The newly married Mr. and Mrs. Larry Sidelinger. The bride is Sue Guptill. The ceremony and reception was held at the Mill Pond Inn, Nobleboro, at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 2. (Photo courtesy Scott B. Smith Imagery/scottbsmith.com)
As I sit ponderin’ at this here computer, on only my second day of bein’ a married man again after a long hiatus, I’m wonderin’ what to scribble about this week. Been a lot happenin’ in the last week or so, both in the world around me and my own little world itself!
Let’s start with the bigger picture. We all watched as another natural disaster occurred in the form of Hurricane Harvey, which battered Houston with over 2, and up to 4, feet of rain, causing unbelievable flooding and destruction.
Now, as bad as that has been for the people who live there, it is somewhat comforting to see our country pull together, sending relief from all corners of the USA to people in desperate need.
For way too long now, we, as a country of free people, have been having a hard time to agree, politically speaking, whether the sun was even out. And if it was, our POTUS would tell you it wasn’t anyways, and I shouldn’t limit it to just him either, as there is plenty enough verbal garbage going on from both sides of the aisle.
But it is times like these, unfortunately, that do bring out the best in our fellow man, as I’m sure there wasn’t a whole lot of questioning people’s political views as rescuers searched and saved their fellow Texans from the devastation.
But one of the things that I wish wouldn’t happen, but I feel quite sure it will, is that somewhere down the line there will be the corruption side of the situation, where some insurance scam or some government agent, or some unscrupulous business entity, will be involved in some kind of fraud. We see it every time, where the media coverage focuses on the destruction at hand, only to find the people left behind in the wake of the calamity dealing with enormous amounts of red tape as they try to survive and rebuild. Which brings me to my next subject!
As some of you know, I am a proud member of the Wells-Hussey American Legion Post in Damariscotta. I am a Son of the Legion, as my dad served in World War II. “What’s this have to do with anything?” you might ask. Well, I can proudly say that our post has collected two semitrailer loads of hurricane-relief supplies in the past 12 years. My company, Yankee Pride Transportation, with the help of my buddy Jeff Payson, owner of Northeast Transport in Waldoboro, have delivered these badly needed supplies to people in desperate need.
We took one to the central east coast of Florida about 12 years ago, and another a few years back to New York after Sandy. And folks, we’re going to do it again. We are hoping to fill a 53-foot box trailer with items that are badly needed.
I can tell you that the memories of gratitude and hope that I encountered on both of those trips I will take with me forever. But the pride that I felt, of being a resident of a small town in Maine that from out of nowhere dug down and reached out to people in need by filling a trailer with relief necessities, I’ll always cherish that pride. And we, or you all, have done it twice now!
I don’t even know what the monetary value is of a truckload, but it’s a lot, this I do know. And it’s not a cheap endeavor to pull off either. So I’m reaching out to the folks in Lincoln County to help once again as we tackle the biggest relief effort yet from our small community.
One of the things I have learned from being involved in these efforts is that what we take is the most important aspect. In the past we have gathered clothing, furniture, food, you name it, and although it was all used at some time, the items that are most desperately needed are cleaning supplies, heavy-duty garbage bags, paper towels, water, canned food, dog and cat food, etc. We are trying to stay away from sending clothes this time as it gets really confusing at the other end of the trip. Also, donations can be made to the Wells-Hussey Post, and we can get the money into the proper hands, as we are coordinating with the American Legion post in Houston.
We plan to have the trailer in place at the post in Damariscotta late this week, and it will be manned to receive donations daily. Delivery will be toward the end of September. Unfortunately, I won’t be behind the wheel this time, due to some little operation I had recently, but one of my drivahs, Big Woody McClean, is gonna take it through and has donated a couple of days drivin’ time! And I can tell you, folks, that’s a fair amount of money! If ya see Woody around, tell him thank you! I’ll be keepin’ you up to date as we tackle this project!
On a personal note, I want to say thank you to all our family and friends who helped us make our special day, Mrs. Suzie and mine’s wedding, so special. To Bobby and Sherry Whear, at the Mill Pond Inn, the setting spectacular, the food unbelievable, thank you so much. My buddy Smokey McKeen, who did the vows and supplied the oysters, thanks Smokey. To our children, who had a good time roasting us just a bit with their toasts, good job! To my buddies, Stevie, Paul, and Scott, The Scotty River Trio, who always play the best music, and let me join in a little on guitar, super special. And to two special people, Ms. Mya Krawic, 9 years old, who escorted her “Grammie” across the lawn to the water’s edge, where I, “Grampie Boat,” having just followed my 4-year-old grandson, Kadian Coor, the “ring man,” stood waiting with a smile a mile wide and a little tear in the eye!
Have a great week, folks. Let’s get ‘er done!
Larry Sidelinger
Yankee Pride Transport
Damariscotta
