by Judy Handley | Nov 19, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 323: Jam-Packed Day
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 45, Low 30 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Encore’s November Program Meeting was this morning. As Program VP, I had arranged for a screening of a new Katharine Lee Bates film, “From Sea to Shining Sea.” Katharine Lee Bates was born in Falmouth in 1859. She did many things in her life but is best remembered for writing the poem that evolved into the song “America the Beautiful.” One of the co-producers of the film and a man who is in the film discussing his research into her life spoke to Encore members after the film. I think the program was well received and the 37-minute film was full of history and some beautiful modern day film scenes to compliment the photos from the past.
I got home with one minute to spare before being picked up by friend Judy Fenwick to drive an hour to Dennis to see another film. This one featured the Dalai Lama. In the film he tells us that in order to reach true happiness we must be self-confident, compassionate, and nonviolent. Another good film.
I got home with enough time to take Shadow for a walk before heading to Lawrence Middle School for the National Junior Art Honor Society (NJAHS). Ollie is an officer of the after school club that has been one of his favorite middle school activities.
Then it was home for a quick dinner and off to the public library for an immigration talk by Massachusetts immigration lawyer, himself an immigrant, Antonio Massa Viara. “Restoring the Promise: A Discussion About Immigration, Democracy, and a Path Forward” was excellent. So, even after a busy day, I was totally engaged and truly appreciated the information on our past and current immigration system and how desperately it needs to be rewritten immediately. We have to stop the inhumane process being used by the Trump regime.
by Judy Handley | Nov 18, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 322: Playing Catch-up
Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 47, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I had high hopes for today. My plan was to go through the piles of papers that just keep growing and get everything filed where it needs to be. I was going to play catch-up. That didn’t happen. Not even one little sheet of paper got filed. You make plans, and then life happens. At this point, I have not one thing on my calendar for this Friday, so I will try again.
I heard sad news from Justin this morning. Cacique, one of Justin and Jo’s horses, collapsed near their back door late Sunday night. Justin stayed with him for hours and an army of vets came to help, but he could not be saved. Cacique came to them as a rescue horse. He had been abused by previous owners but was given a new lease on life with Justin and family on their little Puerto
Rican farm, Finca Maravilla.
They are now back to having only one horse, Hopi. She is a beautiful Puerto Rican horse, and Justin said today that they are thinking that they will either get another horse as a companion for Hopi, or maybe something a little smaller like a goat.
I had a 1 pm meeting with the head of the Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition to talk about putting a lot of their documents on the Indivisible Falmouth website. We meet for an hour and half and came up with a general outline for the website and the specific documents that will go there. I didn’t play catch-up today, but I did get things done.
After that meeting, it was time to pick Ollie and his saxophone up at the end of the school day and then head to Ollie’s saxophone lesson. I thought I was going to be on Goldpebble duty again tonight while Heather and Jed attended the second night of Town Meeting. But Town Meeting extended their meeting time until after mid-night last night to finish voting on all the articles. No more Town Meeting until spring.
by Judy Handley | Nov 17, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 321: Town Meeting
Date: Monday, November 17, 2025
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Really Windy; High Temp 43, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Every spring and every fall, Falmouth reserves two days for Town Meeting. All of the elected Town Meeting representatives come together to vote on the proposed articles. After they have done this, it is up to the Town Manager and Select Board to implement what has been voted on. That is an oversimplification, but I think that is basically what happens. If all of the articles are not voted on during the first night, everyone meets for a second night.
I am writing this after leaving Jonah and Ollie fast asleep and heading home. On Town Meeting nights, I prepare dinner that can be eaten early by Heather and Jed before they head to the meeting, and then a little later by Ollie and Jonah. This evening, Heather and Jed ate at 5:30 and then Jonah and Ollie and I ate at 6:30. Jonah, Ollie, and I then had a great discussion about how textbooks no longer drive the curriculum in schools. Things have changed tremendously in the past 20 years. I would love to go observe in some of the high school classes.
Once Jonah and Ollie were tucked in for the night, I headed home. During the evening, had been watching Town Meeting on the Falmouth Cable TV and knew that they had voted to continue meeting past the 11 pm deadline. I will find out in the morning whether they stayed until all business was voted on or whether we have a second Town Meeting tomorrow night. Stay tuned on that.
