Look and see!

 

It can be an ugly world. It can be a boring world. It can be a world full of distraction. Which is why the artist and the philosopher must learn how to cultivate their eyes. In 1940, the writer James Baldwin was walking in New York City with the painter Beauford Delaney, his friend and mentor. As they crossed the street, Delaney stopped the young Baldwin. “Look,” he said, as he pointed down into the gutter. “What do you see?” All Baldwin saw was a puddle. Delaney told him to look again. This time Baldwin saw, as Nicholas Boggs recounts in Baldwin: A Love Story, “a reflection of buildings moving like mercury in the gutter’s black water, distorted and radiant.” It is clear in Meditations that someone did this for Marcus Aurelius. How else can you explain his beautiful observations of seemingly ordinary or even unpleasant things—from the way an olive rots on the ground or the foam flecked on a boar’s mouth? What else could explain not just his turns of phrase but his ability to find philosophical truths in his own struggles as a human being? Perhaps it was Rusticus, his philosophy teacher, who taught him this, or Fronto, his rhetoric teacher, or some poet or writer he met, but in any case, as Baldwin said of Delaney, “The reality of his seeing caused me to begin to see.” And so it goes for us. We must cultivate the ability to see—to see beauty and poetry everywhere—because it is everywhere. We must look into the gutter. We must change our aperture and perspective so that amidst the muddle and puddles of life, we can see what the artist and the philosopher sees. Reading Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations can change the way you see the world

Easter Day

 

A Vision, by Wendell Berry

 A Vision, by Wendell Berry

If we will have the wisdom to survive,
to stand like slow-growing trees
on a ruined place, renewing, enriching it,
if we will make our seasons welcome here,
asking not too much of earth or heaven,
then a long time after we are dead
the lives our lives prepare will live
here, their houses strongly placed
upon the valley sides, fields and gardens
rich in the windows. The river will run
clear, as we never know it,
and over it, birdsong like a canopy.
On the levels of the hills will be
green meadows, stock bells in noon shade.
On the steeps where greed and ignorance cut down
the old forest, an old forest will stand,
its rich leaf-fall drifting on its roots.
The veins of forgotten springs will have opened.
Families will be singing in the fields.
In their voices they will hear a music
risen out of the ground. They will take
nothing from the ground they will not return,
whatever the grief at parting. Memory,
native to this valley, will spread over it
like a grove, and memory will grow
into legend, legend into song, song
into sacrament. The abundance of this place,
the songs of its people and its birds,
will be health and wisdom and indwelling
light. This is no paradisal dream.
Its hardship is its possibility.

Charles V. "Chuck" Martin, 1932-2026

 

Charles Martin Obituary

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Stephen C. Gregory and Son Cremation Service on Mar. 14, 2026.

Charles V. "Chuck" Martin, 93, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 1, 2026 at the McClure Miller respite house in Colchester with his youngest sister lovingly by his side. His departure marked the close of a long, generous and selfless life, lived with devotion and strength.

Born in 1932, in Burlington, to Helen and Francis Martin, Chuck was the third of eight children. He graduated from Burlington High School where he distinguished himself as three-sport athlete, excelling in baseball, football, and basketball. He was a natural competitor, with discipline and heart.

After High School, Chuck spent four years in the US Air Force, climbing to the rank of Staff Seargent, and following his active military duty, he also completed several years in the Air National Guard and in the Marine Corp Reserves. Chuck then continued both his education and his athletic legacy, receiving his Bachelor of Science from Johnson State College where he played basketball and soccer, and a Masters degree from Syracuse University. He also attended both St. Michaels and Villenova for additional coursework.

Beginning in 1962, and for the next 25 years, Chuck poured his heart and soul into Middlebury Junior/Senior High School as a math and science teacher, seventh grade advisor, and coach, shaping generations of students with his steady presence. He had a gift for turning curiosity into confidence and for helping young people see the world a little more clearly. He believed, and taught others, that learning was a lifelong responsibility.

On the athletic front, Chuck served many years as Head Coach of the baseball team, and Assistant Coach for the football and basketball programs. His players fondly remember him for his dedication, drive, direction, and his famously "not-so-quiet" encouragement. In 2019, he was inducted into the Middlebury High School Hall of Fame – a fitting tribute to a man who gave so much of himself to the MUHS Tigers.

Retirement from teaching did little to slow Chuck down. He soon found himself drawn back into the sports community at Middlebury College, dedicating many more as an Equipment Manager. He loved being around the athletes – swapping stories, offering guidance, and chatting about statistics, he never forgot a name, a family, or a face, and he took immense pride in the work he did with the teams.

Chuck never married but lived a life rich in connection. In his younger years, when he wasn't teaching or coaching, he enjoyed retreating to his rustic cabin in the woods of Ripton, living very simply and contentedly. He loved keeping his property neat, chopping and stacking wood, and was especially fond of mowing his several acres of grass. Without a phone, he relied on the Ripton Store to take messages for him when needed. He was always the last one to arrive at family functions, but swept in with a grin, carrying surprises for each of his twenty-one nieces and nephews.

In the later-1980's, Chuck found a true partner in Gail Jette, a fellow MUHS teacher and coach. Together they shared more than thirty years of companionship, laughter, and deep affection. One of the greatest joys of Chuck's life was becoming "Gump" to Gail's five grandchildren, Quinn, James, Willem, Zach and Sadie, who absolutely adored spending time with him.

Chuck is lovingly remembered by two of his siblings, Mary Usher of Middletown, DE, and Colleen Steen of Fairfax, Gail's children, Peter Jette and his wife Victoria of Middlebury, and Brooke Jette also of Middlebury, as well as their children, and many nieces and nephews who cherished his presence in their lives. He was predeceased by his beloved Gail in 2020, by his parents, and by his siblings, Francis "Pepper" Martin of Barton, Patricia Laskowski of Milton, John "Jake" Martin of Bakersfield, James Martin of Georgia, and Robert Martin of Enosburg.

Over 93 years, Chuck touched countless lives with his generosity, humor, and unwavering commitment to others, and leaves behind a legacy of service, love, and the kind of quiet heroism that endures in the memories of those fortunate enough to have known him.

By Chuck's request, there will be no memorial service, but his family warmly welcomes any memories or reflections shared in the guest book, knowing he would have treasured each one.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

from Ryan Holiday of the Daily Stoic, on Love

 

Marcus Aurelius said that if you ever found anything better in life than courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom—the four virtues—it must be an extraordinary thing indeed. Which raises the question: is there anything better? Here’s one pretty extraordinary thing: Love. Sure, you could argue that love fits within the virtue of justice, but it’s notable how much the Stoics speak about it. Hecato said, “I can teach you a love potion made without any drugs, herbs, or special spell—if you would be loved, love.” Marcus himself writes in Meditations (grab our leatherbound edition here) that he learned from his teacher Sextus that the key to life was to be free of passion but full of love. Indeed, there is almost no situation that hatred improves, but love enhances nearly everything. Love transforms us. “Pure love, careless of all other things, kindles the soul,” Seneca said. It makes us selfless. It inspires us to be better. “In the end,” the Beatles wrote, “the love you take is equal to the love you make.” And that love gives our lives meaning. Love emboldens courage. It inspires discipline. It strengthens justice. It gives purpose to wisdom. It is an extraordinary thing indeed. ***