Just as it’s a waste of time for Republicans to refight the results of the 2020 election, it certainly does no good for anti-MAGAs to refight what happened in the previous race. Nevertheless, I wince on occasion when I contemplate how our country would’ve been far better served if the popular vote winner in 2016 […]

During the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, and the early decades of the 20th century, U.S. captains of industry such as William Randolph Hearst and Jay Gould used their massive wealth to dominate facets of the economy, including the news media. They were, in many ways, prototype oligarchs – by the dictionary definition, […]

What’s the link between a Maine Civil War general and the surprising survival of Ukraine in its war with Russia? In 1864, the Union Army of the Tennessee, previously led by Generals U.S. Grant and W.T. Sherman, needed a new leader. Sherman, who had become commander of the entire Union Army in the West, controversially […]

In mid-February, my friend Steve Farrand suggested I write a piece about his friend Liz Loewald who, at age 98, had just published her memoir, “The Tree Grows Standing Still.” Steve had served as Liz’s Russian tutor when she was in her 80s. Liz sounded like a most interesting woman, so I agreed. I read […]

“Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.” Those are the clever words of British humorist Terry Pratchett, who couldn’t have explained the aging process more succinctly. I know his words are true because I turned 60 this week. It’s a heck of a thing to have burned through six decades already. […]

Spring is my favorite season – full of hope, new beginnings, and the start of the growing season in Maine! Farmers and gardeners are ramping up for the coming growing season by planning gardens, planting seeds, and working to prepare for the busy months ahead. What if during your planning, you decided to set aside […]