Letters From Away

Gooooooooooooooooooooo PATS!!

2012-01-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Gooooooooooooooooooooo PATS!!

Coffeehouse observation No. 352 – Resolving to drink more coffee (No kidding!)

2011-12-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

Coffeehouseobservation No. 352 – Resolving to drink more coffee (No kidding!)

Making resolutions as important as keeping them

2011-12-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

We allmake ’em, but we hardly ever keep ’em.

Resolutionsare the genuine expression of our deep desire to mend our ways in the comingyear. They are the codification of frustrating, seemingly unattainable goals oflosing weight, eating better, drinking less, taking our loved ones and friendsless for granted, being better at whatever. And much, much more.

I’vewritten before about setting – and failing at – resolutions. There was “Resolvingto avoid resolutions this year … or not,” “Vowing to be a better blogger … Ipromise,” and “Resolving that these will be the best resolutions – ever.” I’mnot sure if that makes me uniquely knowledgeable about resolutions – or really,really not.

It is partof human nature, I suppose, to set challenging goals. That gives us somethingto reach for and added satisfaction when we accomplish meaningful goals. We don’tonly hit the mark, we exceed it.

And evenif we know that most of our resolutions never will be accomplished, the mereexercise alone is worthy of our time. It is essential that we each take a fewmoments from time to time to reflect on the past and present, and look to whatthe future could hold. It is essential as humans to find a hope in what we doand how we do it. Setting resolutions is a way to remind us of the very hope uponwhich we desperately depend.

We dotend to sent lofty goals, when small steps are just as effective. We can alwaysbuild upon the small successes that come with small steps toward improvement. Grandchanges are not always necessary. Ending world hunger and bring about worldpeace do not have to ride solely on the shoulders of a new year’s resolution. Itis best to pick a few reasonable changes. Instead of ending world hunger,perhaps volunteer at the local food bank or offer to deliver meals to seniorsand other shut-ins. Or arrange a canned food drive at your school, office orchurch. Instead of bringing about world peace, vow to be more tolerant andunderstanding in the coming year. Or even sign up for classes to become amediator.

None ofus alone can make a significant difference in the world. But each of us pullingtogether, doing what we can, can make great strides toward a better world. Eachlittle effort causes a ripple effect that moves and encourages others to dolittle things, which moves and encourages others. A little effort will beget alittle effort that will beget more little efforts that in time will merge andculminate into a significant pulse, a surge, a movement toward change. We sawthat in Egypt and throughout the Middle East and we saw it in the OccupyMovement.

Frustrationwith a situation often moves us to make change. The Occupy Movement is aboutfrustration – frustration in the stalled economy and the fat cats that let ithappen and have profited from a diminished middle class; frustration in thepolitical system that turned its back on everyone; frustration in unemployment,home foreclosures, the lack of affordable health care, the lack of tolerance …the lack of hope.

I’venever been a “kick the bums out” sort when it comes to political change. Ourelectoral system is flawed in many ways, but it is the system we have. When wewant change we must use that system to make those changes. Our voice and ourvote are our weapons. But I am growingly frustrated with the way politicians –Republicans, Democrats, Independents, conservatives, liberals, all of them –disregard what always should be the core goal – the greatest good for thegreatest number. It should not be the greatest good for the richest 1 percent.

Where tostart when you “kick the bums out” is a particularly sticky point. After all,do you start with Wall Street bankers and lawyers? Or with Washingtonpoliticians, lobbyists and bureaucrats? Or with the leaders and shareholders ofmega-corporations that would rather lay off workers and relocate their jobsoverseas than to take slight cut in profits?

Perhapswe should kick them all out and start with a fresh slate, one that puts inpower the people with the most to lose and gain in the future. Perhaps weshould turn over the running of Wall Street, Main Street and Washington to thechildren who will be living in this world for the next 70 or 80 years or more.Perhaps they can make more sense of things than those currently running theshow.

I don’tsuppose that will happen. I can only live in my world and do what I can to makeit better, hoping all the time that what I do and how I do it will causesomeone else to believe that they too can do just a little bit to contribute tothe whole, overall, cumulative change for better.

My resolutionsare not spectacularly original, but they are mine.

ResolutionNo. 1: Be a better person. Not sure this requires much explanation. We tend toknow when the things we say or do or don’t do hurt people in our lives. Therereally is no need for that sort of behavior.

ResolutionNo. 2: Be a better person to myself. Not sure this requires much explanation,either. This includes exercising more, eating better, drinking less, gettingmore rest. Pretty normal stuff.

