Oh, the feeling we had in May 2005, when we got off the train in Les Eyzies, France! After six months of reading, planning, packing and re-packing, we took an overnight flight to Toulouse, France, and found our way to the shop where we had arranged to leave our bike cases. On the sidewalk out […]
Meetinghouse
Lee Van Dyke, Portland: The road to freedom
My red 26-inch “coaster” bike was an out-of-the-blue total surprise. I was expecting the usual shirts and socks for my 12-year-old Christmas, but a strange request was made on Christmas morning. “Follow the string at the back of the Christmas tree to see where it goes.” Huh? I hadn’t seen the string, and it went around […]
Kay Wheeler, Raymond: Room enough for everybody
When I was 10 years old, my parents decided to sell our little farm and move into the city. They sold the chickens and sold my donkeys. I wasn’t too upset because they replaced my wonderful pets with a bicycle. The donkeys went to a good new home with pasture and children. The bicycle was […]
Tony Scarpelli, Portland: A city kid’s adventures on two wheels
My grandfather had a furniture repair store on Garibaldi Place in Chicago. We lived behind it. I had a tricycle that had a chain drive. I used to put a rope on the handlebars and imagined I was riding a horse. A bigger kid on the block wanted to ride my bike and broke one […]
Vicki Sullivan, Portland: ‘Was that me?’ Miniskirts, platforms and other fashions of my youth
Thinking back to some of the clothes and hairstyles I wore in the ’60s and early ’70s, I cringe. “Did I really wear that?” is what I ask myself. My most daring look was my black fake leather coat with matching John Lennon cap, in honor of the Beatles, that I wore to South Portland […]
Lee Van Dyke, Portland: When what you wear says something you don’t mean
My style in 1961 was made up of the twist, the swim, the mashed potato and Chubby Checker. Along with Chubby, my style was made from a whole parade of music and images. Music that included Sinatra, Dean Martin and Johnny Horton, among the many found on my AM radio and records. Time is supple and […]
Anne Vaillancourt, North Berwick: True beauty comes from within, connects with all
I knew a woman a long time ago who had a way of being that I wish were in style today, but it wasn’t her clothes, the way she walked or her hairstyle. She was a beauty because she innately lived in a place of acceptance and love. She valued all people and never spoke […]
Linda S. Lucas, Kennebunk: Through the eyes of a Maine country inn
I have been a country inn for only the last few years of my long life. A whiff of controversy surrounds the actual time of my birth. Some folks say I was born in 1803, judging from the old timbers in my basement. What they do not realize is that old timbers were often reused […]
Brenda E. Smith, Belfast: A traveler maps the world’s fashions
Style knows no boundaries. As one who traveled to and lived in many parts of the world, I can attest to this truism. When speaking of the style of women’s clothing, I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum: from those who wear no clothes to others who fully cover themselves. In Pakistan, many women dress […]
Noreen Skoolicas, Portland: School for scandal
In high school, I struggled every day to maintain my cool and stylish persona while adhering to my school’s very strict dress code. Girls had to wear dresses or skirts covering the knee, and pants were not allowed. One day the dean of girls was notified by the dean of boys that she should call […]