tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16186666499610484712024-03-15T21:11:28.618-04:00The Windham Eagle EditorialThe Windham Eagle Officehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07713971722368846385noreply@blogger.comBlogger1250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-42235423543676756852024-03-15T02:14:00.006-04:002024-03-15T02:14:00.130-04:00Tim Nangle: Working together for a better Maine<i>By State Senator Tim Nangle </i><br /><br />Every day I commute to Augusta, I'm reminded of the incredible power working together has on our state. Maine is our home, a place where we all share dreams of a better future for ourselves and our kids. In my time at the State House, I've seen how much we can achieve when we work hard, regardless of our differences. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN971fIu8YpkGoqcIO6N5DtMAJ4C8PvPtBhqGbVUHooJ12TLjyAa4jDVUzWe_Ls5nQOlT_mBr5YI2aagdZYzogaYSeRrh3JsenZ8Y1jpUcVyzEOJmYClX-ouqAVhTAPP_LHkqFAKzSUlpG2q474F2CrGBfJJNyZULnE120CdmlvEuiQ-4bvGdGqPyRU9E/s1346/Tim%20Nangle.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN971fIu8YpkGoqcIO6N5DtMAJ4C8PvPtBhqGbVUHooJ12TLjyAa4jDVUzWe_Ls5nQOlT_mBr5YI2aagdZYzogaYSeRrh3JsenZ8Y1jpUcVyzEOJmYClX-ouqAVhTAPP_LHkqFAKzSUlpG2q474F2CrGBfJJNyZULnE120CdmlvEuiQ-4bvGdGqPyRU9E/w161-h200/Tim%20Nangle.jpg" width="161" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State Senator Tim Nangle</td></tr></tbody></table>This past year, we've made some significant steps toward this future. We've tackled issues that matter to all of us, like making sure as many Mainers as possible have a safe place to live, providing critical support to victims of violence, and keeping our precious waters clean and safe. Today, I want to talk about a few of these efforts and show how bipartisan collaboration is not only possible, but how we can make a meaningful impact for Mainers. <br /><br />Many of us know how hard it is for folks to find a safe, affordable place to live. That's why I was thrilled to see so many key housing initiatives in the bipartisan budget signed into law last summer. The budget expanded the Housing First Program, providing shelter and comprehensive support services for our chronically unhoused neighbors. Additionally, the budget set aside money for affordable housing programs, including the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program and the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program. We also invested more funds into the Low-Income Assistance Program, helping families cover the cost of heating and other utilities. <br /><br />These initiatives will help people without homes get the support they need while simultaneously making more affordable houses available. It's a big win for all Mainers struggling to find safe and affordable homes. <br /><br />In a crucial step to support survivors of violence, LD 2084, “An Act to Provide Funding for Essential Services for Victims of Crimes,” received unanimous, bipartisan votes in the Judiciary Committee, as well as both the Senate and House chambers. This is a critical bill that will help to fill the gap left by dwindling federal VOCA funds. VOCA, or the Victims of Crime Act, has historically been a lifeline that offers essential services to those affected by violence. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://realestate2000.managebuilding.com/Resident/public/home" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="617" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/fieldingscommons.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />Unfortunately, those funds from the federal government have decreased over the past few years. As a result, Maine is facing a 60 percent reduction in federal funds. By using state resources to fill this gap, LD 2084 will ensure that Maine's support network – ranging from crisis response to long-term aid for survivors – remains robust. <br /><br />As you may know, I’ve been working on a bill aimed at giving towns better tools to deal with shoreland zoning violations. This was prompted by the challenges in the town of Raymond but will be helpful for all Maine towns. I’m pleased to share that LD 2101, “An Act to Strengthen Shoreland Zoning Enforcement,” received a strong, bipartisan vote from the Committee on State and Local Government and is now heading to the Senate floor for a vote. This step shows our collective effort to protect Maine's shorelands and support towns in enforcing the rules. <br /><br />If you follow national news, you probably feel frustrated because it seems like partisan arguing gets in the way of any real progress. I hear you. I want you to know that in Maine, hundreds of bills every year pass the Legislature with unanimous, bipartisan support. We work together all the time to accomplish things you sent us here to do. <br /><br />It doesn't matter if we're Democrats or Republicans; what matters is our shared love for Maine and our commitment to making it even better. The issues I wrote about here are only a few examples of what we can achieve when we put our minds together for the common good. <br /><br />For young Mainers interested in experiencing the legislative process up close, the Maine Senate’s Honorary Page Program is a fantastic opportunity to do just that. Pages help distribute amendments and deliver messages between Senators in the Senate Chamber. To learn more or apply, reach out to the Senate Secretary’s Office at 207-287-1540 or email <a href="mailto:Alex.Ferguson@legislature.maine.gov">Alex.Ferguson@legislature.maine.gov</a>. <br /><br />I'm always here to listen to you and work on your behalf. Your thoughts, concerns, and dreams for our state guide everything I do. Let's keep the conversation going. Reach out to me anytime at <a href="mailto:Timothy.Nangle@legislature.maine.gov">Timothy.Nangle@legislature.maine.gov</a> or call 207-287-1515. For the latest updates, follow me on Facebook at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SenatorTimNangle">facebook.com/SenatorTimNangle</a>, and sign up for my e-newsletter at <a href="https://www.mainesenate.org/">mainesenate.org</a>. <br /><br />Together, we're building a brighter future for Maine, one step at a time. Thank you for your trust, support, and partnership. Let's keep moving forward together. <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-10950677487247104442024-03-15T02:08:00.015-04:002024-03-15T02:08:00.131-04:00Insight: In search of extraterrestrials<i>By Ed Pierce<br />Managing Editor </i><br /><br />If you missed this bit of news last week, a Pentagon study says there is no credible evidence that exists verifying U.S. authorities covered up extraterrestrial life in the form of unidentified flying objects. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0eVkyD9xAFQWhoeD2M2cCjAgx0IAf74e-l-HWK08MSF9Qn904oasbLonc_64GKPHjEW8Zyi3Gjq3u0etjliss5w4pau0u2QKMn-Sb7dIcljinzSQlmiGq3Rm49V6oHKmkodMq7GRHoVzZD_111IQ_E-rk23TGpvdLIW9GVkVLZVSvn7AVlQZ-IOOQPt4/s5001/Aliens.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3750" data-original-width="5001" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0eVkyD9xAFQWhoeD2M2cCjAgx0IAf74e-l-HWK08MSF9Qn904oasbLonc_64GKPHjEW8Zyi3Gjq3u0etjliss5w4pau0u2QKMn-Sb7dIcljinzSQlmiGq3Rm49V6oHKmkodMq7GRHoVzZD_111IQ_E-rk23TGpvdLIW9GVkVLZVSvn7AVlQZ-IOOQPt4/s320/Aliens.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This follows decades of persistent rumors that an Unidentified Flying Object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 and an alien spacecraft and deceased occupants from another world were quickly removed and covered up by members of the U.S. military there. A 63-page report offered simple explanations for unexplained UFO sightings and what it says are up to 40 percent of Americans who believe the U.S. has been visited by spaceships containing alien beings. <br /><br />The report also refutes claims that the U.S. government and private companies have been able to access alien spacecraft and use reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology for top-secret projects. <br /><br />As a teenager, I spent a lot of time reading science fiction stories and comic books about visitors from outer space and this Pentagon report got me to thinking about what my life and our culture would have been like without the mention of aliens from other worlds. <br /><br />Since I grew up watching television, one of my favorite shows as a small child was “The Adventures of Superman” starring George Reeves. Superman himself was an alien visitor to Earth, sent here by his parents as a baby to escape the destruction of the planet Krypton when it exploded. I later had a subscription to the “Adventure” comic book featuring the Legion of Super Heroes who were a group of superpowered alien beings. <br /><br />Many episodes of sci-fi programs airing in the early 1960s such as “The Twilight Zone” or “The Outer Limits” involved scary extraterrestrial visitors in one way or another. And if I wanted a good laugh, there was “Uncle Martin” the Martian with funny antennae as played by Ray Walston on the comedy “My Favorite Martian.” <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://jonathanpriest.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="800" height="277" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/farmersinsurance.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />When “Lost in Space” and “Star Trek” debuted in the mid-1960s, alien characters on television increased significantly. For me, the character of Mr. Spock of “Star Trek” stood out, as Leonard Nimoy portrayed a half-human logical being from the planet Vulcan with pointed ears and green blood. Spock’s popularity opened the door for acceptance of alien characters in further television programs and in movies going forward. <br /><br />In the 1970s, alien characters were everywhere in entertainment. <br /><br />Films such as “Star Wars” in 1977 introduced the world to strange creatures such as Jabba the Hutt, the Wookie Chewbacca, and Yoda, a small and wise centuries-old green Jedi. On television, viewers tuned in to Robin Williams as the alien Mork from the planet Ork on the comedy “Mork and Mindy.” <br /><br />By the 1980s, it was hard to miss the flood of alien characters permeating our world. There was the powerful alien who devoured humans in the movie “Predator,” or a lost extraterrestrial who wanted to phone home in director Steven Spielburg’s “E.T the Extra-Terrestrial.” In the movie “Cocoon,” the residents of a Florida nursing home discover an alien fountain of youth in a swimming pool. In “Starman” actor Jeff Bridges played an alien creature who inhabits the body of a dead man from Wisconsin while trying to reconnect with his spaceship. TV's "Alf," short for Alien Life Form, was about an alien creature living with an American family. <br /><br />On television in the 1990s, hit shows such as “3rd Rock from the Sun,” or “The X-Files” or “Babylon 5” continued to focus on aliens while defeating alien invaders in popular films such as “Independence Day” and “Men in Black” fascinated moviegoers. <br /><br />And if you’re thinking that the Baby Boomer generation is the only one to be preoccupied by the thought of aliens visiting our world, may I remind you of a story my father told me about when he was in high school in the 1930s and was listening to the radio one evening and a program was broadcast that severely panicked Americans because of its topic. <br /><br />It was a CBS radio adaptation of an H.G. Wells’ science fiction novel by a troupe of actors led by Orson Welles called “The War of the Worlds” about an invasion of Earth by hostile Martians. Some listeners to that broadcast were convinced that an extraterrestrial crisis was unfolding in America as alien spacecraft were landing in New Jersey that night before Halloween in 1938. My father said that broadcast felt so real, he didn’t know if he there would be school classes the very next morning. <br /><br />Now as an adult, I must confess that I am not among the 40 percent who believe that alien spacecraft have visited our planet and I find it interesting that funding was authorized by The Pentagon to determine if the government has any sort of evidence or testimony of aliens or extraterrestrial spacecraft hidden away in storage. <br /><br />That doesn’t mean that I do not wonder if somewhere out in the universe, there is an alien civilization which is like our own. I believe that our basic human desire is to think we are not alone in life, and it has led to the ongoing popularity of television series and films about aliens and space exploration in our culture today. <br /><br />If the idea of alien existence was not part of our culture, I surely would have spent parts of my life differently.Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-62875314749315841212024-03-15T02:02:00.005-04:002024-03-15T02:02:00.131-04:00Andy Young: We're Number One<i>By Andy Young </i><br /><br />Locally there was much joy earlier this month when the Windham High School boys’ basketball team won its first-ever Maine Class AA State Championship. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I2DEUH6lD36kOFO1jj78hDtrSB0_oxYzng5mU6_FK6coVhOuayEC_bGu9CHsAVCF_lTYR8IzKdcMCqOjSOAh0bC5URQAmsZWxCRpZ_VOs3h9aFcEvEB91INJFcWtnNIJS2H9yxwOZBRugQ_ibK9PSQq5-G_0HfhaW3YZO4kYq-p_b5fZZ6h8OzDcH_s/s3431/Big%20Windham%20Town%20Sign.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3076" data-original-width="3431" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I2DEUH6lD36kOFO1jj78hDtrSB0_oxYzng5mU6_FK6coVhOuayEC_bGu9CHsAVCF_lTYR8IzKdcMCqOjSOAh0bC5URQAmsZWxCRpZ_VOs3h9aFcEvEB91INJFcWtnNIJS2H9yxwOZBRugQ_ibK9PSQq5-G_0HfhaW3YZO4kYq-p_b5fZZ6h8OzDcH_s/s320/Big%20Windham%20Town%20Sign.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>But it’s hardly the first time the town of Windham has faced stiff competition and emerged triumphant. In fact, Windham, Maine already owns a distinction which the eight other American municipalities with the same name can only wish they possessed. <br /><br />Some of those envious other places are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to vying for the title of Best Windham. For example, Windham, Iowa is just an unincorporated community that lies 11 miles west of Iowa City, midway between the villages of Frytown and Cosgrove. The United States Census doesn’t collect population data in a way that shows exactly how many people live in unincorporated villages, but in 1925, the last time such numbers were available, Iowa’s Windham had a mere 35 residents. <br /><br />Oddly, two of America’s eight other Windhams lie in the same state. There’s a Windham Township, Pennsylvania in both Bradford County and Wyoming County, but it’s tough to differentiate between the two. Bradford County’s Windham Township is home to 818 souls, whereas the Wyoming County Windham Township’s population is only 737. <br /><br />The only other Windhams in America that lie outside New England are Windham, New York (population 1,708) and Windham, Montana, a 267-acre, 43-person CDP (census-designated place) located in Judith Basin County. But when it comes to elevation, the other Windhams can’t compete with Montana’s, which lies 4,264 feet above sea level. New York’s Windham, with a location 1,893 feet above the ocean, stands a distant second in this category. Windham, Vermont takes home the bronze, at 1,759 feet. This particular portion of the Windham decathlon isn’t a strong event for Maine’s Windham, which at 236 feet above sea level lies just higher than the Windhams of Connecticut (233 feet) and New Hampshire (194 feet). <br /><br />While New York’s Windham, which locals there refer to as “Land in the Sky” and/or “The Gem of the Catskills,” may hold the title of highest-elevated Windham east of the Mississippi, it has a less enviable distinction as well. In 1937 it was home to Camp Highland, a Nazi-sponsored summer camp for German-American boys. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.windhammaine.us/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="800" height="242" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/townofwindham.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />When it comes to population though, Maine’s Windham rules northern New England. The 2020 census says 18,434 people live here, which is 2,617 more than reside in Windham, New Hampshire and 18,015 more than tiny Windham that Vermont contains. But alas, that same census certifies that Windham, Connecticut is home to 24,428, which makes them the top Windham in that category not only in New England, but the entire United States. <br /><br />However, if size really does matter, Windham, Maine is easily number one. The Iowa and Montana Windhams are mere postage stamps, and the Wyoming County Windham Township consists of just 23.2 square miles. The other three New England Windhams aren’t much bigger; Vermont’s consists of just 26.1 square miles, New Hampshire’s has 27.78, and Connecticut’s is 27.9. The Windham Township in Bradford County, Pennsylvania is a slightly more sizable 32.29 square miles, but that’s dwarfed by Windham, New York’s area: 45.34 square miles. <br /><br />However, the largest American Windham by far is Maine’s! At a massive 50.15 square miles, the Pine Tree State’s Windham is nearly 10 percent larger than the runner-up Windham, New York’s. And it would still be bigger even if the judges didn’t count the 3.59 square miles of Windham, Maine’s total area that’s water. <br /><br />Most importantly though, Maine’s Windham owns one other distinction that New York’s only wishes it could claim. <br /><br /><i>Our </i>state’s Windham has never hosted a Nazi-sponsored summer camp. <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-8042136180215119802024-03-08T02:12:00.021-05:002024-03-08T02:12:00.180-05:00Insight: Time Traveling Yet Again<i>By Ed Pierce<br />Managing Edito</i>r <br /><br />The odds are 100 percent that I will not be awake at 2 a.m. Sunday when Daylight Saving Time arrives once more for 2024. