Pearl Harbor Day: Tribute to Walter Welch and the weighty memories carried in his heart

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Monday, December 7, 2015

Knowing their big guns had been rendered useless, Walter Welch led his four-man detail below deck where they were able to grab four Browning automatic rifles. They hefted boxes of ammo, bolted topside and started firing at the bombers overhead. The memory made Walter shake his head. ”Firing at a bomber with a BAR,” he said softly before looking away.

Healing power of peas: Remember when Manchester was the Habitant Soup hub?

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Friday, December 4, 2015

You can say chicken soup is the universal remedy for the winter sniffles. But for centuries, the cagey Quebecois have had their own populist remedy for the common cold, and not suprisingly, that remedy found its culinary zenith right here in Manchester.

Behind the ‘Eightball’: On solitary confinement, loss and letters from prison

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Friday, December 4, 2015

When John was 17 he was in juvenile detention due to an assault he made on his sister’s boyfriend. John was in the bathroom taking a shower. A friend snatched John’s towel off the rack while the water was running and ran off down the hall with it. John jumped out of the shower and ran after him to get the towel back. As he says, they were just kids goofing off, and he got his towel back. Later he was arrested for indecent exposure and taken to jail.

Thanks and giving: Mere words that fail us in the aftermath of ISIS terror strike

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Thursday, November 26, 2015

Feasting around harvest time is also something humans have been doing forever, contrary to popular lore. Giving thanks for sustenance was not a ritual invented 400 years ago by a boatload of Puritan refugees fleeing unrest in their home country, seeking safe harbor and a new beginning on Wampanoag shores.

Annual Christmas parade Dec. 5: All the fun, without the 76 trombones, elephant poo and flaming torches

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Everyone loves a parade, and this year will be epic. But who can forget Manchester’s storied parade past, including Jumbo the Elephant’s contribution to Elm Street, or Tippecanoe and Tyler Too?

Inmate John, Part 2: ‘It’s about time I put my big-boy pants on’ and work toward parole

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Tuesday, November 17, 2015

After John’s parole was denied, I encouraged him to put effort into creating art that he could sell in order to pay off his restitution, which he had managed to pay down from $,5000 to about $1,500 in the 25 years he has been incarcerated. I have paid to have six of his pieces properly mounted, matted and framed, including this one called “Evil Ways.”

Timely turkey rescue for a humane Thanksgiving twist

Saturday, January 18, 2025Sunday, November 15, 2015

If you haven’t heard about the Adopt-a-Turkey Project, it works like this. You go online, read all about the turkeys rescued from factory farms, choose your favorite, and then donate $30 to help all the farm animals.

‘We need to take seriously the public health aspect of opiate addiction and overdose’

Saturday, January 18, 2025Saturday, November 14, 2015

We need to take seriously the public health aspect of opiate addiction and overdose. Instead of focusing on filling more jail cells, we should commit to making more health resources available to those who need them. At the end of the day, drug addiction is solely a medical issue. I have been proud to work with my legislative colleagues here in New Hampshire to tackle these issues in a rational, compassionate way, and urge our representatives in Congress to do the same.

Dear Dr. Brady: I suspect my child’s classmate may be suffering abuse. What should I do?

Saturday, January 18, 2025Tuesday, November 10, 2015

“My child came home with another student’s notebook. When I asked my child about who it belonged too, they said it belonged to a friend in their class. I noticed inside the notebook that there were suggestive pictures in the book. On another page there was a note that said “please stop hurting me.” I am so worried about this child and I don’t know what to do!”

Amazing Grace: Evolution of a prison letter-writing ministry

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Monday, November 9, 2015

John, a prisoner in California, is a prolific writer, sending me 20 letters in 2012, 38 in 2013, 58 in 2014 and over 40 already in 2015. Letters are often delayed in being delivered so it is not uncommon to hear from him for several weeks that he has received no mail from me even though I write fairly regularly. Even the slightest break in my letter-writing would bring an apologetic letter saying he hoped he had not offended me in any way.