Chef: Rob Cassi

Restaurant: Airport Grille

Recipe: The Southern Gentleman Burger

My favorite burger recipe is one I did when I worked as a chef down south, called the Southern Gentleman.  For this you’ll need to make a burger, pimento cheese, and ‘chow chow.’  You’ll also need some pepper cooked bacon and your favorite bun.

House Ground Burger

-2 lbs. chuck
-1/2 lb. brisket
-1/2 lb. hanger steak

Grind in a Kitchen Aid meat grinder, or dice fine and pulse in a food processor, about 5-10 pulses depending.  Do not over-pulse, otherwise you will be creating a forced meat, like a hotdog.  Form into 8 oz. patties and put them into the fridge to let rest.

First blend your mayonnaise and cream cheese until smooth, then add the rest of your ingredients to the mayo/cheese mixture. Cover and let sit in your fridge.  This will make more than you need for the burgers, but once you try the pimento cheese you will always need it around.

Heat a heavy bottom pan to med-high and add a tablespoon of oil.  Add green tomatoes, jalapenos, and a pinch of salt; this will help the vegetables lose some of their liquid faster.  Cook until the tomatoes look a little paler in color.  Add in vinegar and sugar and reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to reduce. Once your mixture looks good (approximately 10-15 min), allow to cool in the fridge.

Assemble!

Now it’s time to put it all together.  You’ll need to start with your favorite bun; mine comes from Pain Avignon Bakery in Cape Cod. You’ll also need your favorite pepper bacon cooked.  Nimon Ranch uncured is one I used for this burger a lot.

Grill your burger how you like it.  With all the different cuts of beef used, I really don’t recommend over medium.  Right before it gets to the temperature you want, spread the pimento cheese on top and put a bowl over your burger to get it nice and melty. Take if off the grill and allow your burger to rest.  Yes, rest.  Food, especially meat, should never be eaten blazing hot because you will loose all the juiciness.

Give it about two minutes, which is just enough time so you can toast your buns and break the bacon up to fit on the bottom bun.  Place your patties on top of the bacon and top with the chow chow, and enjoy!

Get on board with AHA!

On Friday, May 13th , the AHA! (Art, History and Architecture) Project, downtown New Bedford’s monthly Art and Culture Night, will host a fundraising event: A.H.A. (Amazing Harbor Adventure) for AHA!

Back by popular demand, this fun evening reinvigorates the Fast Forward fundraiser held in 2008.

Your ticket to the evening’s festivities includes a Complimentary Cocktail Kick-Off at 5:30 pm, featuring wines provided by Travessia Urban Winery and the musical stylings of the Clockwork Duo. Take a tour of the newly renovated Ferry Terminal with exhibits from New Bedford Whaling Museum and Crowell’s Fine Gifts, an adjunct giftshop featuring local artists and artisans, and the newest location of the Celtic Coffee House.

Tickets for A.H.A. for AHA! are $75 per person and are on sale now. The price includes: the Cocktail Kick-Off, sunset cruise, tapas dinner, live music and dancing. The event starts at 5:30pm, with the cruise departing at 7pm sharp.

Tickets for this event are limited and will not be sold at the door. Purchase tickets early to ensure you don’t miss out on this great event. Tickets are available at Crowell’s Fine Art and the Celtic Coffee House in downtown New Bedford, Euro in Fairhaven, and Baker Books in Dartmouth. Tickets can also be purchased on-line at: https://www.cfsema.org/donors/donate-to-a-fund/donate

Your contribution will help support the AHA! Project, which is funded in part by the City of New Bedford, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The Island Foundation, local businesses, community sponsorship and partner venues. For more information about AHA! visit the organization on the web at www.ahanewbedford.org or call (508) 996-8253 x205.

Picture this cruise destination:  It’s on an islands itinerary for cruise ships, but it’s not an island. Its beaches surround a city where the natives wear deck boots, not sandals. You’ll hear sea chanteys, not steel drums. And you’ll discover that sea creatures are really people who are lovingly preserving the maritime heritage of this unrivaled destination.

