01/26/2023 Weirs Times

The Fine Ar T OF MAking CArAMel POPCOrn

by Eric Gibson Simple Feast Columnist

Popcorn is one of those addictions I loath. We have a love hate relationship, popcorn and I, because popcorn is too easy to make. And with today’s artificially manufactured concoctions, you can have hot steaming popcorn in a myriad of flavors, quite literally at your fingertips, in less than three minutes.

My addiction to popcorn began as most do, at an impressionable age. I can remember being just a wee one when I first saw it. I opened the cellar door, and there, hanging from a nail, a long black metal rod, capped

off at one end by a wooden handle, a string threaded through a hole in its end. At the other end, closer to my face and having a faint yet unforgettable burnt odor, was a small rectangular wire basket, not too deep, just a few inches, with a cover of metal mesh stretched over a wire frame. The wire frame, coming together at one end, led up the shaft to a “T” about midway of the overall length. Pulling back on the “T” would draw the cover away from the basket. This antiquated contraption was the Popcorn Popper. Tossing in a few kernels and pushing the “T” forward closed the cov-

Pemi Choral Looking For Singers

The Pemigewasset Choral Society (Pemi Choral) is beginning rehearsals for its May Broadway-themed concerts; A Grand Night for Singing.

Rehearsals take place at the Silver Center for Performing Arts at Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, on Monday evenings from 7pm pm to 9pm, with optional sectional rehearsals that start at 6:30pm

The chorus welcomes any interested singer, new or old, to join them.

If you sang with Pemi in December, or anytime in the

past, they would love to see you return. The first three rehearsals may be attended without obligation to see if Pemi is the right fit for you. Also, invite friends to join in. For more information, please visit pemichoral.org, and find them on Facebook.

THE WEIRS, LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, N.H., THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2023

Simple Feast Columnist Eric Gibson recalls the wonder of popcorn making before microwaves and other new gadgets. ERIC GIBSON PHOTO

The Case For Columbus Day

To The Editor:

Having taught 5th and 6th Grade World Geography to Elementary students for 35 years, and having studied the readings of the sailing tactics of the Portuguese under the leadership of Prince Henry the Navigator, I think I know a little more than the average person about this world-renowned figure known as Christopher Columbus. After all, I’m of Italian heritage, and he is a heroic figure. Why wouldn’t I want to know more about him?

I just learned that the state of New Hampshire is considering changing the name of the holiday honoring this great man to “Indigenous Peoples Day” due to claims that Columbus was a “slave owner” and a “racist.” Owning slaves was a common practice 600 years ago! “Racist” is a contemporary, woke term.

Columbus brought two worlds together, the “Old World” consisting of the countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa and the “New World” consisting of the many countries of North America, Central America, and South America. Many migrants coming to America today are coming to the place discovered by Columbus! Columbus enabled the Eastern Hemisphere to learn of the Western Hemisphere. He transported agricultural products like maize (corn), squash, peanuts, cocoa (from which we get “chocolate”!),

tobacco, beans, pumpkins, pineapples, vanilla, potatoes, tomatoes, and all kinds of “New World spices” to the “Old World,” and returned “Old World” products, such as coffee, to transplant in the “New World.” This “Columbian Exchange” was an economic boon to both “worlds.” He brought two unknown worlds and many cultures together for our contemporary understanding of current world geography/ world economy. For that accomplishment alone, he deserves worldwide recognition, forever!

He was a brave and courageous innovator as well as a great salesman. Time and again in the late 1400’s, he was rejected by the Spanish Court (King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella) only to remain persistent and steadfast in his dream to sail westward to reach the East Indies. Finally, after the conquest of the Moors, and the reunification of Spain, the Spanish monarchs were able to grant Columbus’ request for money, men, and ships in return for the promise of great wealth and glory. Columbus wanted to prove that he could travel west to get to the East, ie China, Japan, and the Spice Islands (presentday Indonesia). By doing so, Columbus would cut out the lengthy and dangerous camel trips and caravans across the deserts of Asia which were constantly attacked by desert marauders. Also, a sailing ship could carry more goods than a camel caravan! But,

Our StOry

This newspaper was first published in 1883 by Mathew H. Calvert as Calvert’s Weirs Times and Tourists’ Gazette and continued until Mr. Calvert’s death in 1902. The new Weirs Times was reestablished in 1992 and strives to maintain the patriotic spirit of its predecessor as well as his devotion to the interests of Lake Winnipesaukee. Our newspaper’s masthead and the map of Lake Winnipesaukee in the center spread are elements in today’s paper which are taken from Calvert’s historic publication.

Locally owned for 30 years, this publication is devoted to printing the stories of the people

how to get to the East Indies? Umm, sail west from Europe! He couldn’t go along the coast of Africa because that was the “Portuguese Route” bringing the Portuguese to India 600 years ago. Competition and piracy would have exploded between Portuguese and Spanish sailing ships. So, Columbus went west. However, 600 years ago, no one ventured to sail the dark, dangerous waters to the west of Europe. They feared never returning to Europe. They knew very little of the winds and currents of the “Atlantic Ocean,” as it later was called. Columbus had sailed with the Portuguese, and had studied their charts. He knew he could get back because the currents and winds were circular, “westerlies in the North Atlantic,” and “easterlies in the Central Atlantic.” Just think of the meteorological routes of our contemporary hurricanes, westward from Africa nearer the Equator and eastward toward Europe in the upper latitudes. Another Italian explorer named Amerigo Vespucci set forth the-then revolutionary concept that the lands Columbus visited in 1492 were part of a separate continent. A map created in 1507 by Martin Waldseemuller was the first to depict this new continent with the name “America,” a Latinized version of “Amerigo.”

Don’t take away the genius, outstanding accomplishments and contributions to world geography/world economy, to sailing, to world exploration, to

and places that make New Hampshire the best place in the world to live. No, none of the daily grind news will be found in these pages, just the good stuff.

Published year round on Thursdays, we distribute 24,000 copies of the Weirs Times every week to the Lakes Region/Concord/ Seacoast area and the mountains and have an estimated 60,000 people reading this newspaper.

To find out how your business or service can benefit from advertising with us please call 603-366-8463.

PO Box 5458 Weirs, NH 03247 Weirs.com info@weirs.com facebook.com/weirstimes 603-366-8463

Not So LoNg Ago

...

Exploring ThE lEgEnd & lorE of our graniTE STaTE

leTTing My Mind WAnder envirOnMenTAl ThOughTs

by Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr. Contributing Writer

I’ve always thought of myself as somewhat of an environmentalist, though I’m not sure I’ve really quite understood what that word really means, particularly that last “mentalist” part. I know mental has to do with the mind, so, seeing I do not have access to the internet for a few days this week, I decided to do a little mind searching about my efforts to improve the environment. Actually, I have thought of myself as more of a conservationist than the other word, but in the world of word meanings they must be at least cousins,

As a child on a small farm I believe there were a number of positive steps taken to help the environment. For one thing the number of cattle on the farm had been reduced considerably from when my grandparents were young, and though nobody knew it back then, today we are told that fewer cows will help

reduce global warming. At some point we also stopped using arsenic to kill the bugs on the potato plants.

An alternative method was to use poisons that weren’t as toxic, or simply to take all the potato bugs off the plants by hand. My siblings and I even found a use for the potato bugs we harvested from the growing plants. The little baby ones that hadn’t gotten their wings yet we could just sqoosh between potato plant leaves, but the mature ones we used to entertain us in potato bug races.

At some point my Dad stopped spraying poison on the fruit trees, also. Most of them were apple trees, but there were plum and pear trees , too. These were

taken for granted, and only later in life did I realize what a blessing it was to have this fruit available to us each Fall.

