David Chaffetz sat and answered questions about his latest book, “Raiders, Rulers, and Traders,” at Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook Saturday, Oct. 5. The author said he spent three months learning about Afghani nomads while studying the Persian language in 1974.
MILLBROOK — Merritt Bookstore hosted David Chaffetz for a discussion on his latest book, “Raiders, Rulers, and Traders,” Saturday, Oct. 5 in Millbrook.
A crowd of 20 gathered in the independent bookstore’s intimate upstairs to ask Chaffetz about nomadic civilizations and the empires of Asia and the Middle East.
Chaffetz said he began his personal relationship with the horse in the ‘70s when he visited Afghanistan. While researching in Iran, he had an opportunity to visit Afghani nomads with his friend and roommate at the time.
“To do this, it wouldn’t have made sense to get Land Rovers,” Chaffetz said. “They live in a very remote part of the country. The only way to see them is to go by horseback.”
So he and his college roommate bought a couple of horses from the market and set out to connect with the nomads in the Afghani countryside. They spent three months trekking and learning about the nomadic lifestyle.
That set in motion Chaffetz’s fascination with the horse and nomadism in human history.
The horse provided unprecedented mobility, Chaffetz said, which brought challenges along with the benefits. Nomadic tribes utilized this mobility to manage livestock on large ranges of pastures. Their expansive territories required careful politicking, though, so nomads had to have strong interpersonal skills to thrive.
It was a combination of equestrianism and political sense that made nomads so skilled at starting empires like the Ottoman Empire or the Mongol Empire, Chaffetz said.
The most fascinating thing about these empires to Chaffetz is their success and longevity. “Take Iran for example,” Chaffetz said. “Iran was conquered by nomadic people around the year 1,000, and then the last descendant of those people was deposed in 1923.”
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The Millerton News
Hot-tub style approach with a sledge-hammer assist at the lake.
While the chill of recent weeks has driven many Northwest Corner residents inside and their energy bills up, others have taken advantage of the extended cold by practicing some of our region’s most treasured — and increasingly rare — pastimes: ice sports.
I am one of those who goes out rather than in when the mercury drops: a one-time Peewee and Bantam league hockey player turned pond hockey enthusiast turned general ice lover. In the winter, my 12 year-old hockey skates never leave my trunk, on the chance I’ll pass some gleaming stretch of black ice on a roadside pond.
Last winter, when ice was hard to come by, was a massive disappointment for me, as it was for the other ice-obsessed among us. I was delighted, then, when I arrived at Lake Wononscopomuc on a comparatively balmy (26°F) Saturday afternoon to find recreators strolling, skating, fishing and fat-biking across the frozen expanse of its surface.
Grabbing my camera and stepping out onto the ice with the intention of chatting with some of the merry-makers, I gauged the uneven — but passable — surface below my feet and decided to run to the car and switch my boots with skates.
The going was rough at times, contending with intermittent snow layers and slush crusts, but even so the skates were vastly more efficient than my boots as I made my way from group to group.
I stopped to chat with David Bain, who was just starting to set up his fishing station after getting a late start. I asked him the depth under the hole he had just drilled, and he said it was about five feet, despite being 200 yards from shore on the deepest natural lake in Connecticut.
He explained that he had situated himself over a weed bed, and was hoping to catch some brown trout lurking off its shelf. A Norfolk resident, he said he was glad the ice was back after a season or two without it. He said the last time he had fished out on Wononscopomuc’s ice – 2023, he reckoned — he had caught two sizeable brown trout (about 10 and 8 pounds) within 15 minutes of each other at a spot just yards away from this one. I wished him luck for a similar outcome, and skated off to some distant figures hunkered over their ice drills.
I found Kyle Carso of Glastonbury and Andy Sabetta of Berlin, who are long time fishing friends, huddling over their holes as they hoped for a bite. They had been moving around the lake since 7 a.m., and had only pulled up a couple of perch so far, Carso said. Echoing Bain, Carso told me that Wononscopomuc is known for big brown trout though, and the duo had proof: Sabetta had caught a 14-pounder in June.
