Serving for two decades, I have come to know many dedicated community servants. One is Ward 2 City Councilor Victor Chau. Living here for nearly 20 years and serving for 13 years, he knows Westbrook. His service to our community extends far past the council to include youth sports and the marching band. Over his […]
American Journal Opinion
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Stargazing spiders can shift perspectives
A really good friend recently sent me the podcast “No Such Thing as a Fish,” accompanied by this message, “My new favorite thing is knowing some spiders can see stars!” It’s true. Some spiders can see stars. They can also see the moon and a few other amazing things. We have no way of knowing […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: Sweet nostalgia and fundamental changes
“It is a Nikah!” I heard someone say this during my visit to the local Somali halal market in Portland. The word “Nikah” hit me hard, as if I was back 10 years. The word is Arabic and means a “marriage contract” between two people. In Somalia, the word carries a lot more meaning and […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Cultural perspectives deepen our connections
Recently in our home we’ve had a lot of conversations about culture and our identity within it. As a nation, we seem to be neck deep in this question: Who are we really? Can we hold on to the truths we once deemed self-evident and do the hard work to bring those into being? Or […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Presence can interrupt the negative narrative
As soon as one of my dear friends posts on Facebook about her “sad and complicated life,” I think, “She must be doing what she and I discuss a lot: telling herself stories.” How often do we do that? And how often are those stories negative about ourselves? About what we do wrong and how […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Sustainably Speaking: Oyster farming is farming for our future
Oyster farming appealed to me for many reasons, chief among them how inherently sustainable growing oysters for food is. Sea farming is often tucked under the larger “fisheries” umbrella because we go to work on the sea in boats and come back with food to sell. But there are big differences between the work of […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: Earning the right to vote makes us patriots
It is election season in our country and one critical message is needed in the information we provide to the newly naturalized community members as well as others who have become Americans through the naturalization process: We have earned the right to vote. We must vote as if we fought a war and won, that we […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Banned books broaden our horizons
Banned Books Week, the American Library Association’s annual celebration of the right to read, has come to a close. What a party it was! A book party is always a good idea: stirring up imaginations, starting conversations, providing inspiration. Shining a spotlight on attempts at censorship – that’s just extra fabulous. Recently, despite calling ourselves […]
Posted inAmerican Journal
Letter: Dolby Blais & Segee makes Westbrook traffic tolerable
I have so appreciated the lush and beautiful planters by Dolby Blais & Segee on William Clark Drive in Westbrook. They are like an oasis in a construction desert. I can only begin to imagine how much thought went into the plantings, not to mention how much care must have been taken to make them […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Maybe accepting ‘good enough’ is a superpower
We did it, my friend Sarah and I. She started it. I never would have. Too embarrassed. Not good enough. I should be better than I am, more advanced after all these years of studying French. On our walk on Portland’s wide-open panoramic Eastern Prom, big enough for all the mistakes we would make, spacious […]