Without something on the trees to kill or at least discourage the pests from harming the apples, the quality of the same deteriorated. This supposedly helped the environment, however, and we could still use the apples, some years even making apple cider to sell. If all the ingredients of that cider were accurately listed on a label I suppose it would have to include “worm.” But never fear, we always sampled the product before we sold it. They could have also been labeled “organic.” As

BIRDS For The

New England’s Wild Birds & Their Habitats

TOP Birding MOMenTs OF 2022

An American redstart perches in the brush in New England.

by Chris Bosak Contributing Writer

It already seems as if 2022 is a mere dot in the rearview mirror. Before it fades even more, I want to present my annual “top birding moments of the year” column. It’s a tradition that goes back several years and

is one of my favorite columns to write. I also encourage readers to send to me their favoriteA birding (or wildlife) moments of 2022.

10. Bears! On my drive home from looking at land in far north New Hampshire, I noticed three dark blobs at the far edge of a huge field. I hit the brakes, turned around and pulled over. The blobs were three bears -- a mother and two cubs. Bears are becoming increasingly common throughout New England. I hope we learn to co-exist peacefully.

9. Rarities in the yard. I enjoy seeing the common feeder birds daily in the yard, but the excitement is

turned up a notch when something notso-common shows up. Bluebirds, red-breasted nuthatches and pine warblers were among the birds that showed up this year.

8. Hawk alert Something darted across my field of vision in a flash as I worked from home in the winter. I diverted my eyes from the computer to the yard and noticed a young Cooper’s hawk perched on a fence post. A few weeks later, my cat was twitching and staring at something out of the window. A Cooper’s hawk, perhaps the same one, was sitting in the birdbath.

7. Loons . Any year in which I see or hear

a common loon is a good year. Thankfully, that happens every year. We are blessed to live in this part of the country.

6. American redstarts. I was lucky enough this spring to find the nesting areas of several American redstarts. The males popped out of the brush to cause a diversion any time I would walk by. Redstarts are handsome black and orange warblers.

5. Estuary magazine photos . Estuary magazine, a highgloss and terrific magazine about life along the Connecticut River, used several of my photographs to illustrate an article on brant. Brant are

CHRIS BOSAK PHOTO

F OOL

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Brendan is off this week. This column is from his book “I Really Only Did It For The Socks.”

my humble opinion, that final reward.

nological age since I had to transition into it as opposed to those who were born into it. I think it is wonderful that I can order a package of pencils on Amazon and have it at my doorstep within two days. But, if I have to wait longer, I can deal with it.

The other day I was driving to work when I saw ahead of me a young man standing by the side of the road, wearing a backpack while staring at his cell phone. Upon hearing the sound of my approaching car, he looked up for a second, stuck out his thumb and then continued to look at his phone as I drove past.

by Brendan Smith Weirs Times Editor

Maybe he was on Facebook, giving a few dozen thumbs up without working too hard on his thumb out. Maybe he was checking on a few of his hundreds of his so-called “friends” none of whom, obviously, were up for giving him a lift that day. Maybe he was posting how frustrated he was that no one was stopping to give him a lift and then constantly checking to see how many people liked what he had to say.

Now, first off, I don’t usually pick up hitchhikers, but if I did, I’d expect a little more of an effort on his part before I would stop.

You know what I mean. The backwards walk with that look of despair, the long gaze towards the passing motorist, trying to relay the emotion of desperation and fatigue. The raised thumb that continues to move with the direction of the passing car until the very last second it has passed you. And, of course, the final turn and glance at the car as it heads off into the distance, hoping the driver of the car will give one last look in his rearview mirror, reconsider, and then stop.

At least that’s the way I learned the game in my youth.

Hitchhiking was work and took a bit of effort. It was a free ride that still needed to be earned with a little effort. It took some acting and being able to play on the driver’s empathy.

It was an art form in a way.

Looking up from your phone for a second, half-heartedly sticking out your thumb and then going back to whatever is so important on your little screen, just doesn’t deserve, in

Still, it all seemed perfectly in line with the times we live in. Many of us, young and old, just expect the rewards without all the work. I don’t know how long that young man waited until he got a ride, but I can imagine that each car that passed him was the one at fault for not stopping to pick him up. After all (with apologies to Julius Caesar) “He came, He put out his thumb, He deserves a ride.”

We live today in a world of instant gratification; we want everything, and we want it yesterday. Instant messages, the answer to any question at our fingertips, one-hour delivery by drones at the click of a button. (Of course, we hicks up here in New Hampshire have to wait until the next day for our deliveries, sometimes even longer than 24-hours. It’s like living in the Stone Age.)

I don’t mean to sound like a grumpy old man, (which doesn’t dismiss the fact that I am) but I’m glad I grew up when I did. The patience and anticipation of actually waiting for something, using our imagination to make up games to play, not worrying about looking at our phones every ten seconds, rolling our eyes at the WWII generation who told us we didn’t know how easy we had it.

I feel that I have a greater appreciation for this tech -

I appreciate being able to immediately communicate with family members in case of emergency, but I don’t get frustrated if a slow internet keeps me from instantly sharing a video of a sleeping cat falling off a chair.

I enjoy the fact that I can instantly call up an old movie I haven’t seen in years on my television and enjoy it when I want and pause it for unavoidable bathroom breaks. Still, I am just as happy rereading an old favorite book if the information super highway isn’t cooperating.

I like that I can live in both worlds. The world of getting things fast if needed and the world of being grateful for the opportunity to do so. The world of realizing that this new age of instant gratification will never apply to every single thing in it and some things still take some time and effort to achieve.

The world of realizing that just because I exist, that doesn’t mean I am owed a thing.

Of course, instead of complaining about the younger generation and their need for having everything right away, I could use this to my advantage. Maybe if I see the young man hitchhiking again, I will stop, pick him up and then lecture him on how his generation doesn’t know how easy they have it while he rolls his eyes at me.

Order

in Live Free or Die. brendan@weirs.com brendan@weirs.com

*A FLATLANDER’S OBSERVATIONS ON LIFE

*

The sTruggle TO PrOTeCT liFe COnTinues

Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, pro-life Americans will March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Hundreds of thousands will march, as they have marched since 1973.

But this year, it is different.

This year, the march will take place, for the first time, in an America where Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land.

rACiAl rePArATiOns sOlve nOThing

by Ben Shapiro Syndicated Columnist

This is what pro-life Americans have been working toward and praying for all these years. And now we show that our nation is still a nation where dreams come true. And a nation where, despite often losing our way, sooner or later truth returns.

by Star Parker Syndicated Columnist

Reading how the Supreme Court’s decision in June of 2022, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is widely reported, we see that many still do not understand what happened in that decision, which ended the Roe v. Wade regime.

Pew Research reports that, in Dobbs, the Supreme Court ruled to “end the constitutional right to abortion.”

National Public Radio reported last June that the court reversed Roe v. Wade, “declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists.”

The Dobbs decision was not just about abortion. It was about restoring the way the court should be doing its job.

The court cannot, despite what many in the media seem to think, create or end rights. The court’s job, judicial review, is to apply, not create, reality. That reality is the U.S. Constitution.

The complaint all these years about Roe v. Wade has been that only someone with either a very active imagination or a very active conviction that their personal opinion is more important than what the Constitution actually says could find a right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution.

The conservative judges who ruled to overturn that decision did not rule as they did to “end” rights. They did it because nowhere in the U.S. Constitution is there anything written that can be understood to be a right to abortion.

Consider that the preamble of the Constitution explains its purpose “to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Can anyone believe that the drafter of that passage felt that among those blessings of liberty is a right for a woman to abort her child?

Or consider further that our Constitution, the operating manual for our free nation, had to be amended to make slavery illegal. Is it in any way conceivable that the original language of our Constitution

This week, the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee released a report calling on the city to pay every black resident $5 million and absolve all of their outstanding personal debt. Their rationale was broad -as it had to be, since California was founded as a free state: “While neither San Francisco, nor California, formally adopted the institution of chattel slavery, the tenets of segregation, white supremacy and systematic repression and exclusion of Black people were codified through legal and extralegal actions, social codes, and judicial enforcement.”