ResolutionNo. 3: Travel much, much more. Much, much more. I won’t be able to afford grandtrips, but I can put together an impressive collection of day-trips. I’ve livedin Northern California since 1983 and for some unfathomable reason I have neverbeen to Yosemite National Park. Amazingly, there has been no state legislativeaction to kick my butt out of the state for this incredible oversight.

ResolutionNo. 4: Recover a least a portion of that which was lost during two and a halfyears of unemployment. This is “the big one,” because I doubt I will be able toregain that much at all. I pretty much have spent the money set aside in 22years of journalism for retirement. Cashing in an IRA was a painfully necessarything to do a year or so ago after the unemployment benefits dried up. I’memployed, but making half of what I was making when I was previously working. Iturn 50 in six months and I have no idea if I will ever be able to retire.

I’m notsure I’ll remember these resolutions much past the end of, say, this week. Butat least I gave the future – and hope in general – some thought.

Coffeehouse observation No. 351 – Harp music for the coffeehouse

2011-12-31T10:45:00.000-08:00

Why,this is new. A woman is playing a harp in the coffeehouse. Not exactly the mostportable instrument. … And her companion is a Chihuahua. I kid you not.

Goto Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.

Essay: What Makes a National Park?

2011-12-30T10:50:00.000-08:00

Essay: What Makes a National Park?

More to be thankful for as time goes on

2011-11-26T12:55:00.001-08:00

Brenda and me at a sandwich shop. (Photo by Keith Michaud)

I know it is a bit late for a “thankful” blog entry, afterall, people now are more concerned with camping out at their favorite stores tofind the best deals for holiday shopping than they are about contemplating thankfulness.

But I am thankful for a whole lot more than I have been inquite a while.

Actually, I’ve been pretty grateful and thankful for quite awhile. Even during my more than two and a half years of unemployment I washopeful and fairly optimistic that I would eventually find a job, and gratefuland thankful for what I did have. Two and a half years is a very long time tobe without work and to remain optimistic in that time took considerable effort.But I did not give up. I was able to overcome quite a bit. Two years ago I evenwrote that I was thankful for many things, despite my situation.

This year I am thankful for those same things, but also somuch more thankful for two things in particular.

One of those things is a new job. I’ve been working now forabout three weeks as the editor of the Central Valley Business Journal. It’sworking out well, I think. My bosses appreciate my expertise and seem genuinelypleased that I am there. It is not my “dream job,” but does that sort ofthing really exist anymore?

There is a chance that I would not have gone after oraccepted that job if it was not for my girlfriend, Brenda. She is the one thingfor which I most grateful this holiday season. I am very happy that she is inmy life. We’ve been dating for a bit more than six months now. In that time shehas been consistently encouraging and supportive and far more confident than I thatI would find a job eventually. She was very caring in her encouragement. I amnot sure I would still be in California if it were not for Brenda. We make eachother laugh and it is very easy to be with her.

She is intelligent, bright, pretty, cute, funny, and able tolaugh at herself.

She is a former teacher currently working as an aide onbuses transporting developmentally disable adults while she earns her master’sdegree in education. She longs to be back in the classroom and I hope thathappens for her sooner than later.

She and a co-worker go to thrift stores to buy lightly wornjackets to give to people in need who cross their path. She made me tear up withpride when she told me that she could not give me the leftover roast and vegetablesshe had promised me because on the way to my apartment she spotted a homelessteen in need and gave him the food instead.

She is supporting her very bright, intelligent 18-year-old daughterwhile she earns her GED. Her son is a police officer and I know Brenda worriesabout him and his future. She is a caring daughter to her parents, one of whomis in the early stages of fast-acting dementia.

She has so much going on in her life, but she is able tofind room in her heart for me. For that I am very thankful.

http://lettersfromaway.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/lunch-out-in-stockton/

2011-11-25T11:51:00.000-08:00

http://lettersfromaway.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/lunch-out-in-stockton/

Coffeehouse observation No. 350 – Back in the coffeehouse again

2011-11-25T11:47:00.001-08:00

Todaywas the first chance in a couple of weeks to be able to sit and enjoy thecoffeehouse. The new job has kept me busy, which is quite the opposite from acomplaint. It’s very good to be busy. It’s very good to be employed. … But ithas kept me away from what was a haven for two and a half years ofunemployment. … I’m comfortable here at Empresso, but I do like the idea that I’mworking.

Goto Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.

