The modern abstract painting in front of me draws me into its surreal world … An oval mirror near its center draws me in. I see a figure of a woman inside it. I cannot tell if she is standing or…
Columns
Don’t be disappointed in your kids
I guess that since I write here and I’ve written other places and written a book, that makes me a writer. I’ve never considered myself one.…
opinion
Have those of you who are getting on in years, as I am, thought lately about how much we elders owe to the younger people who have sacrificed so much to save us from the dreaded virus? And about…
Haven’t heard from me in a while. Some people are probably cheering and others might have missed me. To tell…
Like many, I’ve been spending most of my time for the past couple of months at home. Between Zoom meetings and baking cookies, I’ve tried to get outside as much as possible, even if that means…
Happy birthday, Barbie D.!
There used to be a story for children about Little Toot. It has been a long time since I heard it, but I believe it was about a little train trying to make a big hill. So it…
‘We will keep our distance and she can care for her family in peace’
In its day, it was a sturdy looking one-room post and beam cabin, similar to the looks of Henry Thoreau’s cottage on Walden Pond, Massachusetts. Years have gone by and tenants have come and gone.…
Back in my youth, it was pretty exciting when Leadbetter’s started selling motorcycles. A bunch of us were friends with Bob, so we hung out at the shop…
Transformations
I am OK... except for the fact that this “Stay at Home” thing is wearing me down to a frazzle... and the decisions I make to deal with the Gaping Alone make me wonder.
Yesterday for…
Maine’s early arriving birds of prey
This is the time of year when we become so desperate for signs of spring that we go on long drives to find them. One of our favorite spring drives, when not following a stay-at-home order, of…
Anybody, these days, might understandably feel conflicted. A resourceful and resilient citizen cheerfully looking for silver linings to the crisis one minute, singing with others on the computer…
opinion
Amy Wilton and Lena Faber are two artists collaborating on a creative installation. What follows is part of their art project, a free-flowing exchange of thoughts in a column.…
The last time I sat down to pen a column piece amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I emphasized how we will get through not only the turbulent times the pandemic has brought — the record unemployment…
What are groupies? According to Google, groupies are people, especially young women, who follow music groups in hopes of getting to know them. Well, we certainly heard about them in the different…
‘we continue to prepare for the worst and hope for the best’
Pen Bay Medical Center, Waldo County General Hospital CEO Mark Fourre sent the following April 8: : At Coastal Healthcare Alliance, we continue to prepare for the worst and hope for the…
Industrial Arts
“Does this count as school?”
That question, now a wise-aleck remark uttered with rolled eyes or a wink, is a Murray family one-liner.
…
opinion
For many of us, the days since COVID-19 entered Maine have felt like an alternate reality. As with any transition in life, it’s important that we take some time to reflect on what’s changed, and…
Wow! This whole coronavirus, COVID-19, thing is really something, isn’t it? The unknown is troubling to a large portion of the population. Some people, like firefighters, cops, and EMS people live…
From the Senate
Under extraordinary circumstances, leaders of the Maine State Legislature came together working tirelessly throughout the March 14-15 weekend and reached agreement on a package of new laws to…
Today I have a yarn to spin, one that beats any previously created tangled web.
It all began several weeks ago, when, as a knitter, I was making winters hats for children. I, personally…
What to do When fear approaches
I picked up the phone and heard the fear in Sara’s voice. Her pitch was high and she spoke quickly.
“I’m not going back to work. My boss has been…
Y2K. Anyone remember that shenanigan?
Saw an ad a few days ago about some drug that deals with cholesterol, and it got me thinking what a big deal that used to be, but we rarely hear about anymore.…
Something about the embracing mountains and blue bay stretching to the horizon
In honor of Maine’s 200th anniversary as a state this month, I offer up something a little different than my usual natural history, mixing it up a bit with Maine’s literary history.
