I am never certain when the night will begin, when slumber will let go of my brain and again the tick-tick-tick of conscious thought will begin to ramp up its engine. I am an insomniac. I thought it was a curse until I chose to embrace it; now the night is my most precious time […]
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Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Anna Berke, Portland: A recipe for a raucous event
In 2012, I emailed this SOS: Hi Mom, Can you send me your recipe for beef stew. Mark’s invited friends over for dinner on Saturday and I need your help! My mom responded: Attached. If you can’t read it, send me a fax number and I’ll fax it. Always make the day before – tastes better the […]
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Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Lee Van Dyke, Portland: The first seven seconds
Visual subtlety is lost on us these days, as we greet and see strangers while wearing masks. I’ve commented while in grocery stores to people ahead of me, “Maybe you can’t tell that I’m kidding.” I’ve also had those same strangers tell me, “I can see that you are smiling seeing just your eyes.” What […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Jan Wejchert, Waldoboro: Unlikely protector kept me on the beam
A man once stopped to talk with me. I had become frozen with fear, five stories up, trembling with the weight of the load of lumber I had hoisted on my right shoulder, balanced on an 8-inch I-beam on which I found myself, unable to move forward and becoming overwhelmed by the weight of the […]
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Sally Mackenzie, Brunswick: The man who came to dinner
It felt like going back in time to visit my friend in Bowdoinham from my downtown Freeport home. Freeport, with its shops and shoppers, was a bustling metropolis compared to drowsy Bowdoinham. My teaching partner in American studies at Freeport High School had invited me to dinner on a Friday night in early May. I […]
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Ann Pike, Wilton: Spring finally makes its appearance
It took months for spring to finally make a good impression on me. Sixty-four days after the vernal equinox, while the Earth journeys toward summer solstice, I journey to the nearby Foothills Land Conservancy. I drove its perimeter of fields. And, as the sun beams its full self onto this patch of pasture slathered with […]
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Dinah Crader Johnson, Gorham: Our first impressions can come back again
How many times in my life have I been wrong about a first impression? Too many times to count. First impressions are often visual. I might see something or someone and immediately form an opinion. But who am I to judge anyone or anything? Now I am amused when I discover that my first impression […]
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Carole Cochran, Boothbay Harbor: ‘One enchanted evening’ that lasts a lifetime
“You can go, but there has to be a chaperone.” Words spoken by my mother, when I asked to go to the beach with my high school sorority sisters. Going into my senior year, I was naive and sheltered, but ready for adventure. And boy, did I get it. We girls were invited to a […]
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Al Martini, Portland: You can be both broke and happy
My name’s Al, but I like being called Marty. I hope that you are doing well. “Broke” was a subject I had to learn. I’m in my 60’s, but I’ve survived being “broke as a joke” my entire life. I’ve lived honestly below poverty level just fine. My wants are few. All my possessions are […]
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Connie Pascoe, Scarborough: A ‘broken’ gift for my teacher: Second time is a charm
Growing up, I loved to spend time on my aunt and uncle’s farm in upstate New York. I especially liked my time there in the summer. Picking berries, tending the garden, riding the hay wagon, shelling peas; all outdoor activities. One summer, when I was 6 or 7 years old, my aunt suggested I have […]