The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us so many life lessons in recent months. Chief among them is that nature is in charge in so many profound ways. Our lives have been upended as we’ve struggled to weave and dodge in response to this forceful infectious disease. Jennifer Bristol is here to remind us that we should always be […]
Frederic Reamer
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This I Believe New England – Poems
Words matter. They matter a lot. We string words together in myriad ways. Sentences filled with compelling prose. Catchy phrases that inspire us. One-word exclamations, some of which are unprintable and can’t be said on the air. And then there’s poetry: the exquisitely careful, often delicate, assemblage of words that linger together artfully in ways […]
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This I Believe New England – Family Connections
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned all of our lives upside down. For many of us, our jobs and educations have been disrupted, our social lives outside of a Zoom screen have been put on hold, our emotional life has been severely challenged. One of the byproducts of the coronavirus is that many of us have a […]
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This I Believe New England – Gravestones
Perhaps most of us have spent some time anticipating our own deaths, our own mortality. Maybe these are but fleeting moments, or maybe not. Have you ever pictured the gravestone meant for you, and what it might mean to those who visit your grave site? For many of us this may be a macabre subject, […]
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This I Believe New England – The Heart of America
“There but for the grace of God go I.” Now there’s an expression we’ve all heard, commonly attributed to the 16th century English reformer John Bradford, among others. The message, of course, pertains to situations where we find ourselves better off than those we encounter. Indeed, life produces so many circumstances where we witness the profound suffering […]
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This I Believe New England – Against Daunting Odds
It’s no secret that many people struggle in life: job-related problems, relationship challenges, mental health issues, financial uncertainty. The list goes on and on. Yet, some people are remarkably resilient in the face of chronic adversity. Against daunting odds, they manage to flourish amidst nearly overwhelming challenges. In Paradise Lost, John Milton wrote, “Even the demons are encouraged when […]
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This I Believe New England – Seasons
No doubt you have noticed how our lives ebb and flow, much like the seasons. Both literally and figuratively we get to experience the wonder of stunningly beautiful spring days and the bitter assault delivered by the occasional winter blizzard. Such is life. Indeed, seasons seem to be able to teach us so much about […]
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This I Believe New England – Childhood Home
In his novel Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin writes these evocative words: “Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” This may not be true for all of us, but it is, no doubt, for many of us. Our childhood homes somehow manage to stay with us, not physically, of course, but in our hearts […]
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This I Believe New England – Life Paths
Have you spent some time reflecting on how you found your path in life? Assuming you have one, that is. Was your path linear, the calculated culmination of a 5, 10, or 20-year plan? Or was it more circuitous, perhaps the result of a series of fits and starts, happenstance, or maybe just dumb luck? […]
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This I Believe New England – A Larger Neighborhood
For so many of us, pets are at the center of our lives. They have a remarkable capacity to gauge our moods, comfort us, even protect us. And, pets can also take us outside of ourselves, helping us to discover and connect with the rich and complicated world that surrounds us. And that’s what we hear from Don […]