their ingenious method of propaga-tion, are the products of mere chance, willdrift away, each on its own little, organic-down parachute attached by thin stem.They all will land, and some will find theirway into the soil.Those things are the only hope of this

flower’s species, and they seem very adeptat succeeding in their task, especially at thistime of the summer. All future generationsof them will, someday, blossom intoNahla’s ‘other’, yellow flowers. The earlygreens of some may be picked and eaten.Many will live to become the fluffy oneswhich will be spread further into the futureby another year’s breezes, or excitedlyplucked by some of my grandchildren’s-grandchildren’s generation and blown onout onto the wind. Thank you, Nahla, for spreading the

gold.

“Like the down of a thistle.”

Summer sidewalks and dandelions


By Richard MorchoeBOOKREVIEWThe Management of Savagery: How America's National Security State Fueled the Rise of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Donald TrumpBy Max BlumenthalVerso, 2019Hardcover, 400 PagesISBN-10: 1788732294ISBN-13: 978-1788732291List: $26.95 Amazon: $22.91

The event scheduled for April 3, 2019 atPolitics and Prose Bookstore in D.C. neverhappened because it was suppressed. In thenation that supposedly prizes freedom ofspeech, a group that seems to have a prob-lem with that was able to pressure the storeinto canceling an event with Max Blumen-thal because they found his viewpoint un-settling.Mr. Blumenthal would be speaking about

his book, The Management of Savagery:How America's National Security State Fu-eled the Rise of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and DonaldTrump. An organization called the SyrianAmerican Council, a neocon allied groupthat advocates for the US to bomb Syria inopposition to its government, didn't wantanyone to hear his message. They also sup-port the arming of extremist Jihadis andhave hosted a speaker who calls for geno-cide of the Alawite minority.That the Syrian American Council would

not want Max to speak is understandable ashe calls out the anti-Assad factions for theirsins and there are many. That said, there area lot of others in this country who might notwant his book to get much publicity as somany have been on the wrong side of every-thing going back to our support of the Mu-jahedin in Afghanistan against the Russians.Not a few of the best and the brightestthought supporting a war that could bleedthe Soviets to collapse would bring about, inthe words of one writer, "the end of history."That has not worked out and Blumenthal'sbook seems the best narrative of all that hashappened since we got involved in what herefers to as "The Afghan Trap."Boston born, Blumenthal started covering

the Middle East when he worked for anArab language newspaper in Lebanon

about the time the Syrian Civil War began.He has since written for newspapers andwebsites and has authored several books.Max is the son of Sidney Blumenthal who

has long been associated with Hillary Clin-ton. In The Management of Savagery, the au-thor does not spare the record of the formerSecretary of State.That does not mean Blumenthal fils has

gone over to the right as a son rebellingagainst the father. The man is a fellow of theNation Institute so he is firmly on team pro-gressive, but as Management of Savagerymakes clear, he does not let ideological soli-darity get in the way of journalism, whichmakes him in today's environment, raraavis.Thus, his recounting of Clinton's tenure at

state is not kind to Hillary, but if he is cor-rect, it could not be otherwise. Clinton wasan eager proponent of "military humanism."Blumenthal described it in these terms, "Un-like the neoconservatives, who made thecase for unilateral armed interventions onthe messianic grounds of eradicating "evil,"these liberals argued for military action outof the urgent need for "civilian protection,"or to prevent a genocide that appeared im-minent." In Republican administrations, an old

boys network* were the ones getting us intouseless overseas imbroglios. Under Hillary,it seemed a girls club.As Max notes on Page 143, "The military

humanists marketed their doctrine of pre-emptive military action as "Responsibility toProtect,” or R2P." This allowed them to"mask imperial designs behind a patina of"genocide prevention."" Further, "With thisneat trick, they effectively neutralized pro-gressive antiwar elements and tarred those

who dared to protest their wars as dictatorapologists."The advocates of this concept of moral

war would get their chance to put the doc-trine into practice. According to Blumen-thal, "Samantha Power was the celebrityicon of military humanism.” A journalistwho "wrote George Orwell-style dispatcheshighlighting Serb brutality and the need forintervention" during the breakup of Yu-goslavia. When "NATO bombed Serbforces… she rejoiced."In the Obama administration, she would

be on his National Security Council with an"important sounding" title. Power wouldhave a "kindred spirit" in UN ambassadorSusan Rice. The two "found an eager pa-tron" in Hillary. Another cheerleader for ac-tion was the aptly named Anne MarieSlaughter, Clinton's director of policy plan-ning. Their chance happened when Libya came

into play. Muammar Gaddafi was the coun-try's strongman and though he ruled withan iron fist, you could get away with a lot aslong as you did not hint at regime opposi-tion. Citizens got social welfare, educationand healthcare. Gaddafi had been trying to come in from

the cold for years and seemed to have madehis peace with the West. Still, as Max noted,he was just a tad too independent. Denyinga contract to Bechtel rankled the Bush ad-ministration.When the Arab Spring broke out, Hillary

and Co. would get on board. It would alllead to a horrible denouement for Gaddafi.Clinton would celebrate the man's end ac-cording to the author, by lighting "up withglee. "We came, we saw, he died!"" Maxwould call her laugh after, "a self-satisfied

