Natural Election

Months ago the Springfield Republican quoted Mayor Mike Bissonnette of Chicopee remarking on his re-election bid, "It's gratifying not to have opposition," adding "I'm grateful to people who continue to show their trust in me." While I gleefully concur with Hizzoner on his astute observation, he apparently is anti-democratic and an egotist. Leading a politically charmed life, Bissonnette really hasn't earned the gratitude of his minions. His first opponent before he was elected in 2005 was brought down by avarice and greed (and a great campaign slogan "what--no envelope?") just in the nick of time. Months ago, Bissonnette hemmed and hawed about running for office when a few opposition names were bandied about. His courage was summoned up when no opposition was apparent. This is Chicopee. Keep that in mind. You have to be an imbecile or an egotist to run for Mayor (with the exception of former Mayor, Richard Kos). Pulling rabbits out of a hat is better trick than cutting ribbons at the next Dollar store opening. In the two years of the current administration, not very many of Bissonnette's lofty plans has come to fruition. The Bosch-to-the-Bridge musical has yet to play at a theater near you (oh sorry, the Rivoli is closed for good), and casino gambling will never pass. Even the historically challenged voters of Chicopee see this pipe dream (or nightmare) for what it is: bread and circus for no one.

Back to Nature

Sure it's early fall, but before you know it; winter's crushing blow will have ham-fisted us into our homes for the duration. Here are some images from late September and early October around Easthampton, Brattleboro, VT and near Cooperstown, NY. If you are interested in land conservation, consider donating to Echodale Farm, Easthampton and TPL.



This female scarlet tanager was gorging herself on grapes at Echodale Farm in Easthampton, MA. She'll fly to South America soon.



This barn caught my attention just down the road from the Ommengang Brewery near Cooperstown, NY.



The view from the parking lot of Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center in Brattleboro, VT. Three great hiking loops with great views and vistas.



Maple leaves on fire at Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center, Brattleboro, VT.

Newsworthy?

Despite the plethora of newsworthy items happening here in the valley, I've been unable to muster up at the keyboard. Christ, Rick Goyette is going away for two years in the federal pen, the other "ette," Mike is spearheading a doomed and fruitless attempt to bring legalized casino gambling to Chicopee (when all else fails--pathetic politicians patronize their older constituents with trinkets), and Northampton is literally shitting the bed. Suher's up to something, and Jordi Herold is attempting to squash everyone's freedom in Hadley. Frankly, I just want to curl up, dry up like freeze-dried fish.

Lloyd Cole ‘No Regrets’ Pleasant Street Theater, Northampton, MA, October 4, 2007

Wow! Two shows in one year! Lloyd Cole came home to play yet another stellar, low-key show in the valley. This time, Lloyd played the “Music after Movies” series with the likes of Thurston Moore, Juliana Hatfield and Winterpills. It was theater owner Bob Lawton’s last ditch effort to resuscitate his failing movie house which is now up for sale.

I don’t write reviews and have no intentions of doing so here but let’s just say that opener Zeke Fiddler needs to reassess his music career. He sucks with a capital S and not just because of his crummy gear. Poor Lloyd was ever the gentleman and offered Zeke the use of a proper guitar cord. Zeke however preferred the authentic sound of crackling amp to go with his hushed, whispery-thin vocals and incredibly tedious musical arrangements. Thankfully his set was short.

What can I say about Lloyd? Each of his two shows this year in the valley has been unpredictable and magical. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a performer mingling effortlessly with his audience, chatting up retiree-aged golfing buddies or calling out to his teen-aged son Will in the audience to call “Mom and ask her for a ride home if your falling asleep!”

Lloyd’s set covered mostly his post-Commotion’s work, plenty of his recent work and a smattering of his booze-fueled songs from his New York period. He was at ease with the audience and at one point remarked how odd it was to see no one drinking. He promised to get everyone out before their sitters started to call. Oddly enough, with the exception of a few folks, everyone in the audience seemed 50-plus. Lloyd covered a couple of Tim Hardin tunes, prefacing them with “I wrote these after I got out of the Marines and on heroin.”

Lloyd shone on “The Young Idealists,” “My Bag,” “Patience,” and “Like Lovers Do.” Playing well over an hour and half, Lloyd confronted his negative image and offered that he had “no regrets” about his early career and his current low-key performances.

I just want to play some fado songs and get drunk with Lloyd sometime.

I hate dogs

Recently, my daughter and I spent a morning at a horse show in Southampton, MA at King Oak Farm. To break things up from the horse trials and competitions,they held a dog show. Any dog could enter, and no special skills were required. My daughter took this picture. She's in love with taking pictures and steals my camera often. I will find hundreds of pictures of nothing after she's done with the camera. Often the pictures are pretty good.

Easthampton, MA, Fourth of July

My lady friend and I spent a pleasant Fourth of July evening on the Lower Mill Pond in Easthampton. We decided that we wanted to be away from the crowds celebrating the Fourth at Nonotuck Park and would paddle around the Lower Mill Pond and wait for the fireworks. I believe it’s called urban canoeing. It became quickly apparent to us that the pond was vibrant and teeming with wildlife such as beaver, muskrat, water rat, osprey, heron and a plethora of unseen fish jumping out of the water. While weed-choked and a bit on the dirty side, the Lower Mill Pond has an eco-system of its own that thrives in the shadows of the Eastworks building on East St.

Beaver—displeased with our presence, splashed their tails in front of us as we paddled silently across the murky water. We were rewarded with the sight of them swimming underwater or jumping through the air to circumnavigate us. Water rats swam around us, intent on escaping into the underbrush of the shore. Osprey flew overhead, lonely and dejected waiting for something to happen. Dragon flies buzzed us repeatedly. As the sky darkened, fire flies emerged, setting off a brilliant display of tiny LED’s. By 9:30 p.m. the sky became pitch black and the fireworks began. We paddled out to the best viewable area and drank our libations in silence as the fireworks ricocheted around the pound and off the Eastworks building. It was wonderful and weird. We had the pond to ourselves (at least free of humans) and it was spectacular. I would suggest to anyone to have the same experience next year.

A walk through downtown Chicopee

Not much has changed since we first filmed this in 2003. In fact the only change has been the mayor, from Goyette to Bissonette (ironic how similar the last names are). Someone should bitch about this.