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Back in the USA - Part I
Our beloved Peace Corps Volunteer, 80-year-old John Guy LaPlante, is back on home soil after a little over two years away on his secondment to Ukraine ... and what an experience he has had! In this new instalment of his life back in the USA, he tells us in more detail about leaving Ukraine, the journey home and some of his first impressions of his homeland revisited. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 05/18/10 |
Back in the USA - Part II
Here's the second—and final—instalment of John's story about his life since returning from Ukraine. We can report that he is now returned to his beloved home in Deep River and is beginning to renew his numerous connections in the area. We are thrilled finally to be seeing him again tomorrow at the Chamber of Commerce meeting at The Hideaway, where he will be talking about his travels. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 05/18/10 |
John is Back!
Our beloved Peace Corps Volunteer, 80-year-old John Guy LaPlante, has returned home to the US having successfully completed his 27-month stint in Ukraine. We are thrilled that he is now safely back on American soil and commend him for making it through such a challenging assignment. John is currently in California—click to read his first missive from there, We can't wait to see him again in person soon and hear more about his amazing adventure. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 02/23/10 |
Visiting with the Vice President
You never know what you're going to read—or see—next on LymeLine! You also can't keep a good man down, so here is our Number One Peace Corps Volunteer's account of his meeting with the Vice President in Ukraine ... and not the Ukrainian one, our very own Joe! It may be long, but it's worth it. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 11/06/09 |
Having a Baby in Ukraine
Our favorite Peace Corps Volunteer is back! John Guy LaPlante writes from Ukraine on a very topical subject—healthcare. And he asks several thought-provoking questions such as how is it that a country in the midst of a deep financial crisis still pays for all pre-natal care, the baby's delivery and post-natal care? And how is the mother's job guaranteed for up to three years while she stays home? Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 10/11/09 |
The Other Man's Grass ...
Our dear friend and 80-year-old Peace Corps Volunteer John Guy LaPlante writes from the Ukraine this week with a wonderful column about something that is unusually green at this time of year - yes, grass! He opens our eyes - and minds - to some fascinating cultural differences between the US and Ukraine regarding something as simple as grass and how we tend it ... or not. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 07/14/09 |
A Trial for Rape
We welcome back our long-distance writer today. Eighty-year-old Peace Corps Volunteer John Guy LaPlante tells the story of a day he spent in court in Ukraine ... visiting, we're pleased to say, not being prosecuted! His heartbreaking account highlights many differences between American and Ukranian justice. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 04/08/09 |
An Unusual Conversation
As we still sit here awaiting the arrival of spring, our friend and veteran Peace Corps Volunteer John Guy LaPlante writes this week about a seasonal problem he found himself facing in the Ukrainian winter. He describes how - (thanks to a computer) - he and his landlady have (hopefully) been able to solve it together. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante 04/11/09 |
Some Surpises at the Mid-Service Physical
Our very own Peace Corps Volunteer John Guy LaPlante, who turns 80 this year and is stationed in Ukraine, tells us this week about his obligatory mid-service physical and some of the surprises that it brought. We're also wondering if John is having a never-ending winter like us ... we're sure he'll let us know in due course! Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante 02/06/09 |
First, Happy New Year and then ... Merry Christmas!
Poor John - he had to go through November in Ukraine without Thanksgiving (although he did find some kindred spirits this year with whom to break bread), and then December passed without Christmas. But Dec. 31 did indeed herald the arrival of the New Year ... with a big bang. And eventually, (the Orthodox) Christmas came on ... Jan. 7, but sadly, Santa was nowhere to be seen. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante 01/13/09 |
A Seasonal Letter from Ukraine
We are giving our friend, Peace Corps Volunteer John Guy LaPlante, a lot of what newspapers would call, "ink," this week. He sent us a long letter with a commentary on both his first year away in Ukraine and his second (and final!) year to come. Usually we would edit this into several shorter pieces, but this time, in keeping with the spirit of season, we're running the whole piece at one time, so enjoy ... and remember John always loves to hear from readers. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 12/29/08 |
A Thanksgiving Letter From the Ukraine
Our dear friend and Peace Corps Volunteer in the Ukraine, John Guy LaPlante, has sent us a Thanksgiving letter that we're glad to share with our readers. He tells not only of the feast he enjoyed Satuday, Nov. 22, but also of the winter weather that seems to have settled in for the season already. Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 11/27/08 |
Meeting the People - Police, Bankers & ... Drunks
Our intrepid 79-year-old Peace Corps Volunteer John Guy LaPlante is back to tell us more about his life as a fully-fledged volunteer, describing how long it can take to do simple things like drawing money from a bank in the Ukraine, and how things like waiting for the bus can suddenly become dangerous.font> Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 10/27/08 |
A Taste of Teaching and a Look at the Library
Perhaps we should have tipped off the Peace Corps that when they took on our dear friend John Guy LaPlante as a Volunteer, he would be no wallfower. Well, true to form, we learn this week about John's latest project in the library where he's working - but, typically, it's nothing simple. No, John has decided to computerize the library - and if he succeeds, this will be the first such library in the Ukraine! Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 09/09/08 |
New Home, New Ways
Our beloved Peace Corps Volunteer, John Guy LaPlante, (age 79 - or have you had a birthday, John?) tells us this week about life in his new apartment, and how he has solved various domestic problems as they have arisen. We will now return to weekly instalments from John after a lapse caused more by his publisher than John himself! Read More ...