This rationale serves as the same sort of catchall term as “equity,” widely beloved by the political Left. It conflates specific harms from deliberate policies -- which deserve redress -- with vague societal ills that indirectly and unverifiably impact the specific life paths of individuals. Thus, every inequality between blacks and whites, for example, becomes an instance of societal failure, to be cured with social engineering.

This is bad ethics, and it is bad social science. It’s bad ethics because the innocent should not be forced to pay people against whom they have not sinned, and because the connection between continued suffering and past discrimination must be measured and clarified rather than merely assumed. It’s bad social science because it ignores the role of individual decision-making in persistent intergenerational inequality, despite the massive intervention of state, local and federal government.

Simply put, the preferred solution of San Francisco’s reparations committee -- simply cutting checks -- has been a dramatic failure in the United States. In 1965, speaking at Howard Univer -

sity, President Lyndon Baines Johnson explained that he wanted to pursue a program of widespread redistributionism in order to right the racial wrongs of the past: “You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, ‘you are free to compete with all the others,’ and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.”

To that end, the federal government has spent in excess of $25 trillion on redistribution programs in the United States. The result has been exceedingly poor: While the income gap ratio between the poorest quintile of Americans and the wealthiest quintile of Americans post-transfer payments and taxes is just 4-to-1, the wealth gap between black and white Americans has skyrocketed from approximately $50,000 pre-1960 to well over $130,000 in 2016. Why? Because it turns out that public policy designed to alleviate inequality can also alleviate the consequences of bad decision-making. If we assume that all inequality is inequity, then solving inequality should alleviate inequity -- but if it turns out that a great deal of inequality is the result of bad decision-making, then inequality cannot be solved by simply helicoptering money to those at the bottom end of the economic ladder.

And yet the Left continues to do precisely that. Then they wonder why intergenerational wealth creation has not narrowed the racial gap. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that 70% of black children are born to unwed mothers; nearly 8 out of 100 black males drop out of school; black college students tend to major in subjects that result in worse job prospects (just 12% of black students get a bachelor’s degree in STEM, compared with 33% of Asian students and 18% of white students, for example); one-third of the American prison population is black.

It is possible

The reCyCling religiOn

For decades, we’ve been told: recycle!

“If we’re not using recycled paper, we’re cutting down more trees!” says Lynn Hoffman, co-president of Eureka Recycling. Recycling paper (or cardboard) does save trees. Recycling aluminum does save energy. But that’s about it.

Even Greenpeace now says, “Plastic recycling is a dead-end street.” Hoffman often trucks it to a landfill.

Years ago, science writer John Tierney wrote a New York Times Magazine story, “Recycling Is Garbage.” It set a Times record for hate mail.

People think landfills are horrible polluters. But they’re not. Regulations (occasionally, government regulations are actually useful) make sure today’s landfills have protective barriers so they don’t leak.

load.

by John Stossel Syndicated Columnist

The ugly truth is that many “recyclables” sent to recycling plants are never recycled. The worst is plastic.

But what he wrote was true.

“It’s even more true today,” says Tierney in my new video. “Recycling is an industry that uses increasingly expensive labor to produce materials that are worth less and less.”

It would be smarter to just dump our garbage in landfills.

Eventually, landfills are turned into good things: ski hills, parks and golf courses.

But aren’t we running out of landfill space? For years, alarmist media said we were. But that’s not true.

In 1987, media gave lots of publicity to a garbage barge that traveled thousands of miles trying and failing to find a place to dump its

But that barge wasn’t rejected because there was a lack of room. States turned the barge away after hysterical media suggested it contained “infectious waste.” The Environmental Protection Agency later found it was normal garbage.

Landfills have plenty of room for that. In fact, America has more space than we will ever need. Sometimes states and businesses even compete to get our garbage.

“If you think of the United States as a football field,” says Tierney, “all the garbage that we will generate in the next 1,000 years would

See STOSSEL on 27

T A lking s ense T O T he T A li BA n ?

shambolic pullout by the Biden Administration, opened the floodgates for a wider tragedy in this long suffering South Asian state and moreover whet the political appetite for authoritarian regimes worldwide to probe new aggressions.

by John J. Metzler Syndicated Columnist

It’s seems like a profound contradiction; trying to convince Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to accept foreign humanitarian help for their own starving population. Thus as beleaguered Afghan civilians endure a brutal winter, the sanctimonious Islamic fundamentalist regime in Kabul has largely restricted international aid agencies because they employ women.

The appalling collapse Afghanistan in August 2021 to the Taliban militants due to the shameful and

Into the fray came the UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed and her delegation for a four day fact-finding mission to try to talk sense and try to find some common ground with the “de facto authorities” aka the Taliban, so that fewer Afghans will be at the mercy of medievalist mullahs. Currently up to 25 million people depend on foreign humanitarian assistance.

This aid was threatened recently when the Taliban ordered that women would be barred from working in these aid agencies. The visiting UN team stated, “the delegation directly conveyed the alarm over the recent decree banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations, a move that undermines the work of numerous organizations helping millions of vulnerable Afghans.”

The UN team added that this latest “clampdown on working women followed edicts from the fundamentalist Taliban to close universities to female students, until further notice, and preventing girls from attending secondary school.”

Equally Women and girls have been ordered to stop using parks, gyms, and banned from most areas of the workforce.

Separately the UN Security Council was “deeply alarmed by reports that the Taliban have suspended access to universities for women and girls,” and suspended girls from schools beyond the sixth grade.

Is this 1223 or 2023??

Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed stated, “these restrictions present Afghan women and girls with a future that confines them in their own homes, violating their rights and depriving the communities of their services”. She

See METZLER on 27

Letters From God

This series of Letters From God is an attempt to put the thoughts of God as revealed in the Scriptures as they relate to individuals and the nation of the USA.

my word and will. They sought to create standards and laws that were based on my desires and commands.

make war against him?” (Revelation 13:3-4).

Letters From God

QUESTION: Why Are Our Leaders Opposing God And His Longstanding Values?

In my last two letters I reminded you that before my Son Jesus, your Savior, returns to the earth to consummate human history, a world political leader called the Antichrist will appear. As I mentioned he will be marked by a number of godless characteristics.

I have already informed you that he will be lawless. He will reject my laws and form his own, which will include breaking the laws he has pledged to uphold and defend. I also reminded you that until the time of his appearance, there will be a “spirit” of lawlessness. This “spirit” includes the major values of the Antichrist which will be present in many leaders before the final lawless one is revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3,7). This “spirit” of the Antichrist is alive and well and becoming prominent in your country and in the world. It is being manifested in many dramatic ways. You have brought into leadership many who either actively or passively have forsaken me and my word. Your country was built and established primarily, by men and women who bowed before me and were devoted to

Over time however, because you have forsaken me, you have elected a corps of leaders who follow and espouse the beliefs of the Devil. These are the same beliefs that the Antichrist, when he is revealed, will exhibit and promote.

A second major characteristic of both the actual Antichrist as well as the “spirit” of the Antichrist is that deceptions and lies will be commonplace. You will be deceived with brazen lies and deception.

In this letter I want to remind you of yet another fatal flaw of the future Antichrist leader and those, who today reflect his evil spirit and values.

His very name, the Antichrist, speaks of how he will assume a posture of being equal to Jesus, my Son and your Savior, yet manifest behavior that will be diametrically opposite of who my Son is and what he did in his life and ministry on earth. In fact, he will appear to be good but will actually be inspired by the Devil from hell, so that he will bear the name, the “Beast.” (Revelation 13:2). Of him I have written, “The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon (Devil) because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “who is like the beast? Who can

Lest you think no one would worship a man as God, remember the Pharaohs of Egypt, the leaders of Greece, the Caesars of Roman and many others who were worshiped as “gods.” So also, the Antichrist and those who have the “spirit” of the Antichrist before he actually appears, will be recognized as “gods,” who will be worshipped in place of my Son, Jesus. With respect to his character however, everything about him and his reign, will be Anti-Christ. “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies…He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.” (Revelation 13:5-6) Note as well that he will practice and promote “every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9,10).

