No, you're not losing it! Patch looks different today. We did a quick visual nip-and-tuck to the homepage to make it even more user-friendly. And we've moved a couple pieces of furniture. For those keeping score: * We tweaked some words in our navigation bar to save space (e.g., "Traffic & Gas" is now "Commute")  * We moved the weather icon next to the Patch branding so you can find it more quickly!  * We moved, well, YOU closer to the top! (Our "shout stream" is now front and center to show all your comments off.)  * And of course we prettified a few things. While the site might look a …

Happy Thursday, Norton Patch! As many of you are aware, I'm in town all the time, but I'm here and there, and sometimes it's tough to find me. So I'll periodically be scheduling weekly office hours, in a place where you can easily find me. And I’ll tell you in advance where I’ll be. This week, I’ll be at Dunkin Donuts, from 10 a.m. to noon Friday with my advertising representative Brian Hemmert. Stop by and say hello! Bring your story ideas, bring your complaints, bring your thoughts on Norton, Patch and anything else you'd like to talk about. I can also show you how to make Patch work for …

1. Birthday Blues Persons born on leap day, Feb. 29, are called "leaplings" or "leapers." However fun it may be to rib them for enjoying 75 percent fewer birthdays than the rest of us over the course of their lives, they do have the special privilege, between leap years, of celebrating their nativity a full day earlier if they so choose. It was once thought that leapling babies would inevitably prove sickly and "hard to raise," though no one remembers why. (Fact courtesy about.com) 2. A Different Proposal According to an old Irish legend, or possibly history, St. Bridget struck a deal with St…

It's a big year, this 2012. No, not because there is a movie spelling the world's doom, or even what's sure to be a high-intensity presidential election. It's a gigantic year because you can get involved and share all things Norton like never before. We have certainly grown and changed since we started back in November 2010. So even if you think you know how to use Patch like a pro, here are some more tips. Here are 10 ways you can use Norton Patch to stay informed - and more importantly, inform others. 1. Add photos to our brand new Neighborhood Gallery. Have a great picture of local …

  It’s hard to believe that Norton Patch is celebrating it’s first anniversary today, marking one year of bringing you news, entertainment and as much useful information as possible. Before I really start this letter FROM the editor though, I apologize for the length. There are a lot of people who have helped to mold this site into what it is. First and foremost, my boss, Mike Hardman, gave me encouragement when I needed it, and even when I didn’t. He made the launching process go as smooth as possible. A year later, he is helping in other ways, so that I don’t have to live and breathe Patch …

Growing up around here, there is no escaping the Pilgrims and the tale of the first Thanksgiving. My third grade class went to Plymouth to hear the tale of the Pilgrims and their first Thanksgiving. It was very cold on our bus trip, and I was very sick the whole day, but fortunately, my teacher wrapped me up in her fur coat and I was able to avoid frostbite. Basically, here's the historical drill: The Pilgrims settled in Plymouth, jumped on a rock in the harbor (see Plymouth Rock) and pitched their tents (see Plimouth Plantation) after arriving from England on their ship Mayflower, which is …

Cue the Jeopardy music... Alex says, "Michael Joseph Hopkins, Allie Watt, C.B. Burns, Roe Skidmore and Clarence William Pickup." "Da, Da, Da, Da, Da." "And the answer is... "The five are among the Major League Baseball players to go for 1-1 at the plate to finish their careers with a 1.000 batting average." While I only made it to the Major Leagues in Little League, I do have something in common with those gentleman. I'm one for one in dating and getting married to my first date. After being married in the last century, I was divorced and single at the start of the 21st century. I had no clue…

My dad has been dead for 12 years. Last Saturday would have been his 93rd birthday. My mom's birthday is Oct. 8, and would have been, well, I'm not sure. She was 39 when I was born and by some miracle was 39 when she died in 1995. I guess I never aged her. Well, that's definitely not true. She would have been 90 if she were alive today. Sixteen years ago Monday, she passed away. I was lucky to have my dad for 39 years and my mom for 35 years. That's the math part of the column. One thing I didn't inherit from them was math skills. My sister got all that. I might not have learned math from …

In a few weeks or maybe a few days, depending on the weather, they will be popping out of closets everywhere. Like the school bells ringing or getting stuck behind a school bus in the morning, they are one of the sure signs of fall. They are all different. Some are purple, black, orange, green or blue, but they all mean the same thing - I'm a letterman and I've got a jacket to prove it. These athletic jackets are worn with a sense of pride around town for athletic accomplishments. In the hallways, they are a sign of "Yes, I'm one of them." At least for a couple of years, they are a main part …

