My mother was a high school student in Exeter, New Hampshire during the late 1920s. When a boy asked her out for a date, she would sometimes say, “No thank you. I’d rather stay home and read Dickens.” While that sassy line did little to impress potential suitors, it did speak to her love of […]

I’m old but I have young whitewater friends. Some are very young. I’ve been paddling with the Galway family for over a decade. Ryan and Shweta are about the same age as my sons. Consequently, their paddling children, Mason and Krea, are young enough to be my grandchildren. One of the many benefits of Penobscot […]

Here’s one COVID-19 silver lining: The drive-in theater, a uniquely American creation, is doing booming business again. I’ve long been nostalgic for this wonderful piece of Americana. When I was growing up in the ’70s, my mother and father often packed my five sisters and I into our massive station wagon to see outdoor movies. […]

My heroes, behind their masks, are Missy, Jean, Amanda, Sharon, Anna, Tonya and Teresa. Although we’ve been getting together every few weeks for many years now, I still know most of them only by their first names. (Though I have learned a little about Amanda’s kids and Tonya’s competitive swimming career.) It’s last names with […]

Public outreach during this time is a complicated process. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago in reference to the Climate Council’s work this spring. Recently, participating in the Brunswick Marine Resource Committee’s (BMRC) first Zoom meeting offered me a window into this new frontier of decision-making. Zoom meetings are not without their […]

Every week since the legislature adjourned, I’ve been privileged to sit — via Zoom — amongst a group of people committed to making sure our communities have enough to eat. Whether it’s growing food, gleaning, serving meals, providing boxes and bags of food and fresh produce, delivering breakfasts and lunches to school children, or simply […]

We can do better in fighting COVID-19 Eight days ago, my cousin Paula died of COVID-19. When I share this horrible news with a friend, her first reaction is shock followed by sympathy. Immediately after, I intuit the fear that is just beneath the surface and feel a need to rush in and try to […]

When I have a letter to mail I like to use the drive up mailbox at the post office in downtown Camden. In driving down to mail a letter this evening I observed just how empty downtown Camden is of people and cars. Empty parking spots are everywhere and the sidewalks had no folks looking […]

We’ve known for a long time that former President Barack Obama lives rent-free inside Donald Trump’s brain. From trying to tear down the Affordable Care Act to his bizarre and baseless accusation that the prior administration didn’t leave him prepared for the current COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no problem too small that President “I Don’t Take […]