Madness

Several of the yahoos running for the GOP nomination to the Senate from Maine have been promising to cut spending and create jobs. You don't need an MBA or an Ivy League education to realize that those two goals are antithetical. You can't make jobs without capital. A few years back, it appeared that Maine Republicans were different from the loonies in the national press. Now, not so much.
The other day, out of the blue, a woman approached another woman and said she would "break [her] face." Now, the other woman is young and strong and big and fit; it would be crazy to attack her, and in public, yet. But there are mad folks afoot, and summer hasn't even started yet.
The good news is that as of 9:30 this AM, Autumn is at her mooring and ready for a voyage tomorrow.

Time warp at Andover

On Saturday we went to Andover for the Andover vs. Exeter alumni lacrosse game, which Eric Bergofsky and I started about 20 years ago. The last few times we had been to this game, there were very few of the players I had coached at the game. This year, however, most of the players were from my coaching era, and we had a great time with them and with the parents who came to watch. Best of all, Bart scored a quickstick goal, and ran a couple of midfield shifts. It felt (briefly) as if many years had slipped away.
The varsity game that followed was one of the best I have seen on that field. Exeter won 7-6 in overtime, as Steve Moreland's young team just couldn't hold a lead at the very end. But the future is bright for that team, and perhaps we will tune in a bit more to Andover lacrosse.
A night in Carlisle, following the rigors of a day in the heat and dinner at the Athenian Corner, was welcome. those kids are sure growing... but they are still very loud.

Each year, a little ...

A little what? Well, in the case of our volunteer garage pansies, a little more each year, and more colorful, too. Out of sight to the right is a patch of all-purple pansies, thriving where the Santa Fe comes and goes. You can't keep a good pansy down.
And the Boston Whaler is in, as of yesterday. Each year we are amazed at the longevity of the boat and motor, which spent several days upside down in the water when stolen by kids in 1994. The engine started first pull.
Each year the phoebes return to reconstruct their nest on the front porch. With all the recent wet weather, it appears they will have food galore from all the plump mosquitoes that are hatching as I write.
And on we go, too, each year a little happier to live in Maine. Except for January-March.

Megunticook, twelve years later

As we climbed the trail to this 1300-foot hill, we thought back to our last ascent, during Thanksgiving years ago. The beauty of that fall day, the impromptu heroism of Hannah and Andrea, and those first beers at the Waterworks!
Today was lovely, too, warm and mosquito-free, and the view from the top was as wonderful as we remembered it.

Thanks to Em and Gregg for sending us to Camden.  It's fun to spend some time before the tourists hit.

Keeping watch

You can buy a flagpole with an eagle at the top. But why? We had a real, live bird on ours today, not an eagle but a hawk. Soon the flag will fly, but we will wait, as usual, for Memorial Day. The Whaler went to Howie's today to have the motor put on. The outhaul is in. We hope to have our diminished fleet launched by the end of the week.

There is a hiatus for the next two days while we visit Camden, courtesy of Em and Gregg.

Dahlias

BIW is building the next generation of warships -- the DDG 1000 -- and today a huge barge brought a piece upriver. It's all pretty secret. The patrol boat continues, as it has for many years, to look for bearded men in kafiyas who are going to blow up the tug Kennebec. Anyway, the barge came upriver while I was manually rototilling a small bed for the dahlias that Marnie bought yesterday.
I hate dahlias. When I was in junior high, I used to make some money working for Mrs. K______, who lived catty-corner across the street from us. I mowed her lawn, raked, weeded.... and cared for her precious freaking dahlias. Mrs. K______ was a prodigious consumer of Four Roses, but in the late morning she was at the top of her game, and she would come down and supervise my work, which (as I remember) was never up to her standards. Dahlias are delicate things, it seems, and they require a lot of care and love. Not my strongest suit in junior high. Well, let's see how Marnie's dahlias do. My part is done, and by now the barge is docked at BIW. Lovely sunny day, anyway.

