My college adviser only really ever “advised” one thing: take a Meiklejohn course. Donald Meiklejohn, a living legend in the fields of governance and education, was only at my college part of the year, fall and spring trimesters. The rest of the year he taught at Syracuse University, so you had to grab a course […]
Forecaster opinion
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: God should be a source of peace
I had an interesting experience while visiting a public school recently. On a wall was a dry-erase board with the following question written above: “Where do you find your peace?” Inscribed below were a dozen answers, ranging from in the garden, woods and walks to ocean and beach. I enjoyed reading through the various answers, […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: When life feels out of control
What if we can control only how and on what we focus? Could we pay attention to what is not wrong, to what and who we love? That awareness opens doors to gratitude. Gratitude softens anxiety’s grip. What if, when complaining about the unpleasant is easy, we turn our thoughts toward what’s pleasant and away, […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion, Northern Forecaster
The Superintendent’s Notebook: Learning together – back again
It is safe to say that this fall is going to be one of the hardest, most anxious and most exciting school starts we have ever experienced. On March 14, superintendents in Cumberland County made the difficult decision to switch to remote learning for what we hoped would only be two weeks to help “flatten […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Good board games build memories, family bonds
I grew up in a family of gamers. No, no, not that kind. Heck, for much of my childhood we didn’t even have a TV, let alone video games. I mean the non-tech kind of games. We played a lot of card and board games around the dining room table. There were many “go-to” games […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: Senate debate a wholly un-senatorial affair
Friday night’s U.S. Senate debate between Republican incumbent Susan Collins, Democrat Sara Gideon and Independents Max Linn and Lisa Savage made me yearn for Maine’s senators of yesteryear. If Sept. 11’s debate is evidence, it’s time we face the facts: The days when Maine was represented in the U.S. Senate by people like Margaret Chase […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Superintendent’s Notebook: Working together, we can make change succeed
By the time you read this, the first day of school for Portland Public Schools students – Monday, Sept. 14 – will be behind us. At the time of this writing, our plan is to open in hybrid mode, with a mix of in-person and remote learning. But one thing we’ve learned from this pandemic […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Over Easy: What’s a nice nun like you doing in a place like this?
The thing about my first Buddhist teacher was that she was really not much of a teacher. Her name was Meechai Suddhama, Sister Suddhama. But her given American name was Pauline Offner and she grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, as a typical middle-class girl. So here she was in Bangkok, where she had gathered […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Our nation deserves a functioning postal service
Yours truly has just completed yet another trip around the sun. Thank goodness we no longer put candles on the cake; the blaze would be blinding. Yet, despite the slightly alarming number of years to my credit, I actually really like my birthday. It’s a nice time of year. As a bona fide grownup, with […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: Pandemic pet peeves, part III
In two previous columns, Here’s Something has listed a number of pet peeves regarding the pandemic times in which we find ourselves. This week’s edition concludes the series: One of my biggest pandemic pet peeves pertains to the federal government’s unwise decision to give $600 a week in surplus unemployment compensation, a program which thankfully […]