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Over the past few weeks I’ve been suggesting places to go and things to do this fall that will let you get out of Boston and enjoy the weather.

A couple weeks ago I suggested taking daytrips to Vermont and New Hampshire to see the foliage.  Last week I suggested challenging your sense of direction by visiting one of the many corn mazes throughout New England.

This week I thought I’d suggest taking a hike. Boston Magazine has set up a great web page that lists more than 50 hiking paths throughout New England. The page includes an interactive map that lets you sort by difficulty level, driving time from Boston and even which hikes have “Instagram-worthy views”.

If you like to hike or are just looking for a good day trip suggestions this fall, you will want to bookmark Boston Magazine’s Amazing New England Hikes page.

Amazing New England Hikes

I love podcasts. The format (when done correctly) is similar to story hour and the people over at Serial Productions are better at this than most. I’ve written about Serial in the past so when their latest podcast series, “Nice White Parents” was announced a couple of weeks ago I was interested.

This latest production looks at the 60-year relationship between white parents and the public school down the block — in this case in Brooklyn. The podcast asks why after decades of school reform, do so many inequities still exist? Reporter, Chana Joffe-Walt, looked at inequality in education and deduced that most reforms focused on who schools were failing: Black and brown kids, but rarely addressed who the schools are serving. The five-part series, focuses on what is arguably the most powerful force in our schools, white parents.

Listen and subscribe to “Nice White Parents” from your mobile device: Via Apple Podcasts | Via Spotify | Via Google

I’ve only had the chance to listen to the first episode, but I’m already hooked.

Although my blog’s focus is on LGBTQ life in Boston and Provincetown and is filled with visuals – specifically of the handsome male variety, I can’t help but pause momentarily to check-in and ask, “How are you doing?”

I ask in part because I’ve been struggling and not finding much of a respite. Pressures from work compounded by a pandemic, a steady stream of videos of police brutality, and belligerent posturing from our Divider-in-Chief has taken a toll on me and my usually cheery disposition. I figured if someone who looks like me and has led a fairly charmed life thus far is having a rough go, it’s hard to imagine the mental frame of mind for marginalized communities, those who are alone, without a strong support system or have a history of struggling with emotions and feelings of depression and anxiety.

I’d encourage everyone to reach out to friends and family to talk and check-in. In reaching out, I’ve found out that several close connections are struggling. In this age of group Zoom chats, texts and social media posting, it is good to remember that a one-on-one phone conversation can be both healing and helpful so to borrow a line from this 80s AT&T commercial, reach out and touch someone.

For anyone feeling alone or isolated, remember there are a lot of really wonderful people out there and organizations like the Samaritans with trained volunteers standing by should you want to talk but feel like you have nobody to turn to at this time.

This past weekend I asked Sergio to cut my hair – a first in our 21 year+ relationship. I will admit I was nervous about asking him to give me a trim but my last haircut had been in mid March and after 8+ weeks I was overdue to put it mildly. I tweeted out the middle photo (below) on Sunday, which resulted in a lot of likes and more than a few comments asking to see an after photo so I wanted to share Sergio’s good work. I feel like a million bucks.

I still can’t get over the barely there facial hair after 8 weeks of no shaving! So glad it is gone and that little experiment is finally done. While I love facial hair on other guys, I’m just not genetically wired to grow it. Below are a are a couple of photos from Sergio trimming my hair this weekend.  Thank you Sergio!