Adjacent Page

The ignoble savage is unmanageable


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cackle." Insulting yes, but any of the mil-lions who saw it would be hard put to dis-agree. Anyway, Blumenthal is, as MontyPython put it, "Cruel, but fair." Among themany descriptors he's used, was "dreary" forMarco Rubio. Who can gainsay that?If you have to ask how that worked out

for Libya, you have been living under arock. The country is more a mess than Iraq.Did the team learn any lessons? Nah, theypatronized a rebellion in Syria becauseAssad was not to their liking.This time, The Syrian president was a

tough nut to crack and he had something

Gaddafi didn't, friends, or at least allies.Russia, Iran and Hezbollah see it in their in-terest to associate with the Damascusregime.In this endeavor, The US has some unsa-

vory allies, such as al-Nusra which is asso-ciated with al-Qaeda. We tout moderaterebels, but they seem ephemeral so we gowith fighters who are a bit extreme. Hey,war, like politics makes for strange bedfel-lows. That war drags on and John Kerry would

replace Hillary who had a bigger mission,becoming president.

It should have happened, but DonaldTrump happened instead. A bombastic vul-garian, he outsmarted everyone. In hind-sight, you almost don't need to read thebook, but at the time it did not seem so in-evitable.Jeb Bush, was to be anointed by GOP loy-

alists, but he was so easy to dispatch, espe-cially when called out on his brother's recordof not "keeping us safe." Jeb's desire for ano-fly zone in Syria would also be a loser asAmerica was tired of stupid interventions.In the general election, Clinton would

Page 22


By Elisa KrochmalnyckyjAn informal “tennis anyone?” post on

Facebook has led to a loosely-run group foranyone who’d like to play but can’t findthe time for a formal commitment. “It’s nothing structured, just recreational

games for people who would love to pickup their tennis rackets again, but havebusy lives,” said Sturbridge’s Devra King-man, who started the group. “It’s im-promptu — singles, doubles, people fromother towns. Anyone who wants to get to-gether and play tennis when they get a

chance.”That includes Kingman, who has five

children and has not played in years. “I have wanted to play, but I just haven’t

the time,” she said. “Now, with theyoungest turning 17 this month and driv-ing, I am going to try to find the time.”Key to the group is that it’s unstruc-

tured, with no set match times or commit-ments.“Everyone’s schedule is so crazy, that to

try to do it on a regular schedule — likeSaturday at 3:00 — makes it almost impos-sible, with all the sports and the other stuffeveryone needs to be at,” she said.There was so much interest in the idea,

Kingman started a Facebook group so peo-ple could connect for impromptu games.The Facebook group, called “Tennis Any-one,” is a closed group, but anyone whowants to join just needs to ask.Kingman didn’t really think she’d get as

big a response as she’s gotten.“At first I just put it out to my friends,”

she said. “People were responding on line,or they’d run into me and say they thinkit’s a great idea. A lot of my runningfriends are interested.”Kingman played tennis competitively

when she was younger, as well as whenshe met her husband, Stephen.“When Steve and I were younger, it was

something we could do together, and weplayed all the time,” she said. “He likes togolf, but I don’t, so it would be nice to havethis to do together again.”The group will also be a good way to

meet with friends, and do something funand inexpensive, she said.“Steve and I could just play against each

other, or get together with another couple,”she said. “Or if we don’t want to play withthe guys, we could just get together withthe women.” Kingman is hoping that the Tennis Any-

one group allows her, and others, get toknow new people.“It’s a fun way for people to meet,” she

said. “Especially people new to town —single people, couples, anyone.”Kingman always sees empty tennis

courts around, so she doesn’t think findinga location will be difficult.“There’s the high school courts, there are

the recreation department courts, and thereare some courts in Southbridge,” she said. Within a week of creating the Facebook

page, Kingman had already scheduled agame with Janet Pelletti Jarzabski, who,like Kingman, needed an impetus to dustoff the tennis racket.“I think it’s a really great idea,” Jarzabski

said. “I haven’t picked up a tennis racketin years. It sounds fun.”Jarzabski, who lives in Sturbridge,

played on her high-school tennis team.“That’s where I got my love of tennis,”

she said. Jarzabski always played doubles, which

she plans to do again.“I don’t have the stamina or endurance

for singles,” she said. “It’s been so long. Iam hoping that I still remember how toplay, and that the motor pathway is stillthere.”Jarzabski is happy to have a reason to be

Tennis,anyone?Local unscheduledgames being arrangedthrough social media


outside doing exercise. “When Devra talked to me about it, I

thought I’d give it a whirl,” she said. “NowI need to recruit a partner.”Jarzabski’s husband, Peter, plays, and

even though he’s not a serious tennisplayer, he’d likely be great at it, she said.“He’s more the novice, but he can pick

up any sport and play it well,” she said.“I’m a little more textbook, and he relies onhis athleticism.”Equally fun, she said, would be meeting

new players through the Facebook group.“We can just meet down at the courts and

play, have a round robin, or just swing theracket,” she said.Jarzabski, who has a son and a daughter,

both of whom are involved in sports, saidit will be fun to be the one playing again.“We’ve sat at so many sporting events for

the kids, it’s time for us to actually be theones playing the sports,” she said.

“Tennis Anyone” is a closed Facebook group, but anyone wanting to join needs only to ask.


