“Where Now Begins” This week, on January 6th, the United States Capitol was attacked. It houses the meeting chambers of the United States Senate and the Congress. It is one of the most symbolically important buildings in the nation. At the time of the attack, a joint session of Congress was…
2020 Year in Review As is the tradition of this website, here is my Lowell-centric review of notable events of the past year. Covid-19 Pandemic – No review of 2020 can begin with anything but the Covid-19 pandemic. At the start of the year, news reports from China told of…
SHELTER The Art of Caring: February 3-28, 2021 A Community Exhibit at the Arts League of Lowell Eligibility Writers & poets living or working in Lowell may submit one poem or flash fiction piece that speaks to the Shelter theme. Theme: SHELTER Shelter can be defined in many ways –…
Time to Call 911? By Jack McDonough I wish I had a computer like the ones on TV cop shows. Know what I mean? The lieutenant says, “Officer Suzie. Find out what you can about this guy John Smith. We need it fast.” Suzie, who is a knockout by the…
The Tipping Point By David Daniel On the Saturday that the official results of the 2020 Presidential election were declared, my wife and I were in Springfield, visiting her brother Tony. The concurrence of the two events was coincidental, the get-together having been planned for some weeks. The weather was…
This article originally appeared in the November issue of the Merrimack Valley Housing Review. A number of homeowners have recently called the Registry of Deeds to ask if the title to their home is safe from online theft. Because my own social media stream has been filled with ads from…
Two days ago, Denis Barrett, coordinator of Cork Learning City, wrote to colleagues including John Wooding, former professor and provost at UMass Lowell who leads Lowell: City of Learning. The two partner organizations promote lifelong learning in their cities, and this year brought out the Cork-Lowell writing anthology ATLANTIC CURRENTS,…
High on October Leaves By Henri Marchand WARNING: Leaf smoke can be intoxicating and stir colorful memories and images. This piece was written while under the influence of an October induced nostalgic state. Our yard is home to six Norway Maples, a pesky strain of New England’s favorite tree, known…
From his home hub in downtown Lowell, writer, scholar, and teacher George Chigas covers a lot of territory on foot. Like Henry Thoreau who “traveled a good deal in Concord,” George will send us occasional reports on his movements and what he sees, hears, and feels. Walking Home from Market…
It was six months ago – Sunday, March 15, 2020 – that Governor Charlie Baker ordered schools, restaurants, and bars to close. Courthouses and much else closed too. Although the Covid-19 virus had been lurking in our consciousness for weeks before that, it was the mandated closings that brought home…
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