Whether through pictures or narrative, Concord native Charles Sawyer has a long history of storytelling. His latest project, B.B. King: From Indianola to Icon, is a coffee table book of photographs of the blues icon all taken by Sawyer. He will be at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord for an author event on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m., to talk about the book.
Sawyer started writing in 1967 for the purpose of providing text to go along with his photographs. Through this experience, he realized how much he enjoyed it, and his writing eventually took on a life of its own. Since then, Sawyer has amassed experience in journalism and has worked on several unproduced screenplays in a variety of genres, including a special on King that was commissioned by WGBH, as well as a screenplay based on a murder trial in Vermont, and another centered on the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
One of his most successful projects was his 1980 book The Arrival of B.B. King, which stayed in print for 25 years. Used copies of that book can still be found on Amazon.
Many of Sawyer’s projects have been centered around King, with whom he became good friends over a period of 40 years.
“I met him in 1968 when he was playing at a famous nightclub outside of Boston [called Lenny’s on the Turnpike],” Sawyer said. “[It was] … a small 200-seat nightclub where he was playing for about nine days running. I had seen him perform a few times before but I had never met him, and I was very eager to photograph him and possibly to meet him. The intimacy of this club … afforded me the opportunity to get in real close under very optimal lighting conditions while he was performing.”
After King’s first set that night at Lenny’s on the Turnpike, the two engaged in conversation and quickly formed a personal relationship. Sawyer returned to the nightclub for several days and gained status as an insider after King invited him back to his motel room to join in on his poker game.
“I opted not to play because I was scared to death I would lose all my money,” Sawyer said.
With the extra down time that came with his retirement in 2015, Sawyer turned to his archive of photos of the blues singer. As he started digitizing them, he realized he had the makings of what would become B.B. King: From Indianola to Icon. This new book consists of more than 200 photos — some never before published — that Sawyer took over the years, accompanied by some of his own reflections and memories of his friendship with King. The first chapter of the book, for example, tells the story of how it began.
During the event at Gibson’s, Sawyer will engage in a question-and-answer session with attendees, share excerpts from his book and possibly show some projections or panels of pictures.
“One of the reviewers made quite a comment to say that a book of this quality, in this league of coffee table books, to be sold for as little as $45 is quite remarkable,” Sawyer said. “The photographic production … is of the very highest quality that I could have anticipated.”
Charles Sawyer presents B.B. King: From Indianola to Icon When: Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. Where: Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 S. Main St., Concord Visit: gibsonsbookstore.com
It’s been a long time coming, but the Nashua Chamber Orchestra is finally back to its full size, and it should stay that way for the rest of the season.
For the first time since the pandemic, the Nashua Chamber Orchestra is going to be holding its season with a complete orchestra. While the group finished off last season in the spring of 2022 with an orchestral concert, the majority of the season had been with small string groups, says orchestra director David Feltner.
“I’m so happy to be back to a full orchestra and live concerts after the hiatus that most of the arts groups had to take,” Feltner said.
Feltner said he wanted the first concert of the full orchestra season to be something extremely special. The concert, titled “Beethoven and Friends,” will feature a selection of pieces from composers from Beethoven’s time or with styles that complement his own. The symphony for the show is Beethoven’s Eighth.
The music differs from other, more performed works of Beethoven in a few distinct ways, said Feltner. Primarily, the music is in a major key. This is a drastic change from the stormy and ominous-sounding music that Beethoven usually composed.
While Beethoven is played often by instrumentalists and orchestras, Feltner said it’s rare for the eighth to be played.
“His odd-number symphonies get played more often,” Feltner said. “It could be partially because of the key. Maybe people respond more to the intensity of the minor-key symphonies. Sometimes composers write pieces that aren’t great. That’s not the case with this one.”
Feltner added that the score is incredibly difficult and probably one of the hardest of Beethoven’s symphonies to perform. Because of that, he designs the concert programs around one piece of music.
Feltner said he chooses music that will complement the main piece, but will make sure the pieces aren’t too strenuous for the musicians when they have a challenging symphony to play later in the program. With Beethoven’s eighth being his main inspiration, Feltner added a dueling pianos piece that was adapted to include strings by Jean Sibelius and a bassoon solo by Carl Maria von Weber.
The opening piece of the concert might be a first for New Hampshire when it comes to classical music. The orchestra will play the first symphony of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, which Feltner believes has never been played in the Granite State.
Bologne is a little-known composer from the mid to late 1700s, said Feltner. The composer was born in the French colony of Guadeloupe to a white planter and an enslaved Black woman. As a child he was taken to study music in Paris, and at one point he was in consideration to become the next conductor at the Paris Opera, according to Gabriel Banat’s biography The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow. Bologne was not only a prolific composer and virtuoso, but he lived in Chaussee d’Antin for two and a half years at the same time as Wolfgang Mozart.
“[Bolonge] was a very influential and interesting person, and just now people are discovering his music,” Feltner said. “He was a very gifted violinist. … He has a connection to all the composers of the season. The orchestra he worked with was the one that commissioned Joseph Haydn to write his Paris Symphony.”
While this concert will focus primarily on Beethoven’s piece, Feltner hopes he can provide unique surprises at all the upcoming concerts in the season, as he did with Bologne in this concert. He said he’s excited to see people sitting in the audience and experiencing classical music the way it was written to be.
“Being in the space where the music is actually happening in real time,” said Feltner. “That’s my wish, that people get to enjoy it and make some new discoveries and have a wonderful evening out.”
Beethoven and Friends When and Where: Saturday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at Nashua Community College (505 Amherst St., Nashua), and Sunday, Nov. 6, at 6:30 p.m. at Milford Town Hall (1 Union Square, Milford) Price: Tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for senior citizens ages 65 and older, military, and college students, and free for children ages 18 and younger. Visit: nco-music.org
Featured photo: David Feltner, Nashua Chamber Orchestra director. Courtesy photo.
