Athol, Massachusetts

After a 3.5-hour drive from NYC to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, I pulled into a small press at the end of the block of a sweet New England mountain town.

Needless to say, except for a stretch on I-91, most of the drive was throughout the backroads of Connecticut and Massachusetts where signs alert you to crossing moose.

Highland Press, recommended by a printing buddy, is one of the last presses willing to take on a small offset job. They has a small 5-color Heidelberg GTO as well as a selection of letterpresses to accomplish jobs for a variety of clients in the area.

There were some little issues during the press run, shown on the video. However, the surprise of the day came just before I was leaving: the owner told me he has a collection of wooden type in the basement of the shop, and, so sublime, the font is Clarendon.

Guess I'll be watching out for moose on the road again in the near future; my drive home was thinking what and how am I going to print with those wooden slugs?

Note, at the end of the vid, the pressman holds a slug. It's actually upside down, since slugs are in reverse.

You're Next, part II

Next chapter: Almost 900,000 Central American residents, refugees living in the US under the Clinton administration since 1999, are going to be deported. These are individuals that have since started families and businesses, and deporting them back to uncertain or dangerous environments could prove catastrophic to a population amounting to a mid-size city.

Some argue that the people here illegally faced their fate when they crossed the border. True. 

However, the 900,000 Central Americans are not here illegally. This administration has effectively shuttered the border for émigrés AND refugees. And, many who face deportation, were part of LEGAL programs that allowed them into the country. Rather than offering them an opportunity at citizenship--or at the very least, permanent residency--in this country, they're being stripped of everything they have. There are instances of parents being deported while their children were in school.

The president has made abundantly clear who he would like to see immigrate here and who he would like to see deported. Deportation is the first step of mass dehumanization.

The first ones rounded up--the immigrants and refugees--are the most vulnerable, those who aren't fluent or fully literate in the American language, or cannot afford an attorney to represent their cause.

Don't make me laugh: the official policy, gently worded can be found here:

https://www.usa.gov/deportation#item-213693

Residents--legal ones--who need medical care or other forms of assistance are also marked for deportation unless they can prove severe hardship. Some might argue this is understandable, however, remember these are residents. They are or have worked in this country and have paid taxes just like American citizens. However, the administration has determined that they too, must go.