Other than preparing for Town Meeting night, this morning I had one-on-one meetings. When they ended at 1 pm, I headed to the grocery store to buy things for tonight’s dinner. I then spent much of the afternoon cooking and then heading to the Goldstones for the evening.
by Judy Handley | Nov 16, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 320: Resistance and Revolution
Date: Sunday, November 16, 2025
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High Temp 54, Low 33 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I just finished watching the first 2 hours of Ken Burns’ The American Revolution. I first met Ken Burns sometime in the 1990’s when I believe he was on the Board of New Hampshire Public Radio. I am not sure about that, but I know I met at the annual meeting of the Board. My husband Mark was President and CEO of New Hampshire Public Radio from 1990 to 2005, as well as serving as Chair of NPR during his last few years there. As his wife, I met many people from the public radio and public television world. But what I remember from the first time I met Ken Burns was that sparkle in his eyes. At the time, to me he looked like a young kid in his signature jeans, sports coat, and boyish haircut. A few years later, I met him again and realized that he was only 6-7 years younger than me. Fast forward 25 years, and he still has that sparkle in his eyes and is still wearing the signature jeans and sports coat, but he has racked up success after success after success with his documentaries. I loved watching the two hours of The American Revolution tonight and can’t wait for more.
I left Wayland this morning and stopped at Costco on my way home. It was after 1 pm when I got to Falmouth, ran a few errands, picked Shadow up from Heather’s, and headed home to attend a Resistance Lab on Zoom. These ‘labs’ are done by US House Representative Pramila Jayapal from the state of Washington. This is the third resistance lab I have attended, and I always learn so much. They are really well done and inspiring.
But I have had an overdose of resistance and revolution for one day. Time for bed, then on to the next.
by Judy Handley | Nov 15, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 319: Philanthropy Talks
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 46, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Friends of mine from Wayland (west of Boston) invited me to ‘Philanthropy Talks’ tonight. The purpose was to get a group of people together to discuss what organizations you support financially or with your time to make the most impact for saving our democracy. The hosts, Jim and Susie, knew everyone invited, but most of the people didn’t know each other. Unfortunately, Susie came down with a killer cold today and stayed hidden away for the evening. But her pre-planning was meticulous and allowed us to carry on without her. We first had to find someone who did the thing on a list we were all given. Find the person who sailed around the world. That would be me. Find the person who globetrots on top-secret negotiation missions. Find the person who served as chair of the Wellesley Select Board. Find the person who is currently chair of the Head of the Charles Regatta. Find the person who has rafted the Grand Canyon nine times. And on and on for all 14 of us, each one a person with a fascinating background. We picked a card out of bag that was either red or black, and that determined where we sat for dinner—black at a table in one room and red in another room. There was enough food to feed a small army, so we filled our plates and got to work. We were given a piece of paper with a large circle drawn on it and told to make a pie chart of how each person spends their philanthropic money and time currently. Then, after dinner, we all sat together and shared our results. I wish Susie had been able to join us to hear the final discussion. The well thought-out activity she designed certainly elicited a number of very creative ideas.
Thanks to the Goldstones for dog sitting for me so I could attend this. I was not going to drive the hour-and-a-half home after this event, so I needed a one-night home for Shadow. Heather sent me a photo to reassure me that all is well with Shadow. In fact, he looked as happy as I have ever seen him.
by Judy Handley | Nov 14, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 318: From We the People Class to a Birthday Dinner
Date: Friday, November 14, 2025
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 46, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
This morning was the last ‘We the People’ class I have been attending once a week since September 19. I have not been a good student this fall as I have been too busy to always do the reading for each week, but I am still glad I went to class. For the spring, Jane Scarborough announced today that we will read the book, These Truths: A History of the United States, by Jill Lepore. Lepore is a Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine. This book is not her newest, but it might be her longest at over 900 pages. I’ll put it on my Christmas list, and if I get it for Christmas, I will start the reading during the winter. Maybe by April, I will be ready for the first class.
The class was over at noon. At 1 pm, I had a meeting with the Indivisible Falmouth full steering committee on Zoom. We spent an hour solidifying plans for our next general meeting. Some of us met yesterday to come up with a plan and we worked out the kinks today with the larger group.
Next was a trip to FedEx to send medical forms to my sister’s assisted living facility. I almost fainted when the FedEx guy said the 4 pages would cost $100 to send overnight. The last time I sent something overnight, the cost was $20. That must have been in the Dark Ages!
I ended the day at a birthday dinner for a woman I first met in June. In fact, all the women at the dinner were friends I have met through Indivisible and the Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition in the past few months. We chose The Golden Swan, Falmouth’s Indian restaurant, for the affair. I had planned to stay only an hour and then head to Woods Hole for a Falmouth Forum presentation. But we were having so much fun, I just enjoyed the dinner and conversation with new friends.