Jared Wetherbeeliving his dream

20-year-oldSturbridge left-hander

will be eligiblefor the

MLB draftnext year.

By Elisa KrochmalnyckyjNo matter how demanding the road to

professional baseball can be, every singletime MLB-draft hopeful Jared Wetherbeesteps into a ballpark, time stands still.“You get on that field and you’re 10 again,”

he said. “You’re 10 and you’re back in Stur-bridge Little League.”But the fields that Wetherbee, 20, has been

playing on lately are a far cry from SturbridgeLittle League’s Town Barn field. For the pasttwo years, the left-handed pitcher has playedfor Division-1 Elon University in North Car-olina. Last summer he played in a collegiatesummer league in Virginia, where he wasnamed the 11-team league’s “Pitcher of theYear.”This summer, he’s back in Massachusetts,

playing in the the Cape Cod Baseball League,which is often a springboard to the MLB, as itwas for current Boston Red Sox players JackieBradley Jr., Mitch Moreland and Chris Sale.“When I got the news this fall that I was

going to be playing for the Cape Cod Leaguein Harwich, I was excited because it’s seen assuch a prestigious league,” he said. “About asecond after that I was excited to be close tohome. Especially for my parents.”Playing for a D-1 college team and Cape

Cod League team is everything that the for-mer 10-year-old Sturbridge Little Leagueplayer dreamed it would be.“Even then I had aspirations to play college

baseball and to have baseball be as much apart of my life as I could make it,” he said.“This is my dream and my goal.”What would have surprised that 10-year-


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old is how much work, travel and sacrifice itwould take.“The process of getting to this point and the

way you have to go about it, I didn’t really ex-pect that,” he said. “You think ‘it’s going to besuch a great time,’ but you don’t know howmuch work it is.”There’s work year-round.“When you are off the field, you are train-

ing to get yourself in shape,” he said. “Youhave to go in and lift. You have to go and prac-tice as hard as you can. You have school. Youhave homework. It’s a grind.”There are bus rides, rainouts, living with

host families and rarely seeing your own fam-ily.For Wetherbee, it’s worth it. That, he real-

izes, is part of why he’s made it to where he

is.“It’s easy to love the game when you’re

playing,” he said. “It is another thing to be offthe field and love the game. Is there ever apoint I fell out of love with it? No.”It was back in Sturbridge Little League that

Wetherbee began to get noticed.“I started to be good at a young age,” he

said. “And it was very easy for me to listen topeople say ‘you’re amazing, you’re the great-est thing since sliced bread.’”Even that early on, Wetherbee resisted let-

ting any of that to go to his head.

“My dad told me ‘you’re good, and youmight be successful in Sturbridge LittleLeague, but if you want to dominate in highschool and in college at the D-1 level, youhave to be great,’” he said. Wetherbee is clear that is a combination of

nature and nurture. “When you start out, it’s just God-given

ability, and I thank God for that at night,”Wetherbee said. “But if I had grown up withsomeone else, I wouldn’t be where I am. Myparents, they pour as much love and effort

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into this as I do.” That wasn’t always easy for his parents, as

Wetherbee is the second of four sons. It be-came even more of a challenge after Wether-bee moved away from Sturbridge. But thatdidn’t stop his parents.“A couple of weeks ago they took an ‘after-

noon trip’ to Towson University, which is sixhours away, to watch me pitch,” he said. “Itwas awesome. to have that level of support, Iappreciate it so much, because you can neverdo this alone. You can’t just go out and do itby yourself.”Every single time his parents were in the

stands — from Sturbridge Little League T-balland the 15 years that have followed — it mat-tered.“Having my parents at a game, that’s so im-

portant to me,” he said, then laughed. “Andevery time my father saw me pitch, he’d paceup and down the stands. I’d give up a hit, and

there he’d go,” he said, then stopped laugh-ing. “It was almost calming. Then after thegame he’d give me a hug and say ‘good to seeyou bud.’”Every bit of the time and effort has been

worth it.“You go on the field, and you forget all the

work. You love the game. You really do,” hesaid, then thought for a minute. “You reallyhave to love it to play at this level.”

Wetherbee is eligible for the MLBdraft next year. Being drafted would truly bethe culmination of a lifetime of following his

dream.“One of the greatest things you can do in

this world is play a game and get paid for it— I mean, you’re playing a game!” he said.“The second I step on that mound, it’s likeeverything else leaves you. All you are is rightthere. Nothing else matters in that moment.”Wetherbee was quiet for a minute.“I hope that…” He stopped, then started

again. “Next year is my draft year. If that’s inmy future, I don’t know who else to thank butGod for that. That would be the beginning ofa new ride, but it would also be the end of agreat ride I am thankful for.”Regardless of what happens next year, or

after that, Wetherbee has already lived hisdream.“I am in that small percentage who get to

play college baseball, and now, I’m spendinga summer playing baseball on the Cape, andI’m able to go home,” he said. “I don’t knowthat it can get any better than that.” n

From previous page

Jared Wetherbee

“Every time my father saw me pitch,

he’d pace up and down the stands.”


