Of all the stories in Irish legend, few have captured more imaginations than the mystical kingdom of Tír na nÓg. It is said that beyond the western horizon lies a magical land of youth and opportunity, and for a thousand generations voices across Ireland have echoed this tale to the eager ears of enchanted youth. […]
There is a unique buzz along the University of Rhode Island quad created by the well-received student organization URI Flow. During a stroll through campus, you may see some of its members outdoors doing a variety of activities such as juggling, acrobatics, hula-hooping or even relaxing on a giant swing. “It’s bringing recess to college,” […]
Dear C and Dr. B; My daughter is 23. In high school she was very rebellious and saw my strictness as “you never want me to have any fun!” She moved out when she graduated and went to community college for a while, but dropped out. She couldn’t afford her apartment because she couldn’t get […]
Climate change because of deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels is the existential crisis of our times. The amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere has gone from 280 parts per million to 410 parts per million since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and almost all of the buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere has […]
I have been composting since 1981, when I first started cleaning sheep barns for a cut of the manure. I fed sheep manure compost to my garden every year for 15 years and watched the clumpy clay and rock soil turn into black earth that could grow anything. Then I moved to Providence and after […]
George Eliot wrote, “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” At Urban Air Adventure Park (UAAP), just north of Woonsocket in Bellingham, Mss, it is both, depending on whether you are child or caretaker of said child. Part trampoline park and part ninja warrior playground with an arcade, rock climbing wall and dodgeball court, […]
It just was announced that a second child has died this year in RI from flu complications. At least three have died in Massachusetts and many other deaths are being reported across the country. In related news, there have been measles outbreaks in Washington State, New York and Texas, with additional cases reported in Oregon, Connecticut, […]
Dear C and Dr. B; I live with my brother, who is an environmental activist. Nothing wrong with that, but he takes it to the extreme. He doesn’t sleep, eats little and is always upset over the state of things. He collects articles and papers his room with them. Twice he was even arrested for acts […]
My favorite author, the late Ursula K. LeGuin, wrote about a certain kind of wizard, the patterner, in her Earthsea Trilogy. I am no wizard, but I do see patterns, and then write about them. In the same set of books LeGuin also points out the importance of calling things by their real name, and […]
The US currently ranks highest in healthcare spending among the world’s developed nations. Our average cost per capita is $10,029 a year. What can we do to get our overall costs down? Practice better self-care. But self-care is more than just diet and exercise. The pressures, expectations and anxiety in our lives can make us […]