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbhodLQe7FnZ7broV_VNHW_pFRWZbae5dBhbmfxjcqfaLx8b-tvhq-sZg2bFxTdhjID1ccs2Y3V7e-EqQjRdU8LSv8LfNFQZTyQTntT4ZcLKTFOqc4qWOu-uHxgGkp7UXwItOv_CA9j2AT0RFBbR06JtlowsxKVmhxr29xduQE1-koTiiCSQv_kxySms/s489/daylight-savings-time.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="489" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbhodLQe7FnZ7broV_VNHW_pFRWZbae5dBhbmfxjcqfaLx8b-tvhq-sZg2bFxTdhjID1ccs2Y3V7e-EqQjRdU8LSv8LfNFQZTyQTntT4ZcLKTFOqc4qWOu-uHxgGkp7UXwItOv_CA9j2AT0RFBbR06JtlowsxKVmhxr29xduQE1-koTiiCSQv_kxySms/s320/daylight-savings-time.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Years ago, I couldn’t wait to lose an hour’s sleep once a year because it meant more time to spend outside after dinner for months. And I didn’t care about gaining an extra hour of time every fall when the clocks returned to normalcy. <br /><br />But now that I’m older, I question why the annual time change always takes place at 2 a.m. Why not at 5 p.m. on a Monday to trim an hour of work for employees or at 6 p.m. on Friday evenings so Major League Baseball games start an hour earlier? <br /><br />From what I’ve observed, Daylight Saving Time was set up this way because at 2 a.m. Sunday, most people are home asleep, and it’s the customary closing time for many bars across America. The thought was that making a time change at 2 a.m. would affect the fewest people. <br /><br />But why make the time change at all? A teacher once told me that Daylight Saving Time was created to give farmers more daylight hours to grow more crops. But that’s not true as farming groups actively lobbied against Daylight Saving Time, saying it gave them one less hour to prepare crops for sale. <br /><br />During an interview I once had with a dairy farmer in Sanbornton, New Hampshire, he told me his cows were temperamental and were creatures of habit. He said his cows liked to be milked every day at sunrise and disrupting that schedule by shifting to Daylight Saving Time resulted in his cows producing less milk until resuming Standard Time in the fall. <br /><br />My mother always said switching to Daylight Saving Time was a good thing as it helps us all hold down energy costs. She said if you’re doing something outside after dinner, you’re not inside your home running up your electric bill. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/558d7d80e4b0f5b7e7309849/t/5b1aa9731ae6cf74a9a58869/1528473971840/Custom_Coach_Application.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/customcoach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Recently though I discovered that’s not the case because as energy bills have risen sharply across the nation those not outside after dinner tend to turn on air conditioners or ceiling fans to the delight of power companies. <br /><br />When I was in the U.S. Air Force, where Daylight Saving Time was implemented always baffled me. Some states where I was stationed switched times while others didn’t. <br /><br />For example, when I was assigned to Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, that state was warm year-round and didn’t want an extra hour of sunshine every day. And during the summer months there by 5 a.m. it was already 100 degrees outside, so by not changing to Daylight Saving Time, the sun was up at 4 a.m. and you could hear some homeowners out there mowing their lawn at that early morning hour. <br /><br />I also spent time in the Air Force in Indianapolis, Indiana which didn’t recognize and adopt Daylight Saving Time until years later, yet other parts of Indiana did. I recall making a phone call from Indianapolis to an office at Grissom Air Force Base in Kokomo, Indiana which was not that far away at 4 p.m. but the office in Kokomo was already closed because it was 5 p.m. there. <br /><br />Lately, some state legislatures have passed measures to make Daylight Saving Time permanent throughout the year or others have passed bills to do away with the time-change practice. I have a hard time keeping up with where every state currently stands. <br /><br />During World War I in 1918, Americans experienced Daylight Saving Time nationwide for the first time, but by 1919, many states abandoned it. At some point during World War II, it returned only to be phased out again by some states and municipalities after the war, producing a kalidescope of time zones for airline schedulers and weary travelers. <br /><br />Congress intervened in 1966 and passed the Uniform Time Act, standardizing Daylight Saving Time to start every year on the last Sunday in April and run through the last Sunday in October across the nation. It was not a complete bill though as some states could remain on Standard Time all year long. <br /><br />Two years ago, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act permanently moving clocks ahead one hour year-round and jettisoning the practice of switching clocks back and forth twice a year. But that measure has never been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and forwarded to the president to be signed into law. <br /><br />As someone who walks their dog after dinner during the summer, I like having it light outside to be able to see. It’s much easier than having my dog leash in one hand and the other carrying a flashlight to guide our way down the sidewalk. <br /><br />Just last week, I read a magazine article suggesting that home break-ins and other property crimes go down during Daylight Saving Time as those crimes typically occur under the cover of darkness. <br /><br />As for me, I really am ambivalent about the return of Daylight Saving Time. I just wish we could set one time and let it go at that. Changing clocks throughout the house and in the car twice a year is not something I relish.Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-11789860274698478102024-03-08T02:04:00.012-05:002024-03-08T02:04:00.168-05:00Staycation for the memory books: Anatomy of a budget friendly day trip <i>By Michelle Cote</i><div><i>The Rookie Mama </i><br /><br />We keep calm and march on through this month sandwiched between school vacations of epic proportions. <br /><br />Perhaps, my friends, that’s why we call it March. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtiheJys4jIyGT6jFBxEQnQjb-VejEEbTQ1Xdx3Ad3aYChTtZeRtqxhmP9wOcd02MSHSFl6IFRXPIpGBx4oH3KIvrrfMDMXs5N86ykUFar-sY0fttI09Aroa77hJTj2nyQNkCMezwPVLeb-TTWHPD8Qb-7mslS4eywpdxgEot8so3j8SMNRcxnOpw1Yo/s3360/Rookie%20Mama.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1666" data-original-width="3360" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtiheJys4jIyGT6jFBxEQnQjb-VejEEbTQ1Xdx3Ad3aYChTtZeRtqxhmP9wOcd02MSHSFl6IFRXPIpGBx4oH3KIvrrfMDMXs5N86ykUFar-sY0fttI09Aroa77hJTj2nyQNkCMezwPVLeb-TTWHPD8Qb-7mslS4eywpdxgEot8so3j8SMNRcxnOpw1Yo/w400-h199/Rookie%20Mama.png" width="400" /></a></div>And forward, we go. <br /><br />Our family is coming off the marathon high of back-to-back day trips we took throughout our children’s February break, and so we pause, take five, and gear back up for April’s go-round of staycation adventures. <br /><br />We have our collectively frugal mindset to credit for a successful tour of outings, which could not have taken place without our being intentionally fiscally mindful. <br /><br />It was a Presidential birthday bash week to remember, and I cannot tell a lie. <br /><br />But despite Washington’s commemorative day, we were the ones celebrating how little we used the currency upon which he is a cover model. <br /><br />Life is expensive, unapologetically so for larger families, rendering us no choice but to work our innovative muscles sometimes. <br /><br />Every family escapade we plan must accommodate six humans – therefore include six prices of admission, food, other incidentals for all the incidents – so we find ways to do this creatively and economically when possible. <br /><br />And those were our precedents as we planned the birthday week of presidents. <br /><br />After all, memories are measured in moments, little joys and wonders and snack breaks and dad jokes knit together into core experiences that transpire just as easily without breaking the bank. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://maineoptometry.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="800" height="202" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/maineoptometry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Our crew of littles range in age from 3 to 12, and so we began by narrowing down what experiences are suitable for all. Sometimes that alone is most challenging. <br /><br />To plan February break’s week of escapades, we headed straight to our favorite magical world of everything – our local public library. <br /><br />I didn’t need the Dewey Decimal system to discover a year ago that our library membership granted us access to opportunities chock-full of free and heavily discounted programming, in addition to unlimited free books, movies, music, armloads which we borrow weekly. <br /><br />Thanks to public libraries, we’ve been to the zoo, botanical gardens, other places at significantly reduced prices where we would have otherwise paid a mint. I’d rather put the cash toward another mint garden bed. <br /><br />This past break, we were able to use library benefits to attend a classic movie screening at our local historic theater, spend a day at the Children’s Museum, and visit a large aquarium – all at reduced or no cost. <br /><br />We spent other adventuring days exploring trails and granite quarries deep in the woods, scooting around solid ice at two separate lakes, discovering animal prints, using long sticks to create large-scale mazes in fresh layers of snow. <br /><br />We perused our collection of gift cards to treat ourselves for takeout. <br /><br />We even took our boys to the mall – a place they’ve never been because my husband and I haven’t even been since we shopped at the Gap and cut through the corner Godiva toward the food court to sample free teriyaki chicken bites. <br /><br />Many things had changed – Some hadn’t. <br /><br />It was a hoot for the kiddos, because it was new and different. <br /><br />We also got our steps in. <br /><br />On our longer stretches of day travel, my husband and I pre-packed a giant thermos of coffee ahead so we could enjoy it on the road home after a full day’s escapade – This has become a time-honored tradition we truly savor, and not only because it’s hazelnut. <br /><br />Core memories. Joys. Wonders. Snacks. Dad jokes. <br /><br />No broken banks. <br /><br />And the options for day tripping on a budget don’t stop there. <br /><br />There’s joy to be found in walking beaches, hiking new trails, studying up on other local programs that may be free or discounted for your whole gang. <br /><br />I can’t underscore enough that there is great value in proactively saving up for an excursion, especially if it’s something you know will have unavoidable associated costs out of your regular spending range. <br /><br />Cost of gas, lodging, passports for longer travels – There are expenditures that can’t be avoided, no matter how exemplary you may be at pre-packing a cooler of snacks or cleverly finding validated parking. <br /><br />Include a designated adventure ‘bucket’ among your checking account funds to which you pitch in monthly for other expenses such as heating oil or car repairs. <br /><br />Contribute what you can throughout the year in the lead-up so expenses for your adventures are preloaded, rather than take the credit card hit afterward. <br /><br />Remember – Big or small, these ventures will be cherished by your family, because they are moments, not things. <br /><br />Time spent with your loved ones as you wander new places together doesn’t need to come at luxury cost. <br /><br />Whether you travel far or near, you’ll forever own the experience. <br /><br />I cannot tell a lie.<</div><div><br /><i>– Michelle Cote lives in southern Maine with her husband and four sons, and enjoys camping, distance running, biking, gardening, road trips to new regions, arts and crafts, soccer, and singing to musical showtunes – often several or more at the same time!</i></div>Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-84853255435141183832024-03-08T02:02:00.007-05:002024-03-08T02:02:00.211-05:00Andy Young: The Omen That Wasn't<i>By Andy Young </i><br /><br />Some people have the uncanny ability to perceive when destiny-changing good fortune is imminent. I know because I’m one of them. That’s why I was thrilled when I got that magical feeling at 16 minutes before 5 a.m. one morning last week. This sort of thing has happened to me before, so I recognized it immediately as a harbinger of something special. But who wouldn’t have that sensation if their day began with an event that has a less than one percent chance of occurring? <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlPTjRp6rkyArFEQXyTWmdY9EDi852XmYnxnpvsqeQuvQ7RHiUXUNFDU8kID4zAjoM_2f8VgpgPeSCrjBvyqUPVdRuEHziomrjEw47jZK_pgMfrNcPfPGgyFEjP7tSDkhLllb9Po4s7brX72bWTLu1KA3_YrP2sessDayqllRqLrbc7u5GtGlpUNlk-I/s1188/Andy%20Young.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="1188" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlPTjRp6rkyArFEQXyTWmdY9EDi852XmYnxnpvsqeQuvQ7RHiUXUNFDU8kID4zAjoM_2f8VgpgPeSCrjBvyqUPVdRuEHziomrjEw47jZK_pgMfrNcPfPGgyFEjP7tSDkhLllb9Po4s7brX72bWTLu1KA3_YrP2sessDayqllRqLrbc7u5GtGlpUNlk-I/s320/Andy%20Young.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When I started my car to begin my commute to work the clock on the dashboard read, “4:44.” <br /><br />There are 720 possible numerical readings on a digital clock, but only six of them (1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55, and 11:11) contain just one of the 10 possible digits, with none of the other nine. That’s how I knew something amazing was in the offing! But what remarkable event was this portentous “coincidence” foreshadowing? A winning lottery ticket? A Pulitzer Prize? The Congressional Medal of Honor, perhaps? I could hardly wait to find out what bit (or with luck, bits) of good fortune fate had planned for me and my family. <br /><br />My drive to school that morning was routine. Then after arriving I did what I customarily do: exercise, prepare for the day’s classes, and chat briefly with the morning custodian. Then at 7:15 I reported promptly to the cafeteria, where until 7:40 my assignment was to make sure no one started a food fight, set a fire, or triggered a revolution. <br /><br />Some 25 minutes later, having successfully staved off unrest, I headed for my classroom, wondering just how the remainder of this soon-to-be-remarkable day would unfold. But the class was fairly typical. Nine high school seniors were there on time, although their ranks had swelled to 16 by the end of the block. That was because, as is almost always the case, seven more subsequently strolled in at their leisure, each bearing a late pass and a large cup of colorful liquid bearing the name of a local purveyor of overpriced caffeinated beverages. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://realestate2000.managebuilding.com/Resident/public/home" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="617" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/fieldingscommons.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />The next class was similar, albeit with fewer late-arriving pupils. And there was nothing remarkable about advisory, the 20-minute break from academic classes that was called “homeroom” back when I was a student (and dinosaurs roamed the earth). Our school’s teachers are encouraged to use this time to meaningfully interact with individual students, which I do every time I can locate one who isn’t being mesmerized by one or more electronic devices. <br /><br />Nothing unusual occurred during lunch, nor during my remaining classes. But even though the day had been pretty typical, I still had the distinct feeling something memorable was lurking just around the corner. There had to be a reason my day had begun with that prophetic triple-digit omen. <br /><br />Immediately after school I attended a meeting, and when it concluded I hustled down to the gym to watch our school’s unified basketball team’s game. Afterward I headed for my car, and my commute home, still eagerly anticipating whatever life-altering surprise was in my immediate future. <br /><br />It turned out there was indeed something out-of-the-ordinary waiting for me. But it wasn’t a big check, a prestigious prize, or a gala reception at the White House. <br /><br />For the second time that day, when I started my car its clock read, “4:44.” I smiled when I saw that. An unusual coincidence, yes, but hardly earth-shattering. <br /><br />I understand that not every omen portends a life-changing event. And I’m okay without a Pulitzer. But a few more students arriving on time for Block 1 would have been nice. <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-71387097950729865882024-03-01T02:12:00.005-05:002024-03-01T02:12:00.130-05:00Insight: The Mane Attraction<i>By Ed Pierce<br />Managing Editor</i><br /><br />I was pleased to learn that in a few months, the U.S. Army will revive a tradition dating back to the 19th century of using horses under the care of the Old Guard unit at Fort Myer, Virginia to lead funeral processions for military service members being buried at Arlington National Cemetery. