MOTHER’S DAY The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 Since Mother’s Day is this week I thought I’d say a few things about my mother. Vera Stitham Hutchinson was born on December 10, 1934 to Ralph and Laura Stitham the third of four…
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BIRTH CERTIFICATE The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 My Father George Hutchinson was born on December 13, 1909 at the family homestead located on the Nichols Road in Monticello. As the story goes, by the time the medical doctor from…
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LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 “Am I the consciousness of a generation or just some old fool sounding off and trying to escape the dominant materialist avaricious consciousness of America?” From a line in Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s book…
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ICE OUT The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 Last Thursday night I stepped outside by the back of our shed at the farmhouse (I instantly knew what had happened) and I could hear the loud roar of rushing water in the…
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KEEP IT SIMPLE The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 When I first started coming to the cabin I brought nothing but a stack of books, a couple of journals and a few newspapers which provided me with recent news and something…
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WINTER PRIVY The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 One of the essential components of a viable backwoods homestead is a functional four-season privy. And while there are no two designs alike they all get the same job done. A dug-pit…
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THE STANDOFFf The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 After spending four or five days surveying and drawing a plan incessantly, I especially feel the necessity of putting myself in communication with nature again, to recover my tone, to withdraw out…
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THE TRESTLE The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 By most estimates this has been a rather lean snow year for Northern Maine thus far. The old-timers used to say 100 inches was a good snow year so at approximately 30…
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COFFEE BUM The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 Over the years I’ve established a caffeine-earned reputation as a coffee bum and spent more time in diners and small coffee shops than I care to admit. When I’m on the road…
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ALL IN THE FAMILY The Isolation Blues; reflections during covid-19 We broke ground but we didn’t erect a building. It takes a long time for social justice to permeate every human soul. We still have a lot of the Archie…