The month of August brings me many things: humid days, cool nights, memories of the Northern Maine Fair, lingering back-to-school jitters, dear friends’ birthdays, “dog days,” memories of two very sneaky young ladies, a high capacity stereo system, and a black Chevy Impala.
Determining an exact date for vital events in the past can be complicated by changes in the calendar and in writing styles. In centuries past, Europe and Colonial America used the Julian calendar which was named after Roman Emperor Julius Caesar.
It was one of those awkward moments that all fathers with daughters dread. A simple conversation with my daughter regarding some of her new back-to-school clothes took a sudden turn down a road that was both unexpected and yet inevitable.
“Do you like this outfit?” my 10-year-old asked.
“Yes, honey,” was my reply.
“Oh, and I got a new bra too,” she added.
It has been five years since Wall Street’s riskiest financial transactions went awry and left Main Street to pick up the pieces. Maine, which saw unemployment peak at the height of the crisis, is still struggling to recover the thousands of jobs that were lost due to irresponsible practices at the biggest financial institutions. In the aftermath of the crisis,
My sister’s cat, Stella, has always been very elusive. I usually catch rapid glimpses of her gray/black, rotund body dashing from room to room, deep green eyes a charming combination of mischief and shyness. She has always refused my advances toward her and I have never even been given the privilege of running my fingers through her thick coat. At least, not until today.
Nearly every resident of Houlton likely experienced a feeling of “sticker shock” last week when they went to the mailbox and saw their tax bills waiting for them.
On July 1st, Congress failed America’s students. Because of our inaction, the interest rate on new subsidized Stafford loans jumped from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Compared to current market interest rates, this unfairly subjects our students to more than $30 billion over the next four years in unnecessary loan payments.
This past January, with temperatures plunging into a deep freeze, the Governor’s Energy Office received a phone call on a Friday from an elderly veteran who was facing the chilling prospect of no heat for the weekend. He did not have the minimum amount of cash for an oil delivery of 100 gallons, so he was preparing to make the walk to fill his five-gallon kerosene can intermittently throughout the weekend to stay warm and avoid the bitter cold.
I watched God complete a work of art as we drove home in the early evening. The sky clung unabashedly to that summer blue, all the while surrendering to the divine white brush strokes applied by the Master’s hand. I decided then and there that if I should ever lose my ability to see, the two things I would miss the most would be the sight of Mount Katahdin looming before me on I-95 and this perfect July 9 sky above.
I have served in the Maine Legislature since 2002. In my experience this has been one of the most challenging sessions, because despite the Legislature’s best efforts, the governor continued to block progress by putting politics ahead of good policy. At more than 80 vetoes, Governor LePage vetoed more bills than any governor in Maine’s history.
