"Hey! I Can See Your House From Here!"

It's here.

"Street View" in Google Maps has made it to Sturbridge. The latest Google-ite feature allows users to go to Google Maps, type in their town, or Zip code, and see the town as if they were walking along one of the streets. You actually turn around in the street, and look in the windows of the homes if you like.

Strange.

The feature is not without controversy. Some people don't like their their homes on the internet for the world to see, but this is a Brave New World we are living in, and like it or not, it's here to stay. Face it, the government has been snooping on our backyards for years. Today's cameras from space can make a mosquito on your arm look as big as a Pterodactyl.

So, think twice before going outside to catch some rays on that chaise behind your fence.

Sturbridge isn't completely "Street Viewed" as of yet, but it will be. Currently, Route 20, and some of the roads north of 20 are available to explore on "Street View". Go to http://maps.google.com/maps and choose "Street View" from the menu on the map, and have fun!

Who knows what you'll see around town, and hiding behind the curtains.


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Recent Poll Results

The results of the most recent unscientific poll are in. The score represents the percent of those partaking in the poll that agreed with the statement.

Food for thought.

1. If a residential property owner is at least 70 years old, and has lived in the town for a minimum of 25 years they should receive a certain percentage deducted from their property taxes. 83%
   


2. The discount should be increased with the residents age and longevity in the town. 33%
   


3. The amount of the discounts given would not place a financial burden on the the town. 33%
   


4. The discount should be awarded regardless if the resident is able to donate time back to the town. 66%

Patriot Day: September 11th

NOTIFICATION OF OCCASION TO HALF-STAFF THE U.S. FLAG

In accordance with a Presidential Proclamation, the flag of the United States
will be flown at half-staff on Patriot Day, Thursday, September 11, 2008.

Additionally, the President has called upon all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes on Patriot Day and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m., (Eastern Time) to honor the innocent who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

--Courtesy of Tom Chamberland

The Brimfield Trail

We took a walk along the Brimfield section of the Grand Trunk Trail a couple of weekends ago. Although, not completely cleared to the west of the parking lot on Five Bridge Road, the eastern portion is clear till it bumps into the Quinebaug River. At one time a bridge spanned the river at this point, in fact two bridges, one for the railroad, and another for the street railway from Springfield to Fiskdale. The walk was very nice. Quiet, with the exception of the crickets as we passed through the wetland area. No sounds of traffic, or another person. The only people we did see was a couple of kayakers leaving the rest stop on the Quinebaug River Canoe Trail.

This hike was in mid August, and the maples were already turning red along the banks of the wetlands, and the mosquitoes were still plentiful. I usually keep a can of repellent in the truck, but this time I was lax, and we both paid the price.

A remarkable job of restoring this portion of the old rail bed as a trail for non-motorized recreation was done.

"...although the grand trunk trail blazers are a part of expanding the super trail, the work you enjoyed on the Brimfield section was the result of a newly formed partnership between the U. S Army Corps of Engineers,, (owners of the land) and the Brimfield Trail committee. It is the hard work of that committee, Brimfield DPW, and volunteers who are working to build this trail. "--Tom Chamberland.

I had initially given credit to the Grand Trunk Trailblazers, but Tom corrected me.--ed note.

As a part of the Super Trail that will run from Franklin to Palmer, it will offer a recreation venue not seen in these parts before. From bicycling (fat tire), hiking walking, bird watching, canoeing, kayaking, or just sitting on the banks of the river and staring off into space this trail system offers so much.

For more information, go to the link highlighted above for directions and a map of the trails. With fall coming, an autumn walk in the woods may be just what the doctor ordered for a little peace, and this is a wonderful place to start.

Photo: http://www.brimfieldtrail.org/

Everyone Needs A Wilson

People need people. I know, that sounded very Babara Streisand-ish, but it's very true. Hermits are an anomaly. Mountain men were just plum crazy after a season or two trapping in the mountains without human contact. Their horse was their best friend, and they talked to it all the time. Not the best therapy for good mental health, but it worked. One sided conversations are one way to combat loneliness.

In the movie "Castaway", Tom Hanks's character adopted a volleyball as his buddy. "Wilson", the name the ball was born with and was stamped on its skin, was an important tool for Hanks to keep his sanity on that island for all that time. He talked to it, and shared with it. It worked to a degree, if you think talking to a volleyball is sane.

People, regardless of who they are, or their circumstances, need the interaction of others. Some may need it only once or twice a year as with the hermit that comes to town for supplies, others, like me, enjoy it more frequently.

This is why humans have taken the act of pairing up so seriously. From the earliest times, humans have found themselves becoming connected to another, for a variety of reasons. In the beginning, it was probably a specific skill set that attracted the other. One could hunt well, the other could do something with the thing that was hunted. Later on, one could grow things, and raise livestock fairly well, and the other could help, and do stuff with the things they grew and raised. If the partners were male and female, then making babies was something that came naturally as well.

So, some partners would have the skills to do something with the meat brought home by the other, help out in the garden and with the animals, and do something with whatever they produced, and as a bonus, they could replicate themselves. The other partner, while being true to their skills and work demanded of them, would be lost while the other carried, delivered, and cared for a baby. That is when the nap was invented. It is instinctive. It's in our genetic code, and it is something that one doesn't mess with. Women can breast feed, men can nap. Our Maker is very wise.

Besides naps, there were other things that came from these mutual relationships. Companionship was high on the list. Instead of talking to a volleyball, they had each other to share their day with, express their feelings to, and argue with. Human nature being what it is, soon let emotions to augment the needs the partners had for each other. They felt good when the other was around, and missed them when they were away. They cared for each other, and soon that caring and good feelings grew into that "little thing called love".

This pairing of people has been with us since we first walked around alone talking to ourselves, and someone answered back. Whether we pair up as best friends, partners, or mates, our heads need that contact with another on a personal level.

Sometimes those partnerships dissolve for a variety of reasons. Usually, it is due to other human emotions that get the best of us, or back in the day, when a tiger or a barbarian ran off with our other half. The latter was always a bummer, and when it happens today, we still get upset.

There are those of us that are blessed enough to have another face to greet us in the morning, and at the end of the day. To listen to us babble on about nonsense, and rant about more nonsense. To share in our excitement when we do something neat, and to tell us they love us out of the blue. To be there when we hurt, and to hug us when we're down, and to love us everyday, no matter what.

I'm one of the blessed.

And to think, it all started with my talking to myself, and her answering back.

Go figure.