On June 4, 1985, grit or persistence came to my rescue. My small motorized 14-foot boat was anchored at Falmouth Town Landing. My plan was to take a ride into Portland Harbor and putter around. The local harbormaster was a retired Coast Guardsman; for some reason, when I arrived, he described how bodies looked when […]
Meetinghouse
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Kay Wheeler, Raymond: Rescuing a skunk, avoiding the funk
“Come on, you can do this.” How often have do we say those words to our children? Where does bravery come from? Where do we get “grit”? For boys, we think sports make them stronger, with more grit. For girls, I’m not sure at this point. Is bravery physical? Is grit the power to punch […]
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Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Gregory Greenleaf, Harpswell: When the going gets tough
This is a story where I put myself in a good light and show my true grit in a tough situation. It is Monday, Dec. 12, 1994, 8:59 p.m., and Allison, my girlfriend-future wife, and I are in my apartment in New York City preparing to watch Dan Marino and my Miami Dolphins play against […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Gail Caiazzo, Saco: Who’s minding the store?
New Year’s Eve 1953 was a fun night for my sister Patty and me. Our family lived in an apartment over “John’s Foodland,” the general store my parents owned in Buckfield. Patty had overheard Mom and Dad making plans to go out to celebrate the New Year after all eight of their children were expected […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Peter Voss, Falmouth: The one time I got away with it
Reading ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ in English class inspired us to play hooky in eighth grade.
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Gregory Greenleaf, Harpswell: Murphy was an optimist
Some laws are meant to be broken. Some laws are meant to break us. Take Stapp’s Ironical Paradox and Murphy’s Law, for example. Murphy’s Law sagely observes that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. If you haven’t heard of Stapp’s Ironical Paradox, recognize it possesses even greater insight into the human condition: “The universal […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Lee Van Dyke, Portland: Early mayhem still has loud echoes
I had pals who inspired mischief, and I wanted to get away with the same or better than they did. I know this particular mischief wasn’t really clever, and it didn’t turn destructive, or I’d never ’fess up to it in a family newspaper. Much of the time it started in garages when our parents […]
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Tony Scarpelli, Portland: Can’t fool the lieutenant
After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in 1961, I went to the Army Signal School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, which was close to Eatontown. We all had to do KP (kitchen police – we set up for and cleaned up after meals), which I hated. So I joined the Drum and Bugle […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Brenda E. Smith, Belfast: Come on in, the water’s fine
We rarely went to the beach when I was a child, but one day Mom promised my 4-year-old brother, and 5-year-old me, that if the following day was “beach weather,” we’d pack a picnic lunch and spend the day frolicking in the cool waves and building sand castles. The next morning we woke to a […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Buddy Doyle, Gardiner: The guy who won’t stay down
I believe I’ve slept on this topic more than any other that I can recall. “Quitting” or “to quit” conjures up conflicting reactions. To abruptly quit one’s job, or simply give up prematurely on a worthy endeavor, are negatives. To quit a harmful habit, on the other hand, or an abusive, dangerous relationship – those […]