Archive
Besides his books, Bill has written a variety of poems, short stories, opinion pieces, and more.
Obesity
Obesity is a principal driver of health care costs, our nation is obese, and at 350 pounds I, too, am obese. But my doctor tells me that at seventy years...
Vermont’s Sacred Cow: Regenerative small farms or toxic mega-dairies?
Dairy cows have been the icon of Vermont’s pastoral countryside for 150 years, but today’s mega-dairies don’t reflect the tradition of small dairy farms that once dotted our pastoral landscape....
Meat and Fire
This is about meat and fire. It will be distasteful to some and salubrious to others. In either case, it is not for the faint hearted. It is about the...
Lunch in Williston and Pienza
I’m at my desk in Williston. I pry open the warped plastic bowl containing my tuna salad and a few soggy rye crisps, take out my plastic fork and with...
The Edifice Complex
I’m not sure when the term “edifice complex” was coined. I first heard it applied editorially to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s building spree in Albany followed by the erection...
Lawnmowing
The recent run of cool weather reminds me that lawn mowing season is almost over. Mowing the lawn, in fact just having a lawn, is a fairly recent historical custom....
Addictive Behavior
“Hi, I’m Bill. I’m a food addict.” Is this a statement of fact, of theory, of wishful thinking, or merely an attempt to avoid responsibility for overeating and being fat?...
Clean Water
My favorite way to recover after a hot afternoon’s hard work has always been to chug down a quart of ice cold water from a Mason jar and then jump...
Town Meeting: It’s Time to Ban Plastic Bags
All of the plastic manufactured since Bakelite debuted during the Depression still litters the earth. The world is choking on an invention that’s barely a century old. Today, shoppers worldwide...
Greta in Winter
This fall for only the second time in my life, I bought a new car. It’s an emission-free Nissan Leaf. I named it “Greta.” Last night, I ran into a...
January Thaw or Apocalyptic Warning?
Today is Friday the 13th. Our grass is green. Our pond is melted and flowers are coming up. In my 75 years in Vermont, I’ve seen the occasional green Christmas,...