John Guy LaPlante Published 08/27/08 |
Adjusting to Change, Settling Into a New Routine
Our favorite Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), John Guy LaPlante (age 79), is back with us again this week after a short break. He tells us about the adjustments in his life in Ukraine resulting from having qualified as PCV (after three months intensive training), starting his 'real' job, and needing to find new accommodation. Read More ...
By John Guy LaPlante Published 07/19/08 |
First Experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer
Our now fully qualified Peace Cops Volunteer John Guy LaPlante tells us about the early days of his life as a PCV. No more formal training but still a great deal of learning as he starts work as a French and English teacher, and also a librarian. All this in the Ukraine ... and at age 79! Read More ...
By John Guy LaPlante Published 06/06/08 |
Congratulations, John! You're Now a Fully-Fledged Volunteer
John Guy LaPlante has astonished everyone - including himself - by making it through his rigorous three-month training to become a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine. He is one of only four seniors left standing and, at 78, the oldest by far. He's off to attend the formal Swearing-In ceremony in Dyedek before he starts his two-year assignment back in Chernihiv. Read More ...
Published 05/12/08 |
Teaching Trials, Melt-Downs, ... and Another Surprise!
He's almost there. John Guy LaPlante is in the final stretch of his training to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Ukraine, but it hasn't been easy. This week he tells us about more of the challenges he and his fellow trainees have had to overcome (or in some cases succumb to), the rigors of teaching their first classes under a sea of eyes, and some of the health issues with which they're dealing. Read More ...
Published 05/02/08 |
Ups and Downs in Ukraine ... and a Big Surprise
After some technical difficulties last week, our 78-year-old Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), John Guy LaPlante, is back and nearing the end of his three-month training period in Chernihiv, Ukraine. He is about to find out where he will be posted in Russia or its former territories for his two-year assignment. John anxiously awaits news of where he will be going on his site visit - but a surprise awaits him... Read More ...
Published 04/24/08 |
Becoming a PCV: Learning the Lanuage
Our intrepid would-be Peace Corps Volunteer, 79-year-old John Guy LaPlante, has now arrived in Ukraine. He has spent time in Dyebek acclimating to a new culture, climate, and language ... and is now ready to move onto Chernigov, where he will spend the next 12 weeks living with his host family and starting teacher-training classes. Read More ...
Published 04/04/08 |
Becoming a PCV: Arrival in the Ukraine
Today we publish the second part of veteran writer John Guy LaPlante's account of how he became a Peace Corps Volunteer ... at age 79! In this installment, he arrives in Kiev and then looks back at the numerous necessary steps he had to negotiate in order to be there. Click here to read the first installment. Read More ...
Published 03/30/08 - 1 opinion posted |
Becoming a PCV: The First Steps
Regular readers will recall that our popular "Senior Moments" columnist John Guy LaPlante left LymeLine last fall to join the Peace Corps in the Ukraine. We bid him a fond farewell knowing not knowing whether he would be able to send us updates on his progress. Our ever-resourceful John has set himself up with an email account and it is therefore with great pleasure that we begin exclusive publication today of John's fascinating story of his life as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) - at age 79! Read More ...
2 opinions posted |
Dollars from China
Our popular senior columnist John Guy laPlante was surprised to receive a Moneygram one day recently. In this column, he tells the fascinating tale of this windfall - why he received it and what he had to do to convert it to something usable! Read More ...
By John Guy LaPlante Published 09/13/07 |
State's "Super Highway" Grinds to a Halt
Years ago a young reporter traveled the state's new 'super-highway' to experience its wonders for himself. That same reporter, who happens to be our very own John Guy LaPlante, is now a self-professed "pike-shunner." In his most recent Senior Moments column, LaPlante mulls how the eagerly anticipated I95 become the mess it is today. Read More ...
By John Guy LaPlante Published 08/30/07 |
Milk by the Quart, But Wine by the Liter
Our popular columnist John Guy LaPlante took a trip to Canada recently. There it hit him head-on that the US is burying its collective head in the sand when it comes to the metric system, which this country officially adopted in ... hard to believe, but yes, it was back in 1970. In his latest column, John muses on why the US has been so resistant to change its measurement system to one that is unquestionably simpler. Read More ...
By John Guy LaPlante Published 08/14/07 |
The Tricks Papers Play
John remembers the day when the US Postal Service launched its all-new, automatic sorting plant in Providence … and the devious scheme the Providence Journal had up its sleeve to check the system's efficiency.
Read More ...
By John Guy LaPlante Published 07/31/07 |
Make Your Life an Adventure
In his inaugural "Senior Moments." column, John Guy LaPlante, a senior himself, muses on what he might to say to a class of graduates if ever he were invited to give a Commencement Address ... an invitation he's not expecting to receive anytime soon! Read More ...
By John Guy LaPlante Published 06/29/07 |
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