Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat David Dosa 2010, 225 pages Nonfiction Why does Oscar, one of several cats in the Alzheimer's wing at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, essentially ignore the patients and then suddenly decide to curl up with a patient on their bed? Does he have an uncanny ability to sense when a patient is at death's door? Dr. Dosa scoffs at the…

Are the more adventurous, younger members of your family down in the dirt playing with toads again? It shouldn't cause you to worry: There is an ancient myth based on a superstitious fear that the wart-like swellings on a toad's skin can be contagious. But there is good medical evidence this is not true. However, because of this folk tale, toads have been given a bad rap and I'm here…

Looking for some neighborhood fun that benefits the Concord community? The Concord Police Department is hosting its 27th annual National Night Out on Aug. 3 at Rollins Park from 5 to 9 p.m. The point of the event is to encourage awareness about crime and drug prevention, and to strengthen the bond between police and community. There will be food on hand: Hot dogs, pizza, cotton candy and Sno-Cones are $1 a pop, and refreshments will be available, too. Activities include music, bike safety demonstrations, an inflatable slide, karate demonstrations, youth activities, and more. Another reason to…

July 27, 1927 - The police report more evidence of the pickpockets who worked the crowd during Col. Charles A. Lindbergh's visit to Concord two days before. Two young boys have found 20 more pocketbooks in a hole covered with paper behind the airport hangar. The number of people robbed now totals at least 36. July 28, 1827 - Othello is performed at the Eagle Coffee House in Concord. Crowds are sparse. July 29, 1927 - Police Chief A.S. Kimball orders the Lapp carnival on the Bridge Street fairgrounds to close "forthwith." The shutdown follows the arrest of two men who work for the carnival on gambling…

Aaron Bourque has a point of view. What that view is, exactly, is up in the air. Bourque's exhibition, "Fragments Rearranged," consists of about 40 black-and-white photographs taken over the past two years. Spanning across the first floor of the Jill Coldron Wilson Gallery at The Kimball-Jenkins Estate, the exhibition is broken up into four parts: "Portraits, Variations on a Theme,"…

Bow's National Night Out will be held Aug. 3 from 4 to 9 p.m. at Bow High School. Admission is free and open to all. National Night Out is being held throughout the United States to promote cooperation between police departments and their communities. This is the second-annual event held by the Bow Police Department with assistance from the Bow Parks and Recreation Department. The night will include face painting, sand art, carnival games, a baseball and football throw, "Touch a Truck" with the Bow highway and fire departments and more. The Bow Interact Club will have a teen scavenger hunt from…