To the editor:

You have to hand it to Patrick Rael. The man can write like nobody else. His words are chosen with care. His sentences sparkle and pop.

He is an academic who speaks like a regular guy. He is an “official spokesman.” For the life of me, though, until today I could not figure out how he managed to draw his conclusions.

To understand where Mr. Rael is coming from, you need to stand on your head. How else can you make sense of his Nov. 18 letter to The Times Record (“Use time wisely”)?

Referring to a letter of Nov. 3 between Patricia Quinn from the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority ( NNEPRA) and Brunswick Town Manager Gary Brown, which he has presumably read in its entirety, Mr. Rael states: “The letter affirms what opponents of the (Brunswick West) site have long argued. Because constructing a facility that properly mitigates its impact on nearby residences would exceed budgets, a more appropriate site should be chosen.”

Oh, those wise, long-suffering citizen- taxpayers of Bouchard Drive!

How then are we to grasp the meaning of Ms. Quinn’s words in “ Smaller layover facility possible” ( news report, Nov. 10, 2011), when she states in no uncertain terms that “ the Brunswick ( layover and maintenance) facility will be located at . . . the ‘Brunswick West’ site,” and furthermore, “there are no really viable alternatives”?

Rael drones on about zoning, makes knowing statements about train scheduling even though, in the parlance of my old buddies on the Santa Fe, he couldn’t switch a boxcar full of sardines out of a perfume factory and writes about wanting to benefit everyone.

It is as if he had not attended the public forums sponsored by NNEPRA; asked questions and heard careful, articulate responses from a variety of informed and experienced authorities; read reports; and listened to others with views that differ from his own “Alice in Wonderland” perspective.

Keep in mind, all of Mr. Rael’s arguments stem from the groundless notions that NNEPRA is reconsidering its plan to build at Brunswick West and that other viable sites exist.

The punch line comes near the end of his letter. Referring to his spiteful and self-serving fantasy of basically starting from scratch and naturally choosing a different site, he writes, “Nothing else makes sense.”

Alas for his followers, Rael’s tale is full of sound of fury, signifying nothing. It’s enough to make one howl at the moon.

But wait, a news flash from you- know- where: “ Day is night! Black is white!” And wrong is …?

Jeff Reynolds

Brunswick