Super Bowl Sunday! Yes, once again in keeping with our finest traditions, this past Sunday night our nation gathered around the television to watch football, judge commercials and eat nachos. Or at least that’s how we played it at our house. Obviously, as with every little thing in all our lives this year, it was […]
Forecaster Opinion
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Ballast allows us to take bops, pop back up
Two images from Inauguration Day stay with me: 1. Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, idle in the dark after a busy Inauguration Day. They listen. They look. They attend. They stand quiet, seeing the lined-with-lights reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial. They embody stillness in the midst of political and cultural change. 2. […]
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Posted inForecaster Opinion
Superintendent’s Notebook: On diversity, Brunswick can lead the way
Every February since 1976, American presidents have designated February as Black History Month in recognition of the achievements of African Americans and to celebrate their role in our country’s history. I cannot think of a time when this has been more poignant. I believe we are at a crossroads in our country – we can […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Over Easy: Practice meditation for the key to good government
Tai chi chuan is a Chinese system of slow meditative physical exercise designed for relaxation, balance and fighting the common cold. It is especially effective in creating harmonious bipartisanship and balance among the state or national legislators, who are losers anyway. By practicing diligently the following sequence of movements, called the Sequence of Movements, practitioners […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Through My Lens: Maine schools need diverse teachers
Teachers across Maine are still predominantly white, even though the number of students from minority and immigrant backgrounds has increased in the last two decades. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 96.5% of students across the nation were white in 2000. In 2017, 89.3% were white and 3.6% were Black. Maine students are […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: People of color owed debt of gratitude
Welcome February, the month we set aside to celebrate, among other things, Black history. This is the month that posters go up with quotes from Martin Luther King Jr., units are taught about Frederick Douglass and conversations are had about the remarkable Harriet Tubman. With good cause. Legal slavery is, historically speaking, still recent. What’s […]
Posted inCoastal Journal, Forecaster Opinion, The Forecaster
Over Easy: An alternative reality
The following is fiction, but it’s short. Notes From the Underground During the Time of the Coronavirus June 20 – Ah, I can smell spring. Three weeks I have been in lockdown quarantine. Here in the suburbs it is quiet, but in the poor neighborhoods not so good, from what I can tell from the […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: At our very best, we are a nation of poets
How about that Amanda Gorman, yeah? I just … I just … Well, OK, that right there is why I really hate trying to write about poetry. Because while this amazing young poet delivered her work, “The Hill We Climb” with grace, poise and conviction – from the steps of the Capitol and in front […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: What’s a conservative to do?
With Democrats and their liberal/progressive/socialist ideological adherents installed in high political offices in Maine and the nation, conservative Republicans might be feeling a little low as we find ourselves in the opening days of a Biden administration that promises to change America as we’ve known it. Have no fear; all hope is not lost for […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Make space for the next generation
What do they say? The days are long and the years are short. One of my pals has a 5-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son. The girl doesn’t sleep, ever. The boy fights and tantrums, always. Their mom feels frazzled, exhausted, sometimes overly involved, other times checked out. I tell her, “I remember.” I remember […]