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-rdHyKgG6Croq1nAQwD-e_-k7LMpj0EH6Jk6Q0TPvsOq7_ml2-jdRd-QTmhzu03sgsWnJ4CRUPKgBcbNKy14pVRSxnSUTGu5LSBTHJOlwaANTR0IFrsec-pPfLFSYE4BgP0E6VeCM69inTnSwNIBPcp8UhbVSIwgRfSDuW2BQkUGV_xtwtqU2tZUxbg/s1227/Black%20Jack.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="1227" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-rdHyKgG6Croq1nAQwD-e_-k7LMpj0EH6Jk6Q0TPvsOq7_ml2-jdRd-QTmhzu03sgsWnJ4CRUPKgBcbNKy14pVRSxnSUTGu5LSBTHJOlwaANTR0IFrsec-pPfLFSYE4BgP0E6VeCM69inTnSwNIBPcp8UhbVSIwgRfSDuW2BQkUGV_xtwtqU2tZUxbg/w400-h308/Black%20Jack.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A plaque at Black Jack's gravesite at Fort Myer, Virginia<br />tells the story of his service as the 'riderless' horse during<br />the funeral procession for U.S. President John F. Kennedy.<br />COURTESY PHOTO </td></tr></tbody></table>The program has been suspended for the past year when several horses died from improper nutrition and other horses were suffering from painful conditions caused by heavy and poorly designed Army saddles and harnesses in use for more than 100 years. Now with rest, a better diet and newer and safer equipment, the Old Guard expects to start using horses again for funerals by the start of summer. <br /><br />When the news about this first broke last spring, it led me to reflect upon the time I spent at Fort Myer in 1980 and a visit I made to the grave of the Old Guard’s most famous horse, a Morgan and Quarterhorse cross gelding named Black Jack, who is buried near the flag pole at Summerall Field there. Black Jack is one of only four U.S. Army horses to receive full military honors upon his death and will forever be remembered as the “riderless” horse during the funeral of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963. <br /><br />Black Jack was born in Oklahoma on Jan. 19, 1947 and was acquired by the U.S. Army and assigned to the Old Guard in November 1953. He was a large horse at 15.1 hands tall and weighed more than 1,200 pounds. He was high spirited and temperamental and was named for his coal black appearance and after legendary Army General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing. From the start of his service at Fort Myer, it was apparent that Black Jack would have trouble fitting in with the other horses on duty there. <br /><br />He balked at being part of a team of Old Guard horses pulling the caissons carrying caskets to gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery. It’s a ceremonial event dating back to the days of horse-drawn Army caissons carrying artillery. Black Jack proved to be a significant challenge for even the most experienced soldiers who wanted to ride him during parades and for other ceremonial events. He repeatedly kicked his stall door in the Old Guard stables at Fort Myer, refused to wear a harness, and would hesitate at commands given to him from anyone other than his assigned handler. <br /><br />But after almost a decade of service at Fort Myer, Black Jack had found his niche as the “riderless” horse trailing behind during Old Guard funeral processions. On some days the Old Guard at Fort Myer would work as many as six different funerals a day and by the time his tenth anniversary of service neared in 1963, Black Jack was a part of more than 1,000 funerals at Arlington. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://egcu.org/Ultimate" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="454" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/evergreenultimate.jpg" width="182" /></a></div><br />The Old Guard is stationed at Fort Myer and happens to be the U.S. Army’s oldest active-duty infantry regiment, first created in 1784. Besides military funeral services, it provides sentinels for the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in Arlington National Cemetery, color guards for events across Washington, D.C., escorting presidential motorcades and handling the caskets of fallen military members who died overseas and were flown home to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. <br /><br />When President Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, his widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, requested a public funeral for him through the streets of Washington to his gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery. During the first-ever televised funeral of a U.S. president, Black Jack appeared behind the caisson carrying Kennedy’s casket and the horse was decked out in full military dress tack with an empty saddle and black boots turned backwards in the stirrups. <br /><br />His Old Guard handler led Black Jack through the nine miles of the procession as the horse pranced at times and was difficult to control during the two-hour event. Millions watched and came to admire Black Jack for his unwavering and unrelenting spirit. <br /><br />Black Jack became an instant celebrity and later served as the “riderless” horse in the funerals of U.S. Presidents Herbert Hoover and Lyndon Johnson and U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur. Thousands of children would write Black Jack letters and a visit to his stables at Fort Myer became a tourist destination for visitors to Washington. <br /><br />Arthritis and kidney issues forced Black Jack’s retirement in 1973 and on Feb. 6, 1976, he died and was buried at Fort Myer. The beloved horse was given a dignified sendoff worthy of national figures including a ceremonial 21-gun salute. <br /><br />While assigned to The Pentagon in Washington in 1980, my barracks were at Fort Myer and one day I took a walk through the grounds and met some Old Guard members who were outside grooming horses. They offered me a quick tour of the stables and then an Old Guard platoon leader guided me to the nearby grave of Black Jack and told me his own story of how he helped care for the horse when he became a member of the Old Guard. <br /><br />Now some 44 years later, Old Guard horses will soon be leading funeral processions into Arlington National Cemetery once again. I believe Black Jack would certainly approve.Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-11471032488446427872024-03-01T02:02:00.004-05:002024-03-01T02:02:00.140-05:00Andy Young: The Best Conversation Partner<i>By Andy Young </i><br /><br />There’s a simple act, one that’s existed for millenia, that I never would have engaged in when I was young, and I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to get caught doing it openly. In fact, I was still reluctant to try it 20 years ago. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMXVBYhSc3cWr7OKPDTV_nf3ylh82KxLkwpXOfU6ruCpJ23c0dMKVybBfTE7QUdCDwN63U4PdloKZ6PMexKcebsNlort2Xhh1gKZ_UJa65enSywS5oWjTiLxq__Ajs4JIq9HbLSmF0bWDglVSat-mcdEwi3K6JZBm1R7bQUjTsF6T1VJn5sK4u0m-8ws/s1280/Andy%20Young.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMXVBYhSc3cWr7OKPDTV_nf3ylh82KxLkwpXOfU6ruCpJ23c0dMKVybBfTE7QUdCDwN63U4PdloKZ6PMexKcebsNlort2Xhh1gKZ_UJa65enSywS5oWjTiLxq__Ajs4JIq9HbLSmF0bWDglVSat-mcdEwi3K6JZBm1R7bQUjTsF6T1VJn5sK4u0m-8ws/s320/Andy%20Young.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>But now I do it all the time, and sometimes publicly. Yeah, I talk aloud to myself. Why shouldn’t I? <br /><br />When I was growing up people who audibly conversed with themselves were to be avoided at all costs. They were seen as quirky misfits at best, but more commonly as potentially dangerous crackpots, which was why most sensible people gave such individuals a wide berth when they encountered them. <br /><br />My impression of those who chatted with (or shouted at) invisible partners may have been a bit skewed, since the only times I ever saw them were in sketchy sections of big cities. Their overall aura was borderline frightening, since their vaguely crazed appearance was, if one got close enough, often augmented by an intensely unpleasant aroma that combined the odors of alcohol, unwashed clothing, regurgitated stomach lining, rural gas station men's room, and old-fashioned B.O. <br /><br />America’s 20th-century attitude regarding those who talked to themselves was typified by the Smothers Brothers’ memorable rendition of “I Talk to the Trees,” a bit of history that everyone should experience. And because of another relatively recent technological innovation (YouTube), they can, at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwk3AylVpX0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwk3AylVpX0</a> <br /><br />But thanks to rapidly advancing technology, these days it’s hard walking anywhere without encountering someone with a small bit of plastic in their ear conversing with an invisible partner or two. And the irritation of my having brainstorms occur at random times, but subsequently being unable to recall them was becoming exceedingly frustrating. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:keith@2-0Fitness.com" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="516" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/20fitness.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />Even Thomas Edison, Marie Curie or Albert Einstein couldn’t have implemented theories they couldn’t recollect. Like healthy young plants that succumb due to flood, drought, or disease, some potentially fruitful ideas of mine were failing to germinate due to my inability to summon them. <br /><br />But then I had an epiphany. I’ve always been a good listener, so wouldn’t it follow that I’d be more likely to remember my own thoughts if I verbalized them? Why should I merely think to myself when I can talk to myself? True, satisfying conversation is difficult when other people aren’t around, since houseplants rarely respond verbally, nor do any of my children’s stuffed animals or the spoon I eat my cereal with every morning at breakfast. <br /><br />But the unattractive stereotype of audible mutterers as unkempt, unbalanced ticking time bombs is outdated, even though some people still worry about being stigmatized if they talk to themselves. They shouldn’t. When it comes to having one-person conversations, a new day has dawned. Reluctant self-talkers can start slowly by practicing when they’re alone in the car or at home. <br /><br />Chatting casually in front of a mirror behind a closed door is, for novices, the equivalent of a child first learning to ride a two-wheeler by employing a tiny bike with training wheels. <br /><br />So now I talk to myself regularly, and I’ve solved more than a few problems by doing so. Pep talks, oral notes to myself, and even occasional scoldings can be impactful in many positive ways. I’ve also found talking honestly with myself is significantly more economical than other, more traditional forms of therapy. <br /><br />I better not forget to buy bananas and mail those letters later today. <br /><br />Oh, did I forget to mention I sometimes write to myself as well? <br /><br />But the best part of talking to myself is when I do it, I know for sure someone will listen to me! <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-85291671203540046202024-02-23T02:11:00.003-05:002024-02-23T02:11:00.146-05:00Andy Young: Celebrating bissextiles<p><i>By Andy Young</i></p>Fans of team sports endlessly argue about which athlete is the greatest “winner” of all time. Bill Russell, an integral part of 11 Boston Celtics National Basketball Association championship teams during his 13-year playing career, is a perennial candidate for that designation. So is Michael Jordan, who led six different Chicago Bulls quintets to NBA titles during a later era, when the path to the winner’s circle was far more arduous.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESlmx-lBorKwAKZ32X14qQhRMU9PSOrEfNdTohMLIOV4mNxP-jdwLzH4MO7WAwLQN8vBTcVthKRg7Yy1xWi_POC7gVWsaDrWsfdjPCH7Sh_CxFfZg66BMkXD2GVeozHGtTfb_FQ9kwUOoBAB2dT733lgXb9UUzi1vEt5Dz2sE-oSTtv22MJUFxpN-FSk/s1547/Feb.29%20birthdays.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1547" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESlmx-lBorKwAKZ32X14qQhRMU9PSOrEfNdTohMLIOV4mNxP-jdwLzH4MO7WAwLQN8vBTcVthKRg7Yy1xWi_POC7gVWsaDrWsfdjPCH7Sh_CxFfZg66BMkXD2GVeozHGtTfb_FQ9kwUOoBAB2dT733lgXb9UUzi1vEt5Dz2sE-oSTtv22MJUFxpN-FSk/w400-h310/Feb.29%20birthdays.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rapper Ja Rule, left, and Montreal Canadiens hockey legend<br />Henri Richard share the same Leap Year birthday, Feb. 29.<br />COURTESY PHOTO</td></tr></tbody></table>Baseball mavens point to Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame catcher who played on 10 World Series-winning teams, or his fellow Italian-American New York Yankee icon Joe DiMaggio, who played on nine, but did so in four fewer seasons. Football fans, particularly those in these parts, are partial to Tom Brady, who quarterbacked seven different teams, six of which were New England Patriot squads, to Super Bowl victories.<br /><br />But forget about Brady, Yogi, and any basketball player(s) you can name. None of them can hold a candle to the greatest winner to ever play a major league team sport in North America. Sadly, the unquestioned holder of that distinction died just six days after his 21st birthday, but not before earning his way into his sport’s Hall of Fame as a member of 11 Stanley Cup-winning teams with the Montreal Canadiens.<br /><br />Go ahead. Read the last line of the previous paragraph again. It’s not a misprint.<br /><br />Henri Richard, who died on March 6, 2020, really did play on 11 National Hockey League championship teams. That’s a remarkable feat for anybody, let alone someone whose life concluded just six days after his 21st birthday.<br /><br />There’s an explanation, of course. Richard was born on Feb. 29, 1936. Because of that he had to savor each precious birthday four times as much as non-bissextile people get to enjoy theirs. The rest of us get to celebrate (or ignore, as the case may be) the anniversary of our birth annually, but bissextile folks only get to do so every 1,461st day.<br /><br />Bissextile (that’s not a misprint either) is an adjective that describes anything pertaining to the extra day of a leap year. It’s also a word that should be pronounced both carefully and precisely (it’s by-SEX-till) by its speaker, since one tiny mistake by the pronouncer could result in an embarrassing misunderstanding by not just the person(s) being spoken to, but also any and all eavesdropping bystanders in the immediate area.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://realestate2000.managebuilding.com/Resident/public/home" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="617" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/fieldingscommons.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />What’s the chance of being born on February 29? Well, it doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that it’s roughly one in 1,461. (It might take a mathematician to figure out what one-1461st is in decimal form, though; it’s .06844626967.)<br /><br />But even that’s not quite exact, since every fourth year is bissextile, except when that year is evenly divisible by 100, but not by 400. Come 2096 bissextile people had better party like it’s 1999 on their birthday, because they’re going to have to wait eight years for their next one. There isn’t going to be a Feb. 29, 2100.<br /><br />Henri Richard is hardly the only renowned person who was born on February 29. Pope Paul III (1468), Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers (1736), and journalist and women’s rights advocate Emmeline B. Wells (1828) were all born on bissextile days. The 20th century is fraught with notable bissextile children, including astronaut Jack Lousma (1936), rapper Ja Rule (1976), Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Lydia Jacoby (2004), and 97 others listed on Wikipedia’s February 29th page.<br /><br />But be advised, fans of bissextile Thursdays: you had better enjoy this one to the fullest, because the next Thursday, February 29 won’t arrive until 2052. <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-17350656684140398792024-02-23T02:06:00.005-05:002024-02-23T02:06:00.151-05:00Insight: Reel thoughts and special memories<i>By Ed Pierce<br />Managing Editor </i><br /><br />My love of movies and visual storytelling began somewhat auspiciously at the age of 7 in 1961 when I was in second grade and it’s a passion that’s stayed with me for my lifetime. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HyQuau4TaDQgU6lbPAuT3_upia0fntPcDNVhAoZmfRV8f3bWx18ttE7i6A0q5eu28c3c0AePgBAbg9Nr00dtR2-WRKo-O8fQSpMQbGShKlvAc_WorgSafblEGgMdBaGAhLwL7puPAFuGCLwovPSF_gc9DZWGdGikYkbk6IL1Cp4cU3yvf47ChLVte90/s1050/Contact.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HyQuau4TaDQgU6lbPAuT3_upia0fntPcDNVhAoZmfRV8f3bWx18ttE7i6A0q5eu28c3c0AePgBAbg9Nr00dtR2-WRKo-O8fQSpMQbGShKlvAc_WorgSafblEGgMdBaGAhLwL7puPAFuGCLwovPSF_gc9DZWGdGikYkbk6IL1Cp4cU3yvf47ChLVte90/w266-h400/Contact.