“I wish I could have saved more lives,” Marion Pritchard told me when we spoke in her Vershire, Vermont home.

Here in Vermont, we might scoff at the House Republicans for trying to muzzle their own ethics watchdog. But that would be hypocritical, because Vermont is one of only three states without an ethics commission of its own.

By now the “I voted” stickers have fallen off the grave of Susan B. Anthony in Rochester, New York. Yes, on election day, November 8th, many voted for a woman candidate for president and then lined up to place their stickers on or near Anthony’s grave. Of course the famous suffragist never lived long enough to vote herself.

In recent months, the Southern Poverty Law Center has reported a nationwide spike in incidents of harassment against minorities, particularly immigrants and African-Americans. Sadly, Vermont too, has seen examples: the Islamic Society of Vermont posted on its Facebook page a letter vowing to try to prevent the future entry of Muslims in this country.”

In the year just past, we lost some wonderful, talented musicians and singers: Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Leon Russell and several others. But the one closest to my heart was Mose Allison, who died last November 16 at age 89.

On December 15, I joined twenty-four other birders in Woodstock for the forty-second, Annual Christmas Bird Count. Collectively, we recorded twenty-five hundred and nineteen birds, representing thirty-five different species.

There are three catchment areas for the broken among us: hospitals, public schools, and jails. Healthcare is a third of our state budget, public education another third, and jails cost twice what we spend on higher education.

I’m 56 years old, and things are more settled than they used to be. Looking back at my life and career now, there were stretches of turmoil when something, either professional or personal, was rocky.

Believe it or not, about 25 years ago, I was the first person in the history of Swedish Television to use a hidden camera in a documentary.

When the Chocolate Shop in Hanover, New Hampshire, closed this year, we lost more than a source for our favorite treats. We lost a family landmark. Where other children find caramels, mint meltaways and Pop Rocks , my son Finn found his courage.