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Originally published June 20th 2024 As Pilgrims began to settle at the dawn of America, undivided land was established within them for public pasturing livestock and serving as a communal gathering space. This practice was an early form of Colonial socialism. Although presently socialism often has a negative connotation, it was crucial in early Colonial…

Curious Traveler: CJ Fitzwater On June 19th 2020, in the Judiciary Square neighborhood of Washington, D.C., a group of Black Lives Matter members protesting the murder of George Floyd gathered with ropes and chains, intent on removing the 11-foot statue of Albert Pike. Pike was the former Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of…

“They say every man can be replaced. They say every distance is not near. So I remember every face of every man who put me here,” is the opening verse to “I Shall Be Released” by Bob Dylan, a song that became my mantra four years ago. At 45, I found myself on life support…

I stepped into Salisbury Town Hall last week to the vibe of a busy morning. There, amid the flurry of local civics, stood a familiar face, Lou Papandrea, or “Low Tide Louie,” a voice many in our community recognize from the oldies program “Tales and Co.” he co-hosts on 94.1, and a Vietnam War veteran.…

Originally published May 30th 2024 “My two favorite things in life are libraries, and bicycles. They both move people forward.” – Peter Golkin Three years ago, on a whim, my wife Nina, and I purchased E-bikes. At that time, E-bikes were becoming mainstream. Though they first emerged in the 90s, they were expensive, bulky and…

Curious Traveler C.J. Fitzwater Early this year, James Russell from the Custom House Maritime Museum asked me to put together a lecture on the life of Benjamin Franklin Butler, known around here for the Salisbury Beach toothpick. I obliged, naturally, and brought along my Tom Sawyer-like friend, Larry Bertram, for the ride. Larry is the…

Dinner Date: CJ Fitzwater If you walk across the trestle-board-patterned marble floor of the Custom House in Newburyport designed by Robert Mills, the same architect responsible for the Washington Monument, you’ll encounter the anti-gravity cantilever staircase, a signature of Mills’ architectural style, with support on only one side, while the other side floats. Ascending this…

Dinner Date: A night out in Salem I ran into Jen Roketenetz, the Salisbury Parks and Recreation administrator, at Stop & Shop while buying pizza ingredients, I was looking for a “dinner date.”I was hoping for company that week at Salem Willows Park in Salem. Jen, with her typical wisdom, suggested I invite Salisbury Town…

Ghosted in Ipswich Dinner Date CJ Fitzwater I find the word “jaded” too elegant sounding for the harsh meaning it carries – tired, bored or lacking enthusiasm. Is there a word that could sound less beautiful than jaded to describe something as unattractive as that definition? At some point in our careers, hobbies or marriages,…

“Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.“ With our usual Tuesday auction canceled due to the timing of the Christmas holiday (my primary job is running an auto auction in Kittery, Maine), I took the opportunity for an impromptu adventure. My wife, Nina, stayed…