Lost: Mysteries in the Air

Read Charlotte Canelli's column in the March 27, 2014 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

           As I compose this column, there has been no news about the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that went missing on Saturday, March 8.  Searches are continuing in the Indian Ocean, numerous miles from the Australian coastline.  Families are frustrated with grief and disbelief. 26 countries are included in the search that now covers millions of square miles.

            Possibly by the time of printing of this column, some kind of explanation will have been determined.

            Of course, most of us have been baffled by this mystery.  Some ask how their cellphones disclose their actual location in Norwood, MA, but there is no means of finding the wreckage of this Boeing 777. Others ask why there is no tracking device for this immense jet other than its elusive black box.

Indianapolis - A City and a Ship

Read Charlotte Canelli's column in the March 20, 2014 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Last week, a day or so before I was scheduled to travel to a professional library association conference in Indianapolis, I stumbled across a book on the discount shelf in the Barnes and Noble entryway. The name in the title, Indianapolis, piqued my interest because I was curious about the city that warned of over 8 inches of snow buffeting a bevy of hotels crowded around a busy convention center.

I’m a city-lover and I wondered what memories and images I take home with me from the Indiana's capitol. Conferences never leave me sufficient time for meandering or touring, yet I always try to fit in a journey to the library or to a park where I can learn a bit of a city's history or glean a taste of its culture.  So, I decided to check out a copy of Doug Stanton’s “In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors” (2001) from our the library and read it on the plane.

The Lords of the Household

Margot Sullivan is a part-time reader's advisory and reference librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read her column as published in the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin on March 13, 2014

The library will begin its ONE BOOK ONE COMMUNITY READ with multiple events on Tuesday March 25.  As many of you may already know the book that we chose is FOLLOWING ATTICUS: FORTY-EIGHT HIGH PEAKS, ONE LITTLE DOG, AND AN EXTRAORDINARY FRIENDSHIP by Tom Ryan.  I have already learned that Atticus is a miniature schnauzer and is a delightful dog to have as a companion. This got me thinking about the pets in my life and I was amazed to remember some names!

The Long Winter

Read Charlotte Canelli's column in the March 6, 2014 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

           This winter, the mounds of snow, the icy walks, and seemingly never-ending Nor’easters have reminded me of two famous books.  One is the “Winter of Our Discontent” by John Steinbeck.  The other is “The Long Winter” by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

            Of course, the “Winter of Our Discontent” by Steinbeck doesn't reference snow and ice and storms. Steinbeck’s “Winter” is based on the first lines of Shakespeare’s “Richard III”, a play that eludes to a stormy and metaphorical winter of discontent, contrasted by the analogous splendid summer.  The discontent is relevant because of the constant dialogue we’ve all had with ourselves and each other.  “I’ve had it with winter!”  “Winter makes me sick.”  Or “Winter.  I’m sooooo done with it.” Discontent might be an understatement.