Get to know this Community-friendly Comfort Dog, a very social emu, cuddle cows and other famous local animals
Many dogs, cats and other animals have roles that go beyond the traditional house pet. From friendly farm dwellers to shop cats to therapy or comfort dogs (and even a pony!), these beloved animals all have a unique story to tell.
Augustus & Moo
Augustus the cat. Photo by Mya Blanchard.
At Cats Kingdom, a cat-based pet store in Manchester, Augustus and Moo are the kings of the castle. Although they differ in personality and demeanor, the two have become best friends since sharing the throne. As a pet store dedicated solely to cats, Cats Kingdom has something that every feline will love, from food to furniture and toys.
Customers, and their cats, who come into the store will likely be welcomed by Augustus, who is “a great store greeter,” store owner Cathy Hilscher said.
Augustus is an 8-year-old long-haired, mixed-breed cat who was adopted six years ago from New Hampshire Kittens. Friendly, independent and outgoing, Augustus is a cat that customers gravitate toward.
Moo is a shyer, 5-year-old domestic shorthair who loves to see other cats come into the store. Originally from Florida, Moo had a rough start until he was adopted by Hilscher from Darbster Kitty, a nonprofit based in Manchester.
Moo the cat. Photo by Mya Blanchard.
“He was returned a few times. I had been working with them years ago to help [with] adoptions and he had some health problems we’ll say. So finally three years ago I adopted him myself,” Hilscher said. “He was a work in progress. He has a lot of health issues, but I feel that he pretty much came to me for a reason.”
Cats Kingdom has earned a loyal customer base since its opening seven years ago. Hilscher was inspired to open the store when her late cat Pierre was diagnosed with kidney disease at the age of 18.
“I realized there wasn’t a lot out there for cats, [like] supportive measures, foods [and] holistic care. Just on a whim right down the street there was a ‘for sale’ sign, so I took out a … loan and I built it from the ground up,” Hilscher said.
The health problems that Pierre had are rather similar to one that Moo currently faces. With his kidney issues, an autoimmune disease, and a history of neglect, Hilscher considers Moo to be the underdog.
“He probably would not be alive now if I didn’t take him,” Hilscher said of Moo. “I think him happening to find a cat store that focuses on kidney support care and him being so young to have kidney problems [is] kind of … ironic, and I think he’s here for a reason.”
— Mya Blanchard
Augustus and Moo the cats Where: Cats Kingdom, 679 Mast Road, Manchester Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More info: catskingdom.online, 935-8321
Charley Mopps Brewdog
Charley Mopps Brewdog. Courtesy photo.
Five-year-old Charley Mopps — or just Charley — is the official “brewdog” of Blasty Bough Brewing Co in Epsom. He was just a puppy when the brewery opened its doors on the grounds of McClary Hill Farm in early 2018, owner and head brewer Dave Stewart said.
“When we first picked him up, we were already in the process of building out [the brewery],” Stewart said. “There’s an old song, and it’s obviously fanciful, but it’s about Charley Mopps, who is the man who invented beer, and it rhymes with barley and hops. … So that’s where the name comes from. He’s really just Charley, but when he’s not being good, he’s Charley Mopps.”
Charley was adopted from 3 Dogs Rescue in Berwick, Maine. In the early days of the brewery — before, Stewart said, a food menu was introduced — patrons would often find Charley roaming the floors of the taproom. While he’s no longer allowed inside where food is served, Charley is still known to make regular appearances out on the outdoor porch seating area.
“At the end of the evening, the regulars that are there will ask for an appearance. Everybody will ask, ‘Where’s Charley?’ and so we all go outside and let Charley out,” Stewart said. “Charley also gets to eat whatever’s left in the hot dog steamer after the evening is over.”
Quickly becoming something of a local celebrity among the taproom’s regulars, Charley has his own “Charley Mopps seal of approval” T-shirts, and there’s even a brewed beer named after him. The Charley Mopps Brewdog stout is a smooth coffee-oatmeal stout that’s brewed with organic French roast coffee beans — it’s slated to make its return to the brewery’s lineup in time for the winter months, Stewart said.
More details on Charley’s adventures can be found at blastybough.com/charley-mopps-brewdog. He also has his own Instagram page @charleymoppsbrewdog, where photos of him and his “dog friends” at the brewery are shared.
“He’s got a cushion under my desk and he sleeps there while I’m doing office work, and then when I’m doing other stuff, he’s hanging around supervising,” Stewart said. “We call him the Wonder Dog, because he’s always wondering what’s going on.”
— Matt Ingersoll
Charley Mopps Brewdog Where: Blasty Bough Brewing Co., 3 Griffin Road, Epsom Hours: Friday, 4 to 9 p.m., Saturday, 1 to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m. (be there around closing time for a chance to see Charley) More info: blastybough.com, 724-3636
Clarissa, Ruby and Sadie
Clarissa the horse. Courtesy photo.
Sixteen horses live on the approximately 96-acre farm at UpReach, a therapeutic equestrian center in Goffstown. Among them are Clarissa, Ruby and Sadie.
Clarissa, a blonde Haflinger, is a fan favorite with an excellent work ethic. Now in her early 20s, she has been at the center since she was donated at the age of 7. Loving and outgoing, Clarissa is great with participants.
“She seeks people out,” said Allison McCully, the unmounted program director at UpReach.
Clarissa, also known as “The Driving Queen,” takes part in the hippotherapy and riding programs, and, as her nickname suggests, specializes in the therapeutic driving program in which she pulls carts.
Ruby is an expressive bay-colored Morgan who has been at UpReach for four years. She participates in the therapeutic riding program, giving walk, trot and canter lessons.
“Ruby knows she’s important and she likes being important. She wants to be good at everything,” McCully said.
