Category: Observer

This is our third trip in Poppy, our 2003 VW Eurovan Camper, a marvelously engineered 18-foot marital and domestic testing ground. During the first trip two people who spent over a month in such close proximity that if one burped the other asked to be excused, made 42-inches by 72-inches… SEE MORE

The reader will recall that we, in our 2003 Eurovan VW Camper, had thus far avoided camping altogether for the first four nights of our great camping adventure. Day five was no different. Having spent the night in a Hampton Inn in Fredericksburg, Va., I was up early the next… SEE MORE

In 1966 I was stationed in Florida for a while after my squadron returned from Vietnam. I bought a Volkswagen camper, a new one I think, and, to the consternation of my superiors and a few comrades, joined the hippies I was so attracted to who were protesting the war.… SEE MORE

Ken Reiss’ new book, From The Beginning: Vinalhaven from 1760 to 1850, has given me a clearer sense of where I came from and, more importantly, how and why my ancestors chose this remote island to make a new life for themselves, why they stayed, how they survived, and why… SEE MORE

I’ve been struggling with a simple truth visited on me recently, something that came much sooner than anticipated. It’s been suggested that writing about it might help me cope. I’ll try it one word at a time. The first word is “I’m,” short for “I am,” and “I am” is,… SEE MORE