Lacrosse initiation

Owen decided to root for the Morse Shipbuilders after he saw that they led Mt. Blue 12-0 at the half. He and Jonas raced around and had a grand time next to the new Hyde "turf" field.
The quality of play, especially from Mt. Blue, was such that I was pleased not be a part of Maine HS lacrosse. Morse was doing the right things, but the level is not very high.
The good part was that Owen and Jonas were introduced to a sport which perhaps they will play, and in which they can both excel. No early mornings!

Ham

My amateur radio license is up for renewal this year, and a requirement is to have been on the air a certain number of hours. Although my equipment has languished, and the antenna has come down a few times, when I fired it up today, all was well, and I had a chat with a chap named Artie near Capetown, South Africa. (On 15 meters, Koof.) I had forgotten the magic of world-wide communication without wires. It will be easier to get back to it now, and rack up the requisite hours.
Part of the reason for my inactivity on the airwaves is the inanity of many of the American hams. Now that the sunspots are plentiful the signal goes around the world and the hobby becomes interesting again. I am becoming eager to brush up my Morse code (have practice mp3s in my mp3 player) and "work dx." [In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that I can be inane myself. ]

Grandma guards the crease

Owen's preferred hockey opponent is Grandma, even though she insisted on moving the rink outdoors yesterday into the 75-degree warmth. He continues to play hockey at any opportunity, and has done so for a long time. I am afraid there may be early mornings and large disbursements in the McGraths' future.
Previous to this contest Owen's mom brought him to join us at "Maine Walks for Haiti" on the Back Bay Trail in Portland. Lovely day for a good cause, and Owen slept a lot of the way in the stroller so as to prepare for the hockey game that followed.
Nice Mothers' Day brunch at Mae's today!

Let's make a movie

Ever since my days as Miss Movietime at the Camden Courier-Post, I have wanted to make a movie. Yet I had in mind no subject worth treating. But now I do, and I would like to invite blog readers to join me in collecting footage for this musical.
My working title is The Avoirdupois Waltz. Footage will consist of obese persons gliding around supermarkets and Walmarts in motorized carts.
I believe these carts were originally provided for disabled folks, but those people are out of luck, as the tubs roll in and grab every one. Brave new world!
Anyone who can furnish video of such activities will get a movie credit.

Our Post Cards

The mighty Marcus Hanna steamed up the river this afternoon with a load of buoys. It has a lot of superstructure and was pitching a bit as it approached The Crotch. Wonder how it does at sea.
It has been a blessing to have the Coast Guard house next to us empty for so long. Even though many of the tenants have been good folk, there is always a startup issue or two, and sometimes things have been unpleasant. On the positive side, I did get a chance to shoot a paintball gun two occupants ago.

Mooning again

Tonight there was a huge moon -- as close to earth as it gets in a year. So, having picked wrong on the Derby, and having slugged a couple of mint juleps, and having eaten a succulent beef dinner, Grandma and I drove south and scaled majestic Higgins Mountain to catch sight of the big fat moon. It sneaked up on us, as the evening was still quite light and there were a few clouds, but eventually we tracked it, and it was indeed huge. Look how it compares with man's crowning achievement, the cell tower.
Be of good cheer, you who haven't yet mooned. There's a world down here.

Bleed no more

A letter today from the Red Cross informed me that the blood I had donated last month tested positive for HCV (Hepatitis C), and although subsequent tests indicated that the first test was a false positive and I had no infection (not being a dabbler in street drugs), I would be ineligible to donate blood in the future.
I have been giving blood twice a year since 1970. I can't say it is a lot of fun, but it has always seemed worthwhile, sometimes interesting,  and I am curiously disappointed that I can't do it again. It feels like a kind of dishonorable discharge, though I did nothing wrong, and my blood was almost certainly the pristine A+ it has always been.

Ah, well, time to look for another thing to donate. Hmmmm

River newcomer

On this chilly damp day, the little tug Kennebec went down river, apparently bearing a pilot, for soon up the river came something new to us: a container ship called the Coastal Venture.  Always good to see action on the Kennebec, and something new.

Donald Beaton, having sold his place on the Kennebec last Friday, today bought himself a late model Toyota Yaris. Look out.