Navigating the poverty line: Pressure on Portland’s social safety net grows as dramatically does ranks of unemployed | Portland Press Herald

2011-11-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

PORTLAND –It was about 6 a.m., dark and cold, when Brian Gailliot got on the welfare lineFriday.
Portland’s GeneralAssistance office wouldn’t open until 8, but the line was already 30 deep whenhe arrived.

A man and woman at the front had been sitting there in foldingchairs since 10 p.m. Thursday.

“There’s just not enough work,” said Gailliot,who currently works part time for a temp agency, eats at the local soup kitchenand sleeps in a friend’s apartment. “I haven’t had my own place for a year anda half.”

One in eightMainers lived below the poverty line in 2010, according to recently releasedU.S. census data. Maine’s poverty rate hit 12.5 percent in 2010, up from 11.4percent the year before.

On thestreets, the prolonged economic slump is translating into dramatic increases inthe number of unemployed people who have exhausted savings and unemploymentbenefits and are seeking help for the first time at Portland’s food pantries,soup kitchens and welfare offices.

Click toread more of the story by John Richardson in the Portland Press Herald.

Airman comes home from tour of duty to new Bangor home | Bangor Daily News

2011-11-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

BANGOR,Maine — “Welcome home” took on a double meaning Friday for an Air Force commandpost controller assigned to the Maine Air National Guard Base in Bangor.

Not only didKyle Eaton finally touch down at Bangor International Airport after his firstoverseas deployment, he also got his first look at the house he bought — sightunseen — during a six-month stint in an undisclosed location in Southeast Asia.

Eaton, a2007 Hermon High School graduate who turned 22 last month, bought the tidywhite house at 65 Parker St. through the city of Bangor’s recently establishedNeighborhood Stabilization Program.

Though theprogram, which was funded through a $1,084,873 grant from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, the city is able to buy foreclosed orvacant homes which it rehabilitates and sells to income-eligible first-timehome buyers, according to Rosie Bradley, assistant director of communitydevelopment for the city of Bangor.

TheNeighborhood Stabilization Program, a new program of the U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development, requires that participants incorporate green energystandards to make the homes more efficient and therefore affordable, Bradleynoted.

The city sofar has resold four homes, has another on the market and is overhauling a sixth,she said.

Though hewas on the other side of the world, Eaton was able to surmount the hurdles tohomeownership with the help of his father, to whom he granted power of attorneyso that the real estate closing could take place.

Click toread more of this story by Dawn Gagnon in the Bangor Daily News and to seephotos and video.

At long last, I am going back to work

2011-11-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long, winding, tumultuous two and a halfyears of unemployment since March 2009 when I was laid off from The Record inStockton, Calif. It has been a very difficult time for so many people,including and especially those in the newspaper business.

But I’m starting a new job on ~~Monday~~ Tuesday – a 60-day trial as theeditor of the Central Valley Business Journal, a monthly publication withoffices in Stockton and Modesto. I am extremely grateful for the opportunityand confident that this will be a good fit. I get the feeling that the CentralValley Business Journal hasn’t had true editorial leadership in some time, soeven small improvements in the publication will be noticeable.

I have never been a business writer/editor before so theexperience will be challenging in that respect. I haven’t been the sole editorof a publication in quite a while, so it will be challenging in that respect,as well.

And I haven’t had to get up early for work in quite a while, so thatwill be pleasantly challenging.

I have written here in the past of the complete emotionaltoll unemployment takes on a person. You lose your self-worth, self-respect, andsense of self. Friends and family who haven’t been through the situation cannottruly understand what the unemployed go through, but they still offersuggestions – “You know what you really should do is …” – of actions already takentime and time again. They mean so very well and knowing that kept me fromscreaming just a bit. Prospective employers reject you simply for having beenunemployed. And society turns an uncomfortable cold shoulder to those of us whowere unemployed for so long.

My girlfriend, Brenda, has been very supportive and encouragingthrough the past few months. I thank her for helping me maintain my enthusiasmfor, well, everything and for encouraging me at every step. She is solidly inmy heart.

Long-time friends – especially Teresa, Rick, and Michele –have provided part-time work, room and board, beer and tequila, laughter, andencouragement. I do appreciate everything they have done for me in the past twoand a half years. Other friends, those not so “long-time,” also have providedencouragement and even groceries from time to time. For those veggies andpeppers, Kathi, I am grateful. And I thank those Facebook friends who over theyears have helped me maintain my sense of humor, perspective, and sanity, whohave provided encouragement, job leads, and a place to vent. Thank you.

And now a new adventure awaits! I’m excited for it to begin.

Coffeehouse observation No. 349 – Pavlov would hold back the food on this one

2011-11-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

I’mnot sure, but I’m pretty sure I just overheard a woman in the coffeehouse say:“It’s like Pavlov the Dog.” … No, seriously!

