Trump 2.0, Food rescue in Brewster, and Breckenridge descents
The day after Donald J. Trump was inaugurated for his first term as U.S. president in 2017, the streets of Washington D.C. were filled with protestors at the Women's March, as resistance sprang up in opposition to the former real estate developer and reality TV star.
That included busloads of Hudson Valley Democrats who descended upon Washington to express their displeasure.
Eight years later, as Trump ramps up his second term, the resistance is bubbling up, though not with the same organization and focus.
I had a glimpse of the Hudson Valley opposition on Tuesday when about 200 Trump opponents showed up at U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer's Peekskill office. It was organized by Indivisible Westchester, the left-leaning organization that emerged in early 2017 and has remained active since then.
There was even one woman standing outside Schumer's office, wearing a pink knit woolen pussyhat from the 2017 Women's March.
They'd come as New York voters encourage Schumer to step up his opposition to Trump's agenda to slash the federal workforce and remake the federal government through a slew of executive orders. They were not happy that the world's wealthiest man, Elon Musk, was wielding considerable power as head of unofficial Department of Government Efficiency.
In the background was the Trump-driven crisis over tariffs he wanted to impose on our close allies, Mexico and Canada, joint signatories of the US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement. That crisis was resolved a day earlier when Trump paused the tariffs for a month in exchange for border security commitments from those countries that were already on the table.
The protestors chanted slogans, encouraging Schumer to gum up the works in the U.S. Senate, using whatever parliamentary moves available to delay, and even obstruct, the confirmation process for cabinet appointees they disliked.
Schumer's office pushed back, insisting that the Senate minority leader was working nonstop to lead the opposition. Buckle up for the next four years.
Food rescue in Brewster
A new model to address the needs of food-insecure Hudson Valley residents is thriving in Brewster. I stopped by Second Chance Food in January to learn about the program on a day when a cadre of volunteers, overseen by paid staff, made 1,800 nutritious meals that would be provided to senior centers, after-school programs, and libraries.
The program operates on a three-legged stool of funding: foundations, private donations, and excess food delivered by such industry giants as Trader Joe's in Danbury and Ace Endico in Southeast.
The nonprofit's 20 partners don't pay Second Chance for the meals, and they are provided for free to the hungry.
There's opportunities for volunteers as well who want to help out. You can contact Second Class Foods at 845-723-1315.
Back from Breck
Four years ago, I ventured out to Breckenridge on my annual ski holiday out west. Back then, we were in the grips of the COVID pandemic, as I recounted in a piece I wrote on the trip for USA TODAY.
Those days are gone of masks in ski lines, outdoor dining in the winter at 11,000 feet and outdoor yurts set up by downtown restaurants to keep patrons safe from the COVID bug.
Six days of skiing last week under bluebird skies, temperatures in the 20s, and packed powder surfaces were dream-like. Nothing like breathing the thin air at 13,000-feet above sea level, and then descending through steep snowfields with friends. And who doesn't love doing laps on the T-Bar down Pika or indulging your turns on Peak 6 on a sunny January afternoon.
We also returned to our favorite restaurant, Aurum. We nabbed a 4:30 p.m. reservation during happy hour, with $7 beers on tap. The servings were huge, the prices were within reason, and the food so delicious. My serving of Rocky Mountain trout was so sumptuous that I had enough left over for a sandwich the next day, which I wrapped in tin foil, carried in the pocket of my ski jacket, and ate with a cup of tea indoors at the Pioneer Crossing lodge atop Peak 7.
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