Sadie, a 15-year old piebald Gypsy Vanner with a mellow, independent personality, was leased to UpReach in 2015. Her specialty is hippotherapy, but she is also involved in the therapeutic riding program. Her even-keeled demeanor makes her a perfectly hospitable horse.
“She takes care of people. She’s a caretaker,” McCully said.
UpReach serves about 160 participants with various challenges weekly. The participants can be anywhere from 3 years old to in their 80s.
“The challenges that people have vary. … It could be physical, could be emotional or … cognitive,” said Sara McCarthy, UpReach’s development director.
There are many ways to get involved and contribute to the cause and the horses at UpReach. One can volunteer, donate or even sponsor one of the horses.
“The sponsorship helps offset the cost of caring for a horse,” McCarthy said.
Sponsors get to have their picture taken with the horse they sponsor, receive a certificate, and get to go and spend time with the horse at the center.
“They’re doing all the hard work for us, so they deserve the best care that we can give them, and they get it here. … They’re very lucky horses,” McCarthy said.
— Mya Blanchard
Clarissa, Ruby and Sadie the therapy horses Where: UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center, 153 Paige Hill Road, Goffstown Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More info: upreachtec.org, 497-5367
Cottonpuff the “unicorn”
Cottonpuff the “unicorn”. Courtesy photo.
When Deanna Levesque first encountered Cottonpuff at a rescue pen, she wasn’t sure the American miniature horse would have what it takes to be a “unicorn” for her entertainment service, NH Unicorns. Two weeks later she saw Cottonpuff again at a different rescue pen. She knew then that, unicorn or no unicorn, the horse was in need of a loving forever home.
“I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing this poor little thing being bounced from pen to pen until she was sick, hurt or worse,” Levesque said. “NH Unicorns had to save her. I didn’t care at that point if she would ever make it as a unicorn.”
As it turns out, Cottonpuff’s demeanor is a perfect fit for unicorn service. She’s sociable and huggable and loves nothing more than being the center of attention.
Well, that, and eating cupcakes.
“She loves vanilla cupcakes,” Levesque said. “That’s been her favorite part of going to kids’ parties.”
Standing at just under 36 inches tall, Cottonpuff is especially popular with the little ones. With her teddy bear-like features — big head, big eyes and big ears — rotund body and billowy white mane, Cottonpuff can be best described, Levesque said, as “the corgi of unicorns.”
“Her pretty white hair is so thick and fluffy, you can literally bury your hand in it,” she said.
Cottonpuff’s best unicorn quality is her ability to form a special connection with the children she meets.
“She’s been told by so many littles that she makes them feel safe, and that has been one of the highest compliments any of our animals has ever received,” Levesque said. “She has been the reason non-verbal children have spoken their first words. She has brought tears to the eyes of many parents as they witness the joy of their child’s unicorn encounter.”
Cottonpuff has become the most requested NH Unicorn, Levesque said, and though she officially entered retirement this past summer, she’ll take any opportunity she’s given to pop back into the spotlight and see her young fans.
“She always demands to be a part of things,” Levesque said. “We don’t take her out for long public events anymore … but she wants everyone to know she can still be seen at occasional visits to the farm.”
NH Unicorns is currently planning a rainbow birthday party at their farm in Barnstead to celebrate Cottonpuff’s 30th.
Cottonpuff the “unicorn” NH Unicorns offers parties, special appearances and photo shoots at requested locations throughout New Hampshire and at its farm in Barnstead. To learn more about opportunities to meet Cottonpuff and the other NH Unicorns, visit nhunicorns.com or call 867-6228, and follow NH Unicorns on Facebook.
Dundee the emu
Dundee the emu. Courtesy photo.
The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill in Bedford is home to many animals you’d expect to see at a New England farm — goats, cows, horses, sheep, chickens, alpacas — but there is one animal that may have you doing a double take.
Meet Dundee.
Dundee is an 8-year-old female emu, which is a large, flightless bird endemic to Australia.
“She’s a little unusual at our farm — a little different — but that’s part of what makes her so fun,” said Jessica Gilcreast, vice chair of the board for the farm. “She’s a species that’s not native to New England, and our visitors get to interact with her very closely, which they may not be able to do anywhere else.”
Dundee was hatched from an egg to a family in Maine. She was given to Live and Let Live Farm, an animal rescue and sanctuary in Chichester, in 2021, and adopted by The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill that same year.
Despite being the only emu at the farm, Dundee has had no trouble fitting in with the other animals. Standing over 5 feet tall and with a sprint speed of up to 30 mph, her closest companions are the horses.
“She lives with the horses in the horse pasture, and at night she’ll go into the trees to roost,” Gilcreast said. “During the winter, she lives in the barn … with a roommate, Trickster, a rooster. They keep each other company until the worst of winter is over.”
Dundee is very social, not only with her fellow animals but also with her human friends, especially if they come with a handful of her favorite snack, red grapes.
“She loves to interact with our visitors and volunteers and will often be at the fence to say hello,” Gilcreast said.
Though she’s lived at the farm for only a little over a year, Dundee has already secured her position as one of the farm’s most popular animals, her claim to fame being a penchant for wearing hats.
“She lets the volunteers put hats on her and take funny pictures. She never complains,” Gilcreast said.
You can see Dundee at the farm outside every day except during the winter, when you can see her as part of a guided barn tour. While you’re there, you can also purchase a cup of grain to feed Dundee and the other animals.
Emus can live to be up to 30 years old, Gilcreast said, “so we plan to have Dundee for a long time.”
— Angie Sykeny
Dundee the emu Where: The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill, 174 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford When: The farm is open daily from dawn to dusk Cost: Admission to the farm is free. Purchase a cup of grain to feed Dundee and the other animals for $5. More info: theeducationalfarm.org, 472-4724
Eddy the comfort pony
Eddy the comfort pony. Courtesy photo.
