36 million

The estimated number of potential trick-or-treaters in 2009 — children 5 to 13 — across the United States. This number is up about 190,000 from a year earlier. Of course, many other children — older than 13, and younger than 5 — also go trick-or-treating.
Source: 2009 population estimates <http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb10-81.html>.

111.3 million

Number of occupied housing units across the nation in 2009 — all potential stops for trick-or-treaters. Source: Housing Vacancies and Homeownership <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/hvs/historic/>.

92%

Percentage of households with residents who consider their neighborhood safe. In addition, 78 percent said there was no place within a mile of their homes where they would be afraid to walk alone at night. Source: Extended Measures of Well-Being: Living Conditions in the United States, 2005
<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/extended-05.html> Table 4.

Over the last ten days, I pedaled about 600 miles. I woke up on Saturday the 18th and meandered over to Rollins Park in Concord, NH, to do a 25-mile bike ride in honor of my parents (both cancer survivors, who lost four friends in eleven days last month to cancer) and in honor of my dear friend, Martin Capodice, who is struggling with a rare type of this ubiquitous affliction.

I flew around the course on my electric assist bicycle, which is on loan to me through the conclusion of the 2011 Clotheslines Across America Tour, scheduled for July 5 through October 4. Much thanks is due to the S & W Sports for their generosity and their un-ending patience with a neophyte who desires to show the world that millions of us could bike to work without breaking a sweat. Trek and Ride + are marketing my bike as the no sweat solution!

On Sunday morning, I left Concord and headed north. My first brief stop was in Andover, NH, at Carr Field. This was exactly a marathon into my 82-mile day. I took another break 9.1 miles later at Dick's Village Gas in Danbury, NH, and then made it to Salt Hill Pub in Lebanon for a 1:03 PM lunch. Boy, did I eat like a horse! I was in West Hartford by 3 PM and then I started to slow down. I made it to McCoullough's Quick Stop in Bethel by 5:30 PM, having stopped at the food market in downtown South Royalton less than hour prior to wolf down a grapefruit. At the Quick-Stop, I made a long stop and called the owner's brother, an old friend, and my anticipated host to see if he would zip down in his pickup and drag my tired, aching body up the long hill of the North Road to their cozy home.

This is the kind and thoughtful letter we received in response to our request that the citizens of Croydon not be kept from hanging their clothes. Croydon is a part of the city of London.

Dear Alexander Lee,

Hurricane Earl just whipped through my backyard and left a path of branches and debris.  Ever high and watchful, my dependable clothesline battled the extreme winds and teeming rain, thusly giving way to another dawn of a more blissful and harmonious affair with nature.  Many in Nova Scotia are without power and could be for quite some time.  I trust they have a clothesline to rely on during these disruptive and unpredictable electric currents.   Earl is but another test to remind us of the simpler and practical ways of life.  Don’t get me wrong, technological advancements have certainly enhanced the lives of many around the globe, issues of ignorance rest with those who will not entertain the relationship of the two.   Banning clotheslines is like banning deodorant, no one says you have to use it, but where is the harm?  Unsightly?  How about all those electric power poles and … wait for it … all the lines strung from pole to pole?  Clotheslines provide a canvas for which art can be created.  May I be so bold as to suggest you try to create a mosaic of your own? 

Best regards,

Cindy Etter-Turnbull

by Rob Dietz

“It’s the economy, stupid!”

In 1992, Bill Clinton’s successful campaign to become the President of the United States hinged on this juvenile catchphrase.  Voters believed that Clinton might do a better job managing the U.S. economy than George Bush, Sr. had done over the course of his term.  The economy (or more specifically the status of the economy) has the power to change heads of state, alter the fate of nations, and secure the well-being of people.  For such an arcane subject, economics holds enormous sway over what citizens do on a daily basis and the quality of their daily lives.  Given that sway, we might want to ponder two elementary questions:

1. What is the purpose of the economy?
2. How do we make the economy better so that it improves quality of life?

These are not easy questions to answer, but answers often can be found in unexpected places.  The simple and oh-so-elegant clothesline offers some key insights.