The Port of New Bedford is famous for its whaling persona of yesteryear that lives on in the Whaling National Historical Park and the world class Whaling Museum. Today, the fame and riches of the #1 fishing port in the nation derive from the active fishing fleet that brings home to the working waterfront the catch to be processed and shipped around the globe.

It is this unique balance of the then and the now that makes New Bedford a must-see stop for cruise ships such as American Cruise Lines and Blount Small Ship Adventures. During the highly successful summer 2010 cruise season, over 1500 passengers from these cruise lines came ashore to experience New Bedford’s ongoing love affair with the sea. And both lines are swelling
their number of visits for the 2011 season.

Working Waterfront
“Our passengers love New Bedford because it’s an authentic New England seaport,” says Tim Beebe, vice resident of marketing for American Cruise Lines, which has been coming here since 2000. “They are looking for a cultural experience and enjoy seeing the fishing fleet and the fishermen at work.”

Captain Jeff Pontiff, a presence on the waterfront for decades, has escorted 27,000 passengers around New Bedford harbor during the 12 seasons he has operated Whaling City Expeditions.  “Because our boat is small – it holds 26 at capacity – we can go in and out of the piers. They can view the fishing fleet, watch the offshore loading, check out the hurricane barrier and even get to see up close the shipyards in Fairhaven.” “It’s good to have the cruise ships come to New Bedford because it showcases what we’re all about,” Jeff maintains. “The working waterfront defines New Bedford best. We’re one of the last working waterfronts in New England.”

Operations Manager Erika Moore describes the experience for those aboard Blount Small Ship Adventures. “This past summer, most passengers visited the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the Whaling National Historical Park. They were escorted to the site by a Park Ranger on an educational walking tour, which made the experience that more memorable. Some passengers chose to walk around the city on their own, visiting shops and galleries. “All had positive things to say,” she continues. “They enjoyed being docked right in the heart of downtown and being able to experience the fishermen at work. They appreciated the welcoming by the city, and many were surprised and pleased at the growing arts scene and the many new restaurants, galleries and shops.”

Celebrating Americana
American Cruise Lines and Blount Small Ship Adventures credit the Harbor Development Commission and Mayor Scott Lang with being instrumental in bringing the cruise ships to New Bedford. “Everyone has been extremely helpful,” notes Erika. “We have worked closely with executive director Kristin Decas and Angela Johnston of the HDC, as well as State Pier Manager Rick Cunio. I had the pleasure of meeting Mayor Lang last spring while we were developing our New Bedford visits. Overseeing the logistics of a true working waterfront and cruise port, in a city that is undergoing a revitalization, and to take into account the needs of all parties can’t be easy.

Mayor Lang and the HDC seem to be doing a great job in finding this balance of appealing to the small ship cruise lines, while preserving the fishing and maritime industry that is the heart and soul of the city. That authenticity is appealing, I think, to both our inquisitive passengers and to the people of New Bedford.” Jeff agrees, saying, “It’s great that the city is putting forth so much effort and doing such a great job of promoting the city. We’re also reaching out to yacht clubs and recreational sailors to have them make New Bedford one of their layovers.”

“No place has friendlier and more hospitable people than New Bedford,” says Mayor Lang, “and we’re always delighted to welcome visitors and show them around. Whether they’re interested in learning about our whaling history or understanding what it takes to bring seafood from the ocean to their plate, they will discover the City to be an authentic American experience and their time in New Bedford as the crest of the wave.”

Looking Ahead
Noting that the summer 2010 cruise season was a high-water mark, Kristin calls the visits a jewel in the crown of the Commission’s work to make the harbor more accessible to all boating interests. “We are looking forward to an even more successful season in 2011,” she says. “We see our relationships with the cruise lines as a beautiful friendship that will last for many years to come and give more and more people the opportunity to experience New Bedford.”

