Many ways to volunteer
I read your article about volunteering, “Giving Back” (Dec. 24-30, 2015), and I was a little irritated. Why is it that when someone says “volunteer,” the focus immediately goes to homeless/food banks/shelters. There are other organizations that need your help. The better approach to finding a meaningful volunteer experience is to first determine what interests you and where your talents lie. For example, as a hospice volunteer, you provide comfort to a person who is dying. As a volunteer at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, you introduce children to the world of nature, teach children about climate change, conservation, and good land stewardship. At Gaylord Library, you provide services to patrons and involve the community in cultural activities. At an animal shelter such as Dakin, you interact with animals that are totally dependent on human care. So, think twice before you volunteer. Many organizations need your help.
My visit to Westfield was awesome
The Advocate missed an opportunity in the Dec. 31, 2015-Jan. 6, 2016 issue: The editor returned to Westfield to check out the scene, and all she gave us was a pre-adolescent boy urinating against a wall. Yeah, I get it: Nothing happening downtown. But why write about it as if you’re still working for an undergraduate newspaper? I believe something is happening there — it seems Westfield is becoming a bedroom suburb of Northampton, as young couples who can’t afford a house in Noho buy homes there and commute to work elsewhere in the Valley, and some folks who grew up there stay in town for the same reason.
I’ve lived in the Valley for a decade and have been to Westfield only once. But memories of that visit stay with me because it was so pleasant. Please return to and show your readers Stanley Park in the summer, or the patrons of that little burrito place with the bulletin board covered with fliers for local events, or some of the vintage furniture shops whose owners advertise on Craigslist. Get people’s stories, take photos of something besides their tattoos. But skip the 12-year-olds peeing against walls, please.
Good students and teachers in Holyoke
I ran media programs for the kids in the Holyoke Center For Excellence. (“Between the Lines: Bruised students, what is going on at Holyoke’s Peck?” Jan. 7-13, 2016.) We never saw a violent moment or child restrained. We saw character building and creativity soar.
For sale by owner: Vermont Yankee
Now you can be the proud buyer of this stunning 1972 pre-owned nuclear classic. A real handy man’s special. A true “fix-er-upper.” Folks, they just don’t make ’em like this any more. Perfect for a growing family that needs lots of energy. Just minutes from schools, hospitals and large population centers. May need some work on the basement plumbing. The power plant isn’t economically viable any more, but don’t worry: Once you go bankrupt, the place would make a perfect nuclear themed B&B. Just imagine two fun-filled nights in the Strontium 90 Suite. Or a romantic weekend for two in the Plutonium Penthouse will leave you all a glow.
There is plenty of room to expand, build a breakfast nook or repair the nuclear containment vessel. You could add solar panels to make the place energy efficient. And there’s plenty of room left right on site to store all that radioactive waste for years to come. Price reduced by owner. No reasonable offer refused. Public financing may become available. Foreign buyers welcome. Don’t have a meltdown, act now!