Open your eyes and see how this “spirit” of the Antichrist is alive and well and, in your midst, as I write. Your leaders, many of whom say they follow me, are promoting and championing behavior and practices that are categorically opposite to my will and desires. Things that have always brought judgement and will continue to bring judgement because they are godless. This is particularly true with respect to encouraging sexual immorality, never allowed in your country before, but now being legislated by leaders who have brazenly said no to me and my values, in

order to promote their own immoral perversions.

It is as though they look me in the face and say, “we will be god,” and our values will be the opposite of yours. Things like defying my created order of maleness and femaleness, which I have indelibly stamped with chromosomal differences which are irrevocable. Secretly sexualizing children in schools, without informing parents, with education and practices I have deemed abominable and worthy of judgment. Then, when parents protest, after discovering the godless and immoral deception perpetrated against them and their children, lawsuits are brought against them, and they are called “terrorists.” Allowing biological men, remember the chromosomes, to invade the privacy of biological women’s, sports, locker rooms and bathrooms, is anti-Christ and evil.

Yes, the “spirit” of the Antichrist is upon you, and if you do not wake up from your wokeness, you will soon see me and my Son in judgement, even as every other nation before you have.

I love you enough to speak the truth to you, God

These letters are written by a New Hampshire pastor.

The Loon Center & Markus Wildlife Sanctuary

Now In 5th Printing!

The Flatlander Chronicles

Weirs Times F.O.O.L columnist, Brendan Smith’s first book with over 30 of the best of his original Flatlander Columns.

From learning to Rake The Roof to Going To The Dump to Buying Firewood for the first time and everything in between, Brendan recounts the humorous tales of his learning to fit into New Hampshire life as a Flatlander from New York.

Order your autographed copy today for $13.99 plus $3 for shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like the author to personalize your copy with.)

Make out checks or money orders for $16.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: The Flatlander Chronicles, c/o The Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247. Order online at www.BrendanTSmith.com (Pickup autographed copies at the Weirs Times)

Happy New Year! New Year! & Healthy & Healthy

While many people look forward to winter and its many seasonal activities, a significant percentage of us can find ourselves in a winter slump. Symptoms of

selF CAre FOr The WinTer Blues

Austin wants to tell you about a very important finding in medical research. Any decline in hearing results in declines in cognitive performance and brain function.

Audiology Specialists provides cognitive screening that can measure some aspects of cognitive performance. This is an in-office, computerized screening. This is not an IQ test or list of questions. It is a simple, automated assessment that takes about ten minutes to complete.

The results of this screening are not affected by hearing loss. The results help your audiologist determine which hearing aid is most appropriate and ensures your hearing solutions are right for you. The screening can be repeated at any time in the future to identify changes in cognitive performance.

Please call for more information or to schedule an appointment at 603-528-7700.

the winter blues can include lethargy, brain fog, a change in eating habits, struggling to think positively, and a general feeling of being down. If this resonates with you, understanding why this time of year can have this impact, and integrating simple strategies to lift our spirits can be especially useful. While several factors can influence our mood this time of year, such as reduced time outside and a slow down in some of the social activities we enjoy in warmer weather, the change in daylight hours plays an outsized role in how our brains respond to winter. That’s because less sunlight reduces both serotonin and melatonin in our brains, with serotonin responsible for feelings of happiness and well-being, and both important for maintaining a healthy

sleep pattern. Fortunately, by understanding how fewer daylight hours affect us, we can intentionally choose to increase other activities that have the ability to counterbalance these effects. One of the most powerful tools we have to increase serotonin production naturally is exercise. While getting outside and exercising during daylight is ideal, with the dual benefit of direct sunlight and release of all of the wonderful feel good chemicals our bodies create while moving, work schedules or an overall aversion to the cold don’t always allow for this. Fortunately, any intentional increase in movement is helpful to start pulling us out of a rut, and there are many low or no cost exercises, such as dancing to our favorite songs, that can be done within our home and on our own

time. If it is possible, getting outside in direct sunlight for even 10-30 minutes a day can have a positive impact on our mood, as can researching therapeuticquality lights that are designed to mimic the spectrum of light we receive from sunlight.

While late sunrises and early sunsets can also challenge our ability to stay on a regular sleep schedule, being intentional about going to bed and getting up at the same time each day will support our ability to get the proper amount of rest we need to help our brains regulate our emotions. Because daily exercise also supports healthy sleep patterns, you may find that as you begin implementing more movement, other aspects become easier to manage as well.

Lastly, while it can be tempting to pull in when we’re feeling grumpy, finding ways to socialize and maintain connections with our friends, family and community is another great way to help us feel better. Whether hosting a game night or finding a place to volunteer, intentionally creating opportunities for meaningful connection is another tried and true way to elevate our mood. And those who care about us the most would much rather we show up a little sluggish than to suffer in silence.

Happy New Year! & Healthy & Healthy

Happy New Year!

A BeTTer nighT’s sleeP...

by Dr. Denise M Pickowicz NH Concussion Center

Did you know that about 20 years of an individual’s lifetime is spent sleeping, but that most of us don’t sleep for the recommended minimum of 8 hours a night? Common sleep mistakes mean we don’t reap the numerous health benefits of sleep, or perform to the best of our ability. The demands and expectations of our modern society have placed increasing demands on our time, and more than ever people are making up for those demands by cutting back on sleep.

At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that the cost of insufficient sleep is much higher than most people realize.

Scientific research is revealing how sleep loss, and even poorquality sleep, can lead to an increase in errors at the workplace, decreased productivity, and accidents that cost both lives and resources. Awareness can help you improve your sleep habits and in turn, your safety. Lack of sleep exacts a toll on perception and judgment. In the workplace, its effects can be seen in reduced

efficiency and productivity, errors, and accidents. Sometimes the effects can even be deadly, as in the case of drowsy driving fatalities. We all know that we need to get a better night’s sleep but what are the benefits of sleep and what tips can we employ to ensure we get sufficient rest?

Why is getting enough sleep important? The benefits of sleep include:

• Healthier immune systems, sleep can help your body defend against illness.

• Maintaining a healthy weight.

• A Lower risk for serious health problems, like diabetes and heart disease.

• Reduced stress and improved mood.

• Better cognition allowing for clear thinking, improved attention and alertness, and better memory recall

• Creativity – REM sleep has been proven to be beneficial for creative processes.

• Injury preventionmost importantly, adequate sleep also can prevent injuries at work, at home, or on the road.

Helpful tips to improve your chances for a better night’s rest:

• Go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each morning, even on the weekends. An irregular sleep pattern confuses your internal body clock and causes disruption in your sleeping pattern.

• Avoid watching tele-

vision or using electronic devices such as tablets 2-hours prior to bed. Not only does the flicker rate and blue light of electronics affect our brain’s sleep patterns but electronic use tends to draw us in, leading to the chances of going to sleep later.

• Avoid long naps during the day as this can affect your ability to fall asleep at night.

Quick power naps of no longer then 20-minutes can aid in a quick boost of function but any longer could hinder nighttime slumber.

• Using your phone 30 minutes-2 hours prior to bed as the bright light from your phone mimics daylight and stops melatonin from being fully released, keeping you wide awake.

• Avoid caffeinated beverages 6 hours prior to bed

• Enjoy a warm Epsom salt bath to relax muscles and alleviate tension from the day

• Keep the temperature in your bedroom between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit for the most comfortable sleep.

By Dr. Denise M. Pickowicz, BS, DC, FIBFN-FN, CBIS, DACNB is a Doctor of Chiropractic, Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist, Fellow of the International Board of Functional Neurology, Certified Brain Injury Specialist and Owner of NH Concussion Center.

TO yOur gOOd heAlTh

Happy New Year! New Year! & Healthy & Healthy

by Dr. Keith Roach M.D. Syndicated Columnist

DEAR

was excised surgically. That eyelid then became infected without a chalazion and was treated with a second round of antibiotic drops. It remains a bit puffy and pinkish in color, which I chalked up to the new normal appearance.

