View From The Hills

A blog by Chris Sherwood

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Random thoughts about local issues and more.

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Summertime Memories

Working in the world of education, even on the fringe like I do, has its advantages, one of them being summer vacation. While we have the option to work during the summer, this year finds me taking the time off instead. And it finds me thinking of things to do for the next two months to make sure that the time is well spent. I’ve made a mental “to-do” list, things that I can get done around here, as well as an actual list of writing prompts I’ve thought up to keep my chops up. It occurred t

Chris Sherwood

23 hours ago

The Old Man Told Me

Once upon a time, when I was still a paramedic and we’d just finished a particularly unusual call, I remarked to the E.R. doctor that someday I was going to write a book about what it’s like in that world. “Honey, they’ll never believe it,” she said. And I know now that she was right. Between my time on the streets and later when I worked in the emergency department, I spent sixteen years of my life, from age nineteen to my mid-thirties, seeing and dealing with the worst

Chris Sherwood

April 6

It's Time For A Moratorium On Christmas Music

The season is upon us once again, when Christmas music once again fills the airwaves. Actually, if you work in any shopping mall you know that the Christmas music season starts promptly at midnight on November 1st. This is in an effort to get you, the consumer, in the Christmas, or more specifically, the Christmas shopping, spirit. Though in recent years it may inspire consumers to do some window shopping at best, only to go home and order it on Amazon. Now right out of the gate let me cla

Chris Sherwood

December 12, 2024

When The Universe Speaks, Listen

I recall a buddy of mine saying that, probably more than once, many years ago. Since that time, it’s been sort of a mantra I’ve taken on as my own. When all signs point to something you should be doing, you do it. When Life presents you with a situation, seek to embrace it. Two of the most common questions I get are, first, “How the f–k do you sleep at night?” or something similar. That one is common after someone is finished reading one of my books. The other, more common question is, “Wh

Chris Sherwood

July 29, 2024

An Open Letter To The Class Of 2024

For the past several years I’ve considered writing an open letter to the graduating class of each June, but never got around to it. As graduation loomed closer for our oldest son I thought about it more. That was in 2020, and we know too well what a shit show that year ended up being. The last thing a bunch of kids needed at that time was me writing something that could be summed up in this pic: Not that I think anyone should be mollycoddled, but it was a difficult time for everyone, and th

Chris Sherwood

June 23, 2024

Memorable Album Covers

I don’t know what got me thinking about this, perhaps it comes from reading GiddyUpAmerica by Ryan O’Connell. But instead of some of the other ideas I’ve intended to write about, I decided to do something a little lighter and write about some of my personal favorite album covers. Until recently, it was a long time before I owned an actual record. Excuse me, “vinyl” as the newest generation of aficionados call them. ( This seems silly to me, referring to an object as the material it’s made

Chris Sherwood

June 9, 2024

The Seasons Of Our Lives

For a while now I’ve been thinking about a concept which compares our lives to the changing of the seasons. To be honest, I don’t know if it’s an original thought and I haven’t bothered to look. If someone has done this already, no plagiarism is intended. Think of it as one of those, “great minds think alike moments.” The idea is, assuming an average human lifespan of eighty years ( statistics say it’s 77.28 for the average American, so ever the optimist, I’m rounding up ) you can divide th

Chris Sherwood

June 2, 2024

Illegal Dumping In Chemung County: It's Got To Stop

"It's so beautiful out here.” That's a statement I used to hear a lot, usually from someone who was lost and needed help finding their way back to Elmira, Horseheads, I86, etc. I'd point them in the right direction, and after a quick “thank you” they'd usually say how pretty our area is, then drive off to their destination. And it's true. Chemung County is blessed with a beautiful rural landscape. But unfortunately I don’t hear that a lot these days. That’s because there's far too many

Chris Sherwood

February 20, 2023

"Well, We Tried"

“Well, we tried.” As the dog and I returned from an abbreviated New Year’s Eve walk, ( for reasons I’ll get to in a minute ) that’s what I found myself thinking this evening. A couple strands of the Christmas lights on our porch burned out a couple weeks ago and frankly, I didn’t give a damn enough to try and fix them. We tried. Man if ever there was an illustration for 2021, particularly the holiday season, those lights would be labeled “Illustration A”. This time last year we

Chris Sherwood

January 2, 2022

Rambles Of Spring

As with much of the things I write, i lifted the title for this column from a song. Here's a rendition of it by local musician and friend, Pat Kane. We’re on our way out of March and with it, leaving behind that time of year sometimes referred to as “Fool’s Spring” with it. It’s safe to say I’m not alone being happy to say “goodbye” to Winter. Still, anyone who lives in this part of the country knows to enjoy the warmer temps, the snow melting away, and the grass getting greener, but that

Chris Sherwood

March 25, 2021

The Pandemic: Reflections On The Past Year & Looking For The Silver Lining

We’re quickly coming upon the time marking one year since the world was turned upside down thanks to a tiny little organism known as Covid-19 came into our lives. I remember very well the sense of foreboding, the heaviness we all felt in the beginning. I sat our teenage sons down, one of them a high school senior, and we talked about it. I told them in no uncertain terms, “This is going to suck.” No one had been through what we were about to experience in 100 years, so we'd be making this

Chris Sherwood

February 19, 2021

A National Nightmare

Since the riots and attack on the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, I've been trying to think of what I would say to the world about this week's events if offered the chance. Truth is, there's a lot I'd like to say. However in many respects, words have failed me. Well, multiple four lettered words, woven in strings as colorful as the lights on our Christmas tree, didn't let me down at all. I should probably apologize for what the neighbors may have recently heard, but overall, I am still trying to proce

Chris Sherwood

January 8, 2021

Tiptoeing Into The New Year

For the past few years I looked at the year 2016 as one of, if not the worst we have had to endure. I’ve long since forgotten most of my issues with that particular trip around the sun, with the exception of our family having to endure not one but two burglaries barely six months apart. So from that alone you can understand why I was happy to see 2016 ride off into the sunset. Or to Hell, it didn’t matter to me. Then 2020 came along and said, “Hold my beer.” Now, I knew 2020 was going

Chris Sherwood

December 30, 2020

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