Tim says that New Bedford has been so “welcoming and accommodating” that American Cruise Lines is adding stops and staying longer next summer. “We’re increasing our fleet and the size of our ships so we’ll be making 20 stops and bringing more passengers in 2011.” “Blount has five visits scheduled,” adds Erika. “We started with four, but our Islands of New England itinerary is proving to be one of our most popular for the summer of 2011, so we just recently added a fifth! New Bedford’s rich history, from whaling to the Underground Railroad, and its downtown revitalization and vibrant arts and culinary scene, make it a natural fit.”

Contact the HDC to learn more: Visit www.portofnewbedford.org; call 508.961.3000; email hdc@newbedford-ma.org.
American Cruise LInes/ Blount Small Ship Adventures New Bedford Cruise Ship Schedule- 2011
Ship’s Particulars:
Grande Caribe: Length: 184’ Draft: 6’6”
American Star: 205 ft.
American Spirit: 205 ft.
American Glory: 166 ft.
Independence: 215 ft.

Schedule listed like this: Vessel, Arrival, Departure.

Independence: Sun. May 22, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Tue. May 24, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
Independence: Sat. May 28, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. May 30, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sun. Jun. 19, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Tue. Jun. 21, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Jun. 25, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Jun. 27, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Jul. 2, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Jul. 4, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Glory: Mon. Jul. 4, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Wed. Jul. 6, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Jul. 9, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Jul. 11, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Glory: Mon. Jul. 11, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Wed. Jul. 13, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Jul. 16, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Jul. 18, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Glory: Mon. Jul. 18, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Wed. Jul. 20, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Jul. 23, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Jul. 25, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
Grande Caribe: Sat. July 30, 2011, 8:00 a.m. Sat. July 30, 2011, 1:30 p.m.
American Star: Sat. Jul. 30, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Aug. 1, 2011, 3:00 a.m..
Grande Caribe: Sat. Aug 6, 2011, 8:00 am Sat. Aug. 6, 2011, 1:30 pm
American Star: Sat. Aug. 6, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Aug. 8, 2011, 3:00 a.m
Grande Caribe: Sat. August 13, 2011, 8:00 am Sat. August 13, 2011, 1:30 pm
American Star: Sat. Aug. 13, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Aug. 15, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
Grande Caribe: Sat. August 20, 2011, 8:00 am Sat. August 20, 2011, 1:30 p.m.
American Star: Sat. Aug. 20, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Aug. 22, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
Grande Caribe: Sat. Aug. 27, 2011, 8:00 am Sat. August 27, 2011, 1:30 p.m.
American Star: Sat. Aug. 27, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Aug. 29, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Sep. 3, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Sep. 5, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Sep. 10, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Sep. 12, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Sep. 17, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Sep. 19, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Star: Sat. Sep. 24, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Mon. Sep. 26, 2011, 3:00 a.m.
American Glory: Mon. Sep. 26, 2011, 9:00 p.m. Wed. Sep. 28, 2011, 3:00 a.m

We have six sizes available, and you can choose whether you want them framed or not.  Framing will cost extra, and we can quote a price based on the size of the photo you’d like framed.  Those interested can place orders by sending an email to: info@newbedfordguide.com.  We are accepting custom orders in the following sizes:

• 4 x 6 – $6
• 8 x 12 – $20
• 12 x 18 – $40
• 16 x 24 – $52
• 20 x 30 – $75
• 24 x 36 – $90

Frank C. Grace is a local man.  Born and raised in Fall River, he currently lives in Acushnet with his high school sweetheart Bonnie, who he’s been married to for 18 years, and his six-year-old twin boys, Nathan and Nicholas.  He attended UMASS Dartmouth, and after he earned a BS in Textile Chemistry, he continued his education by earning an MS in Color and Polymer Chemistry.  He now works as the director of research and development for a textile company in Taunton.

