This Is Who We Are

We enjoyed a dinner of toasted tuna rolls and leftover side dishes from earlier in the week as the cool air from the lake whispered through the trees. It had been a very good day spent frolicking on the lake. Somebody suggested that we see if we can find the movie, On Golden Pond, that maybe it would be the perfect movie to watch after such a day. After dinner I took a shower, wondering how the old classic from 1982 would hold up after all these years. When I walked into the living room all fresh and clean shaven, Pam and Paula were huddled over their cell phones while the television screen in the corner screamed the headline about an assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump. 

I watched the video, heard the sound of firecrackers and saw him reach for his ear then drop down behind the lectern. I watched the Secret Service storm the stage, eventually lift the man up, whisking him away to a black SUV. I saw him clinch his fist and yell at the crowd, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

And just like that…this national moment of chaos and despair just got immeasurably worse.

The photograph of Trump, face bloodied by a would-be assassin’s bullet, fist raised in defiance and anger, will become an icon. I am left with a profound sadness and memories of my parents. As a five year old child one of my very first memories of any kind was the ashen-faced reaction of Mom and Dad the day John F. Kennedy was killed. Then, almost twenty years later, I walked in the house and saw my father standing alone in front of our old black and white RCA Victor watching a breaking news report about Ronald Reagan being shot and whisked off to surgery at a nearby hospital. My dad had tears in his eyes. One a Democrat, the other a Republican, but both Presidents. Dad made a point to me about respecting the office over the man. I have never forgotten the scene, my Dad never having been much of a cryer.

We eventually settled down from all the news and watched the movie. It was transcendently beautiful. From the very first scene to watching the credits roll over the shimmering water, I was on the edge of remarkable emotion. Henry Fonda. Katherine Hepburn. A story about aging and family and a magical place that brings them together. It was a lot to process at the end of such a day.

Then, I was awakened by the morning sun filtering through the blinds. I glanced at the bedside clock…5:22. I got up, threw some clothes on and walked down to the lake. The sun had just risen…

I am at the point in my life where the sight of any politician on my tv screen makes me almost physically ill, none more so than Donald Trump. I have made my views on this man abundantly clear in this space over the past eight years. But, he was our President and very well may be again. Like my father before me, I respect the office he held, and hate seeing it diminished by violence. The only thing that feels different now is that nobody is shocked by this. Deep down, most people in America who have been paying attention expected this. I know I did. I wasn’t sure which one of them would get shot at, but I was sure one of them would before Election Day. The painful truth of the moment is—this is who we are now.

But, as Ernest Hemingway reminded us…the sun also rises. Today is a new day and the possibilities are endless. As I stood on the dock watching the sun peaking over the pines I said a prayer for my country.

Decisions, Decisions

Ok, some big decisions are going to need to be made today with regards to tomorrow, Saturday, July 13th, 2024. So far, the only thing that has been firmly established is the time for me to pickup our donut order at Ruckus Donuts in Rockland. That would be 7:30am. You read that right…this is a donut order, one that had to be placed on or before 7:30 this morning for pickup 24 hours later. This is a supply and demand phenomenon, this Ruckus Donuts outfit.

But, after our donuts there’s a universe of entertainment options available to us. All we have to do is prioritize them, do a cost/benefit analysis and make a command decision. Here are just a few of our options:

1. The North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland, Maine. This prestigious event will be headlined by Buckwheat Zydeco. I mean, how many chances are you gonna get to hear him??

2. The Moxie Festival at Beaver Park up in Lisbon, Maine. This event celebrates a truly horrible tasting soft drink indigenous to Maine…

Lest you dismiss this as not a viable option for our entertainment dollars, I probably should mention that there will be a…

3. Union Fair’s Maine Wild Blueberry Festival. How many times can I miss this?

4. Lincolnville’s Strawberry Festival and Parade. Last year we saw this parade and made the ghastly mistake of thinking we had time to head into Camden for breakfast first before attending the festival. Unfortunately, by the time we made it back to Lincolnville every single strawberry and every derivative dish featuring strawberries had been completely sold out.

