Hey folks! So I rolled over about 4:30 in the a.m. this Saturday past, gave Ms. Sue a little peck, and jumped out of bed. After a quick shower and shave, and another little peck (I think she mumbled something like “Have a safe trip”), I was out the door.
See, I was headed somewhere in Maine where I had never been before, and I was all excited. Now, after beatin’ around this state for a lot of years, there are a few places I’ve probably not been to, but one area of the state that I absolutely love is Down East Maine. And today I was headed for a little town called Pembroke.
Where, you might ask? Pembroke! It’s a little town off the coast of Cobscook Bay, which might be like Damariscotta is to New Harbor. And it wasn’t so much that I was going to Pembroke, it was that I was going to travel over some road I had never seen, and some I hadn’t seen in a long time.
What’s in Pembroke, you might ask? Well, there is a little sawmill, run by a husband-and-wife team – and I do mean team, as she ran the forklift just as ably as he did – that mills cedar lumber. And I was after this load for my man Pete, down at John’s Bay Boat, in South Bristol.
See, Pete builds some of the finest wooden lobster boats there are. In fact, he might be the last of a dying breed. Wooden boat-building was once a flourishing business here along the coast. I know that anyone who has a John’s Bay boat is one happy fisherman. In fact, several of his customers have come back and had a bigger one built. That in itself says quite a bit. I always like doing these special runs, as it gives me a chance to chat about the state of what’s going on.
So after a foggy ride up the coast, about 3 1/2 hours, and finding Pembroke, I pulled into a small sawmill, and out came a fellow who introduced himself as Tom, followed by his wife, Joyce. So after some small talk, I got backed around and Tom loaded me up.
As he did, I got a chance to chat with Joyce a bit. “How’s the help situation down here?” I asked. Now, I’m thinkin’ that the highest unemployment area of the state is Washington County, so it shouldn’t be a problem finding help.
“It’s awful,” Joyce replied. “There’s plenty of people to work, just nobody wants to! The attitude down here is, make a quick buck, rakin’ blueberries or diggin’ a bushel of clams, and sit back and see how much welfare one can collect! Anybody who wants a job has one, but there are too many that just don’t want to work, and the drugs are everywhere down here!”
Man, I thought, what in the heck is happenin’ to our beautiful state, and how do we fix it? About this time, Tom joined our conversation and I asked him if he ran the mill all winter, as I had spied a couple of scallop drags laying by the mill. “No,” he replied, “I go scalloping in the winter, until that season closes, and then I grab my chainsaw and cut a little wood. See, a man can make a good livin’ if he ain’t afraid to work around here.”
“That is, if he’s not afraid to work hard,” I replied. “Oh, it ain’t too bad,” he said, “just got to set a pace and stick to it.” I kind of chuckled to myself, as I have both cut wood and scalloped in my workin’ life, and never had much desire to work at a sawmill after loading many times at one!
I admired these folks that appeared to lead a pretty simple life, who worked hard, but seemed pretty happy. And I thought, as I bid them farewell, Maine is still a place where, if one wants to work, and is motivated, he still can make a livin’! That’s the way life should be!
The radio was all babblin’ about POTUS this week. First it was about his new nemeses, Omarosa what’s her name. Then it was all about his cancelin’ security clearances for some guy, can’t remember his name.
You know folks, for the life of me I can’t figure this POTUS out. Is he really interested in runnin’ the government? Or is he really just interested in discord and his own self? It would appear to be the latter, as it is a constant babble of rhetoric that is more and more self-centered and self-serving.
And this deal with a military parade? In my lifetime I can never remember such a ridiculous idea. But then again, more and more, this POTUS thinks of himself as a dictator, or better yet, the high emperor, and that’s what those kind of people do: have military parades to stroke their egos.
I always assumed that the president set the tone for the nation, but not this guy, as he made his brags that he can do anything he wants and get away with it. And he’s actually proven it by his actions. Break laws? What laws? Degrade women? Big deal, he’s a star. Shady business deals? No big deal.
Now, I don’t really know if this gal has anything on him or not, but there is an old sayin’ about a lady scorned is one to bear watchin’. So here’s some advice, POTUS. You can call people “lowlifes” or “dogs” or whatever you want, but there is a thing called karma, and what goes around comes around. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when the Judgment Day comes, as you might be scratchin’ fleas! Have a great week, folks!
Larry Sidelinger
Yankee Pride Transport
Damariscotta