In his spare time Frank enjoys photographing people and places in the South Coast area, but his is not the run-of-the-mill, cell phone photography many of us engage in.  While you will recognize the subjects of his photos, they will not be quite how you remember them.  His photographs manage to be both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

It all started innocently enough with the purchase of a 35mm SLR film camera in 2002. After buying that camera, a Pentax ZX-7, Frank began devouring every book on photography he could get his hands on.  He began with books on the basics of photo composition before moving on to exposure and lighting and things of that nature.

As he grew in knowledge and experience, the technology involved grew along with him.  This enabled Frank to take what he had been learning about photography and enhance those skills by using a technique called, “high dynamic range imaging,” (HDR for short).  Although HDR is not new to the digital camera age (the idea goes back to 1850), the possibilities have expanded exponentially because of it.

Frank started using HDR in late 2009 after reading several tutorials on the subject, though he almost didn’t continue with it because of how software-intensive the process is. To him the learning curve seemed steep, and in the end, he was right:

“Previously, I would take photographs and download them straight to the computer with no ‘post-processing’ at all; it was simple and fast. What helped me overcome this simplistic approach to photography was the look of HDR photographs. They made me feel something, and I wanted to be able to convey those feelings in my photographs.”

HDR works like this: Every digital camera’s sensor captures a range of light, from the brightest source to the darkest. For example, if you have ever taken a photograph on a very bright day where there are just a few clouds in the sky, and the subject of your photos is standing in the shadow of a tree: You end up with a photo where the sky is ‘blown-out’ white, and you lose the detail in the clouds and in the shadows. With a camera, you can never quite capture what your eye can see while you’re there taking the picture because your eye, unlike the camera, can scan a scene and adjust when looking from the sky to the shadows.

This is where HDR can help. In HDR, you take several different exposures of the same scene.  An exposure that is overexposed will show the details in the shadows and an exposure that is underexposed will show the details in the brightest areas of a scene. You also take normal, metered exposures, and some others in between.

You then load these exposures onto your computer and into special HDR software (Frank uses HDRSoft Photomatix Pro ) that blends the exposures together to give you detail throughout the image. You can make adjustments to get a photo-realistic effect, or go wild and try for something surreal, or you can land anywhere in between. It all depends how you make the adjustments in the HDR software.

From there, Adobe Photoshop is used to make final adjustments, because according to Frank, the HDR software, “…tends to get you what you want, but also tends to leave an image feeling flat.” Keep in mind that if you are trying to replicate the technique at home, you don’t need to use expensive software like Photoshop; Adobe also has scaled versions like Lightroom or Photoshop Express that will do the job just fine.

Not surprisingly, the surreal, hyper-realistic results of HDR photographs can be very polarizing. Frank has heard it all, from people who admire the work and really enjoy it, to the other end of the spectrum where his work has been called, amongst other things, “clown puke.”  Many professional photographers disapprove of the over-the-top processing involved with HDR, and dismiss it as a gimmick.  They feel like it takes away from the true art of photography.

Frank, however, views HDR as being akin to effects pedals used by guitarists to create sounds from the guitar that could never be achieved otherwise.  It’s a good analogy, though I’m sure nobody referred to “Voodoo Child” as clown puke because Jimi Hendrix used a wah pedal to play it.

So what is it about New Bedford that interests Frank so much?  The architecture in the city is what first captured Frank’s attention.  New Bedford is still, at its core, an old city; it’s just been updated over time.  “You don’t have to know much about the history of the New Bedford to get a feel for it when you walk around downtown,” says Frank.  “It is such a New England city. Take a photograph of any structure downtown, be it a city building, shop or art gallery, and include some of the cobblestone street in the shot, and you have yourself a classic New Bedford photograph.”

Frank not only visits New Bedford to take photographs; he is also involved with several organizations in the city.  Although he in no way considers himself an artist, Frank is a proud member of New Bedford’s Gallery X.  Gallery X is an artist owned and operated, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization  community art center that is open to the public free of charge.

