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Showing posts from July, 2023

Why the Holocaust Stamps Project is so vital

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  Photos courtesy of Charlotte Sheer ABOVE: Charlotte Sheer took this selfie in front of one of the 18 collages made from some of the 11 million stamps collected as part of the Holocaust Stamps Project that’s part of the exhibit at the American Philatelic Center called “A Philatelic Memorial of the Holocaust.” “L’Chaim --- To Life!” celebrates Holocaust survivors Sam and Goldie Weinreb. BELOW: Charlotte Sheer is pictured in front of the exhibit’s title poster during her visit to Pennsylvania. ********** I’ve written about the Holocaust Stamps Project, put together by students and staff at the Foxboro Regional Charter School in Foxboro, MA, often since the stamps started to be collected in 2009. This latest column, which appeared in The Sun Chronicle on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, examines five reasons why the project is so vital and should be viewed by people of all backgrounds. The column followed the opening in June of a new exhibit based on the project at the American Philatel

Fourth race tradition keeps on trucking in the rain

My annual Fourth of July race tradition --- participating in the Arnold Mills Four Miler's 55th edition ---  continued today (July 4, 2023) despite the rain. From about the 2-mile mark (for me), the race was run around Cumberland, R.I., in a steady rain, but that was a good thing, as with close to 100 percent humidity, the first two miles had been a slog so the rain was a welcome way to cool off the runners. Now, when you go as slowly as I did --- I finished the race in 1 hour and 11.50 seconds, good for 559th place out of 568 participants who were timed --- you see the race from a different vantage point. As one woman said at about the 2-mile mark, it's basically taking the scenic view. Or, as I put it, it's like going from Point A to Point B by using local roads instead of the interstate. One result of my slow time is that, over the looped course that the first 2 miles consists of, I'm always lapped by the leaders and faster runners, and today, I felt as though that s