At night I hear crickets outside the window of my office. They blend in with the sounds of the ball game on the radio. Outside my window, it is still summer, but a different sound means that is about to change. Whistles blow. Players cheer as they get ready for another Pop Warner football season. On Sundays in the fall, I hear the same sounds with the additions of the crowd cheering and the voice of the PA announcer telling everyone what is going on. Outside my window, that means it is fall. I never have to get out of my chair or even look out. The sounds tell me what is going. I can also …

This weekend’s storm – Hurricane Irene – may not have been the epic weather event some experts predicted. But the combination of high winds and heavy rain did cause property damage from downed tree limbs and water.If your home or automobile sustained damage as a result of the storm, you may have a right to make a claim either against your homeowner’s or automobile insurance policy. If you have flood insurance, that may be applicable as well. If the damage was caused by a tree on someone else’s property, you may have a right to bring a claim against the neighbor.There are some basic things you…

Inside a box, there’s a bunch of old people. I’ve kept them there for a few years now. They’ve survived two moves and have stayed in the same old cardboard box.  I know the people. In fact, they’re my family. They’re my grandparents, my aunts and uncle, cousins, my sister and me, her kids and my kids. Black and white photos capture holiday get-togethers, births and deaths. It’s the circle of life, family style.  You can tell by the dresses and the suits that these are old photos, but the people look like people in my family these days.  My 30-ish niece looks like my sister. My son looks like …

Norton resident Paul Dombrowski said that he was inspired to join the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge because of all the cyclists who passed him by last year, riding to raise money for the Jimmy Fund.  For me, it was the people cheering them on.  I awoke Saturday morning to bells, whistles, horns, a pot-turned-drum and a very annoyed dog. I turned to my alarm clock, which told me it was just two minutes from going off. I was going to skip sleeping in anyway, since I knew I wanted to take photos of the PMC riders cutting through Norton. But hearing the commotion at my neighbor’s house was an …

 I saw it in a movie, so I know there is baseball in heaven. In "Field of Dreams," the stars from the past emerge from a cornfield to play a game on a lush green field without fake turf, luxury boxes, giant scoreboards or mascots. There are no $36 beers or screaming announcers at this field.  Just the other night, I saw a game on the TV with Shoeless Joe Jackson in the outfield. It's pure and quiet in heaven where the "Moonlight Graham League" games go 24/7, featuring all other legends of the past. Before the season starts, I think, there is a real fantasy draft as the fans picked the players…

My neighbor is stuck behind a round mound of snow. "I can't wait until it's summer and 90 degrees." Nine months later, the same neighbor, with water bottle in hand, is making her way up the walk. "Man, it's hot. I wish it were cooler. When is this heat going to stop?" That's the beauty of weather. If it's one way, you want it the other way. Give me snow on a 100-degree day. Give me blistering heat on a freezing cold day. Weather also brings out the best in us...most of the time. Anyone who was alive and breathing in the epic Blizzard of 1978 remembers how neighbors who barely said  "hello" to…

The wooden sign on the wall said The Vermont Toy and Train Museum, but it was more than that. Going up the stairs and turning the corner, I was suddenly in a time warp in Quechee Village in Vermont...of all places. First, I saw my old childhood toy car from the 1960s on the wall, and a wood sled. Neither had any brakes. There was an old pair of hockey skates. But on the left side, in a glass case, was the jackpot. There he was, just like he looked back in 1964, when Louis Marx and Company introduced Johnny West to the world. I was just 4 years old. My sister had saved up her babysitting money…

Of course, high school graduation is about the graduates. After 12 years, they deserve the standing O’s and praise for their accomplishments. The parents should be given some kudos for all their hard work. They deserve it. You know, it’s been a marathon for them too. Off in the corner, though, there is another group that deserves a pat on the back and a big bowl of praise. Yes, you, the teachers, these hugs are for you. Teachers are sort of like the Mark Twain quote about his father getting smarter as he got older. If you substitute teacher for father in the Twain quote, it works the same way…

Since the day I was born, every few years I have shared my birthday with a much bigger and way more important holiday. In 1960, my mom went in the labor Saturday, May 7, and I was welcomed into the world on Sunday, May 8, at Brockton Hospital. That Sunday just happened to be a holiday, so I was one of the hospital’s Mother’s Day babies. While I recovered from my journey into the world, my mom spent the holiday recovering and accepting congratulations on the birth of a baby boy. That must have been neat. But, when I was little, it wasn’t cool to have my birthday on Mother’s Day. Even if my …