The melting pot choice

 

We can do better than just “get back to normal”

The fallacy of “back to normal” thinking

Paul R. Ehrlich, Anne H. Ehrlich in Environmental Health News

    

Joel Pett, The Virginian-Pilot

Education and equity are central to good public health.

The failure of higher education in the United States was made clear by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. 

From the president down, too many elected officials with college degrees have been ignorant of or defiant toward the lessons of the biological and social sciences.

Ill-advised reassurances in the initial stages of the pandemic ignored or denied the significance of exponential growth. Leaders exploited the human tendency to accept uncritically information that one is motivated to believe.

Indeed, as the dimensions of the problem became clearer, the Trump Administration increasingly abandoned efforts to provide the public with the information and guidance that epidemiologists were offering.

Tens of thousands of Americans are dying because of the failure to act early and inform accurately, and this burden is falling disproportionately on minorities and the poor.

Even more depressing has been the failure of millions of people to see through the Trump Administration's too-early promotion of "re-opening" the country and returning to "normal."

The relaxing of social distancing and use of masks is an attempt to bolster the stock market in the short run rather than protect the long-term health of both our citizenry and our economy.

From the Ozarks to southern California beaches to the Trump Tulsa rally, crowds of people have clustered together, apparently unaware of, or unconcerned about, the threat their behavior poses to them and to their friends, relatives, and neighbors.

This situation has been greatly exacerbated by the justifiable and important but vulnerable large crowds protesting against police brutality and structural racism, symptoms of the inequity that President Trump has encouraged rather than disapproved.

Two announcements from the Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center

The Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center is pleased to announce the inauguration of The Octagon House Press.

The rise of digital book production has changed the landscape of publishing. While commercial and university presses are publishing fewer and fewer books each year, a new age of self-publishing has flooded the marketplace with books of all sorts. 

Commercial and university presses use a process of anonymous readings--called ‘blind readings’--to decide on the publication worthiness of manuscripts, but self-publications do not rely on this process.

The Octagon House Press will fully vet books by local writers who are part of the Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center writing community by providing a rigorous assessment process using blind readings by a series of literary experts.

The first book to be published by The Octagon House Press will be Small Moments by Narragansett writer Patricia Pierannunzi. A collection of short fiction that explores pivotal moments in the lives of suddenly awakened characters, it will be available in a reasonably-priced paperback at the Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center during next fall’s HopArts Studio Trail.

Writing Classes at The Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center

Weaver and writer Grace Farrell at the loom Credit: Marylou Butler

The recent birth of a new use for the Octagon House, the better-known  name of the Albert S. Potter House in Carolina Village, is one of the great success of our area.

The Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center was started by weaver Jan Doyle of Wakefield and writer Grace Farrell of Charlestown.

We have been writing about their course offerings and we are pleased to announce that Ms. Farrell is starting a new series of writing sessions on Tuesdays from 10 am until noon, starting March 27.

UPDATE: Things to Do in Charlestown - January Edition

Cover art from their latest release - Hook, Line & Sinker

See three additions at the end of the list.

Our Things to Do column has been on winter vacation, while we celebrate holidays and wait for any snow to fall. 

But we would be remiss if we didn't take some time away from FOI requests at Town Hall to list some of the opportunities available.

by Tom Ferrio

Learning to Write Your Story

People like to tell tales. Some stories are told for their entertainment value. Others are memories and reflections on a life lived, for the benefit of children and grandchildren. Sometimes the process of putting down a story in words can be deeply meaningful to the writer.

Read on to see how you can develop your skill and confidence through a remarkable writing class at the Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center

Keeping track of local birds

Our stray ptarmigan visitor

Despite my penchant for political discussion - and the fact that Cathy and I have three companion kitty cats, none of them declawed then then they're indoor cats - I love birds.

We feed them and worry over them. I regularly chase off a local cat - jet black, sleek and fast, I can't tell whether he's feral or a neighbor's cat. Doesn't matter because he stawks our feeders, and I won't have that. The raptors, on the other hand, are part of the cycle of life and flock in abundance in our trees, hoping for a slow, plump mourning dove.



When I'm working in my home office, it's hard not to be distracted by the birds, especially in the spring and fall when there's no leave cover. I have counted more than 70 species at our feeders and in the woods. 




The oddest sighting was that of a stray ptarmigan, an arctic bird, who was clearly very far from home. He stuck around for three days before moving on. I managed to catch a good photo of him and, when I enlarged the snap, I could see several bands attached to his leg.



A New Weave In The Strand

Editor's note: I asked for permission to republish this article because I think this is a wonderful enterprise and use of an historic building that should give us pride and prompt our support.
A new weaving method is invented in Carolina Village.

By Marylou Butler, Republished with permission from South Kingston Patch.com.

The weaving of words and fiber, through text and textiles, is reaping big benefits at the Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center in Richmond.

Albert S. Potter House on Rt 112 in Carolina -  Credit: Marylou Butler

The center, which opened last fall in the historic Albert S. Potter House, also known as the “Octagon House” for its distinctive shape, was started by weaver Jan Doyle of Wakefield and writer Grace Farrell of Charlestown. Their home in the Octagon House was facilitated by John Quinn, the former editor of USA Today, who owns and currently resides in the old Carolina Mill complex in Richmond. Quinn is a member of the Carolina Preservation and Band Society, which owns the Octagon House.