Carso said he was grateful for the ice conditions this season, which have been difficult to come by in several recent years. He said the ice was generally solid, about eight inches in most places, but encouraged caution as they had found some variability in the holes they drilled, with some spots thinner than others.
Brothers Eamon and John McNiff, who I found with beers in hand just offshore of Eamon’s lakefront property, similarly urged caution for those looking to explore the ice. He said that the frozen lake provides a valuable wealth of recreation, made more special by its seasonal transience – “as long as you’re being smart about it.” With the right caution, though, he said time spent on the ice is “magical.”
The kids get to skate around the lake – close to shore, he specified – and for the adults? “There’s nothing better than an ice beer.”
His brother John had just fat biked — essentially a mountain bike with huge, deeply treaded tires for traction on snow and ice — across the lake from his own property on the other side. Upon arriving at Eamon’s house, he slipped out and sprawled on the ice, pulling a muscle in the process. He said he was better now, though, enjoying a “recuperation beer” provided by his brother.
My final stop of the afternoon found a different type of cold-weather health practice — hanging out hot-tub style in a sledge-hammered hole in the ice. Danny Tieger and Tyler Spofford, both local to the area, are avid cold water swimmers they explained, and try to submerge themselves a few times a week during the winter months.
Tieger said that taking regular cold dips has been transformational after starting about five years ago: “It changed my relationship with my health and brain.”
The two stayed in the water, with apparent calm, for a remarkably long time. Spofford said that once you get over the shock, the water can actually feel a bit warmer than the air, because it actually is at about 34°F compared to the air temperature in the mid 20s.
As they finally climbed out and did some post-dip exercises, I looked out over the lake, dim silhouettes of anglers and fat bikers speckling the white expanse in the soft blue light of the late afternoon. Pulling off my skates for the day with numb and fumbling fingers, I felt grateful for the ice and the unique joy it brings to an oft-maligned season.
With cold weather growing less consistent with each passing winter, days like these can feel a little melancholic and fragile, as if those of us who take to the ice are salvaging for something already almost in the past. Perhaps we are, but it comforted me to be in good company as I scanned the lake’s surface for the last few hold-outs as the clock neared five. If it freezes, we will come.
Any lake ice recreation is inherently dangerous as the ice can be inconsistent. Anyone venturing out onto the ice must consult experts before doing so and follow town guidance.
Emma Brockett, Josalyn Cipkas and Tiffany Oltjenbruns in rehearsal for “From All Angles.”
Garet Wierdsma and her northern Connecticut-based dance company, Garet&Co, will return to Norfolk for their third annual appearance with Dance Workshops on the next three Sundays, followed by two performances of “From All Angles” in Battelle Chapel on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 23, at 4 p.m.
In “From All Angles,” audience members will witness Garet&Co translate three of the works presented at their fall show, “Can’t Keep Friends,” danced in the round, where viewers can witness each piece from a new angle.
Additionally, Garet&Co will be premiering two new works, including a site-specific work made for the beautiful Battelle Chapel performance space. Notably, Garet&Co will be reprising an excerpt of their preeminent piece, “and sometimes I wish” for this show.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, audience members will enjoy a post-show reception followed by a Q & A session.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, audience members will enjoy a pre-show performance with dancers performing installation work.
Garet&Co offers several classes in the performance space at Battell Chapel during their residence, including:
Intermediate/Advanced Technique: this Sunday, Feb. 2, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary Phrase Work: Sunday, Feb. 16, 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Beginners’ Contemporary: Saturday, Feb. 23, 1 to 2 p.m. (please join this class prior to the Sunday show for a special discounted package of class + show tickets)
Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2 to 3 p.m. (please join this class prior to the Sunday show for a special discounted package of class + show tickets)
Garet Wierdsma expressed her excitement: “This year, we are bringing more dancers and more pieces than ever before, plus we are adding special elements that will keep audiences on their toes. We can’t wait to share this show with everyone!”
Evie Sondag, Jessica Winter, and Kyleigh Olivier in rehearsal for “From All Angles.”Elias Olsen
