Author: MichelleMcHatton

I'm a writer. I'm also a wife and a parent who works too much and lives too little. In addition to writing I also love to read, listen to music, travel, cook, I enjoy looking for bargains at flea markets or thrift stores, Christmas, football and of course writing! How did I come up with the title of my blog? Two things: 1. I live in New England (duh) and 2. Canadian singer Alan Frew once arrogantly told me to "get a New England life"--again--DUH! I already HAVE one!
Defining Who We Are: 2025

Defining Who We Are: 2025

by MichelleMcHatton

Several years ago, I wrote a blog post revolving around a passage from best-selling author Mitch Albom’s book “Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family.” The passage was: What we carry defines who we are.  And the effort we make is our legacy.

What we carry.  That could be anything from a child to a pet.  It could be a paper bag or a Gucci handbag.  A grudge or grief.  You could carry love in your heart or you could carry hate.  Even mere words. Words are most powerful. A slap in the face will sting for a bit but being berated with words will remain with you forever. Whatever it is you carry–large, small, heavy, light, physical, emotional– it will define who you really are.  Especially if you decide to carry hate over love.

As for the effort we make in what we carry becoming our legacy, I guess it all comes down to what you put into the stuff you carry. In Mitch’s case he carried Chika because she got to the point where she could no longer walk.  I’d like to believe that is something any human being would do for another, if needed.  Truly leaving a positive legacy. Unless of course you can’t stand empathy. Then you leave behind a negative legacy.

Many people do not realize, or maybe do not care, that the hate they effuse, whether with words or weapons, will leave a legacy as well.  A negative one. We should all use the deaths of vile humans as examples of what NOT to be while we are alive.

In life we all will be carriers at some point.  It’s what we decide to carry and how we carry it that will truly define us.

On The Watch

On The Watch

by MichelleMcHatton

Unfortunately, SHITHOLE isn’t dead yet.

But the good news is that tomorrow is another day. And SHITHOLE is closer to death than he is to life. He already looks like death warmed over.

It doesn’t take much for anyone to see with their own eyes that he is not in the best of health. Bruises on his hands. Swollen ankles. Many say he has congestive heart failure. We know he doesn’t eat very healthy foods. We know he’s overweight. From someone in the know at the Shit House, he has high cholesterol and high blood pressure. We know his mind is gone. He’s been seen in a wheelchair more than once.

What is troublesome is that the Shit House is not transparent when it comes to SHITHOLE. He could be dead for days and nobody would say a word.

If he was in such great shape, why try to keep Americans in the dark? Answer: because he’s not in great shape.

Even SHITHOLE 2 knows it.

So About That “Meeting”

So About That “Meeting”

by MichelleMcHatton

Friday a “meeting” of some sort took place in Alaska between a orange, felonious, SHITHOLE pedophile and a multiple-charged Russian SHITHOLE war criminal. In other words, two true assholes. Okay. One asshole and a SHITHOLE. Or maybe TWO SHITHOLES.

This “meeting” of sorts was “supposed” to be about ending a war between Russia and Ukraine. One problem: only one representative from one of the countries was there.

That’s like having a divorce proceeding and only one of the parties shows up. It takes two to have a divorce and it takes two to end a war.

What actually happened Friday was not a “meeting” to end a war but was a potential “business deal” that orange SHITHOLE (and maybe the Russian SHITHOLE) wanted. But all didn’t go too well for the SHITHOLE from Washington DC. So he left after a few hours with his tail between his legs. Didn’t even have lunch. Loser bastard.

Meanwhile the Russian SHITHOLE is laughing and laughing and salivating over the way the orange SHITHOLE kissed his ass and sucked his dick. Making American soldiers get down on their knees to roll out a red carpet. The orange SHITHOLE clapping like a dog for the Russian SHITHOLE. Sharing American secrets. Letting the Russian SHITHOLE ride in the presidential limousine. Giving the Russian SHITHOLE a gift. Such a fucking embarrassment.

For SHITHOLE this “meeting” wasn’t meant to end a war. It was a publicity stunt and another way to try to distract everyone from the Epstein files.

But there was no resolve to end a war. Because there couldn’t have been even if both SHITHOLES wanted it, which neither did. BECAUSE THE OTHER PARTY TO THE WAR WASN’T PRESENT.

You want to end the Russian-Ukraine war? Have the Russian SHITHOLE and Zelensky meet. Alone. Without the orange SHITHOLE.

Because all the orange SHITHOLE was hoping to get out of this (which he will never get) is a Nobel Peace Prize.

Water Woes of East Brookfield

Water Woes of East Brookfield

by MichelleMcHatton

The biggest thing happening in my little town of 1,349 people this week was everyone getting their 2026 fiscal year water bills.

Backing up a bit, about two or three years ago, the town did have a meeting that about six people attended (my spouse was one of the six) where they talked about the changes that would be coming to the water system in town.

Basically, gone were the days of the $47.00 water bill. The water pipes in town were getting old and needed to be replaced (and should have been replaced long before we even moved to town 27 years ago). And because the town had kept kicking the can down the road and delaying the obvious, now it was time for the townspeople to start paying for new water pipes that were going to be put in. On top of that, it was decided that the high school in our district was too old and, poof! Time to build a new one that everyone in both Spencer AND East Brookfield would be paying for with increased taxes, whether you have a child going to school there or not.

So, over the past five years the people living in the youngest town in the Commonwealth have had to take on a lot of extra expenses, whether they like it or not. But the latest water bills have come as a shock to all of us and many of us, myself included, are wondering how we’re going to pay these bills.

What has happened is the town took it upon themselves to increase the cost per gallon from one cent last year to almost 6 cents this year. To start with, even if you don’t use your water, you’re hit with an automatic $300.00 right off the top. So if you’re one of several in town who leave for the winter, you’re still paying $300.00 every three months. For not even using a drop of water. I’m guessing the increase is because all the pipes have been laid and now it’s time to pay. I don’t know. But it’s ludicrous.

Our bills are sent quarterly. The most recent bill was supposed to be sent in July, to be received on July 1 but it was not received until August 1. I won’t tell you how much my water bill was, but I will tell you it’s astronomical for three people, at the same amount of water used last billing cycle, and it rivals my mortgage payment. So if the town thinks they’re going to get the whole payment at once, they’re sadly mistaken because under our budget, that’s not possible.

Another thing that is bothersome is the Eye on Water app the town recommends you use to monitor your water usage. In going to this site last night to sign up, I entered in my account number, only to see that it’s connected to an entirely different person than myself or my husband. So guess who’s getting a call about THAT tomorrow? Or whenever the people that work for or with the water department and billing department are in. Because in this little one-horse town, it’s a crap shoot as to when you can actually reach anyone who works in any of these departments.

As for drilling a well, which many of the townspeople are now discussing, it’s not all its cut out to be. We have friends who have a well and they absolutely detest it. They’re not crazy about drinking their water because it has too much silt floating in it. So if they want to drink it, they boil it. They ruined their pool because of it. They need to use pumps and filters and need to have them and the well itself maintained. And when they lose electricity, they lose their water. So a well is a big no for me.