STURBRIDGETIMES

THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING

THE

JUNE, 2011

MAGAZINE

MUSINGS FROM LONG HILL

WAYS IN WHICH HE WON

BY RICHARD MURPHY

LEGAL BRIEF
ROBERT A. GEORGE, ESQ.
M THE S
ON T HLY FOR RE AD ERS
STURBRIDGE ATTORNEY

In the words of Martin Mull: Its too hard to say au revoir, lets just say hors doeuvre.
SOUTHERN WRITER, SHELBY FOOTE wrote of Union troops capturing a bedraggled rebel near the end of the Civil War. They yelled at the poor starving Confederate, Surrender! We got you! He dropped his rifle, raised his hands. Yes, he said, and a hell of a git you got. I thought of those lines when the pictures of Osama bin Laden living in his closed compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad were released. He seemed like a shabby old guy who was living on past glory. The place he lived in was dingy. Was he still the evil mastermind? There is no conclusive proof one way or the other. His execution was sudden and ignominious. In the end, his death is irrelevant, for in real terms, he won a lot more than he lost. The man deserved his fate and need not be mourned, but his death was no great victory, unless we know how to use it. It is time to declare victory and leave. In truth that would be a lie, as there has been no victory, just a dead body, but its probably better than declaring defeat and bugging out. In real terms, OBL and his rag tag forces have won. No, our president has not surrendered and the forces of occupation have not settled on our land as my father and his comrades did in postwar Japan. Actually, Al Qaeda never had enough men to occupy West Warren. Yet they spooked the American nation so bad that we have given up civil liberties and subject ourselves to humiliation in transport. All this while hundreds of thousands of service men are in foreign lands fighting them over there so we wont have to fight them over here.

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ALIMONY
The Commonwealth may soon join the majority of states that restrict the amount of alimony a judge can force one spouse to pay another in a divorce. One of only a handful of states that still allow lifetime alimony awards, Massachusetts is considering putting strict limits on what judges can and cant award. Under the current system, judges are supposed to look at a number of factors such as the length of a marriage, the earning capacity of the parties and the assets in the marriage. Ultimately, however, judges are free to use their discretion, a system that, not surprisingly, creates discretionary and disparate outcomes. Under the proposed new law, the Legislature would cap alimony capped and prohibit lifetime alimony altogether. If a couple is married less than five years, a judge would be able to order alimony for no longer than half as long as they were married. Married more than 15 years? Then you cant get alimony for more than 80 percent of period of time you were married and, in any event, it ends at retirement age. Keeping alimony awards consistent isnt the only reason for the law. All too often, divorces drag on and get ugly when one spouse tries to gouge the other for alimony. The new law wont just keep alimony in line; it will keep couples in line too.

Fighting them over there so we dont have to fight them over here was, of course, just a tag line. What the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan called boob bait for the bubbas. It is tough sounding rhetoric, originally used about Bill Clinton when he promised to end welfare as we know it. Maybe all our soldiers should have been sent overseas. Then there would have been none over here for Major Nidal Malik Hasan to shoot. You remember him. He was the army shrink who did not seem to get it about over there, over here. He killed 13 over here, well down in Fort Hood in Texas. Yes, my fellow Yankees, Texas is part of over here. The worst aspect of what Bin Laden did to us is that he caused us to abandon what set us apart from much of the rest of the world. Things that we took pride in as Americans have gone out the window. To explain, when I was a boy during summer vacation, my mother and other mothers in the neighborhood would get a bit tired of their little angels and give us the quarter that movies would cost back in the Stone Age. We would walk down a couple of miles to the movie theater for the matinee. It was always a double bill with a feature and a B movie. There is one B flick I have never been able to forget though it had to be near 50 years ago and I have no memory of its title. There are men about to subject another man to an ordeal with a board and a bathtub. The victim was submerged so that his tormentors can procure intelligence. The message, this was torture and we from the home of the free would never be party to it. Now it is called enhanced interrogation. I wonder if there is a secret government bureau that comes up with euphemisms. There is a problem, unfortunately. After World

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22 THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE

THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING

Taking inventory post bin Laden

War II The US was a party to trials of Japanese waterboarders. One got fifteen years and others were executed for that and other crimes. I guess an apology is due on at least the waterboarding count. Part of our ongoing defeat was and continues to be economic. Osama claimed to have bought down the Soviet Union by the expense of their imperial effort. He has also said he would do it to us. That took a lot of nerve because two administrations seem capable of affecting that goal without his help. An attack on a few buildings costing a negligible sum led us to send troops to run over a landlocked country accessible only through a nation we dont trust. Leaving bad strategy aside, it can only be a fiscal hemorrhage. There may have been others before him,

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Lets profile no one and avoid hurt feelings. Better to have another layer of play-acting bureaucracy. Let us await the next big event with fear and wonder.
but the Greek Herodotus is generally acknowledged to have been the first historian.

Heavens Harvest Farm CSA

would take a year to heal with the possibility of liver or spleen damage. In his early 30s, he was diagnosed with Crohns (another autoimmune disease) and resorted to a cave man diet and herbal methods to combat pain and improve functionality. I recovered remarkably and really shouldnt be here. Eating organically eliminates pressures that pesticides, dyes and foods with preservatives put on our bodies. Our own excesses (and conveniences) are contributing to us falling apart on the inside, he said. At Heavens Harvest, our focus is on wellness and dealing with the void in the soul. People have to accept personal responsibility for their physical, emotional and spiritual well being. My unwellness has allowed me to tell a 300 pound women who comes through the door that there is hope...things can change. We want to help people change their overall wellness. Providing information is a key component to people understanding the benefits of locally grown organic produce. There is a movement to keep the nutritional value of produce. But its funny, you see commercials that emphasize farm picked vegetables.
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING

He wrote about the Persian attempt to conquer Greece almost 2500 years ago. The rag tag, barely united Hellenes crushed the wealthy Persian navy and army. After the battle of Platea, the Greeks captured the Kings tent that had been used by the Persian General who had fallen in the battle. The King of Sparta, Pausanias told the Generals servants to prepare dinner as they usually would. All the accoutrements were of gold and silver and the meal sumptuous. Then he ordered his own servants to prepare his dinner. It was meager, that is Spartan fare. Upon seeing the contrast he said to the other Greek leaders, They came to rob us of our poverty. There is a metaphor here we are not getting. For those of you who wish to accuse me of wanting to lose the war on terror, we have already done so. All are efforts are mere se-

curity theater. There is a photo that has gone viral of an eight-month-old child receiving a thorough pat down by the TSA at the Kansas City Airport. When we have come to this, the terrorists have surely won. The day we lost the war completely was the eleventh of September 2011. On that day, Michael Tuohey checked in two of the hi-jackers in Portland, Maine. He said he thought, If this guy doesn't look like an Arab terrorist, then nothing does. He did nothing because, In this day and age, it's not nice to say things like this," The thing speaks for itself. Lets profile no one and avoid hurt feelings. Better to have another layer of play-acting bureaucracy. Let us await the next big event with fear and wonder. Our experts will have to be extra creative to come up with the next level of safety harassment.

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The reality is every vegetable is farm picked. The bigger question should be...what is the nutritional value? Joshua said. Heavens Harvest Farms role of making organic produce available across the board is evidenced by a new program starting in Jamaica Plains Eggleston Square market. A three block area has 2,000 families that qualify for food assistance. The program will provide participants with a card that allows them 25 or 50 percent off of produce, depending on income level. Heavens Harvest is also adding to its fruit variety this summer, planting 8,000 strawberries and 1,200 raspberries. Session one of the summer CSA begins June 7 (ends September 12), although you can join at any time. To participate in the 15 week session, one half of share is $400 and a full share is $600. Organic eggs are also available at $45 for one half a dozen or $90 for a dozen. Heavens Harvest now has a monthly payment plan for customers who need it. To participate in the Charlton/Sturbridge CSA, call Kathy at 508.347.0151 or email kathy.olson @charter.net For more info on Heavens Harvest Farm, call 508.867.9577 or go to www.heavensharvestfarm.com
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