Eric J. Perkins, Author at The Belmont Voice

Generations: Confessions of an Initially Reluctant Town Meeting Member

May 26, 2025

I resisted for years. There was no way I was going to get involved in local politics. I had many excuses: three young children, zero free time, and a general sense that Belmont wasn’t really my town, since I was a transplant.…

Opinion

Generations: Starting a New Chapter

April 13, 2025

Somewhere up in my 12-year-old daughter’s bedroom, buried within the piles of stuff that tend to accumulate in a preteen’s personal space, is a copy of Terry Pratchett’s young adult novel, “The Shepherd’s Crown.” There’s a bookmark in it, about two-thirds of…

Opinion

Generations: What Does ‘Going Home’ Mean To You?

March 4, 2025

The week before February break had been very stressful, and I’d been looking forward to a visit up to Wolfeboro, New Hampshire to see my dad and sister. When I texted my sister, Erin (yes, “Eric and Erin,” I know) to see…

Opinion

Generations: Mentoring: Light Lift, Big Impact

February 7, 2025

The first email introducing me to Rachelle described her as “funny and reserved.” I am also reserved, and I aspire to be funny, so we had that much in common. She wanted a mentor who could “listen.” I thought, I can do…

Opinion

Generations: Why I Traded Holiday Hangovers for NA Cheers

December 9, 2024

Earlier this fall, I attended an event that 28-year-old me would have scoffed at: a non-alcoholic Oktoberfest. Sponsored by Dray, Boston’s first non-alcoholic (NA) bottle shop, the event had all the traditions you’d expect — pretzels, sausages, lederhosen — but not a…

Opinion

Generations: How Live Concerts Keep Gen X Young at Heart

October 23, 2024

For the Gen Xers, seniors, or even Millennials reading this column, how often have you caught yourself saying, “I’m getting too old for that?” Once a month? Once a day? I probably had this thought daily when my kids were younger, and…

Opinion

Generations: Two Lies and a Truth about Parent-Teacher Groups

September 18, 2024

More than a decade ago, I had a coworker with an older child warn me to never attend a meeting of the Parent Teacher Organization/Association (I’m just going to call them PTAs from here on out). “They’ll suck you in, and you’ll…

Opinion

Generations: Reunions in the Age of Social Media: Why We Still Need Face-to-Face Connections

August 6, 2024

I remember my 10th high school reunion fairly well. I’d recently moved back to New England after spending much of my twenties in North Carolina, so I didn’t need to travel far to my home town of Wolfeboro, N.H. I genuinely had…

Opinion

Generations: Cyber Parenting: Navigating Social Media with My Kids

July 23, 2024

About six years ago, when my son was a fifth-grader at Chenery Middle School, I attended a parent workshop sponsored by the school guidance department called “Navigating the Cyber World.”It was billed as reviewing “the challenges and dangerous situations that may arise…

Opinion

Generations: Crossing the Generational Divide Through Science

June 30, 2024

For the past seven years, eighth-grade science teacher Jonathan Marks, a 2022 recipient of the Foundation for Belmont Education’s Outstanding Teacher Award, has invited me to speak to his class about genome engineering. My PhD in genetics and career as a scientist…