In…
Salt 'n Spar
If you are a regular reader of the Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper, chances are you’re reading this online and not in the print edition of the newspapers. This isn’t surprising, more and…
Emmet Meara, Dave Barry, right whales and hand grenades
This is the time of year when many of us tackle our big scary household jobs. In these winter months, while the summer people think we have nothing to do, the DIY-ers among us (meaning most…
transformations
I received - at the age of 72 - an MFA in fiction from Spalding University. I decided to go to graduate school because I had been working on a novel for years and thought the pressure of the MFA…
Down to the sea
Natives and newcomers alike are all familiar with Hosmer Pond. It became more known about 1934, when the Snow Bowl was built and the winter carnivals were held there, as a notable event. That body…
On occasion the dropping of a glove is meant to start a courtship, on another it is meant to start a full-on brawl
I went for a walk and wore the wrong pair of gloves. They were blue rubber gloves, the kind that you might wash dishes with except heavier perhaps to wash off snow from your car. For some reason,…
opinion
I’ve been casually following the recent demand from young people that we “older” folks should get it together when it comes to the environment and be ashamed of the state of the planet we are…
Up until about 20 years ago, I never gave water much thought. There was plenty to swim in, both fresh and salt. It came right out of the tap at the house. …
It’s a chilly winter dusk as the last mauve shades of sunset fade from the sky. Overhead, a pair of birds flits quickly past, headed together to roost, a poignant sight in the dying light. From…
Lyme Time
With new cases of tick-borne disease being reported, more stories of suffering and misdiagnosis are coming to the surface and the common denominator is this ~ ticks do not discriminate. They have…
Down to the Sea
It is interesting to look back on changes in Camden at what seems to be just a few years ago. A great source is the Camden Herald which was first published in 1869, and when we lost it one…
Lyme Time
If 2019 has taught me anything its that change is inevitable. No matter how much you fight for or against something, at some point, something is going to shift, to give way and…
STYLIN’ MAINE
I was nine, wearing baggy jeans that sat low on my hips, the bottoms frayed, and I could see the scuff mark around the toes of my clear jelly buckle sandals. We were walking down a sloping hill…
A Country Boy from Maine goes to a parking garage
When we visit Navy son in Virginia, we usually drive right through the 800 miles or fly. Flying has been the choice for several years, but this year we…
Down to the sea
My desire is to tell you a story, and you probably won't believe it. I guess I am a story teller, but I always tell the truth. This article is about my Great Aunt Mary Christmas. Yes, it is a true…
industrial arts
Back around Thanksgiving, if you recall, the news was filled with reports of the “busiest travel days of the year.” By airliner and by car--occasionally tossing in “by train” for good measure--…
Transformations
Fred is in the news these days. Mister Fred Rogers that is. I knew Fred many years ago. When I tell people…
You may have seen a recent report that bird populations have declined by over 3 billion birds, or by almost 30%, in the past fifty years. It’s not surprising: Birds run a daily gauntlet that…
A poem
WINTER
Again it is winter
Everywhere it is snow.
Some people so love it,
Others wish it would go.
Maybe a “White Christmas”
About some…
Stylin’ Maine
On a rainy Sunday in November, as late autumn prepares us for the holidays, I popped into an antique store. Looking for a couch I ended up with a handful of sweaters and red seemed to be the theme…
Take the time to invest in your health. You have one chance at living this life
Holiday celebrations are here. To many, this is a time of worry, anxiety and tension which affects our mental and physical well-being.
We have a choice in the decisions we make every day…
In a recent casual conversation, a friend mentioned that he’d seen a news item about a drone equipped with a flamethrower. Well, of course that got my…
It’s serious; but it’s fun, too
The veterans of World War II are in their 90s now. There is a monument in Washington, D.C., recognizing their efforts to basically save the world from tyranny, and a great many of these veterans…
always keep an eye out for berries, the wild gems of our forests
The first snow fell recently on the summit of Mount Battie in Camden Hills State Park. Although wind had blown much of the snow off the exposed ledges when I arrived that morning, a light dusting…
Lyme Time
A pitfall is a hidden danger or unsuspected difficulty. Often, we are blinded by trust or our desire to just feel better and so we are not really seeing how things are, until we…
A Bird’s Tale
Great blue herons are one of the better known of Maine birds even if not always by that name. Many’s the time we have also heard them referred to as “cranes,” “egrets,” and the even occasionally…
monarch butterfly roosts high in some of the spruces and pines
When I visited Monhegan, a small island about 10 miles off the coast of Maine, this past Labor Day weekend, I witnessed a heartening number of monarch caterpillars, chrysalides, and flying adult…
A very familiar landmark in Camden is the Archway on Union Street. It was placed there in July 1926 by the Board of Trade, before we had a Chamber of Commerce. The members felt that in many towns…