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>I had been hospitalized to have my tonsils removed and when I was to go home, my mother picked me up and we rode the bus home. When she wanted to get off at a stop that I was unfamiliar with, I knew she didn’t plan to go home immediately. Instead, we walked to the Loew’s Theater, and she paid for tickets for us to see “Gorgo,” about a sea monster that attacks London after its baby is caught and taken there. <br /><br />The experience of going to watch a movie in a theater was amazing. I was impressed by the size of the screen, the wall décor, the smell of popcorn, the array of candy, and the movie posters in the lobby. <br /><br />Our family didn’t go to the movies often, so for a few years the best way for me to watch movies was on television and I took advantage of that every time I could. Some of what I consider classics that I watched were Alfred Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train” with Farley Granger and Robert Walker, “A Place in the Sun” with Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters, and “Portrait of Jennie” with Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones. <br /><br />By the time I was in high school, I found movies to be a great way to spend a few hours away from home, see things from another viewpoint, or ride a roller coaster of emotions. I cried when Dorothy said goodbye to the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz” and laughed at the antics of the chimpanzee Cheetah in the “Tarzan” film series. No matter how many times I see “Lassie Come Home,” I always have tears streaming down my face when the collie completes her journey and makes it back to young Roddy McDowall and his family. <br /><br />When I was in college in the early 1970s, the theater in town became a place of refuge for me. It was inexpensive and some nights would have a “double feature” of two movies shown back-to-back for the price of one. I can recall paying $2 to see a double feature of “Patton” and “M*A*S*H.” It was a nearly five-hour marathon of film watching, but I still remember it vividly. <br /><br />Through the years, I have accumulated many incredible memories from going out to the movies. That includes attending a midnight screening of Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” and standing in a line during freezing temperatures for more than two hours to watch “The Exorcist” in January 1974. <br /><br />Imagine how delighted I was when I was asked to write about a movie being filmed nearby in New Mexico in 1975. It was just my third professional assignment as a reporter. The film was called “The Man Who Fell To Earth,” and it was directed by Nicholas Roeg, who had been a cinematographer on “Lawrence of Arabia.” I visited the movie set during the summer when temperatures were near 100 degrees and interviewed the director and the cast, which included Rip Torn, Buck Henry, Candy Clark, and some English musician and actor I had never heard of before by the name of David Bowie. <br /><br />More than 21 years later, in 1996, I was living on the Space Coast of Florida and wrote a story for the newspaper about a talent agency that was recruiting locals to serve as extras on movies being filmed in Central Florida. Because of my interest in movies, I filled out an application and submitted my photograph to work as an extra, never dreaming that someday I would get that opportunity. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://mainelyvetdentistry.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="740" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/mainelyvet.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><br />In January 1997, I received a phone call to serve as an extra on the film “Contact” which was filming at the Kennedy Space Center. I discovered that being an extra requires long hours and extraordinary wait times. We had to be there at 4 a.m. for wardrobe fitting, and then boarded a bus to the filming location. In the four days I worked as an extra, we worked past 9 p.m. every day, making it more than a 17-hour day. <br /><br />If you look closely, you can find me in four scenes at Kennedy Space Center appearing as a cameraman. I also was thrilled to meet actors Tom Skerritt and Jodie Foster, who showed her kindness by purchasing breakfast one morning for the entire group of 250 extras working on the film. <br /><br />I still am fascinated by movies both old and new. The last film that my wife and I watched in a theater was “Elvis” with Austin Butler and Tom Hanks in 2022. Last Saturday night, we watched “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” from 1961 on television. I still cry each time Audrey Hepburn throws her cat into an alley in the pouring rain, drives away, and then returns trying to find it. <br /><br />I have watched more movies than I can recall, some good and some bad. We all probably have one film that stands out above all the rest though. What’s yours?Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-60831050342067602542024-02-16T02:16:00.012-05:002024-02-16T02:16:00.147-05:00Barbara Bagshaw: Address existing needs instead of creating new ones<i>By State Rep. Barbara Bagshaw <br /></i><br />Almost midway through the legislative session it appears that little will be done to address rising prices, lower our electric bills or allow workers to keep more of what they earn. What’s more, Democrat leadership has refused to even consider bills that would stop the move toward “California Rules” that will eliminate gas-powered vehicles. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJY8w1LDQ_0JiZbIYb1r_KTjegUimoUauPefGjgaYD867q9aoZOtwJnSTehJSOSTlGi71FBxBKtUeNnWAfEXwerPhnQpagP45MPhqj8SeXIeq0Hx0lgPXS-wOWn6WEZNo5eE0-CJRkSGuwOyyvsnYcYE-6Bi0ba6A7naM1a-GrAgEnYwNoUp64fGStyM/s800/Rep.-Bagshaw.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJY8w1LDQ_0JiZbIYb1r_KTjegUimoUauPefGjgaYD867q9aoZOtwJnSTehJSOSTlGi71FBxBKtUeNnWAfEXwerPhnQpagP45MPhqj8SeXIeq0Hx0lgPXS-wOWn6WEZNo5eE0-CJRkSGuwOyyvsnYcYE-6Bi0ba6A7naM1a-GrAgEnYwNoUp64fGStyM/w240-h320/Rep.-Bagshaw.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State Rep. Barbara Bagshaw</td></tr></tbody></table>I believe that we need to take care of our own citizens, veterans, and seniors first. Millions is being spent to accommodate the first of 75,000 asylum seekers that Governor Mills has pledged to attract to Maine. I can’t begin to tell you how many people are upset that asylum seekers are being put up in rent-free luxury apartments in Brunswick while tent cities are spreading throughout Maine. <br /><br />The State of Maine has been the recipient of billions of dollars in federal money and over-collected tax revenues from Maine taxpayers. Despite this wealth transfer from Maine families to government, programs that serve Maine citizens are experiencing shortfalls in unexpected places. <br /><br />As a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Education, I recently raised the issue of the delays that special purpose, private schools have been experiencing in receiving funding for special needs children. Delays adversely affect children’s learning which can cause them to regress and have to start over again. <br /><br />In response to my questions about how we can do better to assure that these funds could be expedited and delivered in a more-timely fashion, Education Commissioner Makin said that she would look into it and stated a commitment to ensuring that they receive the funds. <br /><br />Another shortfall that needs to be addressed is full funding for the tax stabilization for seniors this past year. You may recall that the Legislature created the law to help seniors remain in their homes by freezing property taxes. This past session the law was repealed in the partisan budget passed by Democrats. <br /><br />I felt the law should be kept in place to help seniors with the rising cost of living but modified to address concerns. Now there is an estimated $15 million shortfall. I have been in touch with Windham town officials and am hopeful that Democrats and Republicans can work together to pass a legislation that ensures towns like Windham do not experience a shortfall for the one year the program was in existence. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:dpw@fryeislandtown.org" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="800" height="242" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/fryeisland.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Update on “California Rule” that mandates sale of electric vehicles: <br /><br />In case you haven’t heard, environmental extremists used an obscure provision in state law to collect 150 signatures that triggered a Rule 127-A petition that required the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) to consider adoption of the “California Rule,” which mandates the sale of electric vehicles. Right now, 1 percent of Maine sales are electric vehicles (EVs). <br /><br />A public hearing last August drew testimony from hundreds of people. For many reasons, 81 percent of the testimony was against adopting the “California Rule.” The lack of enthusiasm for EVs can be attributed to a number of factors including cost, limited charging stations, unsuitability for cold climate, limited range, negligible effect on climate change, and many others raised at the public hearing. <br /><br />In December, unelected BEP bureaucrats were on the verge of passing the “California Rules” and moving toward the goal of eliminating gas engines. A widespread power outage stopped the board from voting and caused them to extend the public comment period until Feb. 5. <br /><br />The modified mandate would require that 51 percent of new car sales in Maine be comprised of EVs by model year 2028 and 82 percent by model year 2032. Citizens again expressed their displeasure with the proposed rule, with 1,700 people submitting comments. The BEP will vote on the matter at their March 21 meeting. <br /><br />I am not against electric vehicles, it should be a consumer choice, not a government mandate. Following California is not a good idea. As a follow up to their EV mandate, California moved to outlaw small gas-powered vehicles in 2021. Imagine if Maine experienced a storm without gas-powered chainsaws, pumps and generators. <br /><br />It is an honor to represent part of Windham in the Legislature. If there is any way that I can be of assistance, please contact me at <a href="mailto:barbara.bagshaw@legislature.maine.gov">barbara.bagshaw@legislature.maine.gov</a> .My office phone number is 207-287-1440. You can find me on Facebook at<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SenatorTimNangle"> </a> https://www.facebook.com/BagshawForMaine. To receive regular updates, sign up for my e-newsletter at<a href="https://www.mainesenate.org/"> </a> <a href="https://mainehousegop.org/">https://mainehousegop.org/</a> <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-37855523634595342282024-02-16T02:10:00.008-05:002024-02-16T02:10:00.119-05:00Insight: A whisk I’m not willing to take<i>By Ed Pierce<br />Managing Editor </i><br /><br />I must confess that I have never tasted or eaten a corn dog and at this point in my life, I probably never will. And while we’re at it, it’s safe to say that seaweed salad, hummus, crab rangoon, sushi, sheep brains, and silkworm larvae will never appear on my dinner plate either.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cJhjfR637haT0yhJDuqhYAraDNCs9qJTJo4enysC7Jwe-mURlSbDgBTP68I3klsQrBP4m66sCLi2dDem8jsYaD6ksGMsPchDIYAathPUirCnB_2Wekbiio3K8QP3EPjdzr2PpSCLDF1LqonN1zel4gx0cYWjL48T0oChjobWtLqbeUCRM7_wbhw6TUc/s1106/Branstons.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="766" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cJhjfR637haT0yhJDuqhYAraDNCs9qJTJo4enysC7Jwe-mURlSbDgBTP68I3klsQrBP4m66sCLi2dDem8jsYaD6ksGMsPchDIYAathPUirCnB_2Wekbiio3K8QP3EPjdzr2PpSCLDF1LqonN1zel4gx0cYWjL48T0oChjobWtLqbeUCRM7_wbhw6TUc/s320/Branstons.png" width="222" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I’m rather traditional when it comes to eating and even though I’m trying to eat healthier these days, my apprehension for experiencing new foods remains constant. So far this year my wife and I have made several different meals for dinner that we haven’t cooked before and for the most part, we have enjoyed them, but there are some recipes we’ve tried that didn’t cut the mustard. <br /><br />Not being very adventurous when it comes to food, I recently found it fascinating to watch others trying new foods and new tastes on YouTube. There are a series of videos uploaded to YouTube of high school students and their headmaster in England trying popular American foods for the first time and their immediate reaction to what they just sampled. <br /><br />The first video I watched was of British boys in prep school wearing suits and ties tasting flavors of American soft drinks not sold in the United Kingdom. They tried Grape Crush, Big Red, Mountain Dew, Arizona Iced Tea, Fanta Berry, Clamato, and Warheads Sour Blueberry Soda. <br /><br />It was hilarious to see their facial expressions after swallowing some of those drinks. One student said Grape Crush tasted like a mixture of candy and medicine, while another remarked that the Arizona Iced Tea plastic jug and the liquid inside resembled a can of petrol. The headmaster said Clamato was perhaps the worst thing that he’d ever tasted in his life. <br /><br />Another video featured some of the same British prep school students trying Wendy’s “Baconator” hamburgers for the first time. They were more approving this time around, saying they were impressed and that the burgers were juicy and very filling. They also wondered why Wendy’s burgers were square, yet the hamburger buns were round. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://deheuiser@yahoo.com" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="800" height="277" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/raymondrepublican.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The next video I watched was of British prep school students trying Taco Bell menu items for the first time. They sampled crunchy and Supreme Tacos, Crunchwrap Supremes, Gorditas, Chalupa Supremes, and Baja Blast drinks. One student said the Crunchwrap Supreme was like eating a fat pancake, another mentioned that nearly every single item he sampled tasted the same as the previous item. The headmaster said he felt that tacos were a great way to get young people to eat salads as half of his Supreme Taco was lettuce and sliced tomatoes. <br /><br />There was another video of British students sampling a traditional American Thanksgiving meal for the first time. They tasted roasted turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie. None of these students could say when Thanksgiving is celebrated in America, guessing July 4 or May 30. Of all the Thanksgiving dishes they tried, they praised the unique tastes of cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie but said they enjoyed sweet potatoes topped with melted marshmallow the most. <br /><br />The video of British students tasting American breakfast cereals was eye-opening. They sampled Trix, Cap’n Crunch, Froot Loops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Reeses. The students found it odd that Trix turned milk in the cereal bowl into a rainbow of colors. And they found it amazing that little squares could taste like cinnamon toast. Several students said that the best cereal was Cap’n Crunch because it had a unique taste that did not overpower them and they liked the amount of crunch the cereal possessed, even when in milk. <br /><br />There are other YouTube videos of British students sampling Popeyes fried chicken, cajun crawfish, and American barbecue, but I passed on those. <br /><br />To see if there was a significant difference across the pond, I also watched a YouTube video of American high school students trying British comfort foods for the first time. This video showed U.S. students eating beans on toast, melted cheese on bread topped with Branston pickle sauce, and bread slices with butter topped with Marmite yeast extract. Of all of these, the Americans students preferred the Branston pickle sauce, which is sort of like a relish. It was pointed out to the students that British pickles are called “gherkins” and Branston pickle sauce is really a ground-up spicy vegetable condiment blend. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WindhamRepublicans/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="516" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/windhamrepublican.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />One American student said that beans on toast didn’t look appetizing to him but once he had tasted it, he thought that it grew on him after a while. Another American student asked if he could take home the jar of Branston pickle sauce when the filming was completed for the day. All eight of the American students said they hoped to never eat Marmite again. <br /><br />In looking back, some of my own food apprehension stems from a Christmas party that my family attended in the 1960s. The host insisted that I try some of what looked like chow mein noodles. I ate it but was freaked out to discover it was crispy fried octopus and my stomach immediately soured. From then on, I made it a point to know what I was eating before chewing. <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-10607864395902519572024-02-16T02:04:00.006-05:002024-02-16T02:04:00.148-05:00Jane Pringle: Supporting our veterans amid Maine’s housing crisis<i>By State Rep. Jane Pringle <br /></i><br />Recently, Maine has made national headlines for our housing initiatives, with much being said about what has and has not been done to alleviate the availability and affordability crises. From a shortage in housing stock to a construction workforce deficit, the problem is multifaceted and has impacted every corner of our state.<div><br /></div><div>As a physician, I see the connection between an individual's housing status and their physical and mental health. Housing is a human right, and Maine’s shortage of available housing is a public health concern. