Curations from the Human Jungle
[This week is all about two things- maple syrup and mud. The two are irrevocably intertwined at this time of year in Vermont. SB SM] From my "Auto-biografitti:" That's when it all came together ... writing, woodstoves, and Vermont's crappy weather When I joined Vermont Castings in January, 1979 I had a customer service staff... Continue Reading →
Theme music begins: “When I was young, my Dad used to say, ‘Son, we’re all going to die one day. Why don’t you take a little time to do some good along the way … Take a little time ... (music fades going into chorus.) Gregor (low voiceover, speaking intimately into a microphone): Welcome to... Continue Reading →
... that I would let April pass without my annual infliction of my musical masterpiece (there's no other word for it) Mud Season Romance? This particular version overlays an acoustic recording with some electronic ornamentation contributed by, then, teenage sons, Jacob and Patrick. Their Iron John hostility is on full display. If you listen closely... Continue Reading →
[APOLOGIES!! I just found out that my post for April Fools missed its schedule, meaning that, for once, it was WordPress, not me, that screwed up. Here it is ... belatedly. SB SM] April Fools!! Seriously ... did you think you'd get rid of me that easily? This first musical interlude is from SB Bill,... Continue Reading →
Stick Season may be the hit, but Mud Season Romance was the original ode to Vermont's most fickle season. [It's a ritual that you, as Silverback and Silverbelles, Silverbabes, Silverbucks, and Silverpups, up with which you must put. This trio consists of Stephen Morris (approximately age 42), Jacob Morris (age 11), and Patrick Morris (age... Continue Reading →
[While SB Sandy and I are basking in the sun of San Miguel de Allende it is an early spring back in Vermont. This is both good and bad news. The good is that the sap is flowing, people can begin their garden clean-ups, and pick-up the winter's accumulation of dogshit in the yard. The... Continue Reading →
by Silverback Bill (Hinesburg SBs) (A driver navigates ruts on Texas Hill Road in Hinesburg March 21, 2022. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger) It’s only January and the annual back-roads slalom season has begun – where even the most abstemious seem to be driving under the influence. Some experienced back-roads slalom drivers appear like recent arrivals... Continue Reading →
Mud Season in Vermont this year has been described as "biblical." We haven't experienced the worst of it, because we are "Frippin Out" (see yesterday's post), plus we live on the stretch of Gilead Brook Road that is paved. This fellow set out on his four-wheeler to experience the season first-hand. You may want to... Continue Reading →
[Editor's Note: For those of you expecting an April Fools Day issue of Silverback Digest, we are ensconced in April Fools Month. SB SM] THE ZEN OF MUD What can you say about Mud Season that has not been said? This subject has been scrutinized from more angles than Camel’s Hump. But Mud Season isn’t... Continue Reading →
MUD SEASON ROMANCE Spenser Lewis. Learn more at spencerlewismusic.com I wrote this song thinking it would make me a household word. Is “obscure” a household word? By means of explanation, Ashley’s is, or was, a local watering hole in Randolph, Vermont. It was a place that regularly lived up to its reputation, exemplified by the... Continue Reading →