DR. ROACH:

Are oral antibiotics ever prescribed to treat chalazions, in addition to eye drops and ointment? I have had two this year for seemingly no reason. They were treated with tobramycin eye drops, ointment and warm compresses. The first one didn’t resolve with those meds and

Now, a chalazion has developed in the other eyelid. I don’t wear eye makeup and use an eyelid cleanser recommended by my ophthalmologist. I am an otherwise healthy 76-year-old woman. Could there be a systemic bacterial or viral infection causing chalazions to keep developing? -- M.W.

ANSWER: The terms for different types of eyelid lesions can be a bit confusing. Most people are familiar with a stye, which is a localized inflammation of the upper or lower eyelid, most commonly caused by

an infection of one of the glands of the external eye, usually by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. A stye is also called a hordeolum. An external hordeolum is in the eyelash follicle or the lid margin, whereas an internal hordeolum is inflammation in the meibomian glands, the ones that secrete mucous to help keep the eyes lubricated.

Makeup can block these glands and predispose someone to hordeola. Hordeola are treated with warm compresses and sometimes by an eye specialist, with a combination of antibiotic drops and topical steroids. Drainage by an ophthalmologist is necessary if it doesn’t get better within one to two weeks. If the infection gets into the skin around the eye, it may need oral antibiotics.

A chalazion is not an infection. It’s a usually painless rubbery mass in the eyelid. A chalazion can be a complication of a hordeolum, since the glands are blocked by inflammation, leading to thickened secretions from the gland. Since it’s not an infection, neither oral nor topical eye antibiotics are useful. These also usually get better with warm compresses over weeks to months. People with recurrent chalazia should be considered for biopsy, since they can turn out to be tumors in rare circumstances.

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 72-year-old female with numerous health issues, including three types of epilepsy. About two years ago, I experienced watching my pillow turn into bubbles and ants marching across my bedroom ceiling. They remained there and did not join me in bed, thankfully. After some time, they went away -- until this week. I am awake and alert when I see them, and it always happens at night. Due to a staphyloma, I only have vision in one eye. I was also born with cataracts and had those, along with age-related ones, removed at age 69 and 70. I am wondering if these visions I am experiencing could be yet another form of epilepsy.

-- S.G.

ANSWER: Although epilepsy can certainly cause visual hallucinations, they usually last only seconds and are not normally as complex as what you describe.

HEALTH from 12

Rather, I think this is more likely to be Charles Bonnet syndrome, which is associated with visual loss (that does not have to be complete). These visions are usually colored and may stay still or move, and hallucinations of animals and people are well-described. Moving the eyes toward and away from the hallucinations rapidly may suppress them. There are available medications to make them go away, which some people want and others do not.

Happy New Year! & Healthy & Healthy

are familiar with a stye, which is a localized inflammation of the upper or lower eyelid, most commonly caused by an infection of one of the glands of the external eye, usually by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. A stye is also called a hordeolum. An external hordeolum is in the eyelash follicle or the lid margin, whereas an internal hordeolum is inflammation in the meibomian glands, the ones that secrete mucous to help keep the eyes lubricated.

CHAPMAN from 10

In addition to these tips, simply accepting that there are natural reasons why we might slow down during the winter months can be helpful for cultivating the self-compassion needed to overcome feelings of frustration around having low energy. Just as nature has cycles, we do too, and learning to lean into our changing needs with the seasons can help us combat the shame we can sometimes feel when

we aren’t functioning at our peak. As always, if you feel as though your mood has gotten beyond what you’re able to handle on your own, it’s always best to reach out to a professional health expert who can help you navigate your way to a better place.

Kelly Chapman is the Owner of Meredith Whole Living Center in Meredith.

DEAR DR. ROACH: Are oral antibiotics ever prescribed to treat chalazions, in addition to eye drops and ointment? I have had two this year for seemingly no reason. They were treated with tobramycin eye drops, ointment and warm compresses. The first one didn’t resolve with those meds and was excised surgically. That eyelid then became infected without a chalazion and was treated with a second round of antibiotic drops. It remains a bit puffy and pinkish in color, which I chalked up to the new normal appearance.

Now, a chalazion has developed in the other eyelid. I don’t wear eye makeup and use an eyelid cleanser recommended by my ophthalmologist. I am an otherwise healthy 76-year-old woman. Could there be a systemic bacterial or viral infection causing chalazions to keep developing? -- M.W.

ANSWER: The terms for different types of eyelid lesions can be a bit confusing. Most people

Makeup can block these glands and predispose someone to hordeola. Hordeola are treated with warm compresses and sometimes by an eye specialist, with a combination of antibiotic drops and topical steroids. Drainage by an ophthalmologist is necessary if it doesn’t get better within one to two weeks. If the infection gets into the skin around the eye, it may need oral antibiotics.

A chalazion is not an infection. It’s a usually painless rubbery mass in the eyelid. A chalazion can be a complication of a hordeolum, since the glands are blocked by inflammation, leading to thickened secretions from the gland. Since it’s not an infection, neither oral nor topical eye antibiotics are useful. These also usually get better with warm compresses over weeks to months.

People with recurrent chalazia should be considered for biopsy, since they can turn out to be tumors in rare circumstances.

BOsTOn = TiTle TOWn?

by Mike Moffett Contributing Writer

When the Green Bay Packers were coached by Vince Lombardi local fans referred to their city as “Titletown” after the Packer won five NFL titles in the 1960s. Nice catchy “title” there.

But as I write this, the Boston Bruins have the best record in the NHL and the Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA. Pretty cool. One wonders if each team could win a championship this year. That would be even cooler.

The B’s have been almost unbeatable at home this season— which is now well past its midpoint. David Pastrnak has a shot at scoring 60+ goals and is a candidate for Hart Trophy as league MVP. Blueliner Charley McAvoy would have been a strong candidate the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman had he not missed the early part of the season following shoulder surgery. Goalkeeping standout Linus Ullmark has a GAA of less than 2.0 which is a reminder of that old NHL adage about a hot netminder being able to take a team deep into the playoffs.

The C’s started strong, stumbled a bit, and then “rebounded” to take a five game Eastern Conference lead over Brooklyn as

I write this. Interestingly, the Denver Nuggets of all people have the NBA’s second-best record. The Boston picture looked unsettled just before the season started when the Celtics (2022 NBA Finalists) suspended head coach Ime Udoka for the whole year due to some sort of personal misconduct. But his replacement, Joe Mazzulla, has obviously been making good decisions. Jason Tatum is averaging 31 points per game and rates firstteam All-NBA consideration. (The Celtic single season record for ppg is 29.9 which was set in 1988 by Larry Bird.) The playoffs are still many weeks away and a lot can happen. Injuries are inevitable. Team chemistry can be

fragile. And lady luck is fickle. But wouldn’t it be great to see the B’s and C’s in their respective league championship series this June? Especially with spoiled Patriot fans suffering through a losing season and the Red Sox coming off a last-place finish.

Time will tell. New England sports fans should always count their blessings and look at Cleveland for perspective when times are tough.

As for Green Bay (the original “Titletown”), one wonders what the heck they do there from January through August when the Packers aren’t playing!

Sports Quiz

What city had teams win the Super Bowl, the

World Series, and the NBA Championship in just over a year? (Answer follows)

Born Today

That is to say, sports standouts born on January 26 include alltime ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky (1961) and long-time NBA star Vince Carter (1977).

Sports Quote

“You have to catch the ball when you’re supposed to catch the ball. My husband cannot throw the ball and catch the (expletive) ball at the same time. I can’t believe they dropped so many balls.” – Gisele Bundchen, Patriot QB Tom Brady’s then-wife in 2012

Sports Quiz Answer

The New York Jets won the 1969 Super Bowl. The New York Mets won the 1969 World Series. And the New York Knicks won the 1969-70 NBA title.

