Readjusting expectations may take a minute

For many families in the region, Mother’s Day this year was very different from that day last year. The same can be said for upcoming Memorial Day  activities and Father’s Day celebrations, all the way to the Fourth of July and beyond. In 2020, traditions that were pretty much taken for granted over the years had to be put on hold and hadn’t been picked up until now, a year later, with more and more of us fully vaccinated and the weather warming up just enough to allow outdoor gatherings as part of normal life. The pandemic may finally be losing its grip on society, with caveats allowing for continuing safety and care as necessary for everyone’s health.

By now, most of us have become very accustomed to automatically adjusting our expectations for safe social interaction, but that certainly hasn’t made it easier. We have, though, seen the results of keeping distance and wearing masks not only in slowing the spread of COVID, but also that of the flu, colds and other viruses. When we start to come closer together, it will be inevitable that such infections will once again begin to pass among us. So there will need to be a balance between wanting to avoid such illnesses but also wanting to get together once again with friends and family.

Now seems like a good time to make up a wish list of all those things we have missed the most in the past year and plan ways to make them happen. Those who have missed going out to restaurants and seeing friends there have been filling up the lawns and patios, as well as the interiors, of area eateries, enjoying the new openness they can experience after a COVID closed winter. But with more and more cultural and musical events opening for the summer again, and selling out as quickly as they announce their schedules, it will take planning and quick action to take part in them. 

For those who have lost loved ones or contracted the disease during the past year, seeing the world start to open widely again may not be something that they can immediately accept, still suffering from those repercussions. But it could be that having the ability to connect with others again will them give comfort and support after struggling through the pandemic. 

So here’s to a spring and summer that are full of safe but welcoming gatherings of all kinds, to bolster recovery of those who have been directly affected by the pandemic. And really, one way or another, isn’t that all of us?

Latest News

Father Joseph Kurnath

LAKEVILLE — Father Joseph G. M. Kurnath, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, passed away peacefully, at the age of 71, on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Father Joe was born on May 21, 1954, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He attended kindergarten through high school in Bristol.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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