I’ve been sleeping poorly lately. I have these recurring dreams that are weird as fuck, and also profoundly sad. Now I am up at 3 am, seemingly impervious to Ativan and marijuana, and my mind is going 100 miles an hour.

I drove to Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania at the beginning of the month and ended up coming home with a new dog. I absolutely loved Bertha, but we are a three-dog household, and I had a hole to fill.

I have to say, I planned on enjoying the drive more than I did. The car decided to start having a myriad of issues as I drove through central Pennsylvania, and it quickly became a race to get back to New England. I even had an out-of-the-way stop at the Binghamton Clothing Factory Fire Memorial that I had to scrap.

Even so, I was able to drive through downtown Albany for the first time ever, and wow! What a beautiful city. A real hidden gem. I stayed overnight at a roach motel in Schenectady as well, which, while less thrilling, seemed chill enough. A couple was honeymooning at this dumpy motel, and I was so happy for them.

Driving through the Berkshires, I actually went through Pittsfield, Massachusetts, for what may have been the first time in my life. The Berkshires are always a lovely area to drive through, but Pittsfield itself lacks the natural beauty that surrounds it. It has that classic New England mill town feel, which many of us from Western Mass love. It still seems to have manufacturing, but the majority of that kind of work has left town.

Pittsfield had a decent period of economic boom, which led to its growth. They were home to a massive General Electric plant, which unfortunately polluted the Housatonic River with PCBs. I believe clean-up is still going on in 2025.

As for Pennsylvania, I had to go on the highway because my car was being janky, so I didn’t see much. It is a massive state.

This ended up being weird, but I’m posting it anyway. Who cares?

Stay crescent fresh,

JTC