He is also the vice president of O.R.P.H. Inc, whose mission is to preserve, restore, protect and adapt the building known as the French Sharpshooters Hall and Orpheum Theatre, located at 1005 Water Street in New Bedford.  Frank first got involved in when he was allowed into the Orpheum to photograph the interior of the theatre and saw its haunting beauty and immense potential for the city.

No matter your opinion of his photographs, Frank’s work is unmistakably local.  The style of his photography is complemented beautifully by the HDR aspect of the photos, which combine to allow us to view what we know and recognize about New Bedford in a totally new way.  Through our own eyes we view New Bedford as a city with a rich history in the midst of  a renaissance.  Through Frank’s lens we are able to see the past and present together at once, a surreal vision of what is, and what once was.

You can view more of Frank’s work at his website, Trig Photography.  You can also visit him and view his work on his Facebook page.

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On January 18th, NewBedfordGuide posted a story about Chloe Harding, a four-month old baby who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia (ALL).  Now, nearly a month later, Baby Chloe is well into her battle against this horrible disease.  The treatment is aggressive and grueling, but Chloe has proven that she is a fighter.  Her doctors are pleased, as she is responding to the treatment, but there are still leukemia cells in her body, so her struggle continues everyday.  However, she still has a ways to go in her arduous journey to beat ALL.

Inspired by Chloe and her story, a town and a community have come together in ways few could have envisioned.  The citizens of Rochester have banded together to support The Hardings and their brave little baby.  Rochester, however, has not been alone.  Donations have come pouring in from throughout Massachusetts and beyond.  The story of Baby Chloe has reached far and wide, touching the hearts of every person who hears it.  It has also motivated many people to take action.

Over the past few months there have been many successful fundraisers to help Chloe her family, from comedy shows to poker tournaments to hair cut-a-thons.  There was even a bone marrow drive held in Rochester earlier this month.

Earlier this week, on Thursday, Chloe reached the 100 day mark of her treatment; that’s almost half of her young life spent going through chemo and other treatments.  However, the Hardings did receive some good news last week in regards to a bone marrow donor, which Lindsay announced on Chloe’s Prayer Page on Facebook:

“Alrighty… we’ve been told that Chloe has a match!! We won’t get to know who it is until a year from now and won’t be told anything other than it is a “young male.”  Now we are just praying we can get through our last round of chemo, and then it will be onto the bone marrow transplant after that… THANK YOU GOD for all the miracles!!”

Thank you to everyone out there for their prayers.  It’s been a tough road so far, and there is still a ways to go, but progress is being made, and the announcement that a bone marrow donor has been found is very good news indeed.

Nestled among the cranberry bogs and tilled soil lining the country roads of Rochester lies the Rochester Golf Course. Less than a 20 minute drive from downtown New Bedford, this local gem is one of the best golf deals in the area. The Rochester Golf Course is a reminder of what a golf course can be when it’s done right. It’s not the biggest course around, or the newest. It succeeds because it has what other courses do not: A unique character that matches not only the town it occupies, but the people who golf there.

The Rochester Golf Course was opened in 1969 by co-owners and course architects Humphrey Tallman and Cliff Chase. After more than 40 years, the Tallman’s are still involved with the daily operations of the course. Humphrey’s son Stu is the superintendent, while Stu’s son Alden is the assistant superintendent.

The course itself consists of 18 holes measuring 5,300 yards from the blue tees, with par being 69. Many golfers playing here for the first time look at the yardage and see a par under 70, and feel like they are in for an easy round. I have played many times with people who think they will overpower the course because it is short. At the end of their round, they are left with that deer-in-the-headlights look when their score doesn’t add up to the one they had envisioned. The lesson they learn is one that any new visitor to RGC will learn: What the course lacks in length, it makes up with a personality.

Trees line most of the holes and squeeze the fairways, making tee shots more difficult. Add to that the water or sand elements scattered throughout the grounds and you’re left with some truly challenging holes. Even on holes with open fairways, the shots seem claustrophobic. By the time you reach the 3rd green, you realize how precise you need to be with your shots, especially your irons. Driver is not always the best choice off the tee, making players use all the clubs in their bag. Big hitters cannot depend on bombing one down the fairway, and this alters the way many people play. Shot planning is also essential, because there are many areas on many holes that just aren’t conducive to scoring well.

