Rumble Strip

I went to a friend’s house the other night and she led me into her den where her best wood stove was and she sighed and said, ‘And this is where I live.’ It’s been a long winter and a lot of us have spent the better part of four months huddled around our stoves. I walked around Calais and asked people to talk about their firebuilding methods, their stoves, and their moods.

A dry wall is built with no mortar. The stones are carefully selected and they interlock and gravity holds them in place. The Great Wall of China was built this way. Scott Carrier’s wall was built this way too. Here is his story.

For the last year I’ve been conducting interviews about death and dying for The Wake Up to Dying Project –a project that encourages people to think, and talk about death and dying.  The goal is to help people be a little more prepared, both practically and emotionally, for our own deaths, and the deaths of loved ones.  Today’s show features segments from an interview with Tim Kasten of Middlesex,...

Here is one final deer story, recorded this year after youth hunting weekend. Jack Fannon, 12, went out hunting on his parents’ land in Calais, with friend, mentor, and hunter safety instructor Bob Raskevitz. Here’s what happened….

Alan LePage has been an organic vegetable gardener in central Vermont for over thirty years–long before anyone cared much about organic farming–long, long before words like ‘sustainable’, ‘local’, ‘artisinal’ started being used, ad nauseam. His family has farmed the same piece of land since the civil war. Alan is also an expert mushroom forager, mentor, activist and philosopher. He has a voracious...

An interview with poet, teacher, and reigning Vermont poetry slam champion, Geof Hewitt. In this interview, Geof talks about a lifetime of writing and what it means, to him, to be successful. He talks about his early years as a Vermont homesteader from New Jersery, and slowly becoming a Vermonter. And of course we hear lots of poetry. Geof has published three books for teachers and four collection...

This is a show about songs, and stories about songs. You’ll  hear about sack races, summer camp, love lost and found–and the songs that marked these events. There is some Meat Loaf this hour. There is brave singing and humming. There is blood and there are guitar solos. It’s an hour of music you’re sure to love and hate, and I encourage you to dance. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tra...

This week features radio producer and writer Scott Carrier, reading from his book, Prisoner of Zion . This program was produced by Larry Massett for Hearing Voices, and ran nationally in 2011. The great folks there have given me permission to air it on Rumble Strip Vermont. Shortly after the World Trade Center fell in autumn 2001, it became clear the United States would invade Afghanistan. Produce...

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/140254783″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]This hour features four Vermont soldiers captured at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. The program weaves together their stories of capture, internment, and the challenges of returning to civilian life. Credits: This progra...

This week’s episode of Rumble Strip is about the high art of Vermont road maintenance, and the diplomacy required to (almost) please everyone.  It features interviews with East Montpelier road foreman Mike Garand and retired state highway dispatcher Ray Burke. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT IF YOU HAVE ONE!  Also, if you subscribe to the site, you’ll receive automatic announcements on upcoming shows. Than...

Singer Miriam Bernardo talks about what can go right, and wrong—onstage. She talks about how she puts a life together as a musician in central Vermont, and what it feels like to sing, and live—wide open. And? We get to hear her sing. The show also features radio documentary producer Larry Massett, reading from the Barre police log. Photographs of Miriam by Josh Larkin Show music credits: Ribbon Bo...

In the maiden voyage of Rumble Strip Vermont, musician and producer Colin McCaffrey discusses the expectation of inspiration in a cup of tea, music as a career, and mushroom foraging…   Photo by Will Forest