How true about Amherst. Help someone but not here.

that in this economy one also has to create his own job, all have been shipped overseas.

Since now we do not manufacture much of anything and import most everything, how long can we export our dollars before we run out?

Great article, Chad. A lot of complicated scientific information was presented at the forum. A few points of clarification:

1. The study in question is a "contaminant transport model", not "containment transport model"
2. "biochemical oxygen demand," not "biological oxygen chemicals." BOD is a measure of how fast biological organisms--such as those found in landfill leachate-- use up oxygen in a body of water. This is relevant because of the way that water with low dissolved oxygen can mobilize naturally-occurring metalloids such as arsenic.
3. Robert Newton's information about increased levels of contamination at a local well came not from his model or from his studies, but from data collected on behalf of the City of Northampton. The same is true of data showing increased iron and manganese at the Hannum Brook--this data was collected and reported by Stantec (the City's consultant), not by Robert Newton.
4. The recharge area in question is the "zone 2 recharge area for the Maloney Well," not the recharge area for the Barnes Aquifer as a whole. This is an important distinction to make.
5. The forum was hosted by the Paradise City Forum of Northampton, a non-partisan organization that promotes debate and discussion on important civic issues.

This past year I was fortunate to have the chance to meet and learn from Basha. I have several very old and frayed carpets that belonged to various great aunts that I brought to Basha to have repaired. But I got something much more valuable. This deeply wise and knowledgeable man told me the history of each rug down to the very community in the very region where each carpet was made. One was your more commercially made oriental rug. The others I came to learn were tribal rugs and that each element of the elaborate patterns had meaning. What a gift. I love these carpets all the more for knowing this and think fondly of Basha each time I see them.

Basha was always smiling, always engaging, always kind and eternally positive. I was not at all surprised to see that he would view his own passing as his last great adventure. He will be missed.

Valerie

I first met Basha at an Amherst Chamber of Commerce After 5 event. As we stood next to one another during the door prize drawing I muttered aloud "eh, I never win these things!", Basha turned to me and said with a gleam in his eye" If you say that then you never will. You must say, I WILL win this time!" we laughed, I recanted my negative statement, and I did win a prize, but I was also touched by a kind, gentle soul of a human being. You will be missed here on earth Basha.

I remember conversations my husband and I had with Basha long ago when his shop was in Amherst, in the Carriage Shops. He was fascinating to talk with.
"Our death is our wedding with eternity." - Rumi

"Still hungry, the beetle exits the flower taking seeds with it.

For the plant to successfully pollinate, a beetle must be fooled by the odor of another Titan Arum into entering the plant with the seeds from the previous flower."

Readers, replace the word 'seeds' in these sentences with the word 'pollen.' Seeds occur as a result of pollination.