Page 16

By Elisa KrochmalnyckyjFor 31 years now, several dozen volun-

teers drive around with pruning shearsand gallons of water in their trunks, qui-etly tending the flower barrels that adornSturbridge’s roadsides.“People are proud of doing it, and

proud of their barrel,” said volunteerMegan Panek. “Adopting a barrel is asought-after thing. There’s actually a wait-ing list.”The barrel season starts at the end of

spring, when flowers are planted in timefor the town’s Memorial Day parade.“Right now we’ve got red geraniums,

blue petunias, and lobularia, which arewhite ones that get really big and comedown the side,” said Adopt-a-Pot Presi-dent Polly Currier. “That goes with theflags that are in there.”Those flowers remain until the end of

summer, when they are replaced with fallflowers. Just before Thanksgiving, every-thing is emptied and the barrels are filledwith whatever winter décor each volunteerwants. That allows for some creativity, saidBill Haggerty, whose barrel is outside ofOld Sturbridge Village.“Some people use wintergreens, some

people use ribbons, some use fake winter-berries — I use real winterberries,” he said.“That’s a little harder now, because unfor-tunately, my favorite spot for berries gottaken out by the tornado.”Some adopters decorate for Halloween,

and everyone uses the flags, which are do-nated by the Veterans' Office at the TownHall, for Memorial Day and July 4th.Haggerty has gotten in the habit of post-

ing pictures of his barrel on Facebook.“I have friends across the state and all

Adopt-a-Pot — more fun than a barrel full of flowers

“Adopt-a-Pot” President Polly Currier, left, and Past PresidentAnn Marie Argitis tend one of the 30 flower barrels that Adopt-a-pot volunteers tend throughout the year.


r MUSINGS FROM LONG HILL s

BY RICHARD MORCHOE

DARKNESS OF THE SUN

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.

The drive from Long Hill to Sturbridgeis routine, but barring some auto mishap,mostly pleasant. At certain times of day,sunrise or sunset, it can be sublime. Thereis a farm on the left that milks cows. Outfront is occasionally something for salewith small signage.This June, there was a different type of

sign up. It was not on a poster nor did itlook carefully drawn. It consisted of twowhite wrapped hay bales with words writ-ten in black, "Stop the Solar Farm." Unless you drive with blinders on,

you've seen them. They seem to be situ-ated on slopes that decline gradually totake advantage of the sun. Whatever viewexisted previously is now completely ob-scured by banks of panels. Sometimes,what seems a whole forest is uprooted toset it up.The farmer who put up that bale sign

appears to have had some unwanted con-troversy and announced his withdrawalfrom the battle on social media.If instead of heading to Sturbridge one

takes Brookfield Road towards Brimfieldmany more protest signs come into viewon the right. It turns out that the panels areto be set on a hill behind those dwellings. Not everyone was going silent and so-

The primary reason you make a will is tomake it easy for your loved ones to

know what do to do with your stuff whenyou die. But what about what to do withyou if, before your die, you can’t decide foryourself.The basic estate plan includes three doc-

uments that allow your loved ones to makemedical decisions if you can’t.The first, a health care proxy, appoints

the person who will be making those deci-sions. Often it is the spouse, but if there isno spouse, you want to choose the son,daughter, friend, or other person you trustto know how you would want to be treatedin a medical emergency. You should alsohave a long conversation with that personabout your medical treatment beliefs andpreferences.Once appointed, that person should be

able to get information from the caregiverswho are treating you. The second form, aHIPPA, authorizes hospitals to talk to thehealth care proxy about your medical is-sues.Finally, the third document deals with

the ultimate decision – whether to let youpass in peace if you’re never going to wakeup again. A living will says that if two doc-tors agree that you are in a permanent veg-etative state then don’t take any heroicmeasures to keep you alive.Massachusetts is one of only two states

that don’t have a law that makes the instruc-tions in a living will binding on the doctors.This all the more reason to have one.Along with the health care proxy and

HIPPA, it will make sure your loved oneshave the power to let you go when you’reready to go.

cial media had leads to other opponents.Krista Virchow is a longtime resident

and her sister lives next door. She will bedirectly affected and when I spoke withher, her voice was emotional and the con-cern was heartfelt. Krista with deep rootselsewhere, chose to live along BrookfieldRoad saying "my home is my life."I spoke to Krista's brother-in law, Mike

Burke, who said one day heavy equip-ment arrived to build an access roadthrough the driveway Krista and Mikeand his wife share. He was able to sendthem off, but that will hardly be the endof it. The forested hill is to be clear cut.The solar company made Krista and

her sister an offer of $3,000 each for 25years to use the right of way betweentheir neighboring houses. They mighthave been trying some divide and con-quer tactics as they also offered one sib-ling $6,000 for an easement. Mike told me of the fortune being of-

fered to the landowners who will be ableto move away while all their neighborsare stuck. There was a meeting at the town hall

on June 17th with lots of questions andfew answers and it is to be continued. Itturns out, there are other solar farms on