5. Searsmont Library Book Fair and Sale. I love books, and Searsmont is our hometown of sorts here in Maine so shouldn’t charity begin at home?

Of course, as is nearly always the case, the weather forecast for tomorrow calls for gorgeous lake conditions. This just makes this decision all that much more difficult since it introduces a sixth viable option…

6. The “Lay around on floats on the lake all day soaking up the sun” Festival on Quantabacook Lake, or LAOFOTLADSUTS Day, as we like to call it. It features lazy white folks doing nothing productive while their dog swims in circles around them. Lunch will most likely come from Fraternity Village General store since none of the aforementioned white folks are industrious enough to actually make something.

So…what should we do? We are open to suggestions.

One-Eyed Jack

I have come to believe that historically cold and snowy places have a tendency to bake in a certain weirdness in the population. Take Maine for instance. This place is an icebox for five long months in the late fall and winter. Snow is everywhere, all the lakes freeze over, and after that the spring brings mud and lots of it. So what are a people to do when faced with this sort of dreariness? Well, for starters, they do stuff like this…

Meet One-Eyed Jack, an otherwise nondescript maple tree here at Fernwood Cottage. Someone—it would be presumptuous to assume its the owner of Fernwood—went to the trouble of adorning this tree a full twelve feet from the ground. The droopy eye, puckered lips and aristocratic nose suggest a level of sophistication. Did he/she start out with two eyes only to lose one during a particularly violent winter storm or was he born this way? It only adds to the mystery. It would be one thing if this was a one off. But in our years up here we have encountered these type of anomalies all over the Maine woods. There was one on a gravel path at Crawford Pond several years back who we fondly nicknamed Donald Trunk. You take enough hikes down random trails up here and you will meet all manner of decorated trees, weird stick men engaging in sword fights, the occasional display of gnomes decorated with outlandish beads and trinkets. It’s like a museum of oddities.

This guy here, One-Eyed Jack, is placed directly in the line of sight of whoever happens to be cooking dinner on the grill out on the back deck. At first it’s kinda cool, but after a while you start to think that he’s mocking you—“Look at this Virginian trying to cook steaks on the grill. He wouldn’t last ten minutes here in February. And how about that accent?! What a hick!” You can practically smell his attitude! 

But the snarky vibe that this guy gives off isn’t limited to dinner time. Yesterday I went for a kayak trip that was quite extensive…

 

It took over an hour and a half to paddle this 5.3 miles. As I was walking up the path to the cabin I passed One-Eyed Jack and could have sworn I heard him say…If you were a real Mainer you would have gone all the way around the lake. What a wuss!! It could have been my imagination, but honestly I wouldn’t put anything past him.

A Gorgeous Morning and an Annoying Swimmer

This is my view at the moment. It’s only my second morning here and yesterday’s was plagued by that rarest of conditions up here—humidity. But this morning, order has been gloriously restored. 67 degrees and a cool dry breeze drifts through these screens. The only ripple on the lake is being made by a single swimmer, slowly cutting through the silky water, a wide v-shaped wake drifting behind. The nerve of that guy, reminding the rest of us how out of shape and lazy we are. He probably will swim five miles then head back to his camp and eat plain yogurt for breakfast. Me? I’m thinking about doing some pushups, then I’ll broil up four English muffin halves, slather them with peanut butter and jam and thank Almighty God that I will never be forced to choke down yogurt in this or any other life.

It’s hard to concentrate on writing this blog out here on this porch. Except for triathlon dude, every sound I’m hearing is being made by something other than human beings. I am surrounded by a chorus of birdsongs, four specific melodies that I can pick out and a lone woodpecker tapping away in the distance. Every once in a while a loon call drifts across the lake. The clouds in the distance are slowly taking on a pink and orange glow which, blending in with the Carolina blue morning sky, reminds me of the cotton candy stand at the State Fair. Now that buzz-kill bro is gone the lake is still again, the only blemish coming from insects touching down here and there, their presence sending tiny rings out on the water’s surface. Now, another woodpecker, closer and from the north, this one whacking a softer tree. It’s almost unbearably beautiful.

