As kids, we all loved Halloween for the candy and for the chance to become someone else, if only for one night. Most of us played games like cops and robbers or pretended to be knights who had to slay dragons before rescuing the beautiful princess. You'd lose yourself for a whole afternoon or a day playing out the fate of another character in a world entirely different from your own. Kids love games that engage the imagination like that, but sadly, most of us stop playing them and leave them behind somewhere in adolescence.

While Wachusett Mountain's perhaps best known for its catchy "Wa-Wa-Wa-chusett" jingle enticing snow bunnies and rabbits of all ages to its winter wonderland, it's slowly been building a second reputation as a destination for memorable non-snow related activities as well. The months ahead will see it host its now annual KidsFest, Wachusett Music Festival, AppleFest, and Autumn Wine Celebration.

Locals watched the changes at Berlin Orchards with sadness - severed apple trees piling up along the road, closing signs at the store, and perhaps most telling, a sign in the middle of a former orchard offering house lots for sale. To many, the loss felt personal; people had been bringing their families to pick apples and browse the gourmet store shelves for years. Last November, auctioneers sold off the goods - office desks and beehives and kitchen equipment - and surely that was the swan song of the 20-year-old business.

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in theThink religion and politics are controversial topics? Try discussing tattoos at your next cocktail party or social gathering and you'll likely unleash a raging controversy between the haves and the have-nots.

To leave Who's that girl on cover of this month's MotherTown?

Conrad's Drive-in Restaurant

Taking in an exhibition at the Worcester Center for Crafts' Krikorian Gallery is an exciting experience. You're almost able to crawl inside the work, feel the clay being rolled into shape, the glass being molded, or sense the moment the paint landed on the canvas. The gallery is perhaps the best salesperson for the classes taught at the Center - you can see the excellence right in front of you.

Seventy mile-an-hour pitches. Sliders, curveballs, knucklers. O for 25 slumps.

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Eating a good breakfast may be one of the quickest ways students can boost those average grades to A's, researchers say. Eating a bowl of cereal or some eggs before school could improve scores on proficiency, achievement and graduation tests. Some say eating any food - even cold pizza - is better than nothing.

Starting kindergarten, middle school, high school or college can be stressful for children and their parents. If there is a way, parents should make the adjustment appear as fun as possible, even if that means pretending.

Did you know the Arts Alliance in Hudson provides adults and children in 25 local communities with everything from theater groups, a community band, performances, lessons, and more?

Adoption advocate Debbie Sargent and I spoke recently about the need to find mentors for older children in the foster care system. &quot;We all know someone like that,&quot; she said, &quot;someone who's not really a relative, but is at all the family gatherings, because they're still part of the family.&quot;

He People have been fishing the waters that are now the Wachusett Reservoir since this land was the Wampanoag nation. Today, fishing is allowed from one hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset, and only from gates six to 16 on Route 70, gates 17 to 29 along Route 140, gates 25 to 35 along Routes 12/110, and of course, Thomas Basin in West Boylston.