Final Instructions


tap for Warren. Townspeopleare in for a long fight.Can the little guys win? The

odds are not good. Over inMonson, a similar battle hasbeen going on since 2016 and itis not over yet. Jessica Lee Allenis a daughter of the town andlifelong resident. It also appearsthat she is the point person in theopposition.It is from Jessica I first heard

the term, "Big Solar." We've allheard of Big Pharma (much inthe news with the Opioid crisis),Big Tech, the Big Banks, et al.When you put Big in front of anindustry, it signals a negative.It is hard to blame Ms. Allen

for the way she feels. She andother citizens voted it down onAugust 22, 2016, but the BigSolar Company saw that comingand filed what is known as anANR or Approval Not Requiredon the 17th to get the projectgrandfathered.It appears enterprises that are

part of Big Solar and their legalteams learn from each projectwhile for the small-town folkwho want to resist, it is always,as one might say, "the first

rodeo."Supposedly, the Monson solar

farm, though built, does nothave final approval to be run-ning. Something is happeningas Jessica and her mom hear anaudible hum coming from theproject. I heard it too when I vis-ited the array.In an inquiry to Mass DOER

(Department of Energy Re-sources) to find out if there wereany subsidies to the project wecame up empty, as the stateagency claimed no knowledge ofa project at the stated address.DOER did acknowledge onedown the street that became op-erational in February of this year,but according to Jessica, that ad-

dress does not exist.As it is, Jessica and the team

fight on though the panels areup and humming.

In an interesting and inform-ative book, Out of Gas: The Endof the Age of Oil, Professor

Page 23

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Hamilton�Rod�&�Gun�Club24�Hamilton�Road��•��Sturbridge,�MA�[email protected]�•��508.347.3389

Aerial view of a modern concentrated solar power plant © 2019 Photo by Novikov Aleksey


Adopt-a-Pot

around, and I always get comments like‘that’s beautiful!’ and ‘I love this idea, Iwish my town would do it,’” he said.The program started back in 1998, when

Sturbridge was preparing for its 250th an-niversary. The town set aside money for afew flower barrels to beautify the TownCommon and some crossroads, and waslooking for volunteers to set it all up.“My sorority agreed to do it, and that’s

how it all got started,” said Ann Marie Ar-gitis, who was president of Adopt-a-Pot atits inception. Even though she steppeddown from that position six years ago,she’s never quite gotten over the urge toget out and water or weed a barrel as shepasses by.After that first anniversary year, the

sorority’s role ended, but Argitis didn’twant to see the program end. So she wentaround asking her neighbors and friendsto each adopt a barrel, and ended up with16 volunteers, which including her, meant17 barrels. “People were so great about it,” Argitis

said, then was pensive for a moment. “Ilived in a wonderful neighborhood —Cricket Drive. I hope it’s still as good. I hadso many good friends there. This is a greattown.”The number of barrels eventually grew

to 42, with most barrels being up anddown routes 20 and 131. The half-dozenaround at the Town Common were elimi-nated because the town decided to go withlarger planters. The barrel at the triangle atroutes 20 and 131, which was another ofthe originals, was eliminated because theintersection is a little too scary for volun-teers.Each volunteer is in charge of one barrel,

and still, there’s never a shortage of peoplewaiting to adopt a pot. Some are adoptedby women, some by men, some by families— and some are even inherited.“When I bought our house on Stoney-

brook Drive, the woman who sold it to us,Cecilia Vaida, told me if I bought thehouse, I bought the barrel,” Panek said.

“So I took it over — it was the one at thebottom of Church Street.”Then a local insurance company bought

its building on the corner of Church Streetand asked to take over that barrel. SoPanek gave it up, and adopted the barrelnext to the Mill Building across the street.Among the current adopters are three

who have been there since the beginning:one is Mary Blanchard, whose barrel is atFarquhar Road; the second is ElaineWheaton, who along with her husbandand their daughter, Cheryl Wheaton-Reyesshare two barrels — one at the turn-around at B.T.’s Smokehouse and the otherat the Shaw’s Plaza and Fairview ParkRoad.The third adopter who has been a vol-

unteer since the beginning is Jocelyn Bou-vier.“Mine is at the bottom of New Boston

Road,” Bouvier said. “It’s really hard to getto. It’s better now than when they weredoing construction, but it’s been a hardspot since the beginning.”Argitis looked surprised.“Gee Jocelyn, I am sorry I gave that to

you!” she said. “We’re very…loosey-goosey,” Currier

said with a laugh. “We don’t have anymeetings or anything, I just do everythingby email. Everyone just rolls with it.”The group, which is funded by the town,

buys its flowers and plants from Lam-oureux Greenhouses. “Dick Lamoureux has been great to us,”

Currier said. “He delivers them to myhouse for no charge, even if I’m late in or-dering — and I’m always late in ordering.That’s the only stress I have: when I say‘Oooh, it’s close to May 1 and I haven’tcalled Dick!’ But he doesn’t seem to mindtoo much.”Currier can’t remember how long ago

she adopted her first barrel. She’s had afew since then.“I joined back when Ann Marie was

president,” she said. “My first barrel wason the Common. Then, when they took thebarrels off the Common, I did the urns atTown Hall. Then I took over Ann Marie’sbarrel at the Post Office and became the or-ganizer. Then I traded for the one at the topof Whittemore. Pat Barnicle does the PostOffice now.”Currier also coordinates coverage for

adopters who are vacationing or haveother reasons they aren’t able to tend totheir barrel.“People usually email me when they are

going out of town, and I have people thatare always willing to cover,” Currier said.“And I drive around with those big bluewater jugs in the back of my truck all sum-mer long.” n

From page 13


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By Tom ChamberlandAssociate Member, Sturbridge Trail Committee

