March 2022
From our Executive Director, Barbara Loh:
We are quickly approaching this year's spring equinox on March 20. Also this month, we are reminded of the "in like a lion, out like a lamb" saying. March is traditionally a transitional month between winter and spring. The Farmers' Almanac claims that the March weather folklore originates from ancestral beliefs in balance -- if March starts out "roaring", it should end with weather as gentle as a lamb.
Well, halfway through the month, it certainly looks like a toss up as to how it will end weatherwise. We are going through other transitions also -- is the pandemic over and is a return to normalcy here to stay? Events in Ukraine make us deeply concerned for its citizens as they suffer so many transitions and worse. Here we wonder if we will experience more daily living transitions beyond gas prices.
Winter and spring, war and peace, health and sickness, normalcy and unpredictability -- we have been dealing with it all in recent times. At Valley Eye Radio, I am happy to report that while we have had our moments of "roaring" challenges, we are experiencing a calmer time -- greater financial stability, more community awareness and more accessible ways for our listeners to get their local news and information. We are grateful to all of you for helping us get to a more balanced place. Let's hope our world and our weather does the same and that the month "goes out like a lamb."
- The World Affairs Council of Western MA did it again with another very timely presentation in their Instant Issues series that was rebroadcast by Valley Eye Radio when author Constantine Pleshakov spoke on the subject of “Russia's Foreign Policy in the 21st Century”.
A native of Yalta in Crimea, former foreign policy analyst at the Institute of U.S. and Canada Studies in Moscow, author of more than six books on geopolitics and currently a visiting professor at Amherst College, Dr. Pleshakov presented background information as well as his perspective on current events in a program moderated by Dr. Stephen Jones, Professor of Russian Studies at Mount Holyoke.
- March is Women’s History Month and Valley Eye Radio will be informing our listeners with multiple programs related to the known and often overlooked background and accomplishments of women throughout US history.
- Valley Eye Radio continues to inform our listeners on updated information on the Covid-19 pandemic from various authoritative sources. We’ve broadcast a PSA from the Public Health Institute of Western MA about the best way to deal with vaccine resistance and shared their posts to our social media. We’re airing articles from the NY Times, Atlantic Magazine and more to help our listeners make informed choices to protect themselves and their families.
- Thanks to our continued collaboration with JGS LifeCare, Valley Eye Radio will help our listeners declutter their lives with our rebroadcast of last month’s Ruth’s House’s Lunch & Learn feature presentation by Carleen Eve Fischer Hoffman entitled “Unclutter Your Life and Love Your Space Again!”.
● Valley Eye Radio can provide you with a flyer about our service along with our programming schedule and the many ways that someone who needs our service can access our free broadcasts. Please let us know if you’d like us to send you this information to share with community and religious organizations in your area or anyone who can help us get the word out to those who now have difficulty reading print material for themselves due to a disability or other health condition. Check out www.valleyeyeradio.org for more information.
- Valley Eye Radio will air more travel stories from the “Accidental Travel Writer” as we learn about Bangladesh, a country about the size of Illinois, a population of about 168 million and one quarter to one third of the land area under water every year.
David Mould, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Media Arts and Studies at Ohio University, will once again be our host for this virtual exploration.
Our thanks to David and Storrs Library for bringing this series to our listeners.
Happy Birthday to all of those in our volunteer reader family who were born in the month of March: New reader Tony began another lap around the sun on the 7th, former reader Tom enjoyed his day on the 12th, Maeve gets her cake and presents on the 21st, Maria and Anurima have their special day on the 22nd and John P. gets to be spoiled by all his many friends on the 30th.
Happy Birthday wishes to all!
