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Curious Traveler: C.J. Fitzwater Mar 14, 2024  Boston has a unique holiday that intertwines the celebration of Irish identity with a pivotal moment in American history. Observed on March 17, the same day as St. Patrick’s Day, Evacuation Day is a holiday that commemorates a significant event in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War:…

Oceanographer Robert Ballard undertook a secret mission funded by the U.S. Navy to locate two sunken nuclear submarines from the Cold War era, the USS Thresher and the USS Scorpion. The mission aimed to assess environmental risks from their nuclear reactors and investigate possible Soviet involvement. With his extra time, Ballard was allowed to search…

On Sunday, March 10, the United States, with the exception of Arizona, parts of Alaska and Hawaii, engages in the practice of daylight saving time (DST). This biannual adjustment, occurring on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November, leads to widespread disruption, affecting our mental and physical well-being. I went down…

CJ Fitzwater  “As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.”- Ernest Hemingway My first winter in the car business in the mid-1990s, 30 years ago, instantly cemented my disdain for the powdery precipitation that leaves behind water in solid form. I had already formed my own opinion…

Dinner Date: CJ Fitzwater “Everything dies, baby, that’s a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back“ -Bruce Springsteen, “Atlantic City” I met newly inducted Amesbury Hall-of-Famer, and hockey legend George Dodier a year ago after winning a hand sander at the inaugural Support Our Stadium brunch. When I stopped by his home on…

Curious Traveler | C.J. Fitzwater  Feb 15, 2024  I approached the back door of a tidy old-style colonial with an oversized lot located in Newburyport’s south end. At the right of this home is a remodeled historic center chimney home, dating back to the 18th century, adorned with a distinctive white paint and a black band…

Originally published March 21st 2024 In the summer of last year, Gavin Marengi set off for Nashville to take the stage at The Basement, a unique venue nestled beneath a record store. With space for 150 people, mostly standing room only, and characterized by its low ceiling, the venue creates a cozy atmosphere where artists…

Curious Traveler | C.J. Fitzwater  Feb 8, 2024 “To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.” Mary Oliver from “In…

“Maybe I just wanna fly, wanna live, I don’t wanna die-Maybe I just wanna breathe-Maybe I just don’t believe-Maybe you’re the same as me-We see things they’ll never see-You and I are gonna live forever” – Oasis “Live Forever” I had planned to have lunch with Mike Bourgoine, a former boss, who after retirement from…

Curious Traveler | C.J. Fitzwater  Feb 1, 2024  Editor’s note: The following is the conclusion of “The Saga of Harold Congdon”. Time is a musical composition, there is rhythm, melody, and tempo, and then da capo it repeats in a circular pattern, linking us to eternity. Dec. 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy. The…