Safe summer hikingaround Sturbridge

It's 55 degrees and raining in mid-June,outside my office as I write this, andlooking online, it seems my little piece ofheaven is cooler than most placesaround Southern New England on thisday. Wondering when summer will re-turn with its warm days and nights. Butin preparation for that return, here aresome safety tips for summer hiking:

Two facts: First, hiking/walking is still by far the

most popular outdoor pastime, and sec-ond, summer is when most of our hikingtrails see most of their traffic. Any time

you leave the road behind and go ex-ploring, it's a good idea to have at leastsome clue about what could go wrongand how to avoid it. But the heat of highsummer in many ways mimics the cold

of deep winter: It's easier to get yourselfin trouble in extreme heat or cold. Onebad backcountry decision can make youawfully uncomfortable. Two can kill

Page 19

Town&CountryLivingThe Sturbridge Times

Magazine

ONLYTHE ADVERTISERS ON THESE PAGESBRING THIS MAGAZINE TO YOU!


greater sturbridge’s fitness expert

By Julie GerrishPERSONAL TRAINERJULIE GERRISH FITNESS, STURBRIDGE

HEALTH&FITNESS

The five biggest fitness myths debunked

Iget questions from clients all the time:What is the best way to work out? Whatare the best foods to eat for peak perform-ance? What should I be doing if I want tolose weight? It can be downright confusingtrying to sift through all the diet and exer-cise advice out there. Here are the mostcommon fitness myths and why they don’twork:

Myth #1: Cardiovascular exercise isthe best way to increase your metab-olism and burn lots of calories: Simplyput, metabolism is the process of convert-ing food into energy, and when you move

more, you need more energy, so you burnmore calories when you exercise. Di youknow that strength training actually burnsmore calories than cardio training becauseit uses more muscles. Because your body isrecruiting more muscles and has to repairall those muscles afterward, strength train-ing also raises your metabolism after youleave the gym, for up to 36 hours after astrength workout. The recruitment of moremuscle groups makes it a more completeworkout than cardio, which generally fo-cuses on the lower body. My advice: Mixthings up and do both cardio and strengthtraining together: take a boot camp or highintensity interval training class, or mix it upon your own, alternating a strength exercisewith a burst of cardio. In addition to torch-ing calories, these types of workouts aremore complete, exciting and challenging,with the great additional benefits of in-creasing your endurance and your heart’sefficiency.

Myth #2: You don’t need to changeyour diet; you can lose weight just byworking out. I see this all the time withclients who start exercising regularly butcontinue to eat high calorie foods and drinkalcohol, and then lament about how they’renot losing weight. You need to change yourlifestyle, and unless you’re burning morecalories than you’re taking in, you’re notgoing to lose weight, bottom line. Peoplealso tend to overestimate the amount ofcalories they burn in a typical workout, andunderestimate the calories of the food anddrink they’re consuming. You have tochange what you eat if you want to loseweight, period. A combination of diet andexercise is the healthiest way to lose weightand build lean muscle.

Myth #3: If you do a bunch of sit upsyou will get 6 pack abs; also known asthe spot training myth: Doing a lot ofone type of exercise will get one area verystrong, but neglecting all of the other sup-porting core muscles makes you moreprone to injury. For example, if you do abunch of crunches, your rectus abdominusand hip flexor muscles will get worked butthe other core muscles will not, and youneed those other core muscles to supportand stabilize your body. In addition, sit upsput a lot of strain on the spine, particularlythe lower back. I live by the motto that toomuch of anything isn’t good for you. Yourbody will be much more balanced andready to take on the demands of sport andlife if you do a wide variety of core trainingexercises such as planks, bridges, deadlifts,chops and squats.

Myth #4: You have to lift heavy toget a good workout. If you are a body-builder and want to build mass, you dowant to lift heavy weights. However, mostpeople are not bodybuilders and just wantto be healthy, increase bone density andlean muscle mass and decrease fat. Startwith appropriately challenging weightsand work up to heavier weights. If you aredeconditioned or have an injury this couldbe as little as a 3 pound dumbbell at first.One of my clients started lifting one pounddumbbells for her arms and is now pickingup 10 and 12 pound dumbbells a year later.Don’t just limit yourself to dumbbells orweight training machines: your body re-sponds best to a wide variety of modalities,from like sand bags, battling ropes, body-weight, resistance bands, sleds, medicine

Page 23


you. Yeah, I know I sound alarmist some-times, but hyperthermia (heat exhaus-tion/heat stroke) and thunderstorms insummer can be every bit as real and dan-gerous as hypothermia and snow are inwinter. Why not pay attention and be safeand comfortable while you are having fun?

Here are some hints for safe, fun hikingin the summer:Get up early! Summer mornings are an

absolutely magical time for a hike (or, forthat matter, a bike ride or paddle outing).The world is quieter and, most important,cooler early in the morning. Most peoplehave a set distance they want to hike in aday. Summer days are so long that if youstart at first light (or even before with aheadlamp) you can get in your three, fiveor even 10 miles before the heat reallybuilds. If you are climbing a hill, it's a won-derful bonus to get going early and be ontop to watch the sunrise.Sunset hiking can be nice, too, but the

day's heat sometimes lingers into the duskand you'd better be prepared for night hik-ing if your journey takes longer than youinitially thought.One note about hiking at dawn and dusk

on hot summer days: Mosquitoes tend to bemore active then, so be prepared with re-pellent or bug-proof clothing. This isn't abad idea even if you are hiking mid-day.Deer flies can be annoying and a longerhike might take you into mosquito time.