Eddy is a 23-year-old Shetland pony who is the newest member of the Manchester Police Department’s Mounted Patrol team. According to the Friends of the Manchester Mounted Patrol’s website, the horse and his riders — which include MPD officers Kelly McKenney and Brianna Miano, along with intern Hannah Beaudry — focus their patrols in the downtown area of Manchester and the city parks, with the goal to provide an approachable police presence. Patrolling on horseback also allows officers access to some places a police cruiser cannot go.
General Stark, a 17-year-old Clydesdale cross gelding; and Bruno, a 9-year-old Percheron cross gelding, round out the Mounted Patrol team.
“Although the full-size horses are an incredible asset, they are also intimidating for a lot of people, especially children,” Manchester Police spokeswoman Heather Hamel told the Hippo in an email. “A pony was a smaller, perfect addition to the team.”
According to Hamel, Eddy was a therapy pony prior to joining the department. He’s now a full-time comfort pony, visiting area schools, assisted living facilities, summer camps, community events and everywhere in between.
“He is a great way to engage with the public and is a great ice-breaker with children,” she said.
There are numerous requests for Eddy’s presence at public events, Hamel said, and they are even booking into 2023. The Mounted Patrol Unit is a nonprofit that’s funded through private donations. Visit mpdmountedpatrol.com or follow them on Facebook @friendsofthemanchestermountedpatrol to learn more.
— Matt Ingersoll
Eddy the comfort pony Where: Manchester Police Department’s Mounted Patrol team, 405 Valley St., Manchester More info: mpdmountedpatrol.com, 792-5432
Mischka the comfort dog
Mischka the comfort dog. Courtesy photo.
Mischka — pronounced “meesh-ka” — is a 3-year-old purebred English Labrador who joined the Bedford Police Department in early 2021 as its certified comfort dog. Bedford Police Officer Whitney Mansfield serves as Mischka’s handler.
“She was actually my personal dog … and I was already training her to be a service dog for myself,” Mansfield said. “I ended up bringing her to work after convincing my captain to see if she could just hang out with me at work, because I was just doing paperwork on light duty. … There had been talk here and there about [having] a comfort dog, and the department pretty much fell in love with her, and so I just started creating a program and taking on that role.”
Mischka, Mansfield said, is a certified therapy dog through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, a nationally accredited therapy dog program. She also has a certificate of completion from a basic obedience training program at Hudson K-9 Training Center, based in Nashua.
Mischka was given her name while still a puppy at Bloomfield Labradors in Rindge.
“I did more research about it, and it actually means ‘bear’ in Russian, and she looked like a little bear cub when she was a baby, so that’s kind of where the name came from,” Mansfield said.
When Mischka isn’t responding to calls, she’ll accompany Mansfield on all kinds of community events — including, most recently, at a Trunk or Treat event put on by Bethany Covenant Church in Bedford. She also has her own Instagram page — follow her @mischka_the_bpd_comfortdog.
“Pretty much any event that the community has, we try to get out there … [and] introduce her to a variety of businesses, schools, stuff like that, just to create a positive relationship between the police and the community,” Mansfield said. “She can also be used on calls, so pretty much any call that can leave someone with traumatic stress, or we’ll go to calls where kids are involved. As long as a scene is safe and not still volatile, she can be used in pretty much any call, especially mental health-related calls.”
— Matt Ingersoll
Mischka the comfort dog Where: Bedford Police Department, 55 Constitution Drive, Bedford More info: Follow Mischka on Instagram @mischka_the_bpd_comfortdog to find out where she’ll be next
Mocha and the cuddle cows
Mocha, the most requested cow to cuddle with at Granite Oak Farm. Photo by Katelyn Sahagian.
While standard pets include dogs, hamsters, bunnies and cats, Brian Bradford chose a different type of animal.
“I’ve always wanted cows,” Bradford said. “I finally got the land and I had the space and the opportunity to do it, so I was like, ‘Alright, game on.’”
The three cows he first adopted — named Merl, Mocha and Moscato — were raised from bottle feeding to the full grown, nearly 2-year-old love bugs they are now. The herd, which includes a total of nine cows, all live on Bradford’s farm in Goffstown called Granite Oak Farm, and the three he first adopted are part of a program known as cow cuddling.
Bradford described the temperament of the massive animals as that of a big dog. True to that description, the cows were all extremely cuddly, giving licks with their rough, cat-like tongues, and rubbing their faces and horns against the metal fence.
Mocha, the most popular of the cow cuddlers due to her chocolate brown fur, is extremely affectionate, making sure that she gets as many scratches as possible from Bradford.
“I always loved going to the fairs and we spent a lot of time in the cow areas, and so you saw people want to constantly [be] with the cows, but a lot of them can’t spend much time with them,” Bradford said. “So I wanted to kind of bring that to everyone.”
While Bradford had intended to have Mocha and the two boys as his own pets at home, he saw how loving they were whenever he brought people around. He said that it sparked the idea to introduce the world to how affectionate and caring they are.
Even the baby cow, Caramel, who is kept separate from the herd until she becomes 3 months old, is incredibly affectionate, sucking on Bradford’s hand like a bottle and enjoying chin scratches from him. Bradford said he expects she’ll also be a cuddler once she’s old enough to join the herd.
Right now, cow cuddling isn’t available to the public at Granite Oak Farm. Due to some town ordinances, Bradford had to work on getting the farm set up with a better driveway and more accessibility for first responders.
He said that he expects the farm to open back up to the public sometime in December, after the town reviews everything. At that point, he hopes to have more than just the original three cuddlers available for people to choose from.
“They’re super-friendly,” Bradford said. “They are like a big dog. They will lick you and snuggle up against you and just love you. I think that’s probably what makes it such a huge bonding experience, because it’s such a large animal that you were just able to just be with.”
