Years ago, I counseled a young couple, both more aware than most about the risks and rewards of sexual activity. They asked lots of questions. I listened. They both talked. “We want this. We don’t want that. This makes sense to us, but how does that make sense?” They used the pronouns “we” and “us.” […]
American Journal Opinion
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: A proud American reports from abroad
I sit in a Starbucks sipping an Americano in Limerick, Ireland, as I write this piece. The music in the background is American jazz. It’s almost entirely like sitting in a Starbucks in the United States except I have to say, “I am from the United States,” when the barista asks where I am from. […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Sustainably Speaking: Taking action with others can battle despair
It’s all too much: COVID’s sly resurgence, the war in Ukraine, the controversy over Roe v. Wade, the threats to democracy, the cost of an apple. And then there’s the climate crisis. The U.N. secretary-general, the pope and 244 scientists from all over the world warn in a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Bath park has gone to the dogs – and that’s a good thing
This is a note of pure love to the city of Bath for its fantastic dog park. Technically, the South End Park is “a multi-purpose park that also allows dogs off-leash but in voice command,” so even if you don’t have a dog, this park welcomes you and has amenities to offer. For those of […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: A room of one’s own inspires creativity
People create – whether works of art, simple meals or woodpiles chopped and stacked. In these special places that also provide comfort, we receive intuitive messages and birth our imagination. Writers sit at desks to write. Woodworkers bustle around their shops. Crafters lean over their workbenches. Composers delight at their pianos. We enter our meaning-making […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: Thanks to refugees, Somalia on the cusp of political change
A presidential election takes place in Somalia May 15, when more than 270 members of the Somali parliament who were voted into office last week will choose the new president by indirect elections. More than half of these members of parliament are former refugees who dared to return to Somalia despite the constant threats against […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: School crisis merits deployment of National Guard
This past winter, as our hospitals began to buckle under the strain of COVID, Gov. Janet Mills took a bold step and activated the National Guard to help. Guard members were deployed to hospitals across the state, temporarily taking over nonmedical duties to allow medical staff to focus their efforts, ensuring that communities continued to […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Forum: History of Mother’s Day rooted in war
During this tragic time of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s devastating attack upon Ukraine, it seems appropriate to be reminded that Mother’s Day was first established to promote peace. Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), abolitionist, poet and suffragette, is now chiefly remembered as the author of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Accompanying her husband, Samuel Gridley Howe, […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: New perceptions can lead us in new directions
Have you heard the story of the man who glanced at a coiled rope, assumed it was a snake and jumped back in a panic? Or the tale of a monk who lived for decades in a cave and, for years, created a picture of a floor-to-ceiling tiger with bold stripes and wiry whiskers on […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Mainers shouldn’t take voter rights for granted
A government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” That is the great, shining vision of our nation as a vibrant, thriving democracy Abraham Lincoln spoke of in November 1863 during the Gettysburg Address. That’s the thing about democracy. Flawed and imperfect as it may be, it is also arguably the most interesting […]