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgu8Q0-Zr0l4LS55sFDjMFQY1VHhEFwKCP9sQ-5H9FHPwG2buLvn8_02lPDgJnyu815nqumGeml2_GJ4d9unxWmerQ04q6ltL07_x5A89r-D7Lk3hCO-NNC4OcTS3MUDEDh1x5-aqSoz22cqx6byPxy2M1Vo6JY5RwjPvq1KnoJ-dmpFBMduR8SYiQEzQ/s952/Jane%20Pringle.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="952" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgu8Q0-Zr0l4LS55sFDjMFQY1VHhEFwKCP9sQ-5H9FHPwG2buLvn8_02lPDgJnyu815nqumGeml2_GJ4d9unxWmerQ04q6ltL07_x5A89r-D7Lk3hCO-NNC4OcTS3MUDEDh1x5-aqSoz22cqx6byPxy2M1Vo6JY5RwjPvq1KnoJ-dmpFBMduR8SYiQEzQ/s320/Jane%20Pringle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State Rep. Jane Pringle</td></tr></tbody></table>I have heard from several constituents who were particularly concerned about how the housing initiatives passed last session will benefit our unhoused veterans, so I want to briefly detail a couple of measures we enacted to help support access to housing for those who have served our country. <br /><br />A significant success from last session was the creation of a statewide Housing First Program. Modeled after the Preble Street service of the same name, this statewide initiative will provide shelter and on-site services to those experiencing chronic homelessness. It is guided by the ethos that individuals need a safe place to live before they can begin to search for a job or attend to their health issues. This model is revolutionary because it does not require participants to graduate through a series of classes or programs prior to starting to receive housing assistance. <br /><br />The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has marked the Housing First model as pivotal in helping veterans find and secure stable housing. It is a low-barrier approach that can provide veterans struggling with destabilizing conditions the assistance they need as quickly as possible. Housing First has been shown to have significant economic benefits to communities as well. With an increase in secure housing for folks experiencing homelessness, there is a decrease in public costs associated with crisis centers and hospital stays. Studies have shown that the model has effectively shortened stays in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons, resulting in overall societal cost savings. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://contact@agefriendlywindham.org" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="516" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/townofwindham6.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />Another bill that was enacted last session provides a one-time investment of $2.6 million to support veterans’ homes throughout Maine. The measure had significant bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. By investing in these facilities across the state, our servicemembers will be more able to receive the critical support they deserve. <br /><br />On the local level, we are fortunate to have the Windham Veterans Center, a community center in town that offers classes and assists veterans with filing and appealing their insurance claims. In collaboration with national organizations like Disabled American Veterans, this local center prioritizes supporting our veterans in need. <br /><br />While the measures enacted last year represent strong legislative steps to end veteran homelessness and bolster funding for veterans’ homes, there is still much work to be done. The road ahead requires sustained commitment and additional measures. I look forward to continuing to support housing initiatives, so that all Mainers – and especially those who have so selflessly served our country – can find a safe, secure place to call home. <br /><br /><i>Rep. Jane Pringle is serving her second non-consecutive term in the Maine House of Representatives, having previously served from 2012-2014. She is currently a member of the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee in the 131st Maine Legislature. <br /></i><br /> </div>Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-39017661959474121282024-02-16T02:00:00.022-05:002024-02-16T02:00:00.257-05:00Andy Young: Selflessly protecting centenarians-to-be<i>By Andy Young </i><br /><br />Smart people learn from their mistakes. I sure hope that I have, too.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6KevIdp_pm2i0HUrf2IeewNpfvOPOmTfk6UFXVy605EpdCIPc9rXxiEjZsLbDV8kv2YiCGZK5i6e15YzoxSnhFDckrLDgSxAWBfj5P_tT0nbPZMnlAUTwaugC4AlU2JKdJ00_ZcP9rrqjpQmdZy1hU8rBkytu1Tqz9HJJMawVXQyYznwkeLqMXSOvuQ/s740/jimmy-carter.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="740" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6KevIdp_pm2i0HUrf2IeewNpfvOPOmTfk6UFXVy605EpdCIPc9rXxiEjZsLbDV8kv2YiCGZK5i6e15YzoxSnhFDckrLDgSxAWBfj5P_tT0nbPZMnlAUTwaugC4AlU2JKdJ00_ZcP9rrqjpQmdZy1hU8rBkytu1Tqz9HJJMawVXQyYznwkeLqMXSOvuQ/s320/jimmy-carter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former U.S. President<br />Jimmy Carter turns<br />100 years old in 2024. </td></tr></tbody></table>For the past several months I’ve been haunted by remorse because of a column I wrote which appeared in this very newspaper a year ago. <br /><br />My intentions were pure when I authored an upbeat little essay about people who were turning 100 years old last year. It seemed like a good idea, since even given all of modern medicine’s advances, achieving centenarian status is still relatively unusual. But everyone knows where roads paved with good intentions lead, which is why I’m trying to atone for my well-intended but tragic misjudgment before the time comes when I myself could be eternally consigned there. <br /><br />The article in question highlighted a quartet of accomplished individuals: former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, former United States senator James Buckley, Dr. Frank Field, New York City’s pioneer in broadcast meteorology, and longtime television game show host Bob Barker, whose Oscar-worthy portrayal of himself in the epic 1996 drama Happy Gilmore proved he was a skilled actor as well. All four were born in 1923, and thus due to observe their 100th birthdays last year. <br /><br />What could go wrong with celebrating the ongoing lives of some skillful, talented, and generous human beings? <br /><br />Only that within six months of my story being published, all four men were dead. And adding salt to the wound was the fact that Mr. Barker, a selfless and passionate advocate for animal rights, didn’t even make it to 100, expiring three-plus months before his would-have-been birthday. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:keith@2-0Fitness.com" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="516" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/20fitness.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />I should have known better. Just two years earlier, some genius at People Magazine decided to put Betty White on the cover of their Jan. 10, 2022 issue, anticipating her 100th birthday, which was a week after the date on the magazine’s cover. Unfortunately, shortly after the edition hit the newsstands in mid-December, Ms. White expired, and never did get to celebrate her personal centennial. In the aftermath the folks at People absorbed significant criticism, which couldn't have been pleasant, even considering that the sources of the vitriol were generally tin foil hat wearers, conspiracy theorists, and the other usual rationality-challenged suspects (like subscribers to People Magazine). <br /><br />Okay. I was one of the criticizers. But I don’t consider myself rationality challenged. And for the record, I do not even own a tin foil hat. I can’t undo the past, but I can learn from it. That’s why this year I’m not mentioning any names of living people, famous or otherwise, who were born in the year 1924, even though there’s a former president, an Academy-Award-winning actress, and the current president of the Mormon Church among them. <br /><br />Instead, I’ll list some celebrated 1924 natives who are no longer with us, like zany British comedian Benny Hill, baseball Hall of Famer Gil Hodges, actors Lauren Bacall and Marlon Brando, and George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. Each would have celebrated their 100th birthday this year. <br /><br />I’m almost certain the column I wrote last year had nothing to do with the subsequent passings of Henry Kissinger, James Buckley, Dr. Frank Field, or Bob Barker. But just in case, I’m not mentioning the name of anyone who’s scheduled to turn 100 this year, even though it’s ridiculous to think an essay in a weekly newspaper can alter anyone’s destiny. <br /><br />However, I reserve the right to change my mind if, during this calendar year, someone spots Benny Hill, Lauren Bacall, or George H. W. Bush back among the living. <br /><br />And if and when that happens, I’ll look forward to reading about it in People Magazine. <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-32545796431183389002024-02-09T02:20:00.005-05:002024-02-09T02:20:00.143-05:00Tim Nangle: Proud to sponsor a bill to protect our local waters, empower communities<p><i>By State Senator Tim Nangle</i></p>If you're like me, you live in this area because of its natural beauty and access to both summer and winter outdoor recreation activities. The communities in our region rely on water bodies for recreation and to bring visitors to enjoy what we have in our backyard daily. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2sODnsxxd-JkDASw7E6EBn1pcw6vjCYbGbdmDTnw1GCuBaiacyq1rUiH7-Z_xZQY_b-9izzEBgks77h7ZgRLls6R569B34WqwJQU7EkybYBQOYSk5gaNCKq8a93XXOYrKJGnkZFzKjfROYECrbEd4PdNVftvjgImIxsLn1TAvshgpn16SZlx6PJUtzU/s1875/Nangle.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="1483" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2sODnsxxd-JkDASw7E6EBn1pcw6vjCYbGbdmDTnw1GCuBaiacyq1rUiH7-Z_xZQY_b-9izzEBgks77h7ZgRLls6R569B34WqwJQU7EkybYBQOYSk5gaNCKq8a93XXOYrKJGnkZFzKjfROYECrbEd4PdNVftvjgImIxsLn1TAvshgpn16SZlx6PJUtzU/w158-h200/Nangle.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State Senator Tim Nangle</td></tr></tbody></table>With so many water bodies in our area, water protection has never been more important. However, there is one challenge that every town in the region and across the state has faced at one time or another: violations of Maine’s shoreland zoning laws. One of our communities is facing a rather significant and egregious violation. That is why I worked with Rep. Jessica Fay, D-Raymond, to introduce <a href="https://legislature.maine.gov/billtracker/#Paper/2101?legislature=131">LD 2101</a>, “An Act to Strengthen Shoreland Zoning Enforcement.” <br /><br />For those who might not know, the state government creates rules on how the land near our lakes and rivers should be used to protect these areas, known as “shoreland zoning.” The state's involvement ends there. Once these rules are made, it’s up to each municipality to adopt local ordinances and enforce them. The state does not assist in enforcing shoreland zoning in any way. Instead, it’s up to the local communities to fight the battle, often with no other tools at their disposal than a lengthy and expensive court battle. <br /><br />Many shoreland zoning violations are genuinely accidental, and the property owner works with the town to resolve the violation quickly and willingly. Unfortunately, there are other violations where a property owner with deep pockets considers the violation a “cost of doing business” and works to drag out a resolution in order to require the town to spend sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to enforce the shoreland zoning ordinances. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://realestate2000.managebuilding.com/Resident/public/home" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="617" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/fieldingscommons.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />This enforcement problem becomes particularly evident when towns attempt to uphold local- and state-mandated environmental standards. The current legal structure prevents towns from withholding permits for further development, even when property owners ignore these crucial regulations. This means an offending property owner can keep building and changing their property while ignoring the laws that protect our state's precious natural resources. <br /><br />My bill, LD 2101, would allow a local municipality to restrict, suspend, or revoke any locally issued permit to the property and property owner where the violation has occurred. Notably, a town would not be required to impose these restrictions; it would be at the town's discretion. This would prevent the property owner from working to complete any renovations or continue work on the property until the violation has been resolved. <br /><br />Typically, when the violation is resolved in the courts, the court assigns the cost of enforcing the violation and any applicable fines to the property owner. Then, in some cases, another fight ensues to collect those costs, which places another undue burden on taxpayers in the town. The second part of LD 2101 allows the city or town to place a lien on the property’s title to prevent the transfer of the property until the court-determined costs have been paid. <br /><br />The public hearing on this bill has already happened in the State and Local Government Committee. However, you can still submit official testimony online until the work session, which has yet to be scheduled. More information on how to submit testimony can be found at <a href="http://mainelegislature.org/testimony">mainelegislature.org/testimony</a>. Additionally, you can email <a href="mailto:SLG@legislature.maine.gov">SLG@legislature.maine.gov</a> expressing your support. Your email will be sent to all members of the committee. <br /><br />As your Senator and Chair of the State and Local Government Committee, I am committed to equipping our towns with tools for effective self-governance. This initiative represents a crucial addition to our collective toolbox, further empowering our communities. <br /><br />If you have questions about LD 2101 or need assistance submitting testimony, please don’t hesitate to reach out. My email is <a href="mailto:Timothy.Nangle@legislature.maine.gov">Timothy.Nangle@legislature.maine.gov</a>, and the Senate office phone number is 207-287-1515. You can also find me on Facebook at<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SenatorTimNangle"> facebook.com/SenatorTimNangle</a>. To receive regular updates, sign up for my e-newsletter at<a href="https://www.mainesenate.org/"> mainesenate.org</a>. <<br /> Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-6829050889569618812024-02-09T02:14:00.003-05:002024-02-09T02:14:00.140-05:00The Rookie Mama: Plots and plans for a fabulous garden party - I dig it<i>By Michelle Cote </i><br /><br />As we turn the corner to longer days and amble our way through February throes, take in these frigid temps moments to close your eyes and think spring. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhPViac2zGfCPpPatvyJjlJcyObigSp2Tci9-dHA_ObZ3Jl2x5XZu5bT-D3uMMlEZ24q05M2D9X-r2fs9fxZaER_46Qq5mJ4oFVqhscz9NDcOkVqk5Oo7vY8XF6csmjBJSAu-ESaW52QDG32ZieE5cz86B8iYRrGyamqxfg5dUFWK6kL4yd8FwLHbSWk/s1054/Michelle%20Headshot%202023.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhPViac2zGfCPpPatvyJjlJcyObigSp2Tci9-dHA_ObZ3Jl2x5XZu5bT-D3uMMlEZ24q05M2D9X-r2fs9fxZaER_46Qq5mJ4oFVqhscz9NDcOkVqk5Oo7vY8XF6csmjBJSAu-ESaW52QDG32ZieE5cz86B8iYRrGyamqxfg5dUFWK6kL4yd8FwLHbSWk/w146-h200/Michelle%20Headshot%202023.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle Cote </td></tr></tbody></table>Let that distinct scent of melting snow, freshly unearthed dirt and budding greens manifest in your mind to take you to the happy, green place. <br /><br />It’s garden prep time, folks, and I invite you to dig in with me. <br /><br />Growing your greens is a fantastic way to eat more nutritiously, save tremendously on funds, and – just as beneficial – pass down life skills to your little two-legged sprouts. <br /><br />Like raising little ones, the venture into gardening is often best when you start small. <br /><br />My husband and I have expanded our growing escapades considerably through the years, through much trial and error and humble beginnings. <br /><br />Today, we manage a greenhouse, an indoor potting room with shelves of grow lights and camp kitchen-turned-potting bench to harvest goods year-round, an outdoor orchard and several raised beds and trellis arches, but we started with little more than a few pots, decent compost, and snippets of a pipe dream. <br /><br />Gardening sprouted in our mind initially from curiosity. <br /><br />Wouldn’t it be great to pick our own dinner, farm-to-table style? <br /><br />The concept intrigued us, but we hadn’t been exposed to it as kiddos ourselves. <br /><br />For all I knew, grocery stores may as well have been the stork from which carrots and lettuce heads came into existence. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.grayurgentcare.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="800" height="202" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/grayurgentcare.