The greens here, a mix of poa annua and bentgrass, are some of the smallest around, and they are always kept in great shape. While the greens can be on the slow side, your ball will always roll smooth and true. The size and speed of the greens put an extra emphasis on a golfer’s short game. It is not always easy to land iron shots and wedges on the green, because there isn’t much square footage there. When you do, however, you are rewarded by the ball staying there(for the most part), because even though the greens are small, they are receptive as well. RGC defends itself well because it makes golfers depend on their short game, which is a problem area for most.

If you haven’t been to the Rochester Golf Course recently, there have been some changes to the course. The first, and most shocking change was made to the 6th hole by a bolt of lightning. Chunks of tree as big as refrigerators were found over 80-yards away, scattered throughout the woods. The tree happened to be only one in the fairway. What was once a hole with an obstacle down the right side is now wide open, making your tee shot much easier.

Also, the 10th green was totally redone, changing a small, relatively flat green to a one that can have putts with multiple breaks, depending on pin location.

Changes like these, along with other subtle changes(retaining walls, steps up to the tee box,etc.) are made annually, further enhancing the charm and appeal of the course. The course is constantly improving and giving golfers more, even though the price has gone up just $1 in the last 6 years.

RGC is also a very ‘green’ golf course. The most obvious example of this is the giant wind turbine located between holes 12 and 13. It harvests wind energy, creating electricity to power their carts and pump houses (and saving them thousands of dollars in the process). Recycling is done weekly, and not just for redemption. They also collect all the plastic bottles and paper waste on the course and dispose of it properly.

All these reasons, along with many others, make Rochester Golf Course an ideal place to play golf. Southeastern Massachusetts has many golf options, but RGC is a unique experience. Most courses are better played from a golf cart; at Rochester, it is better to walk. Many courses have a hole they can point to as a ‘signature hole,’ but Rochester has so many unique holes that it’s hard to choose just one.

You can visit the new website for Rochester Golf Course, and you can also find them on Facebook.

For my money, there is no better place to play golf in the area.

Rates:

Weekdays

• $15/9 holes
• $25/18 holes

Weekends & Holidays

• $16/9 holes
• $27/18 holes

Carts

• $10/9 holes
• $20/18 holes

*Share a cart for half price. For example, two people sharing a cart for 18 holes would cost $10 per person.

Season Pass

• $400 for 20 18-hole rounds, a savings of $100.
• $240 for 20 9-hole rounds, a savings of $60.

Lessons

PGA Golf Professional: Rusty Gunnarson

Call clubhouse to schedule a lesson (508.763.5155)

Has there ever been a more perfect acronym than the one used to describe Seasonal Affective Disorder?  S.A.D. Three little letters that perfectly describe the overall feeling of malaise many of us have as the calendar slowly tries to shovel itself clear of winter.

I must admit to not knowing that there was a technical term for the ‘Winter Blues’ until just recently. In retrospect, I should have known.  Usually taken for granted is the fact that Earth, and everything on it, is solar powered. It’s only natural for humans to be less-than-happy during this time of year, when there is so little daylight and so much darkness.

According to the Mayo Clinic, seasonal affective disorder is defined as: “A type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you’re like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.”  Wow! That sounds just like me…and almost everyone I’ve crossed paths with since New Year’s.

To be honest, I thought seasonal affective disorder was just the technical term for “The Winter Blues,” or “Cabin Fever.” Not so.  By chalking up your crappy attitude to one of those two reasons, you may be hurting yourself in the long run. SAD is technically a form of depression, and as such, there are ways to combat this disorder. Treatment for SAD, “includes light therapy (phototherapy), psychotherapy and medications.”

