Since I cycled through the rain all day and only brought two changes of clothes, I stopped several times at laundromats to change into my dry clothes and wash and dry the wet, filthy ones I was wearing. This place, near Pittsfield, was the most interesting. This man, who looks like the generic shady Caucasian male from a true crime series, broke the change machine and stole 300 dollars worth of quarters. They haven’t caught him yet. I find it odd. A man desperate enough to smash a change machine can’t be very mobile. He’s not going to jump on a private plane and flee the country. I suppose he’s either dead, in prison for another crime, or submerged in the marginal community of Herman Melville’s old town.
Maybe he signed aboard a whaling ship.
Writers Without Money 
when i had a vehicle at new lebanon …if staying for a couple of months , i would go once a week on sundays to Pittsfield….the grocery store and admittely walmart was my big attraction…it didnt feel like a dirty sell-out because i had spent 6 days working in clean mountain hills and eating organic veggie food…so once a week i allowed myself to go to ‘civilization’ and live like an ‘animal’…..also loved the cheap thrift second hand stores there….but i would never have wished to experience the opposite…6 days of pittsburg ( or anywhere) and one day of peace…..enjoy yr trip..love the updates because that whole area u r in has saved my soul many times….
Have you noticed the incredible class divide in Lenox? It’s literally two towns. The classy little village with Shakespeare and Mozart and the nasty little strip where aging druggies smash change machines. When I cycled into town at midnight after 100 miles cycling I went to the classy part. To my horror I learned that my cheap hotel was 6 miles up Route 7 towards Pittsfield. Route 7 and Route 7A are two different worlds. There’s no greater despair than thinking youve arrived at your destination only to learn you have miles to go.