Alan Taplow's

Before getting into the other stuff, a particular joy are twin granddaughters.   Jeannette & Dana are now 5 years old.  They live in Tampa along with their parents, Lori & Doug, and guardian, Gasper. 

Save a Life: How to recognize a Stroke 

So now, here is the other stuff:

Since moving to Vermont in 1998, Maggie & I have come to love a more laid-back life-style. After many years in central New Jersey, the lack of crowded highways, polluted air and heavily chlorinated water have been deprivations to which we somehow have managed to accommodate. Even the politics are cleaner, and much more to our liking.

When we first visited Montpelier we noted the New England Culinary Institute with 3 restaurants in town, 5 book stores and the Savoy movie theater with foreign & experimental showings. We agreed: "What more do we need than good food, books and movies." So here we came along with our feline family, which in the intervening years has been reduced by old age to just Cagney (sometimes known as Casey O'Malley O'Casey). 
We drew a 20 mile circle around Montpelier and discovered a hillside in Marshfield (Plainfield phone & mailing address) just 10 miles from both Montpelier and Barre, with a spacious home, a beautiful view of Camel's Hump,     --   19 acres of tree-dotted meadow, an abundance of pure spring water and the nearest good neighbors a 1/4 mile away.

In April, 2004 I went to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and got both arthritic knees replaced. They are now functioning quite well, and I'm able resume my annual brush-cutting of the fields walking behind my DR Brush Cutter without pain. For those who are Orthopedically Curious, this is what they look like when you peel away the skin.

Retired life means working as hard as you want, when you want, for a great boss, on things you want to do instead of things someone is saying you need to do.

I still have an interest in bereavement work, and the outlines on my bereavement page have received thousands of visitors. I've gotten scores of letters and e-mails from many folks around the world who have started groups based upon these outlines. I had expected I would continue group work here in Vermont, however CVHHH is so well staffed with amazing and renowned group leaders, that I really am not needed - so I'm off doing other things.

•  After operating it for 8 years, in June 2007 I retired from managing the Publications Distribution Center for The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP).  Until hauling it all to it's new home in St. Paul, Minnesota, the garage was filled with a few thousand manuals which I shipped out as orders come in from around the world. From time to time I facilitate AVP workshops in prisons and the community, though my energy for workshops is not as strong as it once was. Am now maintaining the national data base of over 3000 AVP facilitators in the USA, and handle their quarterly newsletter subscription list.

• Am a member of the Vermont Department of Corrections Citizen's Advisory Board, which addresses public concerns with the operation of the Vermont prisons.  I set up and coordinate the listserv's used by Board and committee members.
  

• Am a member of the program committee of the American Friends Service Committee -Vermont where I set up and act as webmaster of their web page. 
• Am the membership coordinator of the Central Vermont Osher Lifelong Learning group, and for the past several years have been videotaping their weekly presentations and creating DVD's for their lending library.  

• Was a convener and member of a countywide steering committee which, in 2003, succeeded in establishing a Community Justice Center in both Montpelier and Barre. Click here for a list of the growing number of Vermont Community Restorative Justice initiatives.

• Was formerly involved with some prison advocacy groups: Vermont Alliance for Prison Justice, and the Vermont Prisoner's Health Coalition. when these groups were more active, I maintained their e-mail mailing lists

• An attender of the Plainfield Friends Meeting -- distribute their monthly newsletter, webmaster of their web page, and serve on their Peace & Social Concerns Committee and End of Life Issues Committee.

• Served for 9 years on the Board of Directors of the Old Schoolhouse Common - a municipal office building in Marshfield.

• In my spare time I'm maintaining a number of web-sites for people and organizations I happen to like.

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  I invite you to browse thru some of the following pages,
  all of which relate in some way to past or present interests.
  
  

  Bereavement Support Group Plans & Handouts & related links
  
  Prison Pages, Poems &  Links
  (Includes Facilitator's Manual for
  Grief Support Groups in Prisons)

  Eastern Stuff - Tao, Buddha and such

  Quaker Related Links

  Just Some More Stuff
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  Alternative News
  News from the popular media is often filtered for political domestic consumption.
  This page lists links to an Alternative Viewpoint - well worth reading.
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  Fix for Sharp VL-Z Series Video Cameras
  Frustrating problem - camera displays "dew" message & shuts down, even when no moisture is present.  I have a proven fix - go to:
  http://ataplow.googlepages.com/sharp-dew-problem
  

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