— Katelyn Sahagian
Mocha and the cuddle cows Where: Granite Oak Farm, 233 Goffstown Back Road, Goffstown When: Cow cuddling is not currently available to the public at the farm, but owner Brian Bradford expects it to reopen sometime in December. More info: graniteoakfarm.com, 417-4637
Moo the python
Moo the python. Photo by Katelyn Sahagian.
Plaistow’s New England Reptile Distributors is more than just an exotic pet store. They offer a program to show off reptiles and other exotic animals — like Moo, the reticulated python — at parties and for educational events.
The store’s main level has a few live-in pets, including a chinchilla right by the front doors, as well as a petting zoo with chickens, goats and koi fish that visitors can feed. Inside, its walls are packed with aquariums of tropical fish, shoeboxes of tarantulas, and an assortment of snakes, from large ball pythons to small colubrids like rat snakes or hognoses. There’s even a venomous room filled with different species of vipers and cobras for people to meet.
Above the store is where the shop keeps reptiles that are used for educational events and for breeding programs. In one room, each case was filled with different pythons. Some cases held babies and their mothers, while others had individual snakes.
Tia McLaurin, a New England Reptile Distributors photographer and snake handler, opened the door to one of the bottom habitats in the python room. She and another handler pulled out the 90-pound snake with a couple of tugs.
“Once you get this big, you don’t really get scared of anything anymore,” McLaurin joked about Moo.
Moo, a 14-foot female reticulated python in the color calico cow, immediately started slithering around with her tongue darting in and out to get a better sense for what was going on around her.
“I’m with these guys all the time handling them,” McLaurin said, while Moo started slithering around and investigating everything from the snakes in the other enclosures to my camera bag. “It can be a bit nerve-wracking at times … but overall it’s a really rewarding job.”
McLaurin said that Moo is taken out to different events close to once a week during the busiest times of year. Because of this, she has a very docile and curious personality. McLaurin said that Moo has a lot of fun with kids and adults, with reactions ranging from excitement to mild nervousness at the size of the python.
McLaurin said that it’s important for people to realize that snakes, like Moo, are just regular animals and that they are probably much more afraid of us than we are of them.
“They’re curious, they’re smart [and] they’re beautiful animals,” she said. “They just need more respect than a dog or a cat.”
— Katelyn Sahagian
Moo the python Where: New England Reptile Distributors, 149 Plaistow Road, Plaistow Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More info: newenglandreptilestore.com, 382-2772
Turbo and D’Ogee
D’Ogee at the Wadleigh LIbrary. Courtesy photo.
While libraries are often a quiet haven for getting lost in a good book, sometimes children who are struggling readers need assistance. According to a Tufts University study, kids who read out loud to a dog are more likely to gain confidence and a love of reading.
Reading dogs are trained therapy dogs that come to local schools and libraries to help young kids gain confidence in reading out loud. For Pam McKinney, a dog trainer and manager at American K9 Country in Amherst, this is only one of the types of therapies they offer.
“Turbo knows to settle right down as soon as the child comes over with a book,” McKinney said about the 9-year-old Labrador mix. “He’ll get right into what I call his listening position, which is pretty much on his side with his head down. Sometimes the kids look a little disappointed when they finish their books. They say, ‘Oh no, he’s sleeping,’ and I say, ‘Oh, no, no, that’s his listening position.’”
Turbo was one of McKinney’s foster dogs at first, but she was looking to retire a previous therapy dog when he came into her life. She said that he had a very calm and fun attitude and was a very loyal dog, which made him great for training to be a therapy dog.
McKinney, who trains all her dogs, has two other therapy dogs — Caro, who is older, has since been retired, while D’Ogee is fairly new to being a therapy dog and now takes on most of the library visits. Both Turbo and D’Ogee also compete in agility and obedience competitions, and even attended a national agility competition in Florida later this year.
For dog therapy outside of libraries, Turbo would go to hospitals, chemo treatment facilities and nursing homes to provide a little bit of comfort there as well. While they haven’t been to hospitals since the beginning of the pandemic, McKinney said she hopes to return to some soon.
McKinney, who is a court-appointed special advocate for children and teens who have been abused, will often bring Turbo with her to meet with the kids. She said that Turbo will help the kids calm down and give her a chance to bond with them over something neutral, like a love for dogs.
“It’s really a good icebreaker and of course a lot of times the kids, especially teenagers, really don’t want another adult stranger in their life and don’t want to share anything,” McKinney said. “But if I bring my dog with me, then you know he’s something that they can focus on and it really helps them open up and be comfortable with me.” — Katelyn Sahagian
Turbo, D’Ogee and other reading dogs Where: Dogs are trained at American K9 Country, 336 Route 101, Amherst More info: americank9country.com
Yuka the Arctic fox
Yuka the Arctic fox. Courtesy photo.
Yuka the Arctic fox is a 4-year-old New Hampshire state exhibit animal. Maria Laycox of Salisbury, Yuka’s licensed exhibitor, caregiver and partner, likes to call him a “fox ambassador” for all of the foxes of the Granite State — since becoming partners in 2018, Laycox and Yuka have given educational presentations at several area public schools and colleges as well as some other local venues, such as the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner.
When Yuka entered Laycox’s life, he was just five weeks old and still feeding on formula. Today, he mainly lives in a designated enclosure on her 116-acre property and enjoys a diet of chicken twice a day, as well as pellets that naturally include taurine, a chemical foxes need to survive.
Laycox and her husband and daughter are all certified handlers of Yuka. New Hampshire Fish & Game rules decree that Yuka cannot have contact with any of her pet dogs, or any family members that are not certified handlers.
During her presentations, Laycox will talk about Arctic fox species as a whole and answer questions from attendees, who are also welcome to take photos of Yuka in his cage.
“I have a minimum of five events that I do a year with him, but we get up close to 10-ish events a lot of times,” Laycox said. “We try to take him to places people enjoy seeing him. … He’s not a pet and was never brought here to be a pet. I always refer to him as my partner.”