Another important tip for enjoyingsummer hiking is to choose your routewith the sun and heat in mind. Trails thatcross open, rocky ledges can be ovens ona summer afternoon, while trails that fol-low flowing brooks in the shady forestcan seem 20 degrees cooler than the am-bient air temperature (and you can al-ways splash in the water to cool off).Human beings are passive solar col-

lectors, so if you want to stay comfort-able, cover up when you're in the sunwith light-colored, lightweight clothing.And drink lots of plain water, not sugarydrinks with caffeine. Even if you have ameans of purifying it, water sourcesalong the trail are often unreliable insummer, so make sure you carry plenty.

One more safety tip: Don't go out onopen ledges if you hear thunder or seestorm clouds. That's just common sense.Summer hiking is meant to be fun, so doit safely!

Trail events in July: July 20th is our third Saturday of the

month trail day. Monthly trail volunteerwork days are always held on the thirdSaturday of the month, 8 am to noon.Hosted by the Friends of SturbridgeTrails for updates, current event infor-mation and more visit our website:http://www.sturbridgetrails.org/index.html or like us on Facebook: www.face-book.com/pages/Friends-of-Stur-bridge-Trails n

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From Page 17

Safe summer hiking


YARDWORKSBy Tom Chamberland, ISA/TRAQ, MQTWCaring for what grows in your yard

Probably not the best kept secretaround town, but after 35 years I

have decided to “hang up the chain saw”and retire from the position of Tree War-den for the Town of Sturbridge, effectiveJune 30th. For trees, being 35 years old,is considered to be young, however for aperson, its almost ½ a lifetime. I first ranfor and was elected to the position of TreeWarden in 1984 and reelected in 1987. In1988 the town adopted a new charter andthe position was reestablished as a three-year appointed position under the Direc-tor of Public Works. A position I haveheld continuously since. In 1989 I startedthe town on earning the Tree City USAaward, from the National Arbor DayFoundation. In 2019 we received our30th consecutive TC USA award and our15th growth award. Growth Awards aregiven for new and improved projects oreducation, this monthly article in Stur-bridge Times Country Living Magazinewas a growth award. Sturbridge is nowone of only a handful of communities inMassachusetts over the 30-year mark. Over these 35 years I have handed out

some 38,000 tree seedlings and plantedwell over 1000 street trees. Thanks to thehelp of our DPW crews, town contrac-tors, and the many town residents whohave “adopted” a tree. Memorable events? Yes, there are

plenty. From the 1990 town meetingwhere my tree budget was cut to $0, butI fought on the town meeting floor to getit funded to $1, so if an emergency oc-curred, we had an account established towork from, and sure enough we had ahurricane that year. Earning my Interna-tional Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Cer-tified Arborist certification. Conductingthe town’s first street tree inventory, (and

still a challenge to maintain!) My involve-ment with the Massachusetts Tree War-dens and Forester’s Association

(MTWFA), starting in the mid 90’s andbeing elected their President in 1999-2000,bringing their state conference to the Stur-bridge Host in 2000, and where it is stillbeing held annually, and still honored tobe appointed to their advisory committeeas a small-town tree warden. The 1997 Icestorm, the infamous “tree 25” of McGilpinRd., which was the basis for starting theTree Warden Advisory Comm, but that hasunfortunately fell by the wayside due tolack of interest by town residents. The insect invasions of the Hemlock

Woolley Adelgid, Asian Long Horned Bee-tle (hopefully NEVER to be found in Stur-bridge) and just Identified in 2018, theEmerald Ash Borer. And who can now for-get the 5-year spring drought and resultingGypsy Moth infestation, resulting in over800 dead street trees. I recall fondly the many Arbor Day cer-

emonies held at Burgess with the studentsand faculty, along with working with the4th grade class to create a Burgess TreeGuide, a book of the trees around theschool, hopefully that guide will get up-dated to reflect trees on the new schoolgrounds. Establishing the Non-Hazardoustree removal by law, to work alongsideMass General Laws Chapter 87, the publicshade tree law, that sets out the responsi-bilities of a Tree Warden. Working with thevarious Town Planners on site plan andnew street landscaping bylaws and regu-lations along with adopting the ScenicRoads act. As a certified Arborist, and working for

the U S Army Corps of Engineers as a ParkRanger (the town position of Tree Wardenis a part time stipend position) I had theopportunity to deploy to New Orleans in2007 to assist in recovery efforts and therehad my first real exposure to FEMA debris

Our extradordinary tree warden reflects on his 35 years of service

“It is time to say goodbye,and thanks,

for the opportunity to have served our community.”TOM CHAMBERLAND

Now Retired Tree Warden


management and removal regulations. Fromthat experience I was asked by the US ForestService to be a part of their new national train-ing program, called the Urban Forest StrikeTeam, to help train community Arborists howto help and assist their communities maximizeFEMA assistance but to also help in recoveryand preservation of their community Forestsfollowing natural disasters. Involved in thisprogram I traveled throughout the easternUnited States annually training some 50 ar-borists. Little did I anticipate needing thattraining and experience here in Sturbridge in2011 when Sturbridge would experience threedeclared natural disasters that year. It washeartbreaking to see some of trees I hadplanted, so early in their life span, to be dam-aged and destroyed. For my involvement in the MTWFA, the