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Still, the notion of freshly harvested, nutrient-dense goods that could conceivably save us green as we produced our own continued to prod at us in adulthood, more aggressively once we began raising boys with healthy appetites, rendering us knee-deep in the lengthy grocery receipts. <br /><br />So here we have it. <br /><br />Plotting our garden plots takes work, a meticulous grid system, and a touch of math skills. <br /><br />It’s not square roots, but root vegetables that we’ve got our eye on for a grand ol’ yield. <br /><br />If you’re enthusiastic to try growing greens for size, consider the vegetables, fruits, and herbs you like best. <br /><br />Shop your local greenhouses and peruse varieties of seed packets and seedlings, taking into account growing time and other instruction needed for each. <br /><br />Research which of these plants can be grown together as companions and draw up your plans. <br /><br />While planting rows are most traditional, my husband and I turn to the square foot gardening method, which is exactly as its name suggests and makes the most of given spaces. Raised beds are divided into square feet – commonly 4x4 or 4x8 – and each foot is individually reserved for various amounts of seeds or seedlings, dependent on that plant’s eventual growth size. <br /><br />For example, one can plant 16 radish seeds in a square foot, because they don’t take up much space at harvest time, but only one tomato plant may be planted in that same space, because they grow large. <br /><br />Square foot beds aren’t ideal for vining plants, such as gourds, but with care, one can vine them up a trellis or fencing. <br /><br />Bountiful online and book resources abound with ways to design and space your plants in a square foot garden. <br /><br />These raised beds have no built-in walking paths, so no space is wasted on good growing soil – Your garden beds’ compost will also remain loose and untrampled this way. <br /><br />Leaving out spaces between traditional rows also limits unnecessary extra weeding. <br /><br />These gridded plots produce high yields with minimal maintenance – We mitigate weeding by tucking in our own dry grass clippings atop the soil to tamp down weeds’ attempts to rear ugly heads, and we pre-line our beds with a highway system of drip irrigation set to timers which helps conserve water and, let’s be honest, allows us to be totally lazy and avoid manual watering. <br /><br />A garden’s initial planting is a commitment. <br /><br />For our family, we had to arrange for childcare when the babes were wee ones so we could really dig in and get the garden party started. <br /><br />And though my husband and I are avidly into composting now – which comes with virtually no monetary cost – this incubation process takes time; to start a garden one must purchase ready-made gardening soil, which can be costly. <br /><br />And carving time for maintenance is critical, for as orderly and best-intentioned these gardens may be, they’re bound to evolve into something one can cultivate but not truly control. <br /><br />Ah, nature. <br /><br />It’s like something that begins looking like a New York City-street map design of intentions and winds up like Boston. <br /><br />Gardening is trial and error, always. <br /><br />It’s understanding we can’t control the outer elements, from deluge rains to scorching droughts to freak hailstorms that increasingly serve as recurring characters in our changing climate. <br /><br />But oh, how sweet it is to watch my often-picky little ones reach for a fresh bell pepper straight from its stalk and eat it like an apple while weaving about our raised beds and trellises. <br /><br />Make this time of year the season to research what can work best for you and your needs in your hardiness zone – a quick Google away. <br /><br />Where is your property’s optimal growing area that makes best use of the sun? <br /><br />Are you able to start seeds indoors by a sunny south-facing window, or is it more reasonable to pick up seedlings from your local farm stand, ready to plant when the time comes? <br /><br />Whether you’ve got the landscape to plant an entire orchard, or if you’ve got space to tuck a pot on a front stoop, it’s baby steps. <br /><br />I’d be remiss to not mention the wonderful bonus mental health benefits offered up by spending time with plants. Studies show gardening helps lighten moods and lower levels. <br /><br />As the saying goes, gardening’s like therapy and you get tomatoes. <br /><br />So, if I can dig it, you can dig it. <br /><br />Gardening’s one of my favorite frugal living tips. <br /><br />Start small and dream green, so come spring you can roll up your sleeves and take in the harvest as you watch your produce bill go down. <br /><br /><i>– Michelle Cote lives in southern Maine with her husband and four sons, and enjoys camping, distance running, biking, gardening, road trips to new regions, arts and crafts, soccer, and singing to musical showtunes – often several or more at the same time!</i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-80159166453276592402024-02-09T02:12:00.003-05:002024-02-09T02:12:00.146-05:00 Insight: Changing the nation for the better<i>By Ed Pierce<br />Managing Editor</i><br /><br />One of my favorite things about being a journalist is having an opportunity to meet people who changed our society for the better and 44 years ago I interviewed a man who had done just that. <div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OIUEEch1k6lc9jnIPGwGP9hlL9OgPdWFE8uR3wwwF6k2waQc-U0x9zF2l-otGeZQPjB75LHLC78oFORuWY59Z1i-4Pn_4gNETlI1iHe66TAOB7PsgR73WyRqMNZFSJFk9TOlh7m21pKPWSiqn1Gvi55TO9EwuM3al1BCisaWE5jS8ZoBvrF5rPVprEk/s942/Ernest%20Green.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="942" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OIUEEch1k6lc9jnIPGwGP9hlL9OgPdWFE8uR3wwwF6k2waQc-U0x9zF2l-otGeZQPjB75LHLC78oFORuWY59Z1i-4Pn_4gNETlI1iHe66TAOB7PsgR73WyRqMNZFSJFk9TOlh7m21pKPWSiqn1Gvi55TO9EwuM3al1BCisaWE5jS8ZoBvrF5rPVprEk/s320/Ernest%20Green.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ernest Green was one of nine black students<br />who integrated Central High School in Little<br />Rock, Arkansas in 1957 and became a civil<br />rights activist in America. He went on to serve<br />as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor during <br />the 1970s. COURTESY PHOTO </td></tr></tbody></table>During Black History Month at The Pentagon in Washington, D.C. in February 1980, our unit commander brought in a special guest speaker to a lunchtime gathering and I got to spend some time that afternoon with him and write about his visit for our command newsletter. His name was Ernest Green and at the time, he was serving as the Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor for President Jimmy Carter.<br /> <br /> But Green was much more than a government official, he was someone who had fundamentally helped to change America to live up to the promise of equality and freedom for all, no matter what race you may be. As a teenager, Green was a member of the “Little Rock Nine,” a group of black students who desegregated one of the nation’s largest high schools in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.<br /> <br />Prior to his brush with history, Green had been an exceptional student at an all-black high school and a member of the Boy Scouts who had attained scouting’s highest rank as an Eagle Scout. His favorite subject in school was mathematics and he was aiming for an eventual career in finance or accounting after going to college.</div><div> <br /> In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in the landmark civil rights case “Brown vs. Board of Education” that state-sanctioned segregation of public schools across America was a violation of the 14th Amendment and was unconstitutional. It ended the long standing “separate but equal” precedent established by a Supreme Court decision years before and became a catalyst for a rapidly growing civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.<br /> <br /> Finishing his junior year at the all-black Horace Mann High School in May 1957, Green volunteered for an effort by black students to register and attend the all-white Little Rock Central High School that fall. When the attempt to integrate the school became known, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard to restrict black students from gaining entry to the school and a tense confrontation with the federal government ensued. Massive public protests followed with white segregationists threatening violence if the students enrolled at the school.<br /> <br /> Public school students returned to classes in Little Rock after the summer break on Sept. 4, 1957, and Arkansas National Guard soldiers carrying rifles and bayonets blocked doorways and turned away the nine black students, including Green as they tried to register for school. The crisis grew deeper as Eisenhower sent Faubus a telegram in which he wrote the governor that he would uphold the U.S. constitution through every legal means he could.<br /> <br /> Over the next few weeks, a team of attorneys led by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall obtained a federal district court injunction to have Faubus remove Arkansas National Guard troops from the school, but again he refused to do so.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://jonathanpriest.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="800" height="277" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/farmersinsurance.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> On Sept. 24, 1957, President Eisenhower directed soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to protect the rights of the black students to enroll at the school. He also federalized the Arkansas National Guard troops and ordered them to not interfere with the students attending the school. In a speech broadcast across America on television, the president said he was serious about upholding the law.<br /> <br /> “Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of the courts,” Eisenhower said during that speech.<br /> <br /> The next morning, on Sept. 25, 1957, Green and the other eight students prepared to go to enroll for classes under federal troop escort.<br /> <br /> “We went to school in an Army station wagon and were part of a convoy with an Army Jeep in front of us and one behind with mounted machine guns,” Green said. “There were soldiers with rifles. And when we got to the front of the school, the whole school was ringed by paratroopers with helicopters hovering around and we slowly walked up the steps with this circle of soldiers with bayonets drawn. Walking up the steps that day to the school was probably one of the biggest feelings I've ever had in my lifetime.”<br /> <br /> Federal troops and the National Guard remained at the school through the end of the school year to protect the students and on May 27, 1958, Green became the first black student to graduate from Little Rock Central High School. Civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended the graduation ceremony as the guest of Ernest Green’s family and shook his hand marking his achievement.<br /> <br /> Green went on to attend Michigan State University on a scholarship and earned degrees in public finance.<br /> <br /> “I figured that I was making a statement and helping black people's existence in Little Rock. Now, beyond that, we'd never had much of a focus on what the nation or what the world impact of Little Rock was,” he said.<br /> <br /> His courage and bravery as a teenager helped change our nation and paved the way for America to fulfill its promise of liberty and justice for all.<br /></div>Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-20502995283117905412024-02-09T02:04:00.004-05:002024-02-09T02:04:00.141-05:00Andy Young: Just an average fellow<i>By Andy Young </i><br /><br />It’s official: I’m an average guy. <br /><br />I learned this recently while listening to a program on Maine Public Radio. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9nfRD9rrNHgY8G-jCBLG4ha5IEHMcbZhyphenhyphenOB3Gd48SL8wjDgTXDX9oylaUyI5G3dSho9FiIzB6ZAS3O_R6kvcaQchEOTTtoNGMWgnX2pDRwEIF94B6TFvMnUA9q5KOFCd7f6yILsDREOR9ezwLonpVCV1LSk7NwOMRG7urJNgiQwR-ePub1WTXkwzUyE/s1280/Andy%20Young.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9nfRD9rrNHgY8G-jCBLG4ha5IEHMcbZhyphenhyphenOB3Gd48SL8wjDgTXDX9oylaUyI5G3dSho9FiIzB6ZAS3O_R6kvcaQchEOTTtoNGMWgnX2pDRwEIF94B6TFvMnUA9q5KOFCd7f6yILsDREOR9ezwLonpVCV1LSk7NwOMRG7urJNgiQwR-ePub1WTXkwzUyE/s320/Andy%20Young.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I like having pleasant-sounding invisible people speak to me, even if these days it’s usually through a computer rather than an actual radio. Hearing random thoughtful voices is a great way to keep my mind active while I’m washing dishes, making beds, folding laundry, sweeping floors, or carrying out similar mundane but necessary household tasks. Some chores aren’t compatible with radio listening because they involve too much noise, like vacuuming, preparing meals that require the fan above the stove to be operating, or cursing at the knife I cut myself with during an already-loud meal preparation session. <br /><br />The program that informed me of my averageness concerned air travel, which is ironic, given that I’ve only been on an airplane four times in the past two-plus decades. But that’s what was on during the time I was doing the dishes that day, so I figured I’d take the opportunity to learn a little something about the commercial airline industry. The show began with the host introducing a distinguished panel of experts, and what followed was a lively and informative exchange of ideas concerning the many pros and cons of flying the friendly skies. <br /><br />Then, after a break for some public service announcements (and presumably a sip of water for the participants), the discussion was opened up to listeners. <br /><br />Perhaps unsurprisingly, the first caller had something of an ax to grind. “How come,” he asked, “the airlines keep making the seats smaller and smaller? I travel for business, and it seems to me we’re getting packed in like sardines these days.” <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://mainelyvetdentistry.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="740" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/mainelyvet.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><br />The responding panelist explained that for the sake of efficiency (a nicer-sounding word than “profitability”), airlines need to put as many people as possible on each flight. He then cited a study done some years back which revealed the average male American airplane passenger weighs 170 pounds. The folks who build airliners keep that in mind when designing the ideal width of the seats in the new planes they build. <br /><br />My ears picked up when I heard that, because when I had stepped on a scale earlier that very morning, three red digits indicated that I weighed….170.0 pounds. <br /><br />I’m not sure why, but learning I was in fact the average American male made me feel a lot more important than I had previously suspected I was. Imagine that: a major American industry was designing its business plan around me! <br /><br />I’m not really sure how helpful it is to the airlines to know how much the average American male weighs, though. For one thing, while I haven’t flown lately, I seem to remember that a fairly significant percentage of the people on past flights I’ve taken were female. <br /><br />Also, a person of any gender who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 170 pounds is going to take up considerably less seat width than a 170-pounder who is, say, four and a half feet tall. And while I appreciate the concern over girth, what about leg room? It hardly seems fair that a 6-foot-6 170-pound beanpole with three inches between either of his hips and a side of his airline seat has to fold himself up like an accordion, while his more corpulent 4-foot-6 170-pound pal gets to sit snugly while his or her feet dangle an inch above the airplane’s floor. <br /><br />I weigh 170 pounds, my height is between 4 and a half and 6 and a half feet, and I don’t have to fly anytime soon. <br /><br />If that’s average, I’ll take it. <<br /> Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-53950490611813790082024-02-02T02:10:00.005-05:002024-02-02T02:10:00.153-05:00Insight: A medical pair o’ docs<i>By Ed Pierce<br />Managing Editor </i><br /><br />I’m certainly not going to knock the medical profession as I have been given extended time on earth thanks to the knowledge and expertise of some of the finest physicians, technicians, and nurses around. But I am beginning to think my current medical provider has other priorities right now. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaU9qhyj4q1MHO5o0VR7dTbf_gEoCEKGSU3g4cSehjUK6G6koUQjiniZBI6LtVDjvksJTydhoYsbJtkhQFTAAZ1_ZH23Jmi4XWs1eSlCG3168n_QT_pJUxwhpek27hES9bOOn7f47DoJ1564BBse-z3ND13eSAREMpNxm7olqVCnsC_Qy2Y_W1zrD0s5I/s1920/Insight.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaU9qhyj4q1MHO5o0VR7dTbf_gEoCEKGSU3g4cSehjUK6G6koUQjiniZBI6LtVDjvksJTydhoYsbJtkhQFTAAZ1_ZH23Jmi4XWs1eSlCG3168n_QT_pJUxwhpek27hES9bOOn7f47DoJ1564BBse-z3ND13eSAREMpNxm7olqVCnsC_Qy2Y_W1zrD0s5I/w400-h266/Insight.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Last year in January, I met with a physician’s assistant for my annual medical checkup, and it was a highly informative visit. She told me that I was going to be her last patient ever at that facility. She said she enjoyed working there but told me that she had accepted another job closer to her home that didn’t require her to drive for more than an hour to get to her job each day. I really liked her because she took the time to listen to my medical concerns and I never felt like I was part of a production assembly line limited to five minutes of her time per visit and then ushered out the door. <br /><br />Her departure meant that for the fifth time in seven years, my next appointment would be with a different primary medical provider at that facility. Before leaving the office that day, I was assigned a new primary care provider, and an appointment was scheduled for Jan. 9, 2024 for my annual medical checkup and a blood draw for physician review. <br /><br />On the morning of Jan. 9, I got up early and made my way to my two appointments. I told the receptionist I was there for my blood draw at 9:30 and would follow that up with my annual checkup appointment with my primary care physician at 9:45 a.m. She instructed me to have a seat in the waiting room and gave me four or five papers to fill out regarding my current health and family medical history. