Thankfully, when we woke up to reports of horrific tragedy in Orlando, the Maine Sunday Telegram had gone to press. Kelly Bouchard’s tribute profiles of Maine’s diverse and optimistic new high school graduates graced the front section, a young man from North Yarmouth pictured smiling above the fold. Idyllic photos of promgoers, beautiful expressions of hope, friendship and open-mindedness warmed readers’ Sunday morning.

Even the disturbing opinions on rape and social entitlement received the space deserved for consideration of a difficult issue before Islamic State hysteria and gun-right posturing fills all media sucking up all political discourse.

I don’t know how the Mormon Tabernacle anecdote fits as a Maine Observation and I wonder if anyone else noticed the proximity of the headline about the PUC staff report refuting Gov. LePage’s opinion on gas pipeline subsidy and the classified ad for a PUC staff analyst on the next page.

All in all, I was thankful for this morning paper on a tragically dark Sunday morning.

Robert Libby

Chebeague Island