UFST, and at that time a 20-year TC USA com-munity I was presented the George E StoneFounders award from the Mass Tree Wardens.The Stone award is their highest award givenoccasionally upon the exemplary service of aperson or organization involved in Tree Pro-tection. The following year, 2009, Sturbridgewas recognized as a “Sustainable Tree Com-munity” by the Massachusetts Dept of Con-servation and Recreation. And a special thankyou to the Sturbridge Lion’s & Rotary clubsfor their citizenship awards. So, after 35 years, of good days and bad,

tornadoes, snowstorms and now that everpresent Gypsy Moth, multiple awards andrecognitions ending with the 30th consecutiveTree City USA Award. It is time to say good-bye, and thanks, for the opportunity to serveour community of Sturbridge. But fear notreaders, if the editors so allow, I plan on con-tinuing writing this monthly article, but nowwith a byline of “Retired Tree Warden”.

Tom Chamberland is the Retired Tree Wardenfor the Town of Sturbridge and a Certified Ar-borist. He enjoys caring for plants that grow inhis yard and welcomes reader suggestions for fu-ture articles. Email him at:

THANK YOU,TOM CHAMBERLAND

FOR YOUROUTSTANDING SERVICETO THE RESIDENTSOF STURBRIDGE.

We look forward to many of Tom’s future columnsin this magazine!

From page 7


Book ReviewIgnoble Savage

also be the war candidate, while Trump wasfor getting along with Russia and not bug-ging Syria. Enough of America agreed andhe won in the electoral college. What was the result?In one paragraph, Max Blumenthal cap-

tures it all:

The election of DonaldTrump triggered a moralpanic about foreign med-dling and supplied Amer-ica's security state with aconvenient and familiar na-tional enemy to replace theevildoers of the so-called"war on terror." Trump'santi-interventionist postur-ing on the campaign trail, his

stated refusal to arm Syrian"moderate rebels," his suspi-cion of NATO, his apparentinterest in détente with Rus-sia, and the promise of a buf-foonish reality show star ascaptain of America's em-pire—all of this, no matterhow disingenuous Trump'santi-interventionist appealsmight have been—had en-gendered a wild hysteriaamong foreign policy elites.Joining the dead-enders ofHillary Clinton's campaign,who were desperate to de-flect from their crushing loss,the mandarins of the nationalsecurity state worked theirmedia contacts to generate

the narrative of Trump-Rus-sia collusion. Out of the post-election despair of liberalsand national security elites,the furor of Russiagate wasborn."

What he further observed was the seachange in the Democrat party, "For the firsttime in history, a majority of registered De-mocrats told pollsters that they believedAmericans should fight and die to defendNATO members like Latvia from a hypothet-ical Russian invasion. With the strange andsudden transformation of the Democrats intoa paranoid war party, a quiet neoconserva-tive campaign set into motion over a decadebefore was being realized."This is exactly where we are now. n*Other than Condoleezza Rice in the

George W. Bush administration.


Morchoe Julie GerrishFitness

From page 15

From page 18

�

David Goodstein surveyed the forms of en-ergy available on this earth and what theycan do for us. The tone of his book is pes-simistic.Dr. Goodstein is a professor of physics and

applied physics at the California Institute ofTechnology (Caltech), one of the premier sci-entific universities in the world, and nodiploma mill. Maybe the man is not infalli-ble, but he is hardly making anything up.If civilization is to survive, solar will be

huge, if not the major part of the equation.From Out of Gas, it is clear, we are not thereyet. Advances are being made, but com-pared to what we need, the state of the art isprimitive.We can see some evidence of that just by

reading or listening to ads for rooftop solar.If it were perfected, there would not be theneed to push tax incentives to homeownersto panel the roof. Your columnist has looked

into it for his residence, but though there aresome good reasons, the benefits are not thatlarge, at this time.In the April issue of this magazine, super-

grids were discussed. A supergrid can takepower from a region where it is easier to gen-erate and transport it to where it is not withminimal loss in transmission. Clearly, NewEngland is not where generation is easy. The future is solar and so was the past. All

life depends on the sun, but that will take abig improvement in Photovoltaic technologyto make it truly worthwhile locally. The future is also a "waste management

issue," according to Garvin Heath, a seniorscientist at the Renewable Energy Labora-tory. The panels do not have an overly longuse life and then they must be disposed ofand that is its own "green" issue. Rest assured the executives from Big Solar

have no intention of helping out with thattask. n

balls, and whatever else a creative mind cancome up with.

Myth #5: No pain, no gain: I saved thebest for last. Pain is the body’s traffic sys-tem: sharp pain is a red light. Not beingable to walk the day after a workout meansyou worked out too hard. If you have a lotof soreness the day after a tough workout,that’s a yellow light day: a day you shoulddo some light physical activity like a walk,yoga or stretching. My amazing physicaltherapist Jacqueline Shakar told me that ifyour pain is anything more than a 4 on ascale of 10 you should skip that exercise. Bottom line: Listen to your body. It will

tell you if something is too much for you tohandle. Don’t compare yourself to anyoneelse. n

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