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kimberlylim.glossgenius.com" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="800" height="277" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/kimlim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />After a short wait, I was called in for my blood work by the lab technician and when finished, she instructed me to return to the waiting room for my appointment with the doctor. I sat there for the next hour waiting for my appointment when the receptionist summoned me to the front desk and informed me that she had neglected to sign me in on the computer for the doctor appointment and the physician had moved on to seeing other patients. <br /><br />I then asked when the next available appointment was, and the receptionist told me that she could schedule me for another appointment in two weeks, as the physician was booked solid until then. I agreed and was scheduled once more for a 9:45 a.m. appointment on Jan. 23. <br /><br />But on the morning of Jan. 22, I received an automated phone call informing me that my physician would not be available on Jan. 23 and that I would have to schedule yet another appointment. <br /><br />Later that day, I called the medical facility to reschedule my appointment and was told that all the appointments with my physician were booked out through May and I could schedule an appointment with her in May or a sooner appointment could be scheduled with another doctor before then. Since this other doctor had treated my wife previously and I had accompanied her to the appointment with him earlier in January, I had a favorable impression of him and scheduled an appointment with him for Feb. 9. <br /><br />All of this is a far cry from the medical care available when I was growing up in the 1960s. I can recall once when I was suffering from the flu, my mother called my pediatrician, Dr. Lucy White, and she came to our home and visited me within an hour of that initial telephone call. She sat at my bedside and when she got up to leave, she reached into her black medical bag and gave my mother three pills to reduce my fever and help me feel better. In this new day and age of managed healthcare providers and health insurance, I think it’s a safe assumption that physicians no longer make home visits like that anymore. <br /><br />I also remember my father calling a doctor in town several days before I left home to attend college in 1971. As part of the enrollment process, my college required vaccinations for measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. The doctor told my father to drive me to his office that afternoon, and he would provide the shots I needed. <br /><br />We drove there and found that his “office” was an enclosed front porch to his home, and he was waiting there to see us when we arrived. The doctor gave me the four shots I needed and wrote out by hand a slip of paper for me to hand in during the college registration process. Before we left, my father gave the doctor $10 cash for four vaccinations and $5 for his time. Again, I highly doubt any scenario like this would be possible in 2024. <br /><br />My takeaway from this is that physicians nowadays are pressured to see a growing number of patients, who are waiting longer than ever to see their doctor for an appointment. Our physicians no longer have adequate time to see patients and offer thoughtful care.Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-44031318948965276512024-02-02T02:00:00.005-05:002024-02-02T02:00:00.136-05:00Andy Young: Good news or bad news?<i>By Andy Young </i><br /><br />This Saturday, February 3, marks the midway point of winter. That means I’m 50 percent done with shoveling snow, driving with white knuckles, and despairing over the acceleration of the inevitable rusting of my car’s undercarriage. I’m not complaining, mind you; having a temporarily salt-covered motor vehicle is better than having knuckleheads who drive on icy roads the same way they do in midsummer to lose control of their car or truck and plunge into a ditch. Or worse, having such knuckleheads lose control of their vehicle and hitting me and/or my vehicle with theirs. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyJkYLYQHbTlSdOa71ZaoZg2jGgSpiTi9vIEwY7mHfNUTNLRDipuLv_addQLydDtZYHt_uxDxQgx5oU5bpNyVSqsvUGNBy1d_ZqqrSzUApTp_6Pb0lzlEtWI7YSSdpXJ8JLzqB-A18DpKZiXvp1clijdmI5mWspMN_5-zLDFSIsKvg0aKNmbo0ZleVPs/s800/Andy%20Young.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyJkYLYQHbTlSdOa71ZaoZg2jGgSpiTi9vIEwY7mHfNUTNLRDipuLv_addQLydDtZYHt_uxDxQgx5oU5bpNyVSqsvUGNBy1d_ZqqrSzUApTp_6Pb0lzlEtWI7YSSdpXJ8JLzqB-A18DpKZiXvp1clijdmI5mWspMN_5-zLDFSIsKvg0aKNmbo0ZleVPs/w400-h300/Andy%20Young.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The bottom line: knowing it won’t be long before I can swap my Bean boots for some comfy sneakers and get my bike back on the road has me feeling energized! <br /><br />But my reaction to passing winter’s halfway point is markedly different from that of a significant number of my friends and neighbors. For them the looming onset of spring means the days that they have left to snowboard, ski, ice fish, or snowmobile are numbered. Winter’s inevitable demise is also depressing for the people who run ski areas, not to mention pond hockey players and snowshoeing enthusiasts. <br /><br />Commerce plays a major role in how or if someone reacts to knowing winter is more than half done. Individuals who earn money plowing snow and ice off parking lots and driveways know that those particular revenue streams will dry up once wintry precipitation ceases. The same, to a lesser extent, goes for those skilled in the art of curing sick furnaces and/or wood stoves. Keeping such devices operational is always important, but during months when the temperature stays under freezing and occasionally dips below zero, those who provide these services are in even more demand, and the rate of pay they draw when responding to emergencies reflects that. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fieldingsoil.com/_index.php" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="740" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/fieldings.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><br />A person’s reaction to realizing that winter is half over depends to a certain extent on geography. For example, in Vail, Colorado, Whistler, British Columbia, or Carrabassett Valley in Maine, knowing that winter is on the wane can be discouraging, if not downright depressing. It’s not that folks living in those parts object to more moderate temperatures, but a lot of people there make their living in the ski industry, and it’s tough to generate business when there’s no snow. <br /><br />By the same token, people in America’s south will greet the news that winter is at its midpoint with a shrug of their shoulders, if they react to it at all. Below-zero temperatures are unheard of in San Diego or Phoenix, and as far as economic hardship is concerned, well, there aren’t any snowmobile dealerships in Fort Lauderdale that’ll need to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. <br /><br />For all I know people who live in winterless places may look forward to their non-summer months. Miami, Houston, and New Orleans are stiflingly hot for much of the year, so even though they don’t have what people around here think of as “winter,” they probably enjoy whatever respite from the heat and humidity they can get. <br /><br />In the southern hemisphere right now, they too are halfway between the solstice and the equinox, but in their case it’s their summer that’s receding. I’ll bet surfers, jet skiers, and boaters in New Zealand and southern Argentina are experiencing the same vague foreboding that Maine’s snowmobilers are, knowing that in the not-too-distant future they’ll be putting their favorite recreational equipment into storage for eight months. <br /><br />Outwardly the situation this week is the same for everyone. But whether the news is good or bad depends, as it does with determining visual beauty, on the eye (and attitude) of the beholder. <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-88397743744221150152024-01-26T02:12:00.004-05:002024-01-26T02:12:00.149-05:00Insight: Don’t knock it until you try it<i>By Ed Pierce<br />Managing Editor</i><br /><br />Not long ago I watched footage of a Ring doorbell video which had captured a neighbor’s dog in Virginia ringing a resident’s doorbell at 4 a.m. It was hilarious to see the dog’s expression when he heard the chime and how it excited him at that hour of the night. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4v9A1maApPCV3B9P23Bgqhb0XrNvJaKfIx5xTHgiIzSgiws9Jgz2GIzMmC7DZsjG2XMsZ_N2wiTAE39RsNc8pBfbhMw6OIg0h1pPE_fYUVhEfo861l2qgEs20RskBFk6_CTwkuOf1KXnTQNhf-z4Mwzo6lUV9zjOxSUoYuw4wUBQS1poUY-SZbfOnyT8/s914/Doorbell.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="872" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4v9A1maApPCV3B9P23Bgqhb0XrNvJaKfIx5xTHgiIzSgiws9Jgz2GIzMmC7DZsjG2XMsZ_N2wiTAE39RsNc8pBfbhMw6OIg0h1pPE_fYUVhEfo861l2qgEs20RskBFk6_CTwkuOf1KXnTQNhf-z4Mwzo6lUV9zjOxSUoYuw4wUBQS1poUY-SZbfOnyT8/s320/Doorbell.png" width="305" /></a></div>That got me to thinking about the reasons that people now ring my doorbell today compared to when I was growing up in the 1960s. Modern digital doorbells showcase many different ringtones, music, cameras, and chimes and are much more elaborate than the standard “Ding Dong” doorbell of years past. <br /><br />I compiled a list of individuals who have rung my doorbell in the past five months and came up with an interesting list. <br /><br />About 9 a.m. two Saturdays ago, a group of Boy Scouts were collecting glass for a bottle drive to fund a camping trip this coming summer. Then there were two college students wanting me to sign a petition having something to do with beach erosion. <br /><br />Last fall, I had several representatives ring the bell wanting me to switch my internet provider to a cheaper alternative startup or upgrade my internet speed because of new fiber internet availability in my neighborhood. <br /><br />At least four different political candidates stopped by to encourage me to vote for them. Another fellow wanted me to sign a petition to limit heating oil lobbies in Maine. Of course, those visits usually happened just as my wife and I were just sitting down to have dinner. <br /><br />Our front doorbell rang 62 different times on Halloween night for trick-or-treaters. On a Saturday afternoon in November, a neighbor girl from our street pushed the doorbell wanting to see if we wanted to purchase her remaining 12 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. <br /><br />Back in early December when we both were suffering from bothersome colds, a contractor working on a home nearby stopped in to see if we needed a new water main installed while he was there and he was insistent that many water mains on our street needed immediate replacement. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://realestate2000.managebuilding.com/Resident/public/home" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="617" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/fieldingscommons.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />Years ago, it was always a surprise when the doorbell rang, and we certainly had many different types of visitors back then. <br /><br />I can recall my mother answering the doorbell in the 1960s and inviting the salesperson inside while she looked over their list of magazines available for subscription. There seemed to be a never-ending parade of salespeople offering vacuum cleaners, Fuller Brushes, Charles Chips, or diaper services. <br /><br />And I remember my father once buying a set of encyclopedias from a young man who told us he was working his way through college. My father also ordered a box of neckties for work from a textile company representative going door to door. Fortunately, we never had bill collectors ring the doorbell, but I did know some friends who did. <br /><br />My brother and I would spot teams of Jehovah’s Witnesses dressed in white shirts wearing ties and black pants who were out ringing doorbells in our neighborhood. Even though we were Catholic, my mother always found time to chat with them. She said that she enjoyed discussing matters of spirituality with them and she’d engage them or ask their opinion about articles she read in the Watchtower magazines they had left for her previously. <br /><br />Growing up in the 1960s, we knew our neighbors very well and frequently my mother would send me next door to see if they would happen to have a cup of sugar or a cup of flour that she could borrow when she was baking a cake. <br /><br />One of our neighbors also had her own business and would stop by and ring our doorbell to sell Avon beauty products to my mother. Because my mother didn’t drive, my father’s Christmas stocking almost always included a fancy bottle of aftershave from Avon that resembled an antique automobile or something similar. <br /><br />My brother and I rang plenty of doorbells trick-or-treating ourselves every Halloween. As a teenager though, my brother once got in trouble for being part of a group that placed dog doo-doo in a brown paper bag on a neighbor’s doorstep, set it on fire, rang the doorbell, and ran away. <br /><br />When I turned 12, I was old enough to start my own paper route and delivered the afternoon newspaper each day after school let out. Believe it or not, the worst part of that job was not delivering papers in the rain or snow but having to ring my subscribers’ doorbells to collect payment for the newspapers. <br /><br />I would approach a subscriber’s home at 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday evening and could hear music playing inside or see lights on, yet for some reason, they wouldn’t answer the door. It got to the point that some subscribers would owe me more than $10 and at that point I asked my father for advice. He told me to change the time I was collecting to Saturday mornings. I found it was easier to collect from people standing in their driveway than ringing their doorbell later that evening. <br /><br />Half a century later, it’s probably safe to say that doorbells continue to press my buttons.Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-42622363726666762542024-01-26T02:06:00.000-05:002024-01-26T02:06:00.134-05:00Andy Young: Could I be the first?<i>By Andy Young </i><br /><br />Through some recent exhaustive research, I learned it was either George Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde who first wrote or uttered, “Youth is wasted on the young,” or words to that effect. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2bXbxRYa-L1twfJT4gYyAQqsOOBgusCP3n_it6uTNEKFiSAt8oCyTDPJGey4hrfOWteHKDCCoHug3XI3HdziHidEIVJWdx5hHI3IlK_I5Xoe0V_zrMa33EDyMFYQ-KqDvYE6UBder1syHhDzL6hKPWbIIJvDE6XAweMNbF5H_sliEDdQoEfq6QrRpS0/s1318/Andy%20Young.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2bXbxRYa-L1twfJT4gYyAQqsOOBgusCP3n_it6uTNEKFiSAt8oCyTDPJGey4hrfOWteHKDCCoHug3XI3HdziHidEIVJWdx5hHI3IlK_I5Xoe0V_zrMa33EDyMFYQ-KqDvYE6UBder1syHhDzL6hKPWbIIJvDE6XAweMNbF5H_sliEDdQoEfq6QrRpS0/s320/Andy%20Young.png" width="258" /></a></div>Unfortunately, the specific information I had been seeking was the identity of the person who had first expressed, either verbally or in writing, that “Good health is wasted on the young.” <br /><br />Well, whoever made that declaration should have specified that it is merely good physical health that’s being squandered on the still-developing. Decades of life experience have revealed (to me, anyway) there’s still plenty of good health left in those of us who aren’t as youthful as we used to be. In fact, when it comes to mental, emotional, and spiritual health, by and large we vintage baby boomers (or at least those of us who are still breathing) have it all over Gen X, Gen Z, millennials, and whatever other arbitrarily created demographic groups exist in public imagination these days. <br /><br />I’ll admit to being a bit envious of people who can still run, walk, see, hear, and remember as easily as I once could. It used to bother me that I couldn’t instantly recall the first names of people I was certain I was familiar with. But that stopped concerning me when I realized it doesn’t faze me in the slightest when others can’t remember my first name. <br /><br />The most inconvenient part of depreciating physical health involves vision. Once upon a time I had terrific eyesight; I was one of those people who could actually see the stitches on the baseball when someone threw it to me. These days, however, if I tried playing catch the only stitches involved would be the ones they’d have to sew in order to repair my lip, nose, or whatever body part(s) the ball collided with after I didn’t see it coming. In fact, I probably couldn’t tell if a white spheroid headed in my direction was a softball, an albino grapefruit, or an unripe peach until I actually felt the thud, splat, or fuzz. And never mind recognizing old friends from a distance; I’m lucky if I can determine someone’s gender before they’ve come within 10 feet of me. <br /><br />At one point I was worried my worsening vision was making me a danger to society. That occurred after a white-knuckle drive home late one rainy night over some unfamiliar roads. It was only after relating the terrifying details to several friends (including a token millennial or two) that I realized everyone is a terrible driver after dark when it’s raining, and they don’t know the roads. <br /><br />I’m actually better at identifying things at a distance than I am up close. Currently I cannot read anything printed in less than <span style="font-size: large;">size 24 font</span> without the aid of spectacles. I presently own at least twenty dollars’ worth of reading glasses. I keep one pair in my pocket, another at my desk at school, and have others stashed next to my bed, on the top of the breadbox in the kitchen, in the car’s glove compartment, and in the bathroom. I’m not sure where the other four pairs are right now, although between some couch cushions, at a friend’s house, or between some couch cushions at a friend’s house are all good guesses. I still haven’t ascertained who it was that first declared “Good health is wasted on the young.” <br /><br />But wouldn’t it be something if nobody did? <br /><br />Because if that’s truly the case, the first person to publicly, presciently and precisely declare that good health is wasted on the young would be me! <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-40519317822133854432024-01-26T02:02:00.004-05:002024-01-26T02:02:00.195-05:00 Tim Nangle: Back to the State House, focused on community<i>By State Senator Tim Nangle </i><br /><br />The Maine State Legislature reconvened for the Second Regular Session of the 131st Legislature on Jan. 3. Being back in the State House is a reminder of our collective responsibility and privilege to serve the people of our great state. The opening of the session — particularly solemn this year as we honored the victims of the Lewiston mass shootings — was a stark reminder of the weight of the decisions we make in Augusta. