Freewill Astrology, May 28 – June 3, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keith Moon played drums for the rock band the Who. He was once voted the second-greatest drummer in history. But his erratic behavior, often provoked by drugs or alcohol,...
View ArticleMy Favorite Walk: An Occasional Pilgrimage to St. Thomas the Apostle Church...
On occasion, to keep up my health, I take a walk. Nearby my home in West Springfield is a mile-long stretch of sidewalk with no hills, few cars, and even fewer people outside. The homes are densely...
View Article‘Minute Clinic’ Some pharmacies are providing quick care to fill the gaps...
Sitting on a folding chair in a small room at the back of CVS/ Pharmacy in Northampton, Christopher Meoli of Northborough had the sleeve of his T-shirt rolled up waiting for the needle family nurse...
View ArticleJump In: The Valley’s best swimmin’ spots
Those coastal dwellers don’t even know what they’re missing. Sure, they can boast miles of swimmable water, waves, seagulls — the whole summer package. But do they have rope swings? Waterfalls...
View ArticleThe V-Spot: At The End of My (Long-Distance) Rope
Hello Yana, I’ve been seeing a great guy for almost a year now who lives one and a half hours away. We’ve seen each other less than 15 times in the past year and I do 90 percent of the driving. We talk...
View ArticleFree Will Astrology: June 4-10, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Persian scholar Avicenna was so well-rounded in his knowledge that he wrote two different encyclopedias. Even as a teenager he was obsessed with learning all he could....
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Scene Here: For Love or Baseball?
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, said in his poem “Locksley Hall” that in springtime a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love. Maybe so. I’m long past remembering almost anything about being a young man;...
View ArticleMy Favorite Walk: Forest, barren, beautiful, life after The Tornado
My favorite walk is around my backyard. Although this may seem rather common, my yard is still new to me and very much an evolving space. Four years ago my backyard was a dense forest filled with...
View ArticleFree Will Astology: June 11-17, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “To look at a thing hard and straight and seriously — to fix it.” Aries author Henry James said he wanted to do that on a regular basis. He didn’t want to be “arbitrary” or...
View ArticleThe V-Spot: Dating clichés that need to go
So many sex and dating clichés, so many hot-tub induced yeast-infections, accidental sex farts, and awkward threesomes. Here’s to half-a-dozen intimate “ideals” that gotta go: ∎ Subtly hit on your...
View ArticleDawn of the Dad: Fatherhood is being redefined by a new generation of...
“I always knew that I wanted to be a dad,” Joey Mella tells me. “Then I got married and we had three children very quickly. Now I’m kind of maxed out.” The middle child, two-year-old Ati Mella-Reiss,...
View ArticleThe V-Spot: Masturbation, how much is too much?
Dear Yana, Is it normal for my husband to jerk off four times in a day? And then not want me? — XO Dear XO, Maintaining a certain amount of individualism while you’re in a relationship with someone is...
View ArticleFree Will Astrology, June 18-24, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Would you like to stop pushing and struggling for a while? Is there a clenched attitude you would love to let go of? Do you wish you could take a break from having to give...
View ArticleStaying Home With Baby: Most dads-to-be qualify for 8 weeks of paternity...
Soon-to-be parents Amy Mathers and Paul Kearney, of Limerick, Ireland, were in Florence recently visiting Mathers’ family. Mathers and Kearney are expecting their first child in September. The two...
View ArticleMy Favorite Walk: Strolling With the Heifers
There’s nothing more amazing than walking to your own theme music. As a nearby high school marching band lifts flutes, trumpets, and saxophones to their mouths, and the drummers behind them start to...
View ArticleThe V-Spot: My 12-year-old is watching porn. Now what?
Hi Yana, I’ve enjoyed hearing you speak on the sexpert panels at the Platinum Pony. Your name popped into my head today after learning my 12-year-old son has begun to dip his toes into the world of...
View ArticleFree Will Astrology, June 25-July 1, 2015
ARIES (March 21-April 19): During my regular hikes along my favorite trails, I’ve gotten to know the local boulders quite intimately. It might sound daft, but I’ve come to love them. I’ve even given...
View Article@work: The Man in the Mosque: A visit with spiritual leader Wissam Abdul-Baki...
Wissam Abdul-Baki leans forward in his chair. “Try it,” he murmurs. “Say ‘Allah.’ ” I do as he instructs, drawing out the second ‘A’ into a long “aww” sound. I think it sounds pretty good, but he pats...
View ArticleMy Favorite Walk: Ruins and Raptors on Easthampton’s Manhan Rail Trail
Rail trails are a dime a dozen around these parts, but Easthampton’s Manhan Rail Trail is, for me, the finest of them. In the middle of its run, it dissects a nondescript end of town, crossing busy...
View ArticleBreaking Dad, an occassional series of parenting bad-vice: The Cheeto Full Monty
So this, it turns out, was the Father’s Day I had Cheetos up my nose. Not in a funny way, but more a sort of philosophical reverie way, like that glazed look you get after you’ve had seven ice cream...
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