State Representative Mike Moffett was a Sports Management Professor for Plymouth State University and NHTI-Concord. He coauthored the awardwinning “FAHIM SPEAKS: A WarriorActor’s Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood and Back” which is available on Amazon. com. His e-mail address is mimoffett@comcast. net.

The Boston Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy.

2022 NE PO 2023 NE POND HOCKEY CL ND HOCKEY CLASSIC ASSIC

Schedule of Events for the 2023 NEPHC

Thurs. Feb 2nd - Sun. Feb 5th

THURSDAY, FEB. 2ND

5:00 - 10:00 pm Coors Light Welcome Party & Player Check In Location: Winnipesaukee Ballroom, Church Landing, 281 Daniel Webster Hwy, Meredith, NH 03253

FRIDAY, FEB. 3RD

7:00 am Event Shuttles Begin from Event Parking Lots

7:00 am Tournament Village Opens

8:00 am-4:35 pm Tournament Games

9:00 am Coors Light Tournament Village

10:00 am Stage Opens with DJ and Tournament MC Adam Furious

5:00 pm Coors Light Tournament Village Close

5:00 pm Last Event Shuttle Departs Tournament Village to Event Parking Lots

SATURDAY, FEB. 4TH

7:00 am Event Shuttles Begin from Event Parking Lots

7:00 am Tournament Village Opens

8:00 am-4:35 pm Tournament Games

9:00 am Coors Light Tournament Village

10:00 am Stage Opens with DJ and Tournament MC Adam Furious

5:00 pm Coors Light Tournament Village Close

5:00 pm Last Event Shuttle Departs Tournament Village to Event Parking Lots

8:00 pm Playoff Brackets/Schedules Announced (Online)

SUNDAY, FEB. 5TH

8:00 am Parking Lot Opens at Middleton/LaValley’s Building Supply - NO EVENT SHUTTLES TODAY

8:00 am Coors Light Tournament Village Opens

9:00 am-2:00 pm Playoff Games

1:15 pm Championship Games

2:00 pm Coors Light Tournament Village Closes

The above schedule of events is subject to change, any changes will be posted at... pondhockeyclassic.com/nephcscheduleofevents

neW hAMPshire iCe Fishing

by Tim Moore Contributing Writer

New Hampshire is home to some 944 public water bodies. The largest is Lake Winnipesaukee at 71 square miles with a maximum depth of 212’. Many of New Hampshire’s lakes and ponds contain black crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed, or perch, and lake trout, and many contain all of them. Lakes and ponds that contain all of them, like Lake Winnipesaukee, are my favorite places to ice fish. There is nothing like spending the morning catching huge white perch and lake trout only to shift gears and target bull bluegill and pumpkinseed in the afternoon.

Lake Winnipesaukee is a panfish angler’s paradise. 15” crappie and 9” bluegill can be caught on every trip. I typically fish bays along the northern end of the lake; the water is warmest there in the winter because prior to freezing, northerly winds push the cold water south, leaving behind water that is around 39 degrees.

White perch and lake trout can be found throughout much of the lake, but the weedy northern-most bays don’t see anywhere as many lake trout. White perch, being nomadic, will go wherever the food is, which is smelt,

and they seem to be everywhere lately. I find Lake Winnipesaukee to be unique for holding so many species and can’t think of another lake that does. However, there are tons of very good waters for black crappie and even white perch.

Regardless of where

the bigger ones off the top of the school, and then I drop down and work the bottom of the school until there are nothing but small fish or no fish. If I don’t catch a fish within a few minutes, I move to the next hole, and so on. I may make several small moves or a few large moves until I find the biters. I pay strict attention to the cadence of my jigging and how the fish react on the Vexilar because sometimes the subtlest of difference can be a game changer.

Whether it’s large natural lakes with clear water, small

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Jumbo white perch are just one of many popular gamefish in Lake Winnipesaukee.

by Lucie Winborne Syndicated Columnist

* During World War II, the Lay-Z-Boy company had to stop producing recliners because of the war effort. Instead, they

sTrAnge BuT True

used their production facility to mass produce (we hope much more comfortable) seats for tanks and other military vehicles.

* Champagne was originally a holy wine.

* The only people guaranteed to get Super Bowl rings, regardless of a game’s outcome, are the referees, though their rings aren’t nearly as large

or valuable as that of the players.

* In the 1880s, a railroad signalman named James Edwin Wide taught a South African baboon to perform his job by recognizing the whistles that indicated a train was about to change tracks. Dubbed “Signalman Jack,” the animal performed his duties so well that not only was he formally hired at a salary of 20

cents per day and half a bottle of beer per week, he carried on for nine years until his death from tuberculosis in 1890.

* Trees were not around for 90% of Earth’s history.

* Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury’s overbite resulted from four extra teeth in his upper jaw. He refused to have them removed, however, for fear the surgery would affect his voice and vocal range.

* In the 2015 film “Jurassic World,” Chris Pratt’s character carries a stainless Marlin 1895 -- the only firearm on Marlin’s website that’s rated for a T-Rex.

* Two churches in Vrontados, Greece, have a particularly unconventional way of marking the Easter holiday: They fire rockets at each other! While they used to use cannons, those were outlawed. The tradition has been carried out for at least four centuries.

***

Thought for the Day: “The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too.” --Vincent Van Gogh

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

MOORE from 19

stained-water ponds, or manmade waters, there is no shortage of places to catch large numbers of slab crappie, bull bluegill, and jumbo perch. However, panfish aren’t the only fish in New Hampshire. The lakes that are managed for lake trout hold great numbers of fish and there are even more waters that are stocked in the fall with rainbow, brook, and brown trout for winter anglers. I’m not sure if New Hampshire is the best place to ice fish, but it’s certainly my favorite.

Tim Moore is a fulltime licensed professional fishing guide in New Hampshire. He owns and operates Tim Moore Outdoors, LLC. He is a member of the New England Outdoors Writers Association, and the producer of TMO Fishing on YouTube and the Hooked with TMO Fishing Podcast. Visit www.TimMooreOutdoors.com for more information.

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Oxbow - Grizacca Tuckerman - 50¢ Day ...+6 More On Tap

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403 Main Street Alton Bay, NH 603-875-1234 fosterstavernbythebay.com Tuckerman - Pale Ale Sam Adams - Seasonal Sam Adams - Wicked Hazy Maine Beer Co - Lunch Lord Hobo - Boomsauce ...+2 More On Tap

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PATRICK’S PUB

18 Weirs Rd., Gilford 603.293.0841 Patrickspub.com

Patrick’s Slainte House Ale

Great North - Moose Juice Guinness

Clown Shoes - Bubble Head 603 - Winni Amber Ale

Tuckerman - Pale Ale ...+9 More On Tap

THE WITCHES BREW PUB

At The Craft Beer Xchange 59 Doe Ave., Weirs Beach 603.409.9344

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1911 – Cider Donut Cider

Able Ebenezer – Lady of the Lake Lager

CARAMEL POPCORN

Yield: About 10 Cups Prep Time: About 25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

POPCORN (ABOUT 8 MINUTES)

1 Large Kettle with lid

¼ Cup Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp. Butter

½ Cup Popping Corn

BASIC CARAMEL (ABOUT 15 MINUTES)

4 Tbsp. Butter

1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar (lightly packed) ¼ Cup Heavy Cream

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Dash of Salt (less than ¼ tsp.) Dash of Baking Soda (less than ¼ tsp.)

— Preparation —

- Into the large kettle melt a Tablespoon of butter over medium heat and add the ¼ Cup of Vegetable Oil. When the oil and butter are fully combined and hot, carefully pour in the ½ Cup of popping corn.

- Place the lid on the kettle and begin to move the kettle slowly in a back and forth motion over the heat. Keep the kettle moving only slowing once in a while to listen for the first few kernels to pop. Once the popping begins, shake the kettle more vigorously to keep the popcorn from burning as more pops. When the popping slows you can decrease the heat and remove once the popping slows or stops. (This process takes about 8 minutes from start to finish.)

