Hey folks, I’m back! In the truckin’ business we’re always on a trip to somewhere, I guess, that’s how we make money, but there is a line from a great song by the Grateful Dead, “What a long, strange trip it’s been,” and folks.

Mid-July in Maine. It probably doesn’t get much better than this. Beaches, lakes, ponds, cookouts, seafood, and the list goes on. I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy some of these special activities of Maine.

I have been given the rather daunting task of coming up with a name for this column, and I have stressed over it a considerable amount. After all, whatever I call this creation will be stuck with it for the length of time I continue to write it. I understand why it is that it takes people a long time to come up with a name for their pet. I have had some difficulty in this area as well. I find in that case that a nickname is quickly adopted. But that doesn’t work for something as eternal as print.

“But I never saw a tick” and “I never got a bullseye rash” are two very common comments I get when I talk to people who tested positive for a tickborne disease. So why is that?