Father’s Day is a tricky holiday, isn’t it? I mean, Mother’s Day has a sort of set “script” to it, but Father’s Day is a little less defined, especially if your dad is not the backyard-grill type of dad. Mine is not. I don’t know that the man ever touched a grill in his life. […]

Passage of the recent bill banning conversion therapy in our state signifies much more than the words written in the act itself. It’s the Maine state government standing in solidarity that they believe in minority rights. Now, minors are protected from the systemic forced change of certain aspects of their identity. Now, a widely condemned […]

As my children make their way through Falmouth schools, I’ve gained a steadily increasing appreciation for our community and, in particular, the people whose roles are so deeply woven into its fabric that they risk being overlooked. So, I would like to take this opportunity to honor one such person on the occasion of his […]

Our legislators have been up to some shenanigans. Do they or anyone who is paying attention see the hypocrisy? They have passed a bill to make getting abortions easier. We taxpayers are going to have to fund abortions for those on MaineCare. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Also passed was a bill allowing others besides […]

In his latest rant, Al Diamon calls U.S. Sen. Susan Collins a liar. Over the course of his nearly 600-word column, however, he fails to identify a single untruth. Ironically, Diamon’s entire column is based on a lie. His premise is that there is no doubt Justice Kavanaugh will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, […]

John Balentine’s “Nothing Dignified About Assisted Suicide” was short sighted: “Suffering through pain can be dignified. Giving up is not dignified.” I can only assume, perhaps incorrectly, that he has never spent time with a person with Alzheimer’s or been exposed to a family this disease runs in. If he hasn’t already, he should make […]

Sometimes, it’s difficult to tell what a politician is really saying. Because, y’know, they lie a lot. It’s not that our elected officials tell blatant untruths. They aren’t that dumb. They know that if they say they’ll vote yes on a bill and they vote no, you’re gonna remember. So, all the successful ones (defined […]

Both houses of the Maine Legislature last week narrowly passed a bill that would allow terminally ill patients the right to end their lives. Supporters of LD 1313 (that’s an unlucky number, isn’t it?) call it the “Death with Dignity” bill. It faces additional votes in the Legislature and then goes to Gov. Janet Mills’ […]

He walks into the exam room for my yearly physical, looks at my chart and smiles. “It says here you’re 70. Can’t be.” He announces pulmonary function test results. “You have the lungs of a 50-year-old.” With these two thumbs up from my doctor, I figure, “Good news this year.” Then, after I report pain […]