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9paVFn-R4oZdPlirsM8ULI0eFnH7zeQqxmJ4Y03QLNSjUvzxpwndNDjC8qhPG7bDJ6LWN63jRR1bSp8k2ciQK-PTXOcA_WhHMc9P1GBIoS0bzubrSqUFWsIanoymVv_LXxVXnyv99dncaaGTTSOyX7qHrtWzmJYdPJBonm776Xkd8JiET91oOgGpqL0/s1875/Nangle.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="1483" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9paVFn-R4oZdPlirsM8ULI0eFnH7zeQqxmJ4Y03QLNSjUvzxpwndNDjC8qhPG7bDJ6LWN63jRR1bSp8k2ciQK-PTXOcA_WhHMc9P1GBIoS0bzubrSqUFWsIanoymVv_LXxVXnyv99dncaaGTTSOyX7qHrtWzmJYdPJBonm776Xkd8JiET91oOgGpqL0/w158-h200/Nangle.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State Sen. Tim Nangle</td></tr></tbody></table>We are tackling a wide array of critical issues this year, from expanding affordable housing and childcare to strengthening support for our working families. We're also focused on implementing pragmatic safety measures to prevent future tragedies. Rest assured, I will keep you informed of our progress and how these initiatives will impact our communities. <br /><br />As the Senate Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government, I am especially devoted to preserving the autonomy of our local governments and protecting the rich environmental resources of Maine. <br /><br />In that spirit, I’ve sponsored a bill this session that will be critical to providing local towns the resources they need to fight against shoreland zoning violations. This bill was born out of the ongoing struggle the town of Raymond is facing, but the legislation would be a positive enforcement tool for every municipality in the state. <a href="https://legislature.maine.gov/billtracker/#Paper/2101?legislature=131">LD 2101</a>, "An Act to Strengthen Shoreland Zoning Enforcement," aims to address a critical gap in cities and towns’ ability to enforce shoreland zoning laws effectively and, ultimately, protect our natural resources. <br /><br />The bill does two key things. First, it would allow for the restriction of permits to property owners who violate shoreland zoning ordinances. This measure is essential because, under current law, even with ongoing violations, municipalities are required to issue permits, limiting their ability to ensure compliance with state and locally established regulations. <br /><br />Additionally, the bill permits the placement of a lien on properties to recover costs related to violations. This change is crucial in giving municipalities the financial support they need to enforce the laws that protect our shorelands. <br /><br />Most shoreland zone violations are accidents, and towns work with the property owners to correct any mistakes. However, some of these incidents can lead to costly legal battles for towns, burdening local taxpayers and putting vital resources at risk. Maine's shorelands are not only aesthetically valuable but also vital to our ecosystem and community health. Your awareness and input are invaluable as this bill moves through the legislative process. I will be sure to update you once the public hearing for this bill is scheduled. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://jonathanpriest.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="800" height="277" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/farmersinsurance.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Staying actively involved in the legislative process is crucial. You can access comprehensive information about our schedules, public hearings, and ways to participate on the Legislature's website. For weekly updates on the Legislature's activities, including House and Senate sessions, committee briefings, public hearings, work sessions, and special events at the State House’s Hall of Flags, visit the Legislature’s calendar at <a href="https://legislature.maine.gov/Calendar/#Weekly/">legislature.maine.gov/Calendar/#Weekly/</a>. <br /><br />To delve deeper into a particular committee, navigate to <a href="https://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees">legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees</a>. Once there, select a committee from the drop-down menu to view its public hearings, work sessions, and weekly schedules. You can also subscribe to updates by clicking “Mailing List” on the top right of the committee page. <br /><br />Your participation in public hearings is invaluable. If you're considering testifying on a bill, get in touch with me and I can help guide you through the process. Public input is essential in shaping legislation to accurately reflect the views and needs of our community. Remember, the State House, including the Senate Chamber, is open to all. For State House Tour reservations, please visit <a href="https://mainestatemuseum.org/visit/blaine-house-and-state-house-tours/">mainestatemuseum.org/visit/blaine-house-and-state-house-tours/</a>. <br /><br />For young individuals interested in experiencing the legislative process up close, the Maine Senate’s Honorary Page Program is a fantastic opportunity. Pages help distribute amendments and deliver messages between Senators in the Senate Chamber. To learn more or apply, reach out to the Senate Secretary’s Office or email <a href="mailto:Alex.Ferguson@legislature.maine.gov">Alex.Ferguson@legislature.maine.gov</a>. With the start of the New Year, I am energized and ready to face the challenges ahead. I am here to listen, to serve, and to act on your behalf. Your input is invaluable. Reach out to me at <a href="mailto:Timothy.Nangle@legislature.maine.gov">Timothy.Nangle@legislature.maine.gov</a> or call 207-287-1515. For the latest updates, follow me on Facebook at <a href="file:///C:/Users/akennedy/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/2ZPRTJFT/facebook.com/SenatorTimNangle">facebook.com/SenatorTimNangle</a>, and sign up for my e-newsletter at <a href="file:///C:/Users/akennedy/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/2ZPRTJFT/mainesenate.org">mainesenate.org</a>. <Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-69885314949655259372024-01-19T02:18:00.008-05:002024-01-19T02:18:00.127-05:00Andy Young: Reaching for a favor<p><i>By Andy Young</i></p>Far be it from me to contradict Benjamin Franklin, the renowned scientist, inventor, publisher, and diplomat who served as America’s first postmaster general, but I can’t help thinking he was feeling a little cynical when he wrote that the only sure things in life were death and taxes. <div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNeZn7xVJ_BkJVTomPNe8j5tEJ5JUwJQ3GkGG0BiQmlHjBYLgJQObxKR_JD8HbuFWoLkAq6V-ehTYF2mdgSGFL3s-cXzqF8Kn8mY0s8AvVHgFEGxCaNtABFci0e6QtxFvQAicIjMweLJ8Y8JtKd9fvB0Y6m-bt3vtsshkV_MNidYUDLoTjstRac2rQmwu/s804/Andy%20Young.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNeZn7xVJ_BkJVTomPNe8j5tEJ5JUwJQ3GkGG0BiQmlHjBYLgJQObxKR_JD8HbuFWoLkAq6V-ehTYF2mdgSGFL3s-cXzqF8Kn8mY0s8AvVHgFEGxCaNtABFci0e6QtxFvQAicIjMweLJ8Y8JtKd9fvB0Y6m-bt3vtsshkV_MNidYUDLoTjstRac2rQmwu/s320/Andy%20Young.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>If I were asked to list life’s sure things, I’d add a third one, which is that several times a year, some random individual I’ve never laid eyes on before (and likely will never see again) will, intentionally or by accident, do something to make my day.<br /><br />A recent example of this pleasant phenomenon occurred last weekend inside a Biddeford grocery store. A woman was headed down the “Baking Needs” aisle at the same time I was proceeding up it. Nothing was blocking our respective paths, we were headed in opposite directions, and each of us was courteously keeping our cart to the right, doing our part to avoid creating one of those dreaded Saturday-afternoon-grocery-store-aisle bottlenecks.<br /><br />I might not recognize this Heaven-sent woman if I saw her again, and that’s a shame. But she wasn’t any more memorable physically than I am.<br /><br />Like most of humanity, she wasn’t unusually short, tall, slender, or heavyset. She was wearing a white ski jacket, and while I don’t think she had glasses, I wouldn’t swear to it. She could have been a 30-year-old having a tough day or a well-kept 60-year-old.<br /><br />I probably wouldn’t have noticed her had she not, as our carts got to within five feet of one another, flashed me a beatific smile. When I returned her cheerful expression, she stopped, then hesitantly asked, “Sir? Can you do me a favor?”<br /><br />Even before she elaborated, I knew the exact favor she was going to request.<br /><br />“Would you be able to reach that box for me?” she asked, pointing to a gluten-free cake mix located at the very back of the second shelf from the top. And as I always do in these situations, I eagerly and enthusiastically granted her request.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.egcu.org/personal/personal-checking/rise-high-yield-checking.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="454" height="320" src="http://www.thewindhameagle.com/ads/evergreenrise.jpg" width="182" /></a></div><br />Full disclosure: my skill set is severely limited. Had this woman asked me to jump-start her car, change her tire, repair an electronic device, or perform any other task involving mechanics, carpentry, plumbing, electricity, or any other useful skill, I would have had to shame-facedly turn her down, because I possess no qualifications in any of those areas.<br /><br />However, when it comes to fetching items located in high places, well, my unusually long arms are just what the doctor ordered. (I’m also pretty good at changing light bulbs located above the reach of most people, but really, how often does anyone get asked to do that in a grocery store?)<br /><br />After I fetched the cake mix in the blue box (not the brown one) for her, she thanked me warmly and genuinely. However, before we each headed back to our respective reality, I had to tell her the whole truth, which was that it was she who was doing me the favor.<br /><br />Nothing strokes a man’s ego (or at least this man’s ego) like being able to use his unique abilities to help others. I had entered that store feeling like a nobody but strode out of it imagining I was Clark Kent’s alter ego.<br /><br />The impromptu interaction I shared with that lovely woman last weekend reminded me of how easy it is to make another person’s day. More people should aspire to brighten someone else’s existence when circumstances allow it.<br /><br />Better yet, we should all be prepared to spring into action when an opportunity to create a spirit-lifting scenario presents itself. <<br /></div>Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1618666649961048471.post-8591785715552499782024-01-19T02:10:00.004-05:002024-01-19T02:10:00.128-05:00Jane Pringle: Reducing Barriers to Health Care for Mainers<p><i>By State Rep. Jane Pringle</i></p>The new year is a wonderful time to give thanks for the health and wellness of family and friends. All across the state we have many great medical providers striving to provide essential care for those who need it. <div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vEs-UsQsEmEwpe849xtD7CnvcYngAPeQnQEf4oBOMdr91Hu-FWfZATL5GXu3yYvqbMEwWwlvEKpIEWblJ2L8bobFT9ip1G9oouwk0tLmgnunXPyoudXb9-sjAStPtFlTSY5Jd4HaTjAycyRt4hM-C0G9Wq6lJ4lpME6XoSbTOrvHBQKdBZ5BdJ0KZQky/s711/Pringle.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="551" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vEs-UsQsEmEwpe849xtD7CnvcYngAPeQnQEf4oBOMdr91Hu-FWfZATL5GXu3yYvqbMEwWwlvEKpIEWblJ2L8bobFT9ip1G9oouwk0tLmgnunXPyoudXb9-sjAStPtFlTSY5Jd4HaTjAycyRt4hM-C0G9Wq6lJ4lpME6XoSbTOrvHBQKdBZ5BdJ0KZQky/w155-h200/Pringle.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State Rep. Jane Pringle</td></tr></tbody></table>In a perfect world, receiving medical care would be as easy as going to the provider’s office, being assessed, being prescribed a course of care, and then receiving that treatment. Unfortunately, our health care system does not function that way. The current system requiring prior authorizations has created significant barriers for medical professionals striving to deliver effective patient care.<br /><br />This session, I’ve introduced a bill that would improve the administrative process of prior authorization for medical professionals. Prior authorization is a system set up by insurance companies-public and private-to provide a health-plan cost control process. If a patient's treatment or test is deemed too costly, the insurance company will review whether it is medically necessary for the patient or if a less expensive test or treatment should be tried first. They will then decide whether to approve the course of treatment or reject it. Some of these systems are based on medical evidence and some of these systems are arbitrary and aimed at reducing expenditures, regardless of whether or not it will cause harm to the patient.<br /><br />In recent years, prior authorization requests have increased. This has proven to be an obstacle to care and, I believe, is leading to the increased cost of healthcare. The lack of standardization of systems across many insurance companies creates a mountain of administrative work for the medical professionals trying to get their patients the care they need.<br /><br />A case that demonstrates the system's pitfalls is that of a young mother who developed a pulmonary embolism (blood clot to the lungs) after giving birth. She required blood thinners for several months. Her family physician and her hematologist prescribed a well-known, cost-effective blood thinner that was deemed safe for her to use while nursing her newborn. This life-saving medication was essential in preventing the young mother from having another clot. Her prescribed course of care required 65 days of treatment, but her insurance company only authorized 15 days' worth of medicine. In reaction to the insurance company’s denial of care, the patient’s doctor’s office was forced to scramble and work tirelessly to appeal the decision.<br /><br />With five days to spare, they were able to get the patient the amount of medicine she needed at an affordable price. Despite this resolution, the delay of prior authorization required a significant amount of time and resources from the staff. It was time that could have been better spent on patient care rather than dealing with the clerical obstacles presented by insurance companies.<br /><br />With this patient example and so many others in mind, I look forward to continuing to work on my bill to improve the prior authorization process. Over the past several months, I have worked with many stakeholders – employers, insurers, hospitals, physicians, nurse practitioners, physical and occupational therapists, and healthcare advocacy organizations – to strengthen the rules and create a public “report card” about insurance carrier’s behavior. This report will reveal how many initial approvals, denials, and appeals insurance companies are issuing, and will illuminate whether they are delivering benefits to customers as promised. Holding these organizations accountable will ease the administrative burdens on healthcare providers and, ultimately, reduce the cost to patients.<br /><br />I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to get this legislation enacted into law. <<br /><br /><i>State Rep. Jane Pringle is serving her second non-consecutive term in the Maine House of Representatives, having previously served from 2012 to 2014. She is currently a member of the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee in the 131st Maine Legislature.</i></div>Ed Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564979619787200118noreply@blogger.com0