The term “new normal” didn’t hold much meaning for me until my full-speed busy schedule came to an abrupt halt due to an injury. My new normal is being able to attend to personal hygiene unassisted, getting in and out of a car from the passenger side unassisted, and lots of sitting, sitting, and more sitting.

After a joyfully active summer that found me walking and biking miles, spending hours swimming and even completing a triathlon, my right ankle went on strike. Verdict on repair and what the final outcome may be is currently pending. Since October, I’ve been slowed to a crawl with casts, crutches and sometimes using a wheelchair.

While all of this is massively inconvenient, I count my blessings and consider myself lucky. I may walk unaided in the future and, for now, my general health is excellent.

This new normal has given me the opportunity to experience just how difficult it can be to get through a day doing what we humans have to do – bathe, shop, eat, use public restrooms. When your car loses a tire, you don’t get very far very easily. The same is true when one’s bipedal physiology becomes mono-pedal so to speak.

Take using a wheelchair, for instance. The challenges abound.

Recently, my husband was pushing me around the village streets giving this ole gal some fresh air and allowing our little fluffy pal Harry a chance to water his favorite corners when we realized that all sidewalks aren’t wheelchair friendly.

Mattapoisett, as you may be aware, is planning to improve the roads and sidewalks throughout the seaside area. In the meantime, if you are using or pushing a wheelchair, you’ll find that some sidewalks do not have curb cuts or ramps that allow for easy street crossing or access. The only option available is to use the roadway – not the safest option, but for someone in a wheelchair and desirous of enjoying the area, it’s the only option.

You’d think that large retail chains would be fully up to speed on addressing the needs of all their customers, including those in wheelchairs. And for the most part, that is true as far as I can tell. But the other day while out shopping in one of these mega-stores, I was surprised at how difficult it was to use the wheelchair accessible restroom.

First and foremost was the monumental task of opening the door.

There wasn’t an exterior push button to automatically open the door, and trying to push the door open with one hand and operate the wheelchair with the other hand made getting into the room impossible. I was very grateful when a friendly employee came along to help me out.

But I had the same problem when attempting to exit the restroom. Suffice to say I managed, but not without a tremendous ninja-like effort. Not the ideal from where I sit.

I’ve had a few surprising revelations from my seated position: some not so pleasant, some heartening.

It seems that some people think it is okay to cut-off a person in a wheelchair. These would be the same people who drive like maniacs. To that lady in the cosmetics aisle who reached across my torso to grab eyeliner – REALLY?! Or the clerk at the grocery store who placed the skid of vegetables right in front of me as I was trying to select apples, what did you expect me to do, FLY over that skid? But to the dozens of people who’ve allowed me clear passage, your small act of kindness is truly appreciated.

And then there are the crutches. My favorite small shops and cafés have become off limits due to tight spaces. For anyone who has used these mobility appliances, you know they can be tricky to use under the best circumstances. And speaking strictly for myself, crutches are limiting due to the amount of effort it takes to get from point A to point B. I think on an average day, I’ve got about 100 yards in me.

All in all, my conclusions about human nature have been confirmed – there are good people, selfish people, people who understand how unpleasant it is to have limited mobility, and people who could care less. I guess in the grand scheme of things, fundamental truths prevail.

By the way, my new normal now includes advocating for ADA compliance everywhere within reason, like sidewalks and public restrooms. I suspect I’ll be meeting new friends and a few who think the cost isn’t worth the payoff. If you fall into the later category remember this: “There but for the grace of God go I…”

By Marilou Newell

As illustrated in my drawing, Native Americans, as a rule, recognized every living thing on Earth as sacred – even the smallest blade of grass.

Consequently, they harvested from nature no more than needed for their own immediate use, and this conservation concept of ‘live and let live’ sets a fine example for us to this very day.

My own initiation to this mindset of environmental awareness was as a 13-year-old boy during the second World War, when my father with the 8^th Air Force in England was reported missing in action over in Germany. I was adopted in true Indian fashion by a Narragansett named Elwood Young who had been given a job there to walk in the footsteps of his ancestors’ hunting and fishing ground.

The adoption ceremony began with cutting both our arms and tying them together while a drum beat and chant sanctified a column of camp fire smoke lifting into the sky to return to the solar creator and father of life on Mother Earth.

Our nearest neighbor across the fields in Southern Rhode Island was Senator John Chaffee – the Chaffee who pioneered conservation legislation including the Clean Water Act of 1972, an environmental landmark equal in significance to the historical Migratory Bird Act of 1916 and as nationally whistle-blowing as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, banning the use of D.D.T. so destructive to the nesting of birds.

Mike Huguenin, president of the Mattapoisett Land Trust, told me he is strongly among those believing that nature has an inert capacity to right itself and overcome man’s destruction, providing left to its own recovery through the preservation of open land.

This dovetails with the Indian premise that the land that God gave does not belong to us, but instead to the next generation of our children and grandchildren.

The air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat, and the planetary seasons are all encompassed under the sacred heritage we leave them.

With this message of native origin and image, let me wish you the reader a very Happy New Year! May the blessings of our heritage bring you and yours great joy of a renewed spirit upon Earth.