According to Laycox, as an Arctic fox, Yuka is one of three species of fox — the other two being red and gray foxes — that come and go through the state of New Hampshire.
“He is part of what is called the true foxes. There are 37 [types of] foxes in the world, but there are only 12 true foxes,” she said. “You can tell that they are all of that variety, because they have that cute little short snout and those beautiful almond eyes and cute pointy little ears.”
The Arctic foxes, unlike the red and gray foxes, are nomadic, meaning they will follow a food source. If you’re lucky, Laycox said you’re most likely to see them during the wintertime.
“They can travel up to 2,800 miles a season, which is pretty phenomenal,” she said.
Another difference between Yuka and his red and gray fox cousins is that his fur coat will change color twice a year.
“He’s beautiful to watch change his colors,” Laycox said. “He goes from a gray-beige underside with a darker gray top [as] his summer coat, and then he’ll turn all white and it will actually come in to match the snow. It’s pretty amazing. … But it’s important to understand that all three of these foxes that we see here will have coat changes. They will molt twice a year, so if you see a fox in the spring and it looks pretty ratty, more than likely they are shedding.”
As Yuka’s exhibitor, it’s Laycox’s job to educate the public on resident foxes in the Granite State.
“People have to understand that these animals are here to help,” she said. “They are a forest cleanup crew … and are the No. 1 reason you’re not tripping over things out in the woods, because they eat everything.” — Matt Ingersoll
Yuka the Arctic Fox Where: Maria Laycox of Salisbury, Yuka’s exhibitor and partner, will often make a few trips a year to local schools, colleges, nature centers, museums and other places. Frequented venues include the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum (18 Highlawn Road, Warner) and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Granite State College (25 Hall St., Concord).
Animals without names: raptors of New Hampshire Audubon
The red-tailed hawk of New Hampshire Audubon perches on a high branch. Photo by Katelyn Sahagian.
While the animals kept at New Hampshire’s Audubon centers don’t receive a proper name, that doesn’t make them any less special.
“The reason we don’t give them any names is because we try to keep them as wild as possible,” said Shelby Morelli, the Audubon’s head of educational programming. “When you name something it kind of turns into a pet, and these guys aren’t my pets.”
Every single raptor held at the Audubon has an issue with its wings. The bald eagle, who is more than 30 years old, had one of his wings amputated at the elbow. The red-tailed hawk, meanwhile, had surgery to fix a wing after it was hit by a car.
Because the animals were wild, Morelli said, it’s important to keep that separation with them. If they had normal lives, they wouldn’t need to be at the Audubon in the first place.
While all four birds of prey are on display, only the red-tailed hawk is glove-trained, meaning it listens to its handler and will do small tasks, Morelli said. These are among the enrichment programs that she conducts with the birds.
“The red tail’s enrichment is really the work that we do with him, so I’m getting him on the glove and kind of showing him around,” Morelli said, adding that one thing they’re working on is getting him more comfortable in his travel box. “He does like the box when we’re out because that’s kind of his safe place, but as soon as the door opens he wants to come out and see what’s going on.” — Katelyn Sahagian
Raptors of New Hampshire Audubon Where: McLane Audubon Center, 84 Silk Farm Road, Concord Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. More info: nhaudubon.org, 224-9909
Featured photo: Mischka the Bedford Police Department comfort dog. Courtesy photo.
New Hampshire’s general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Offices on the ballot include Governor, U.S. Senator, Representative in Congress, Executive Counselor, State Senator, State Representatives and County offices. To be eligible to vote, you must be at least 18 years old on Election Day, be a United States citizen and reside in the city or town where you plan to vote. If you are not yet registered to vote, you may register in person at the polls on Election Day. Registration involves filling out a Voter Registration Form and providing documents proving your identity and age, U.S. citizenship and residency. If, when registering to vote, you do not have those documents, you can sign an affidavit, affirming under oath that you meet the voting eligibility requirements. If you are already registered to vote, the only documentation you will need to bring to the polls is a valid photo ID, in accordance with the New Hampshire Voter ID Law (a full list of valid forms of ID can be found on the Secretary of State website). Registered absentee voters can file their absentee ballots at their local clerk’s office in person anytime before Monday, Nov. 7, at 5 p.m., or assign a delivery agent to deliver the completed absentee ballot in the affidavit and mailing envelope to the clerk at the voter’s local polling place on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, by 5 p.m. Use the Secretary of State’s voter information lookup tool at app.sos.nh.gov to check your voter registration status, the status of your absentee ballot, your polling location and hours and town clerk information and to see a sample ballot. For more information about voting and elections in New Hampshire, visit the Secretary of State website at sos.nh.gov.
Cleaner Center City
The City of Manchester has installed seven new sidewalk trash receptacles in its Center City neighborhood. According to a press release, the receptacle locations, strategically chosen by the city’s Department of Public Works to make the highest potential impact, include the intersections of Pine and Auburn streets, Union Street and Lake Avenue, Spruce and Beech streets, Lake Avenue and Maple Street, Spruce and Lincoln streets and Manchester and Lincoln streets and outside of the Families in Transition shelter on Pine Street. The receptacles will receive twice-weekly collection as part of the neighborhood’s regular trash collection schedule. The installations are the first in a pilot program to place sidewalk trash receptacles in high foot traffic areas outside of the Downtown corridor. “We look forward to gathering as much information as possible in an effort to reduce litter and overall environmental impacts in these neighborhoods by providing convenient, clean and readily accessible community receptacles,” Solid Waste & Environmental Programs Manager Chaz Newton said in the release.
Gas goes up
Gas prices in New Hampshire are on the rise, with an increase of 19.5 cents per gallon in the last week, according to the latest GasBuddy price report. Prices were averaging $3.66 per gallon as of Oct. 31, standing at 27.7 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 34.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The data is based on a survey of 875 gas stations across the state. The national average price of gasoline as of Oct. 31 was $3.72 — 4.7 cents per gallon down from last week, and 3 cents per gallon down from a month ago.