I got my first sales numbers in from my publisher for A Life of Dreams. They weren’t very good. It was only for the month of May but still, I couldn’t help being disappointed. I’m a competitive guy. I’ve generally succeeded at most things I’ve taken on in this life, so I naturally took the low sales numbers personally. But then last night I got a text from a friend who wanted to let me know that her and her husband had just finished reading the book and they both loved it. She was by no means the first reader to tell me that the story had brought her to tears. The encouragement of her words helped my sour mood with the sales numbers. It also reminded me that I am not even halfway through spending six weeks in Maine and feeling sorry for myself is a very bad look. 

And here comes Mister Showoff back from his Olympic trial run…I must say that his swimming stroke looks quite awkward and choppy. Wait..hold on…it’s a woman. Great. Oh, and now that I’ve got the binoculars out I can see that she is a quite elderly woman. Wonderful. Yeah, well…but is she happy? That’s what I want to know. But, even if she is, there’s a bowl of plain yogurt in her immediate future. Pssshh! No thanks!

Moved In at Fernwood Cottage

Today was moving day #2. We packed up and left Summer Dreams around 9:00 am and took up residence at Fernwood Cottage on the west side of Quantabacook. There will be pictures to come later. So far we are loving the place. Also, Ron and Paula arrived today much to the delight of Lucy who continues to live her best life here at the lake.

This blog is about the one indispensable institution in the town of Searsmont—especially on moving day. Of course, I could only be referring to the Fraternity General Store. For lunch I picked up sandwiches, for dinner we ordered a pizza. Each meal was delicious and reasonably priced. The store is only 1.5 miles from our camp. Around 6:00 we were all sitting on the dock enjoying the gorgeous views and feeling the delightfully cool breezes blowing in our faces when someone said something about what we were going to do about dinner. Within a few minutes Pam was on her cell phone with Fraternity ordering our pizza and was told that it would be ready for pickup in 30 minutes. Paula made the wry observation of how incredible that we could be in such a secluded slice of Maine natural beauty and be enjoying a slice of fresh pizza in a mere thirty minutes!

So, I thought I would share with all of you just what sort of place Fraternity is. Each town, village, and glorified intersection in rural Maine has a store very much like Fraternity General…

As the sign says, it’s a combination cafe/general store/deli-bakery/produce stand/ pizza joint. Oh, and in its spare time it’s also a game inspection station.

This bakery produces some killer delicacies, everything from whoopi pies to blueberry muffins. But the real action takes place in this piping hot kitchen where an assortment or sandwiches, Italian subs and pizzas are expertly prepared on a daily basis.

Now, we try not to make a habit of eating meals from Fraternity. It’s the kind of food that could put 25 pounds on you quicker than a knife fight in a phone booth. But, when you’ve packed up one house, unpacked at another and are tired and sweaty, it’s nearly the best food in the world.

I do have one photo to share from our new home. This one was taken down near the dock around 7:30 or so. Look at the big smile on Lucy’s face, hoping that Uncle Ron might reel in a fish!!

A Lobster Roll Picnic

A wonderful July 4th experience was had on the lake yesterday. You know you’re in Maine when your Independence Day cookout features lobster rolls…

Here’s how this worked out. The folks who own the camp we’re staying at right now,( Summer Dreams), Matt and Sharon, invited us to a picnic at their other camp on the lake (Piper Cove) which happens to be next door to Loon Landing. Next door to Piper Cove is another great camp owned by Gill and Charles. The folks who own the place next to us here at Summer Dreams (Matt and Tuesday)were also invited to this picnic. It was a crowd of wonderful long time camp owners on Quantabacook…and us.