- Pour the popcorn onto a large sheet pan to cool as you make the caramel.

- In a medium size saucepan over medium heat place 4 Tablespoons of butter and melt. Add in the Brown Sugar and combine with the melted butter. Start stirring, heating for about two minutes allowing sugar to dissolve.

- Add the ¼ Cup of Heavy Cream and stir for a smooth consistency. Then add the vanilla extract and stir, then the salt and stir again. Continue stirring and simmer for about 4 minutes.

- Add the dash of Baking Soda and ¨boil¨ for about a minute. (The mixture will lighten in color, bubble up, and thicken. Continue stirring to keep it from rising too high.) Remove from heat, let settle a bit, and then pour over the popcorn on the cookie sheet.

- Gently toss with a rubber spatula to coat the popcorn. Scoop into a large bowl or serve in smaller bowls from the pan. (Clusters of popcorn are OK.)

er. Holding the basket over a heat source, hot enough long enough, would cause those little kernels to explode into that white fluffy delicious snack we all love to indulge in: Popcorn!

I remember, as a treat, dad would take down the Popcorn Popper from its nail, the butter already melting in its little enameled green and white long handled “pot” on the back burner, and he would begin popping corn, one small basket at a time. Dad would put a few kernels into the basket, close the top, and, holding it over the spiral red glow of the burner element on the stove top, he would shake the basket back and forth as though it were a magic wand.

He was slow to move at first, as if to build anticipation. Then he shook the basket with more vigor so as not to burn the kernels. Then that unmistakable light “POP!” broke the silence as that first kernel exploded into a white puff. A second, a third, and so on with the tempo picking up. Suddenly, pop, pop, pop, poppitypoppity-poppity-pop, until slowing again with a few remaining kernels. And just when you thought it was done, no more room in that little basket packed full of white fluffy popcorn, one last defiant muffled “POP!” would sound.

It only made a few handfuls at a time, using that hand held Popcorn Popper. In those first few minutes dad had all he could do to

keep up with our grubby little fists digging in. But soon, hands into the bowl would slow down and after a few more rounds of popping, the bowl was full and the hot popcorn smothered in butter and salt was ready for

an evening in front of the TV.

New technology has always eluded the Gibson household, enter into evidence Exhibit A: Dad bought a Victrola at an auction, complete with a selection of records from long ago. It

sat in our kitchen as there was little room anywhere else in the house. While most people in our neighborhood were enjoying the electrified stereophonic sounds of the Carpenters and the “Stones” amplified from the latest Hi Fi equipment, the Gibson’s were subjected to scratchy orchestra serenades such as “The Barber of Seville” and other brown sleeve classics from a bygone era. And so it was with popcorn. We had our little basket on a stick while other homes in the neighborhood enjoyed the new “Popcorn Pumper” hot air popper or the JCP 4 Quart popper with its giant see-thru yellow bowl cover that even melted

the butter (and the rim of the cover). Both machines sported a futuristic design looking like they were cobbled together from Will Robinson’s leftover robot parts. But not the Gibson’s, no, we hung on to our tried and true wire basket popper just as much for quaint amusement as stubborn Yankee practicality.

By this time we had also learned the fine art of popping corn in a kettle. Not to be confused with Kettle Corn. Popping corn in a kettle was a giant leap forward in the evolutionary process of popping corn in our house. By pouring a pool of oil into a large pot, tossing in a handful of kernels, placing

Newest Release By

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from 23

the lid on and letting it sit over a hot burner on the stove while gently shaking it to and fro, you were ready to pop.

Within a few minutes that tell-tale “PoP-PutTing!” would ring out as that first kernel exploded and ricocheted off the insides of the kettle. It was “Go Time!”

In the immortal words of KC and The Sunshine Band, it was time to “Shake, Shake, Shake.”

The 1980’s finally dawned bright. It was a decade of great advances in our household with 1984 ushering in the “Atomic Age”: Behold!

The Microwave! Popping corn would never be the same. Few smells can compare with that all too familiar repugnantly pungent insipid aroma known as Scorched Microwave Popcorn , an odor ranked on the Smell-o-Meter somewhere between Wet Dog and Dead Frog.

Cooking in a microwave for the home consumer was still a relatively new curios -

ity, say nothing of microwave popcorn. And since “suggested times may differ depending upon wattage and manufacturer,” it was left to the consumer to perform experiment after experiment after nauseating experiment in their quest for perfectly popped popcorn. Relentless trials led to many undercooked and waaaay too many over cooked bags of microwave popcorn. I can even recall wishing someone would reheat some fish in the microwave just to change the smell in the house to anything other than stomach churning, scorched, stale, “buttered” popcorn!

Given enough time, technological evolutionary processes combined with food chemistry improved both the microwave oven and so too microwave popcorn. Now we can have not just popcorn but flavored popcorn; Butter, Extra Butter, Theater Style Butter, Butter Lovers, Butter and Salt, and for

those with a penchant for the sweet life: Buttered Kettle Corn. Not to mention all the shakable toppers you can put on your popcorn; Butter, Smokey Bacon, Sour Cream and Onion, Cheddar, Jalapeno, Nacho, Garlic and Parmesan, Chocolate, and much much more.

But I have to admit, while I do cheat and make microwave popcorn, I do like popcorn made the “old way” best. A large pot with a lid, some oil, some butter, and a handful of popping corn. And to the finished product adding some homemade caramel, a true recipe for success. There is no better way to enjoy movie night than with homemade Caramel Popcorn; oh so delicious and so easy. This recipe is a place to start and will have you under a blanket with your favorite movie in the VCR in no time. In fact, the hardest part of making this Caramel Popcorn will be sharing this Simple Feast. Enjoy!

the transfer of agricultural goods, and the creation of so many new countries, cities and towns credited to this brave, courageous, and determined man. Yes, he had his faults, but he was no Hitler, no Stalin, and certainly no Putin!

Perhaps a compromise can be reached to have one day to honor Columbus and one day to honor our Native Americans who did much to help the Pilgrims and later colonists survive and flourish. Most notably, we should remember the Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, whose peace with the early New England colonists lasted fifty years, thus allowing Anglo-American culture to establish in the New World.

Nick De Mayo, M. Ed. Sugar Hill, NH.

Brendan

*Flatlander’s Observations On Life

SMITH from

and poke around in the streams of water, thinking that I should be able to own any living thing I found as a pet. I realize now that such an attitude is not that of an environmentalist who enjoys everything as long as it remains in the wild. I liked what is called nature so much that when in high school I decided that I was a naturalist.

I had my cousin, who was looking for a project to undertake in his printing class, print hundreds of name cards with my name and address, identifying me as a naturalist. To my surprise and disappointment, I found that a naturalist was not defined just as someone who liked nature, but as something else that I didn’t understand, but did understand enough to know it wasn’t what fit me. My naturalist cards were thus no good to me.

What was good for me was Conservation Camp. This was a camp put on by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, and it did teach about the conservation of natural resources. After my week of camp was over I proudly wore my tee shirt with SWAF written across the front, standing for soil, water, animal life, and forests. These things, we were taught, were to be conserved, and we were to do our part to make that happen.

My environmental interests were evident on some trips to Berlin that took place during my childhood years. My first impression of the town was that it literally stunk and I wondered how anybody could live there. The fragrance in the air that stank, somewhat like rotten eggs, was, I was told, a result of the chemicals

leading me to believe that we were unknowingly contributing to pest control.

On the other hand, don’t environmentalists campaign to protect the pests, too, so that nature can do its own balancing by a process called the survival of the fittest. Personally, I believe that we could make do with many more cottontail rabbits, snowshoe hares, and ruffed grouse as in the days of yore, and fewer coyotes. And, as much as I enjoy watching the wild turkeys, I wonder how much food they deprive from other species.