By George B. Emmons

Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester – three very different towns that have united as one Tri-Town – have passed through yet another year in time, with each community seeing its own issues emerge and enter the distinctive zeitgeists of their respective towns.

As we pass from one year into the next, we at The Wanderer like to take a look back to see where we have come from, where we have been, and where, with any guess, we might go in the coming year.

So let’s take a look back and remember the main topics that topped town hall business and dominated the conversations amongst neighbors! Here, we now give you the year 2016.

In Marion, the most recent major event on collective history is, by far, the acquisition of the VFW Post 2425 Benjamin D. Cushing building, which selectmen just this month officially designated as a senior center/community center to the delight of Marion seniors who have been anticipating a senior center of their very own.

However, there was a steep price to pay for this gain. VFW Post 2425 disbanded due to dwindling membership, which is a loss in itself for the entire community. On December 7, Post Commander Demi Barros and VFW member Rodney Hunt signed the deed to the building over to the Town.

The Marion Board of Health has taken up arms this year against Big Tobacco with its intent to categorize menthol cigarettes as ‘flavored tobacco’ and ban it from sale in town.

With the help of various nonprofit organizations that oppose tobacco use, the town may receive some legal assistance to help win its fight, but a fight is coming indeed, as has warned the attorney for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Only time will tell now if the Town can win its fight against Big Tobacco.

Also in the news, Hollywood actor James Spader attended one of the Board of Selectmen meetings in July and spoke out against Shea Doonan’s last aquaculture proposal off Meadow Island. Although the actor’s appearance was likely more exciting for local news reporters than selectmen, the Planting Island residents were far more excited when selectmen voted against the aquaculture farm. In 2017, Chris Bryant will undergo hearings with selectmen and the Conservation Commission to determine the fate of his proposed aquaculture farm off Meadow Island, a proposal that Planting Island residents have already begun to speak out against.

Speaking of selectmen, Marion said farewell to former Selectman Jon Henry and said ‘hello’ to new Selectman Steve Gonsalves, who beat Norm Hills during the election. Gonsalves continues to serve on the Planning Board, as well.

Also, Marion was the first to acquire through state grant funds a fleet of electric vehicles, which has enabled the Town to phase out a couple of gas-guzzling clunkers.

Overall, it was a relatively quiet year in Marion.

Mattapoisett, likewise, enjoyed a relatively quiet year of its own – that is, unless you are one of the neighbors to the Inn at Shipyard Park who are fighting against a special permit to allow the inn to increase capacity and live entertainment.

Neighbor Maureen Butler, with her attorney, appealed the Zoning Board of Appeals decision to grant the special permit to allow the inn’s growth.

The matter is currently in litigation and has not yet been resolved.

There was certainly an uptick in the upgrading of certain historic village streets, with new infrastructure work, new sidewalks, plus water and gas main upgrades on streets such as Church, Water, Pearl, and Hammond. The town is seeking further grants for increased infrastructure upgrading in the coming New Year.

However, if you asked Animal Control Officer Kathy Massey, she probably wouldn’t agree that it has been a quiet year in Mattapoisett. Take the rabid raccoon from back on July 8, for example.

Massey is a natural storyteller and when she told the tale of the rabid raccoon and its shifty, fluttering eyes, you felt a chill go up your spine.

The raccoon attacked a woman working in her garden before Massey cornered the rabid creature up a tree and captured it.

“I’ll never forget the eyes,” Massey stated.

Rochester also had a fine year, with many residents celebrating the sun setting on the proposed solar farm in the historic center of town.

Neither the Planning Board nor voters at the Annual Town Meeting were aware that a vote to adopt a new solar bylaw amendment would stop the project in its tracks back in June.

In its June 28 letter to the Planning Board, after months of slogging through the permitting process against the opposition of many an abutter, solar developer Renewable Generation LLC cited its reason for withdrawing its application due to “extenuating permitting challenges.”

Will 2017 bring a new application for a developer of some other commercial or light industrial establishment?

Rochester Town Meeting voters in 2016 not only said ‘no’ to a new town annex building, they also said a definite ‘no’ to construction for a new town hall of any fashion.

Selectmen are now heading towards exploring town hall annex only options, which should begin to solidify more in the coming year once the town hall annex building subcommittee comes up with a new plan of action for the Town and taxpayers alike.

Overall in Tri-Town, the drought hit the area pretty significantly. A drought ‘watch’ back in late August quickly escalated into a drought ‘warning’ in mid-September. Mandatory outdoor water restrictions were implemented, many of which have yet to be lifted even in December. As of December 1, the region still remains in a drought watch.

The closing of Buzzards Bay to shellfishing back in October was a pretty big deal, especially for those who relish the opening of the shellfishing season. The closure, due to a high concentration of toxic phytoplankton, remained in effect until the ban was lifted October 31.

What will 2017 bring the three towns next? Anyone care to guess? Solar farms? Aquaculture? More rabid raccoon chases?

There is one thing that is for certain, however. The Wanderer, which is officially 25 years old this year, will continue to deliver all the happenings, events, and news within the Tri-Town to you for at least another year. We are delighted to serve our three communities and every one of us here at The Wanderer wishes all of you in Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, and beyond, a happy and healthy New Year!

By Jean Perry