So, Early yesterday morning Matt drives into Lincolnville Beach and picks up a bunch of fresh caught lobsters directly from a lobster boat, brings them back to camp and cooks them up. Then, the indomitable Carolyn May (owner of Loon Landing) spent hours picking all the meat from these lobsters. Pam along with Matt and Sharon provided a salad, a bunch of snacks and adult beverages and of course Carolyn thought to bring a dozen or so oysters on the half shell. We ate this feast at an outdoor table just steps from the water as the setting sun splashed its reflection across the lake’s surface. Pam and I listened to their stories about lake life with great interest and just a twinge of envy. Around 8:30 or so we heard the first explosion of fireworks from the north end of the lake which was our cue to head back to camp to comfort poor Lucy. We found her curled up in a ball in the tiny bathroom, her nose scrunched firmly under the bottom edge of the vanity. This morning she seems to have recovered…

I approached Matt at the party and asked him where and how he managed to find that really cool Maine-shaped rock  right at the entrance to the dock at Summer Dreams. He looked at me with a confused expression—“What Maine-shaped rock?” I said, “You’re kidding me, right? The one right near the dock!” Nope, no recognition at all. I told him that I would take a picture of it and text it to him so I did this morning. You guys be the judge…

Here’s the State of Maine…

And here is their rock…

I think its a dead ringer!

July 4th Observations

Happy July 4th, everyone. Here on Quantabacook there will be the famous July 4th Boat Parade. Then a cookout with some homeowner friends where lobster rolls will be served. After that poor Lucy will have the worst night of her life trying to endure the fireworks show! Pictures will follow from all the fun.

So, yesterday something popped up on my Facebook wall from someone I didn’t know, probably a friend of a friend sort of thing. It was a 4th of July meme thing and it said—Chose wisely in November or this might very well be the last time you will be able to celebrate the 4th of July. 

STOP! For the love of God, just stop.

This type of political hyperbole is the bane of my existence. It infuriates me what politics has done to us, worse than that it infuriates me that we have given politicians this much power—to turn otherwise rational adults into blithering idiots. This particular poster did not tell us who she or he supports for President, so it could have been either of them. It doesn't matter because in either case this message is complete horseshit. I will here and now declare without equivocation that next July 4th I will celebrate our nation’s independence with great enthusiasm regardless of who wins the election!! And, so will you!!!!!!

Here’s the thing, people. I have been in the financial advisory business for over 4 decades and every Presidential election year its the same old story. Maybe 10% of my clients are what I would call political partisans, the sort of people who are really into politics.(not that there’s anything wrong with that). They are roughly evenly divided by party affiliation. Every election its the same story—“Doug, if candidate A wins this election I’m going to sell everything I have with you because if he/she wins the country is finished!!” I spend days, sometimes weeks talking them off the ledge. Oh, the horror stories I have heard from these folks telling me what was about to befall the country if their candidate loses. The economy was going to be destroyed, religious liberties revoked, gay people dragged from their beds, homeschoolers arrested, and microchips implanted in every brain in America. I have been warned about the nefarious intentions of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Al Gore, Tipper Gore, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris. Everyone of these people was going to usher in the four horses of the apocalypse. Oddly enough, the only President and First Lady that got a pass from these folks was George H. W. Bush and Barbara. Go figure. I shouldn’t have to point this out but in none of these cases were the dire predictions true. Not even close! All of these Presidents enjoyed booming stock markets and largely thriving economies.

The question I have always anted to ask these partisans is a simple one…Has any American president in your lifetime had a major negative impact on your life? Here’s my answer—no. Republicans come and Republicans go. Democrats come and Democrats go. My life continues on its merry way, its quality almost entirely dependent upon my actions and my decisions. Do Presidents have any influence? Sure they do. Some policies that have been enacted over the last 40 years have not been my preferred prescription for how to run the country. This is also not to say that politicians cannot do major harm to the pursuit of happiness. They can and do from time to time. But every election year I listen to the dire warnings, I take note of all the people who promise to leave America of so-and-so wins the election but without fail—they never do. Somehow they just can’t bring themself to quit America. And neither will you!! 

So, just knock it off with your doom and gloom. This nation has survived much worse than either Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Turn off your TV. Shut down your computer. Go for a walk. I’m betting that there’s another Barbara Bush in our future.