Sometime in my long-ago youth I once received a small box of 20 bookplates. They were about the size of a 4 by 5 photo, and each one depicted the same colorful illustration of the Earth divided into two hemispheres. Below the drawing were the words “This book belongs to” and enough space for me […]
Meetinghouse
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Lisanne James, Kennebunkport: What can and can’t be shared – a lesson
Your borrowed ingredients (sugar, flour, eggs) came back to me as a yummy cake. Thanks! But I won’t lend you my wheelbarrow again! You borrowed it last month and returned it just now, wet and muddy. No cake for you! You know that woman at work who always walks down the hall with a stride […]
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Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Brenda E. Smith, Belfast: The blessing of bonus time
All of us come into this world with a virtual time bank account allotted to our lives. The quantity of time in each of our accounts varies, but each day we spend 24 hours of the balance we have left. None of us knows exactly the balance of time that remains in our bank. Only […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Anne Holliday Abbott, Portland: A young reporter finds her voice
The first election night I covered as a young reporter started early and ended the next day, when I drove across the open desert of Arizona to reach my radio station. Pink colored the early morning sky. I was terribly inexperienced. I don’t know why my station manager thought I could handle this alone, even […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Brenda E. Smith, Belfast: After midnight is prime time for my muse
Since retiring a few years ago, I have found that keeping to a schedule isn’t so important anymore. I still make it a point to show up at the appointed time for doctors’ appointments, classes and meals in the dining room. But now I have total freedom to decide when to do household chores, socialize […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Buddy Doyle, Gardiner: Enlightenment doesn’t require sunlight
Bobby Lewis (up all night in 1961) once crooned: “I couldn’t sleep at all last night, just a’ thinkin’ of you. Aw, baby things weren’t right. So I was – tossin’ and turnin’, turnin’ and tossin’ – tossin’ and turnin’ all night!” Soon thereafter, he kicked the blankets on the floor and heard the milkman […]
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Gregory Greenleaf, Harpswell: I’m leading the ‘up all day’ resistance
My research shows the conspiracy began in 1983 and continues to this day. The evidence is very reliable as much of it was amassed through the tried and true method of “searching the web.” What I uncovered is that for the last 30 years, the pop music industry has led a clandestine campaign to make […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Kay Wheeler, Raymond: Still standing after Hurricane Hugo
My husband, Bud, and I had been living aboard our 42-foot Grand Banks on the Isle of Palms Marina when the announcement came over the radio: “Hurricane Hugo is headed for Charleston. Those who reside in vulnerable places should evacuate.” Around 3 p.m., Bud phoned me from work and told me to gather our important […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Kym Dakin, Yarmouth: Occupy Monopoly
I’m not a very a competitive person. I lose patience and interest with games that go on and on and on … except for maybe Scrabble, but that’s not this story. This story is back in the ’80s in a cramped New York City apartment with three grumpy guys and me, who happened to be […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Margie Thumm, Raymond: Nature’s reward for working the graveyard shift
I consider myself a night owl, not a lark or a morning person. Being up late and staying up all night are two very different things in my way of thinking and feeling. I have good energy until about 1 or 2 in the morning, but being up the whole night has not set well […]