Food pantry upgrade
Hannaford Supermarkets and Families in Transition announce the launch of a new state-of-the-art food pantry at 176 Lake Ave. in Manchester. According to a press release, the newly remodeled Families in Transition Food Pantry, which has been made possible by a $50,000 donation from Hannaford, has been reimagined to resemble the look and feel of a traditional grocery store, with features such as shopping carts, commercial produce coolers, front door display meat freezers, a new inventory system and more. The mission of the pantry is to offer a more dignified shopping experience for the more than 1,000 food-insecure individuals and families living in Manchester who have been using the Families in Transition food pantry on a monthly basis.
CMC recognized
Healthgrades, a marketplace connecting doctors and patients, has named Catholic Medical Center in Manchester one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery. According to a press release, the list was compiled by evaluating patient mortality and complication rates for 31 of the most common conditions and procedures at nearly 4,500 hospitals across the country. CMC also received several other distinctions from Healthgrades, including receiving the Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award for the second year in a row; being named among the top 10 percent in the nation for cardiac surgery for the second year in a row; being a five-star recipient for valve surgery for the second year in a row; and being a five-star recipient for coronary bypass surgery and for treatment of GI bleed. “We commend CMC for their ongoing commitment to providing high-quality care to patients undergoing cardiac surgery and treatment of GI bleed,” Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science at Healthgrades, said in the release. “Consumers can feel confident that hospitals recognized by Healthgrades for these conditions and procedures have demonstrated their ability to deliver consistently exceptional outcomes.”
The NH Tech Alliance has named Ryan Barton, CEO of Mainstay Technologies, the recipient of its 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Barton will receive the award in person at the annual Innovation Summit on Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. According to a press release, the award recognizes the brightest, most innovative individuals in New Hampshire’s tech industry. Tickets are available at nhtechalliance.org/innovation-summit.
The SEE Science Center presents Science on Tap on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. in the lounge and function room at Stark Brewing Co., 500 Commercial St. in Manchester. According to a press release, the informal discussion series features local scientists and experts on specialized topics. Science on Tap events are free and open to the public. RSVP at see-sciencecenter.org/adults.
The Nashua Regional Planning Commission is holding its last Household Hazardous Waste Collection of the year on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Nashua City Park & Ride (25 Crown St.). There is a fee of $15 per vehicle (cash or check only), with additional charges for waste exceeding 10 gallons or 20 pounds. Visit nashuarpc.org/hhw or call 417-6570.
The idea of aliens landing and attempting to understand human nature has been around a while. In his one-man show The Book of Moron, Robert Dubac gets more down to earth, playing an amnesiac desperately in need of people to explain the current state of a world where the loudest voices are frequently the dumbest.
Dubac begins by being bewildered at what makes some people angry. “Isn’t same-sex marriage all marriages? You marry one person and have the same sex forever,” he says at one point.
All the other characters in Book of Moron are voices in Dubac’s head trying to fill his brain’s blank slate with their version of the truth.
“It expounds on Freud’s id, ego and superego,” he said by phone recently. “You’ve got the inner child, inner moron, the voice of reason, common sense and your inner a-hole, who obviously is the one who says things that you don’t want to say out loud, but they’re swirling around in the back of your head.”
The premise for the show came to Dubac as he was doing his previous one-man show, The Male Intellect – An Oxymoron? for a crowd in Amish country. “Even though this group of people have chosen not to interact, they still have kind of a higher moral standard,” he recalled. “I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if you woke up like that and you had no idea?’ There’s a good and bad side — you could be in the Amish community, or you could wake up in a camp run by Taliban.”
Though its “Idiocracy is a documentary” subject matter is up to the minute in a culture peppered with alternative facts and ignorant bluster, Dubac began developing the show over a decade ago. He had the help of his good friend, the late comic and television star Garry Shandling. Experience taught them both to spot the writing on the wall.
“If you’re really pushing comedy, you’re doing it before the rest of the world piles on if you’re doing it right,” Dubac said. “We could see the insanity starting to foment… everybody lives in their own little bubbles, and the public doesn’t really realize what’s going on outside as much as a traveling artist.”
Dubac began doing comedy in the late 1970s, first as a magician opening rock concerts, followed by standup in a West Coast scene that included pioneers like Dana Carvey, Bob Saget and Robin Williams. During that time, he came up with the idea of a stupidity tax — five bucks assessed for transgressions like pushing an already-lit elevator button.
Now, the bit is back.
“I resurrected that, and it’s in The Book of Moron, because it’s just timeless,” he said. “When I came up with it, it was just a surface joke, but now, coupled with this whole meaning of the change of culture and the dumbing down of America, it resonates more graphically.”
He’s quick to point out that the show isn’t about left versus right, but smart and stupid, noting, “the thing about stupidity … is stupid people won’t admit they’re stupid because it was intelligently designed that way, so all they do is double down.” Even if one side is more guilty, the comedy needs to stay balanced. “It can’t just be full tilt against stupidity and right-wing idiots, because then you’re going to lose the crowd. There’s a lot of stuff I’ve put aside, because it’s just too much.”
Instead, he keeps things level, though it can be difficult. “It’s done from a point of view of let’s start from scratch; let’s take some points from the left and the right, and solve some problems,” he said. “It’s also a way to get some great one-liners.”
In mid-2000s, the Mensa organization challenged its members to take a word from the dictionary and add or subtract one letter to give it a new meaning. One wag came up with “bozone,” defined as “the substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating.”
Reminded of that, Dubac observed, “We’re living in a time where irony doesn’t mean anything anymore; people can’t even grasp the concept.” Asked if there’s something that gives him hope in spite of this, he answered quickly.
“Humor! I mean, funny is the only emotion that brings everybody together, in truth.”
