“Olive Kitteridge”
When I was in high school, I worked in a local pharmacy and learned the secrets of everyone in town: the mayor was taking Valium, an overwhelmed mother had a prescription for 100 Percocet tablets filled monthly, a close friend’s parents never paid their bills (this was back when I thought everyone paid their bills), and a young girl voted “best looking” by her fellow classmates in the graduating class of the local high school was trying to break into modeling and getting hooked on diet pills to become the size 4 she would never be. Read more 
Gagne’s Cream Cheese Biscuits
There used to be a restaurant called Robinhood Free Meetinghouse Restaurant in Georgetown, Maine, a small town in the southeast part of the state. The restaurant was located in a 19th century church that was restored and converted to a destination dining hall by Michael Gagné, a chef who had a vision: “to create decadent, flavorful biscuits made entirely from scratch, and use only the finest ingredients.” Read more
“Still Alice”
“She liked being reminded of butterflies. She remembers being six or seven and crying over the fates of the butterflies in her yard after learning that they lived for only a few days. Her mother had comforted her and told her not to be sad for the butterflies, that just because their lives were short didn’t mean they were tragic.”
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Papabubble Candy
My daughter was visiting her cousin in New York City when she discovered Papabubble which she pronounced “Papa Booblay,” a candy store that looks more like a chemists storefront from the exterior in Greenwich Village. Inside, the store retains its character with elegant two-tone bags with silver backing and transparent fronts bursting with colorful candies, all neatly lined up in rows along the wall. Read more
Facing Consequences
Several months ago I received an e-mail from my daughter’s school alerting me to contact the school should a pair of crutches turn up. Seems someone stole an injured student’s crutches from the gym. At first I thought this was a prank but then I realized the crutches had to have been missing for a while for the school to send out a community-wide e-mail. Who on earth would steal a pair of crutches from an injured student who couldn’t walk without assistance? Read more
“Immortal Bird”
“Immortal Bird – A Family Memoir” by Doron Weber is the story of Weber’s firstborn son, Damon, who was born without a second ventricle on the right side of his heart which means there was no passageway to pump oxygen rich blood back into his lungs. A blue baby whose organs and tissues could not get enough oxygen, Damon underwent two open heart surgeries, the later called a “Fontan” which alleviated his problem by bypassing his right side altogether and pumping oxygen rich blood directly to his lungs. Read more
The Viennese Crescent Cookie
The Viennese Crescent is a cookie of near perfection with a bit of crumble, a hint of nutty flavor, and a buttery taste that makes cookie lovers swoon. According to legend, these cookies originated in Austria – and Vienna in particular – but there is debate as others claim Viennese Crescents were first created in Hungary and Germany. A cookie of few ingredients – butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds or hazelnuts, and salt – the Viennese Crescent has moved overseas and now commands well deserved space on bakery shelves in America. Read more
The King Arthur Flour Company: The 4 in 1 Baker’s Resource
There are an abundance of schools, supply stores, bakeries/cafes, and on-line resources dedicated to baking throughout the United States but there is only one place that combines all four: The King Arthur Flour Company. Located in Norwich, Vermont, a small town in central-eastern Vermont close to the New Hampshire border – the King Arthur store, bakery, cafe, and education center are easily accessible by car from the following major cities/towns: Read more
Jeffrey Zaslow on Daughters
A few months ago, I bought tickets for my daughter and I to attend an author forum featuring Jeffrey Zaslow, who I knew of from his column in the Wall Street Journal and as co-author of “The Last Lecture:” a life lesson story of a Carnegie Mellon professor named Randy Pausch who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and wanted to leave a lasting message to his young children. Read more
Exploring Madison County, Iowa
Paddock Post 