Heading-home

Published
December 2, 2018

Jody Rich, Waterville: A familiar drive can be full of surprises

It was the winter of 1974-75 and I was a freshman at University of Maine/Farmington. I was riding home to Tewksbury, Mass., with Dave, who lived in nearby Billerica. It was snowing when we left after his last class on Friday. When I got into his Chevy, Dave muttered, “I’m not sure how good my […]
Published
December 2, 2018

J. Lauren Sangster, Portland: Sometimes you have to decide

My husband and I moved to Maine five-and-a-half years ago. He’s from Scotland and his family all live there. I’m from Kentucky and all of my immediate family lives there. We are the ones that decided to move elsewhere for a while, but then settled away from family. So, here we are and we love […]
Published
December 2, 2018

David Alexander, Gorham: Driving into the past

I turned onto the River Road, near the Boothbay Play House. My good friend Dick spent summers there back in the ’50s looking for a career in acting. River Road parallels the Damariscotta River, narrow, hilly, winding but without a view of the river. Access roads lead down to expensive homes, Dodge Point Preserve offers […]
Published
December 2, 2018

Larry Dyhrberg, Falmouth: A song calls a stranger home

In 1994, in the wake of major life changes, I fulfilled a dream I’d held since 1963 and volunteered for the United States Peace Corps. My deep belief in the Corps and the trust shown me in the selection process laid my path to Poland, four years after the Berlin Wall fell. After training, I […]
Published
December 2, 2018

Amanda A. Meader: Home is a place to say hello and goodbye

I was 9 when I first realized that my father was being eaten alive by the monster of addiction. By age 16, my parents had divorced after 20 years of marriage. Contact with my father was sporadic over the next decade, and of decreasing frequency. At one point I had not seen my father in […]

Published
December 2, 2018

‘Home’ can be delivered to your doorstep every morning

There are all kinds of home. There’s the home you enjoy without thought when you’re a kid, the first apartment you decorate alone, and the house you share later on with those you love. If you’re lucky, you’ll have more than one home at a time – a job that feels just right, and a […]
Published
December 2, 2018

Victoria Chanani: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and the long road to America

My ambition to live in the United States comes from my childhood. Many reasons forced people to change their home. In my case, nothing pushed me to leave home. People often ask me why I chose America and a U.S. citizen as my husband. I simply answer that I fell in love with my husband, […]
Published
December 2, 2018

Janice Anderson, Richmond: Dad and an angel, waiting for me

The Anderson Christmas angel was simple. She was not a store-bought porcelain doll. Her simple starched lace dress held the round head made of wood. Her hair, eyes and slight smile were painted on. Her halo and arms were shiny gold pipe cleaners. Her wings were of gold tin foil. The trumpet she played joyously […]
Published
December 2, 2018

Anna Cecelia Colpitts, Rome: A cat’s rebellion threatens homecoming

We’d flown since early morning from Seattle’s SeaTac Airport, via Detroit, then Boston and finally home to Portland. It’s late. I’m tired and hungry. You don’t get anything to eat on the later flights. Not even a peanut. Home after Christmas. Our headlights cascade down a long, winding, driveway piled three feet deep with snow. […]
Published
December 2, 2018

Anne Holliday-Abbott, Portland: On the last lap, and heading home

There’s no denying I’m on my last lap and heading home. I’m healthy and happy, but I know I’m edging closer. I enjoy telling family stories. Mistakenly and often I think my children and grandchildren will find it interesting to hear them. My stories are met with eye rolls. Clearly I am a dinosaur. Thus, […]