In my boyhood days in the Lakes Region of the Granite State ticks were only occasionally found on dogs and almost never on people. Has the war on pesticides accidentally allowed ticks to multiply at a rate that the most prolific rabbit could Conserve health with De-Tan-Nated Coffee.

that were used in the paper mills to make paper out of pulp wood. I knew little to nothing about making paper, but I did know something about rotten eggs. Our free-roaming chickens would sometimes hide their nests, but we would eventually find them, but we wouldn’t know how long it had been since the eggs were laid. A pail of water was used to separate the good eggs from the bad or rotten ones. Good eggs sunk to the bottom of the pail and the rotten ones would float on top. I think that was the right formula.

Rotten eggs were to be disposed of, usually by throwing them as far as we could, unless one was mad at a brother who wasn’t too far away. The environmental lesson is that the rotten eggs, or at least, the odor, is used in animal repellents,

never keep up with? Is it time to populate our fields and woods with a million guinea hens directed to eat every tick in sight? After all, even conservationists are willing to let some things go.

When it comes to energy production I think it is very difficult for environmentalists to avoid engaging in at least the appearance of some degree of inconsistency. A clean energy supply like water power isn’t enough, we must have it transported by means we cannot see, while other clean energy sources, like windmills and solar panels, which we can see, and are not particularly considered things of beauty, are acceptable.

If we hadn’t added all these energy dependent devices since the days of my childhood we wouldn’t have the high demands for energy today. The fire would

die down in the wood stove over-night, the wash would be hung on the clothesline outside to freeze-dry, the outhouse would require no water for flushing, there would be no TV, no internet, etc. etc.

We conserved gasoline by removing snow with a hand shovel, making paths to the barn, the woodshed, and the road with a shoveled area to park the car. We conserved heat but not blankets by sleeping in cold rooms.

I guess it is almost time to get the old rowboat ready for a spring fishing excursion.

BOSAK from 4 geese that visit New England in the winter. With print publications struggling these days, it’s nice to see one still flourishing.

Speaking of print publications, the best highlight for me of any year is being able to share my stories of birds and wildlife with my readers. Thank you for reading and for supporting your local newspaper

4. Christmas Bird Count . This makes the list any time I am able to participate in the CBC. This year’s highlights included several warblers, common goldeneye, lesser scaup and American pipit.

3. Turkeys in the cemetery . It may sound a bit morbid, but cemeteries are great places to go

Turkeys In The Cemetery.

birdwatching. With so much land taken up by strip malls, condos and roadways, open space is at a premium these days. I was driving past a cemetery this spring when

I noticed a strutting tom turkey leading a group of hens around the grave markers. Of course, I had to turn around for a closer look.

2. The warbler tree . The spring warbler walk was going rather slowly until I reached a certain tree that was full of life. The large, blooming crabapple tree held

Blue Jays And Dad.

several types of warblers including northern parula, black-andwhite, yellow-rumped and magnolia.

1. Blue jays and dad . My father passed

away in October. He often shared with me that blue jays were his favorite bird. Now when I see a blue jay there is extra meaning attached to the sighting.

CHRIS BOSAK PHOTOS

STOSSEL from

fit inside a tiny fraction of the one-inch line.”

Putting garbage in landfills is often much cheaper than recycling. My town would save $340 million a year if it just stopped recycling.

But they won’t, “because people demand it,” says Tierney. “It’s a sacrament of the green religion.”

The religion’s commandments are complex. New York City orders me to: “Place recyclables at the curb between 4 PM and midnight ... Rinse plastic containers ... Separate paper from plastic, metal, and glass.” Paper must be tied “with twine into bundles no taller than 18 inches,” and so on.

“That’s one reason recycling fails,” says Tierney. “It’s so complicated; people never learn the rules.”

Worse, some recycling is pointless, or harmful.

“If you rinse a plastic bottle in hot water,” Tierney points out, “the net result is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than if you threw it in the garbage.”

Since most plastic can’t be recycled, what’s the environmentalists’ solution now?

“Stop producing it,” says Greenpeace’s John Hocevar.

Lots of environmental groups now want to ban plastic.

That’s just silly. Plastic is useful. Using it often creates fewer emissions than its alternatives. Plastic bags create fewer than paper bags. A metal straw has to be used 150 times before it creates less pollution than a plastic straw.

Environmental groups rarely mention

that, or how they misled us about recycling year after year.

“It’s appalling that after telling people for three decades to recycle, they don’t even apologize for all the time and money that they wasted,” complains Tierney. “Instead, they have a proposal (banning plastic) that will make life even worse.”

Plastic is not evil. Recycling is no climate savior. When Los Angeles mandated it, they added 400 big noisy garbage trucks. That creates lots of pollution.

But environmentalists still demand we do things like pick through our trash, switch from plastic to paper bags that rip. California even banned small plastic shampoo bottles

“Some of these rules are just so arbitrary and silly,” complains Tierney. “It’s simply a way for greens and for some politicians to pretend that they’re saving the planet.”

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

SHAPIRO from 6 METZLER from 7

to blame all of this on systemic evil, but any fixes will have to come at the level of individuals making good and responsible decisions. Cutting checks won’t fix this. But such a policy recommendation makes for excellent demagoguery: It allows those who promote foolish and failed ideas to revel in their own supposed altruism, all while helping no one.

Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and cofounder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is “The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.” To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

lamented “Afghanistan is isolating itself.”

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has not been recognized by any member of the international community.

UN Women’s chief executive Ms. Sima Bahous warned, “What is happening in Afghanistan is a grave women’s rights crisis and a wakeup call for the international community.” “It shows how quickly decades of progress on women’s rights can be reversed in a matter of days,” she conceded.

This remains a key point. During the military commitment, the U.S., Britain, Canada and a score of other allies shed blood and massive financial commitments to help this land. More than 2,456 Americans were killed in action and thousands more wounded.

Adding insult to injury, during the hasty U.S. pullout from strategic Bagram Airbase, billions of dollars in military equipment and weapons fell into the hands of the Taliban.

But beyond the twenty years of the American and Allied military presence in Afghanistan, the society was slowly and largely changed for the better. Women and girls were enfranchised with political rights and as importantly educational opportunities. An entire generation of female Afghans were afforded unknown freedoms under which many of them flourished in business, medicine and in governance. Since the return of the so-called reformed Taliban, many if not all of these rights were cynically abolished or curtailed.

Nonetheless the Taliban are confronted by the determined resilience of Afghan women both inside the country and abroad. There’s a tough and educated population, admittedly a vocal minority, who knows that this regime of darkness and dystopia is a passing plague upon the country. But how long must they wait for the dawn?

John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamism the Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China.

did not prohibit slavery but somehow protected a right to abortion?

With legitimacy to claims that there is a right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution gone, now the battleground is in the states.

A major battle has been won, but the war rages on. At this writ-

ing, abortion is prohibited in only 13 states.

Pew Research shows that after years of decline in the number of abortions, it ticked back up in 2020 to 930,160.

And, despite all the claims about caring about racial justice in our nation, my organization CURE reports in

a new policy briefing, “The Impact of Abortion on the Black Community,” that in 2020, 39.2% of abortions were on Black women, who represent just 14% of the childbearing population.

The data also shows that 86% of abortions are done on unmarried women, which points

to the critical link between this destructive behavior and the collapse of marriage and family, the pillars of a healthy society.

I believe that all the many problems that our nation faces begin with absence of awe for the miracle of life. The other side of the coin of the right to life

is the responsibility to protect life and responsibility in the behavior that creates life. Reverence is the beginning of responsibility, and responsibility is the beginning point for what freedom is all about.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and

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Caption Contest

Runners Up :

Evel Knievel test rides the amusement for the new shopping center

- Bob Watson, Bristol, NH.

The “Park and Ride” involves getting a lift to help you save money on gas.

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“Dad, put another nickel in.”

- Ricky Mader, Wolfeboro, NH.

When I was asked to model... I’m pretty sure nobody mention as a motorcycle trophy stand.

-John Brennick, Rochester, NH.

PHOTO #948

Send your best brief caption to us with your name and location within 2 weeks of publication date... Caption Contest, The Weirs Times, P.O. Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247 email to contest@weirs.com

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