We begin on New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee, at the end of a long-gone day in the summer of our boyhoods, when a whispered promise at supper from Dad to “go out later and catch a few” was always the beginning of a great adventure. As a son-kid, any post-bedtime secret mission with Pop was tantamount to forbidden fruit-picking, and having…
Living in the Granite State has responsibilities. If you live in a rock-hard state, you need a rock-hard body. New acquaintances often ask, “How did you get a body like that at your age?” “I work out in the gym five times a week,” I reply proudly. “Wow, I thought working out was supposed to help. You are a mess.”…
We’ve been publishing our Best of NH list in some form or the other as long as I’ve worked for this magazine and, over that past decade and a half, the process has taught me a lot of little things and at least two big ones. The big things are: 1. People love to be appreciated and 2. People love…
A few years ago I wrote a piece about the cash machine known as the New Hampshire presidential primary. The next thing I knew I was being told off by campaign consultants, high-level politicos and media people — the very folks who punch their PINs into the primary ATM every few years. It made me realize that, for a state…
How bland is the current crop of politicians traipsing through New Hampshire, each one threatening to become our next president? So bland I’m starting to miss Al Gore, believe it or not. You remember Gore, the vice president who campaigned here for president way back at the turn of the century. He had that down-home, folksy 20th-century style. I mean,…
“I hate children’s theatre.” Strange words from a man who runs a children’s theatre. But Bob Lawson hastens to amend: “I mean, I hate what often passes for children’s theatre — condescending, contrived and simplistic.” Andy’s Summer Playhouse is none of those things. It’s creative, dynamic and frequently challenging. Its plays are all original, and they don’t shy away from…
Like a lot of old New England mill towns, Laconia has had to forge a new identity for itself during the last few decades. But the “City on the Lakes” had one thing going for it that others didn’t. “If it wasn’t for the big puddle we’d have nothing,” says one local businessman. The “big puddle” is, of course, Lake…
Ask any older person about plans for the future and the answer will likely be, “I plan to remain in my own home.” “I want to maintain my independence,” he or she may say. “I don’t want to be a burden.” And who wouldn’t prefer to be in at home, free to choose how we live? Yet there may come…
It’s a beautiful day. You’re on the ballfield, the mountain trail, the tennis court, doing what you love. And you’re hurting. What went wrong? “You probably are experiencing an overuse injury,” says Dr. Joe Bernard, a family practice physician, fellowship trained in sports medicine, at Exeter Hospital. Lynda Kuhne, physical therapist and director of the hospital’s outpatient rehabilitation program, adds,…
Hat, long-sleeved shirt tucked in, pants tucked in — that’s probably not your favorite summer attire. Adding insect repellent to the mix makes it worse. But it’s what you have to do these days to avoid the growing number of insect diseases. Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium, transferred to a human by the bite of a deer tick…
