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Worth visit to Adams, Jefferson homes

CHAUTAUQUA—In part because of all of the history that fills Boston, it’s a fun American city to visit. If you’re there from April through September, a baseball game at Fenway Park is also good to attend, unless perhaps you’re a fan of a rival of the Boston Red Sox. A short distance south of Boston is Quincy, Mass. It’s far enough away from Boston not to feel like a big city, but close enough to be reachable via what in Boston is called “The T,” which is short for MBTA, which is short for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which runs the public-transportation ...

The mice, St. David, and the knobs

The story begins with a cat and a stove. Our Maine Coon, Finian, used to camp in front of the stove at night. It took me a while to realize he was on sentry duty. It was a particularly winter behavior. Although I never actively look for signs of a mouse resident, it finally occurred to me that ...

Quippies

Nin Privitera, former Fredonia resident, offers some offbeat takes on recent headlines: — A woman who was raised by monkeys in a South American jungle was shocked the first time she saw her reflection in a mirror. Big deal! For me, that was every day in junior high school. — The state of Tennessee just botched the execution of a 50 year old woman. She survived two lethal injections but authorities may try killing her again after consulting with Dr. Anthony Fauci. — President Trump may be on the verge of doing it again. The new title of a great patriotic song could soon be ...

Nuclear offers solution to need for more power

There has recently been a lot of interest in repowering the closed NRG generating plant in Dunkirk and making use of a new type of nuclear reactor called SMRs or Small Moveable Reactors. Today, it might be surprising to learn amid all the enthusiasm for wind and solar power generation that ...

Grateful for colors, season in October

October is one of my favorite months. For several reasons. “The falling leaves drift by the window. The autumn leaves of red and gold.” (lyrics-Autumn Leaves) For the first couple of weeks of the month, I can’t wait to wake up, chow down the Frosted Flakes, swig a cup of Dunkin decaf and head outside. Everywhere I look, I see the collage created by Mother Nature. The fall air is crisp and cool as I walk the neighborhood. Kids are in school and save for the infrequent barking of the Goldendoodle down the block, it’s quiet. And I love quiet. The area is blessed with a few ...

It’s all downhill from here

When I sit down at the end of the day and look out upon Chautauqua Lake, it reminds me of the colloquialism that “it is all downhill from here.” That is, the water that I am looking at is flowing south toward the Allegheny River, then the Ohio and finally down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico (now called by some the Gulf of America.) In further reflection, this phrase about going downhill could also describe me at my age... but I resist that description. Getting old is not so much about going “downhill” as it is about being on “cruise control.” It doesn’t take much ...