SAD symptoms “appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the sunnier days of spring and summer. Symptoms start off mild and become more severe as the season progresses.” During a winter like we’ve just experienced, some people have been feelings the effects of SAD for over six months! Let’s take a look at the symptoms:

• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of Energy
• Social Withdrawal
• Over Sleeping
• Loss of Interest in Activities You Once Enjoyed
• Appetite Changes, Especially Craving Food High in Carbohydrates
• Weight Gain
• Difficulty Concentrating and Processing Information

Uh-oh.  Looks like I am one of the people who have been feeling the effects of SAD for six months or more. However, I am not ashamed of this. I would wager that only the very best of us living in this area fail to show at least a few of these signs during the fall and winter months.

It is important to remember that SAD is a form of depression, so there can be complications beyond the usual symptoms. Substance abuse is one that manifests itself in this area of the country during the winter, along the coast and down through Cape Cod and the Islands.  Coastal communities live in concert with the outdoors, and the oceans.  During winter, our ability to interact with either one is lessened.  I used to work on Cape Cod during the cold months; it is a totally different place during that time, depressing compared to summer on the Cape.  If you think I’m generalizing or embellishing, there is this story from a few years ago.

Doctors and scientists think the disorder could develop during adolescence and early childhood, and to that I offer my totally unqualified disagreement. Winter when I was younger simply meant that I might consider heeding the words of my mother by putting a jacket on before I went outside to play. It’s tough to be sad when you wake up knowing your day will consist of playing outside, throwing snowballs and sledding until you get too cold, which will be remedied by going inside to warm up with some hot chocolate before going back out to do it all again. It’s tough to be depressed when that’s your day.

Not the case when you’re older. Unless you drive a plow, winter weather is bad news. You don’t get to play in the snow; you get to shovel it. You stop eating snow and start throwing salt on it. The only snowman in your yard is you, after you throw your back out and topple over into a snow bank because, let’s face it, the snow around these parts gets heavy, and you’ve been inside eating and feeling hopeless all winter.

The cause of SAD is unknown, but it may have to do with the disruption of our circadian rhythms. The circadian biological clock is something built-in to plants, animals, and humans that puts our bodies on a 24-hour cycle, more or less.  The formal study of this phenomena is called chronobiology.  After reading more on this topic, it’s no wonder humans feel depressed during fall and winter.

Another possible cause is a drop in melatonin levels. Melatonin is a natural hormone that helps humans sleep. Because SAD changes sleep patterns, some doctors would advise a melatonin supplement during the long winter months to help combat these effects. For those of you not wanting to visit the doctors, you could always pick up a few Lazy Cakes: Relaxation Brownies.  Last week, I noticed a box of these on the counter of the Irving gas station on Hathaway Road, after the stoned-looking Brownie on the wrapper caught my eye. Pot brownies in Massachusetts? No, just brownies packed full of melatonin, and enough of it to make your SAD symptoms go into hiding.

This year’s winter was especially soul-crushing because of how often it snowed. On days when it didn’t snow, we could go about our days and return home when we’re done, content to not step foot outside until the next day. When it did snow, however, the snow had to be moved before the next day could begin. Compounding the problem for me is the fact that we rarely got just snow. I wish it would either snow, or rain, not both. The words “wintery mix” seem permanently ingrained on every Doppler radar screen that displays weather for the New Bedford area.

A few interesting tidbits on SAD: Although symptoms shown in men are usually more severe, women are diagnosed with it more often.  Also, a person’s distance from the equator seems to play a role in whether they feel symptoms of SAD or not, because longer periods of light and dark effect their biological clock more.

SAD is a strange condition, one that, as a byproduct of where we live, almost all of us have experience with in one way or another. If you don’t display signs of SAD yourself, you definitely know someone who does. As this winter dissipates at an excruciatingly slow rate, we are close enough to the end to look forward to better weather. Daylight savings has helped by giving us more daylight, and (if) it ever stops raining and gets warmer, we’ll all be able to get outside and enjoy it.

Except of course, those of us who suffer from summer seasonal affective disorder.