Robert Dubac’s The Book of Moron When: Friday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. Where: The Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester More: $39 at palacetheatre.org
Dwayne Johnson is the magnetic core of the “too many items on the menu” comic book adaptation Black Adam, an entry in DC’s Extended Universe.
We meet Black Adam (Johnson) — who is, to oversimplify, a “Shazam”-type — as well as the Justice Society, presented as a good guy Suicide Squad (also directed by Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller). The team is led by Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), who is sorta cool and rich, and includes Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centino), a new-guy superhero whose funnest attribute is that his uncle, the previous Atom, is played by Henry Winkler. We also learn about Intergang, a group of criminal mercenaries occupying Kahndaq, a country presented as the vaguely Middle Eastern. And, rounding out the DCEU business, there is a mid-credits scene that is, in my opinion, some complete nonsense.
The movie also talks vaguely about colonizers, oppression, freedom, the idea of being a hero versus being protector and why it is bad to murder people. And, it seems like the movie can’t decide whether it’s deadly serious or quippy and so it does both.
In the movie’s present, Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi), a professor in the oft-invaded and oppressed Kahndaq, is desperate to find an ancient Kahndaq artifact, a blue-ish iron-y crown that can give its wearer godlike powers (of demonic origin). She wants to rehide it so Intergang and other baddies will never find it. But one of her shifty compatriots, Ishamel (Marwan Kenzari), has other plans. Adrianna finds the crown in an ancient tomb just as Intergang arrives and demands it at gunpoint.
Certain she is going to die, she does some on-the-fly translating to call on Kahndaq’s ancient protector, and the muscle-y Adam (Johnson) appears. He lays waste to nearly all of the Intergang group and allows Adrianna and her comic relief brother, Karim (comedian Mohammad Amer), to get away. Later, Adrianna introduces Adam to her young son, Amon (Bodhi Sabongui), a big fan of superheroes who has some advice for Adam on how to improve and capitalize on his image in this modern world.
Amanda sends in the Justice Society to neutralize Adam because of some secret ancient texts that suggest he isn’t the public-protecting superhero that legend paints him as. When the Justice Society arrives in Kahndaq, they discover that “international stability!” isn’t exactly an electrifying rallying cry and maybe oppressed people aren’t so concerned with what happens to their oppressors.
Or, I mean, that’s an element that is mentioned and that I found kind of interesting — justice and prioritizing the global peace vs. more direct protecting of one’s people. But for all that the movie throws it out there, the Big Ideas are kept kinda vague.
Like a kid sprinkling Fruit Loops and M&Ms on top of a Nutella and potato chips Eggo sandwich, the movie drops those nuggets of “saying something” on top of an overstuffed pile of comic book lore: this character and their relationship to that character and the magical this thing, created by the wizard-y those guys. We don’t get a whole lot of time with any one element and most of it is just told directly to us in flashback or exposition dump. While I’ve often wanted superhero movies to skip the origin stories and get right to the superheroing (not unlike how the MCU handled Spider-Man), Black Adam skips any kind of context about these people or groups. Watching Black Adam isn’t a whole lot different, experience-wise, from reading the character’s Wikipedia page. You get plenty of raw data but not a lot of emotional connection to characters or their quests.
Dwayne Johnson is a top-notch action movie player — he is one of my favorite parts of the whole Fast & Furious experience at this point. Black Adam doesn’t use his talents nearly enough and doesn’t give him a solid story. It never really settles on who it wants Black Adam, the man or the movie, to be. C
Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, intense action and language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Adam Sztykiel and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, Black Adam is two hours and four minutes long and distributed in theaters by New Line Cinema.
Ticket to Paradise (PG-13)
The charms of and genuine good will between George Clooney and Julia Roberts do most of the work in the rom-com Ticket to Paradise.
Long-divorced couple David (Clooney) and Georgia (Roberts) have a deeply antagonistic relationship, bickering all the time — including throughout the college graduation ceremony of their daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever). They seem delighted to walk swiftly away from each other at the airport after saying goodbye to Lily, who is vacationing in Bali with her buddy Wren (Billie Lourd). After the post-college pre-life trip, Lily is slated to start work at a prestigious law firm.
But is law really Lily’s dream, or something her parents have talked her into? When she meets Gede (Maxime Bouttier), a local seaweed farmer, she starts to doubt her whole life plan. Thus, some two months later, do David and Georgia find themselves on a plane to Bali to stop their daughter from marrying Gede and derailing her big career.
There is, of course, all kinds of baggage. A similar post-college engagement between David and Georgia, followed quickly by the birth of Lily, derailed Georgia’s career plans. Though divorced more than a decade, David and Georgia are clearly still angry about how their relationship ended — and maybe even that it ended. David is currently unattached and Georgia is maybe not looking for forever with her boyfriend Paul (Lucas Bravo), an airline pilot.
Roberts and Clooney are good separately — clunky exposition scenes where they tell various stories of their relationships to other people work because they are such watchable actors. Together they crackle and spark — they’re great scene partners whether their characters are fighting or flirting. Their plan to break up Lily and Gede allows for a fair amount of charmingly executed scheming and gentle capers.
The rest of the movie is a flat fountain soda, watered down in flavor and generally lacking in effervescence. Everything that isn’t based on Roberts’ and Clooney’s star power and chemistry is tepid at best. The story feels like so much warmed over “haven’t we seen this before” and the romance between the youngs is fairly spark-free. Lourd, whose oddball neglected-rich-kid character is interesting, doesn’t get nearly enough to do to really bring anything to the movie.
Clooney and Roberts and the beauty of Bali carry this movie further than it has any right to go, but it ultimately underwhelms. C+
Rated PG-13 for some strong language and brief suggestive material, according to the MPA at filmratings.com. Directed by Ol Parker with a screenplay by Daniel Pipski, Ticket to Paradise is an hour and 44 minutes long and is distributed in theaters by Universal Studios.