Goto Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.

Photo of moose cow, calf wins Aroostook County Tourism contest | Bangor Daily News

2011-11-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

PRESQUEISLE, Maine — Paul Pierce of Mars Hill has been chosen as the overall winner ofthe Aroostook County Tourism summer photo contest for his picture of a moosecow and calf.

Othercategory winners include Tracey Ackerson of Woodland for the scenic viewscategory, Johnnie Cancelarich of Presque Isle for outdoor recreation, FredGrant of Houlton for cities and towns and Lori Prosser of Houlton for festivalsand events.

All winningentries are available to view on the website at www.visitaroostook.com and theAroostook County Tourism Facebook page.

Click toread more on the story in the Bangor Daily News on the photo contest.

Bartering brings me a bunch of chili peppers

2011-11-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

A friend had some extra peppers and vegetables she received in bartering for her graphic design services. She gave me some of the lovely overflow. (Photo by Keith Michaud)

A friend the other day was paid in vegetables for some graphicdesign work. Bartering made a comeback during The Great Recession and may bepart of the new economy for some time to come.

Fortunately for me, she had too much and I ended upreceiving some of the overflow – a paper bag of farm fresh tomatoes, bok choy,squash, green beans, and a lovely bunch of peppers. The tomatoes are part of mylunch, the bok choy is soup now sitting in my freezer, the squash and greenbeans will go with a roasted chicken this evening, and the peppers are hangingover my kitchen sink drying.

I'm hanging the peppers above the kitchen sink. I hope to dry them enough to use them as seasoning. (Photo by Keith Michaud)

I’m hoping to dry the peppers enough to chop up and put intoa pepper mill to use as seasonings. This is the first time I’ve dried peppers,so it will be interesting to see the outcome. Here’s a bit of information ondrying peppers from Scott Roberts, a self-described chilihead.

A bunch of tiny peppers being dried about the sink in my kitchen. (Photo by Keith Michaud)

Coffeehouse observation No. 348 – Tired, old pickup lines in the coffeehouse

2011-10-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

Aguy with a German Shepherd in the coffeehouse is killing time by hitting on thewoman at the next table. From what I’ve been able to overhear, he’s doesn’thave a job or home – by choice, he says – and that he’s meandering his way toTucson, Ariz., to end a relationship with a woman. He’s not looking forward to “doingthe right thing” in breaking up with the Tucson woman, while he hits on thewoman in the coffeehouse. Some guys have chutzpah!

Goto Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.

Coffeehouse observation No. 347 – Miles Davis, coffee do a soul good

2011-10-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

"Birthof the Cool" ... Miles Davis ... It's what does a soul good. ... That andcoffee.

Goto Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.

Recession fears ease as growth speeds up | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

2011-10-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Recession fears ease as growth speeds up | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

MaineToday Media CEO, and president, resign | Portland Press Herald

2011-10-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

PORTLAND,Maine – MaineToday Media CEO Richard L. Connor announced his resignation fromthe company today and will step down on Dec. 31, according to a media release.

Dale A.Duncan, who has been MaineToday president since July, also resigned, effectivetoday.

MaineTodayMedia, which owns The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, The KennebecJournal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, will be run by aninterim management team while a search is conducted for Connor's successor.

Click toread more of the story by J. Hemmerdinger in the Portland Press Herald.

Moose welcome to visit anytime | Bangor Daily News

2011-10-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

Wouldn’t youknow. A moose walks into my front yard and I can’t find my camera.
The littlecase is empty. Where did I put it?

I gaze atthe huge animal munching on the leaves of the apple trees outside my kitchenwindow. I guess I will just have to enjoy watching it.

No. I willuse my big single-lens reflex camera that has been idle so long the battery isprobably dead. I fish the camera out of its bag and turn it on.

“No card.”

I dig amemory card out of the bag, plug it in and move to the dining room window for abetter view. The moose slides her mouth along one branch after the other,munching on the leaves that don’t fall to the ground.

Click toread more of this commentary by Kathryn Olmstead, former University of Maineassociate dean and associate professor of journalism living in AroostookCounty, published in The Bangor Daily News.

Half a foot of snow expected in Maine this weekend | Bangor Daily News

2011-10-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

PORTLAND,Maine — A weekend storm could bring plenty of chills to the state thisHalloween weekend, as the National Weather Service said Friday that more thansix inches of snow is expected in many parts of Maine.

A winterstorm watch has been posted throughout the state, according to Mal Walker ofthe National Weather Service in Caribou.

