May 03
Scientific American published an important article in the May 2021 issue (pages 26-33) entitled “Journey into the Americas: Genetic and archaeological discoveries tell a new story about how the continents were populated” — although not much of the story is “new” to those of us who have been following developments in academic research. See the …
Apr 18
My title here, as you might surmise, is, in part, a nod toward my hometown preacher, Jonathan Edwards, who thought and wrote about the issues mentioned, nearly 300 years ago (in 1754). An essay in The Atlantic issue of March 2014 by Paul Bloom has a more modern view, and also reveals that the controversies …
Apr 01
This post is an abbreviated version of a longer page on “Native American Heritage in the Upper Housatonic River Valley” by the Housatonic Heritage organization. Here, I cover only the portion that relates to a walking tour of Main Street in Stockbridge Massachusetts called “Footprints of Our Ancestors” – providing links to 12 short videos. …
Feb 09
Joy and Sorrow Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. from The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran Barack My 17-year-old cat Barack …
Jan 17
I began my language studies of Western Abenaki (one of the many Algonkian dialects native to the Northeastern part of Turtle Island) in late 2019. I live in the homelands of the Mohican people (Muhheconneok), but at that time all Mahican classes were being conducted in Wisconsin. I had met Jesse Bruchac at a story-telling …
Nov 28
Barack has been diagnosed with terminal lymphoma. The story of how he came to me, and how he received his name, is for another time. For now, I have been reflecting on our friendship of more than 12 years. As I write this, he is still vibrant, active, and loving. I know his days are …
Aug 10
I found this page floating around. I think I must have pulled it from a file to share a copy with someone about my time in Japan. Now I don’t remember if the “2” at the bottom of the page is really an indication of this being the second page of a letter from my …
May 09
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Town of Alford Town Moderator Michael F. Wilcox mfw@mfw.us Alford Town Meeting 2020 Advisory Committee In Formation as of May 8, 2020 I have begun the process of forming an advisory committee to assist me in my role as Town Moderator. I will need the help of many people to plan for …