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By MARIEL E. ADDIS

In 2016, I told a woman I first met in 1987, and married five years later, that I would be transitioning to female. It had been a rocky nine years since I first came out, and, at the time we had been separated for nearly three years. In return, I was told that I would lose far more than I’d ever gain by transitioning to female.

By CAROLYN BROWN

“Tell Her This,” a podcast sharing women’s stories, will have a live show at Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence on Friday, May 23, at 7 p.m., preceded by a show featuring live stories told by local women at 7 p.m. the day before.

Before attending the March 2025 production of Hadestown at Northampton High, I consulted my classical mythology anthology and read the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The production exceeded my high expectations. It was excellent. I had so much fun. The ending of the play, however, left me wanting this version: As the couple near the end of the journey from the underworld, Eurydice stubs her foot and involuntarily cries out. Orpheus, on hearing her distress, involuntarily turns around to see if she needs his help. That breaks the oath: his goodness, not jealousy. The moral is we cannot escape our reflexes, no matter how much we’d like to think we can.

This is a reply to the May 3 letter to the editor in which the writer criticized older Democrats [“Demanding student activism while denying them a seat at the table”]. It was unclear to me what upsets him about our activism. He claims that we are denying younger people a seat at the political table. In what way are we doing that? My attitude is that there is room at the table for every activist, for every progressive, for every Democrat. Because we have a lot of work to do and because there is a world of shared sentiment that will only serve us if we work together.

Valley Players’ third “Bard in the Bar” reading will be on Sunday, May 4, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Progression Brewing in Northampton.

An Italian friend reminded me recently about the resonance of Trilussa’s poem “The Numbers” in today’s world. Here is an English translation:

The flag has always been displayed in the proper direction, like the flag is looking at you, blue field to the flag’s right. It does not need to be illuminated 24/7, it needs to be lit up at night. I am sure with all the street lights on Cottage Street near the pond the one could put a good light sensor spotlight on one of them to shine on the flag at night.

By NATHANIEL READE

Ah, spring, when we wake from sweet sleep to the mellifluous song of the gas-powered leaf blower. Citizens! Neighbors! Would you like to fight the power, stick it to the oligarchs, and save time, money, and the planet, simply by doing less? It’s easy: just stop working so much on the damned lawn.

As an April 14 Gazette story stated, several members of the Northampton School Committee will be stepping down at the end of their terms, and I wish to thank all the School Committee members for their work. Special education is both a personal and professional passion, so I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be a candidate for Northampton’s Ward 6 School Committee seat.

Occasionally there is an opinion column in the Gazette that, to me, reaches a level of eloquence, thoughtfulness, creativity, honesty, collegiality, resourcefulness, and hope and guidance for a path forward that I must cut it out and hang it in my kitchen, sharing it with anyone who visits. Claudia Lefko’s recent column addressing the issue of what to do with downtown Northampton and the ongoing controversy surrounding it, “Main Street: Place-making or unmaking place?” [Gazette, March 12] is one such column.

By MARIEL E. ADDIS

As a guest columnist, the Gazette grants me one essay per month. In the current, fast-paced, news cycle since Jan. 20, 2025, every time I come up with an essay theme, or even fully write a prospective essay, some new “thing” pops up on my radar that I feel I need to address and I’m back to the drawing-board.

By JOHN PARADIS

On May 9, I will hold a white rose at noon at the intersection of King and Main streets in Northampton.

How did it happen that diversity, equity and inclusion became a mark of being anti-American and a reason to withhold funding from business and educational institutions? I thought that these three values were the bedrock of what makes America great. We have always been proud of the Statue of Liberty with its inscription “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.” All the major religions support the concept of welcoming the stranger.

The millions of people who participated in protests across the nation on April 5 showed that “We the People” have a powerful voice as we exercised our First Amendment right to peacefully assemble and petition the government. I encourage all of us to continue this in an ongoing basis. One next step will be to join the Hands Off Social Security Rally this Thursday, April 10 at noon. If you work nearby, come on your lunch break. Address is 1550 Main Street, Springfield. The mobilize link is below. This issue impacts or will impact all of us.

Congratulations to all those recognized by the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Your readers and viewers (of photography) know how good you are. Very nice to see it recognized by others.

By JOHN SAVESON

“Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” Those are the opening words in the Education Chapter of Project 2025. I just discovered this quote when learning of Trump’s threat on closing the U.S. Department of Education (“Trump will order a plan to shut down the U.S. Education Department,” Gazette, March 21).

In 1995, I co-chaired Envision Central Square, a two-year urban design effort to revitalize Massachusetts Avenue from Cambridge City Hall to MIT. At the time, I led the Central Square Neighborhood Coalition; my co-chair, architect George Metzger, headed the Business Association. Together, we hosted around 50 meetings on everything from sidewalks and bike paths to storefronts, street life, and pedestrian flow.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

NORTHAMPTON — The Florence Community Band has put on many concerts in its nearly quarter-century of existence, but the longtime group of volunteer musicians is about to embark on a first as it prepares for this spring’s annual concert.

I was baffled and confused by the March 14 article about the Hatfield Housing Board and the criticisms launched against Chris Smith of Prospect Street in Hatfield [”Hatfield Housing Authority board presses for removal of ‘toxic’ member”].

The Northampton city dispatchers deserve recognition for their professionalism, skill, knowledge, expertise and patience in handling emergency calls. They are to be commended for their work. Great job!