The advisorycalls for 4-8 inches of snow in Penobscot, Hancock and Washington counties andincludes Greater Bangor, Ellsworth, Mount Desert Island, Machias and Eastport.The advisory notes heavy, wet snow and 15-25 mph winds with gusts up to 35 mphwill create hazardous traveling conditions.

Click toread more of this story in the Bangor Daily News.

MaineToday Media laying off 38 newspaper employees | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

2011-10-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

MaineToday Media laying off 38 newspaper employees | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Gitlin: Media coverage of Occupy Wall Street is predictably lazy, but likely to improve | Poynter.

2011-10-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

Gitlin: Media coverage of Occupy Wall Street is predictably lazy, but likely to improve | Poynter.

Women find niche in woodsman’s competition | Bangor Daily News

2011-10-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

FRYEBURG,Maine — Laurette Russell decided after showing horses for 20 years, she neededsomething else to fuel her competitive fire. So she started entering woodsman’scompetitions.

“Throwing anaxe at a bull’s-eye and chopping a piece of wood is very satisfying,” saidRussell of New Gloucester. “There’s no cookie-cutter type of person to do it.It’s not like when you’re an ice skater, you’re a tiny little ballerina. Anyoneof any size, of any age, can do this sport.”

Russell wasone of 39 women in a field of 193 people at this year’s Woodsman’s Field Dayheld at Fryeburg Fair. The daylong event attracted more than 6,000 spectators.

Click toread the rest of the story and see photos by Robert F. Bukaty in the Bangor Daily News.

LePage to help dedicate Aroostook County trail to fallen Marine | Bangor Daily News

2011-10-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

[I missed this story earlier in the week. Every kid I grewup with and I used to climb this trail every year or so. It won’t bring theyoung man back to his family, but they now have a place to honor his life andhis duty to this country. – KM]

AUGUSTA,Maine — On Friday, Gov. Paul LePage will help dedicate a summit trail onHaystack Mountain in Castle Hill in honor of a Presque Isle native who waskilled in Iraq five years ago.

The DustinJ. Libby Trail will be dedicated at 8:30 a.m. in memory of Marine Cpl. Libby ofCastle Hill, who was 22 when he was killed in action on Dec. 6, 2006, whileconducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned as asquad leader to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based atCamp Pendleton, Calif.

Libby wasserving his second tour of duty in Iraq at the time of his death. He had servedin the country previously in 2004. Between his two Iraq tours, he was stationedin Okinawa, Japan.

The trailwas renamed through legislation sponsored by state Rep. Alexander Willette,R-Mapleton, and passed by the Legislature last March.

Click forthe rest of the story in the Bangor Daily News.

Occupy Maine gets support from unions as demonstration nears one-week mark | Bangor Daily News

2011-10-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

PORTLAND,Maine — Members of a group angry about corporate influence on government hasfound support from southern Maine labor unions as they close in on a week ofcamping out in downtown Portland.

The OccupyMaine settlement, a local offshoot of a nationwide network of demonstrationsthat began in mid-September with Occupy Wall Street, reaches its seventh dayFriday, and members say their group is still growing. This weekend, OccupyMaine will celebrate what it’s calling Free Speech Weekend with music, yoga andart making.

Members ofthe Occupy movement have been calling themselves “the 99 percent,” referring toall those who are not among the 1 percent of the American population whocontrol nearly half of wealth in the country. That 1 percent, occupiers argue,have an unfair amount of influence on federal governance.

“We’regetting bigger and bigger,” said Demi Colby, 23, of Gardiner, who took part inOccupy Wall Street and returned to her home state to help launch Occupy Maineon Saturday, Oct. 1.

Click toread the rest of Seth Koenig’s story in the Bangor Daily News.

How Steve Jobs changed (but didn’t save) journalism | Poynter.

2011-10-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

How Steve Jobs changed (but didn’t save) journalism | Poynter.

Coffeehouse observation No. 346 – Part of a balanced diet!

2011-10-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Coffee isessential for a well-balanced – yet caffeinated – diet!

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Coffeehouse observation No. 345 – On road to recovery

2011-10-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

MyBCC – blood coffee content – was low, but now I’m on my way to recovery withthe third cup of the day.

Goto Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.

Black bear killed in Portland | Portland Press Herald

2011-09-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Black bear killed in Portland | Portland Press Herald

Drug- and alcohol-related crimes dominate Aroostook County indictments | Bangor Daily News

2011-09-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Drug- and alcohol-related crimes dominate Aroostook Countyindictments | Bangor Daily News