Our world is filled with signs and objects which stand for attributes, concepts, or abstract ideas. Wedding rings remind us of love and commitment; product brands speak to us of style or quality. Emblems identify organization; Oscars and Emmys and academic cords connote excellence. Portraits, statues, and photographs depict historical events and thus help usContinue reading “A World of Symbols”
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An Equal and Beyond Fair Wage!
Before technology changed the blueberry industry, almost every kid who grew up in Washington County, Maine earned “back to school” money by spending a few, hot, August days in exhausting, backbreaking blueberry raking along side family, buddies and migrant workers. However, finding reliable seasonal workers and paying them fair wages have troubled Maine farmers forContinue reading “An Equal and Beyond Fair Wage!”
Inaudible Shouts…
“Magnificent!”. “Glorious!” Beautiful!” Those exclamations echoed around the garden as visitors admired the flowering shrubs and peony blossoms. The adage that “Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” holds some truth. We have individual aesthetics or preferences and subjectively value the quality of the tangible or intangible. So, is beauty a reality or anContinue reading “Inaudible Shouts…”
The Clearest Day Ever
The rhythms of the sea with its shifting tides, rising waves, crashing surf, and drifting fog are mesmerizing. And as the fog lifts to expose a view stretching beyond the horizon’s curve into the heavens, both awe and calmness engulf the soul with a sense of belonging within that vastness. “On a Clear Day You can SeeContinue reading “The Clearest Day Ever”
Presumption or Promise?
A quintessential, summer morning sail along the Maine coast includes lobster boats and pots, wharf smells and screeching gulls, lifting fog and salty breeze filling hoisting sails, and a sense of uncertainty and adventure as one heads for open seas. In her poem “As if the Sea should part”, Emily Dickinson likened theContinue reading “Presumption or Promise?”
Into the Wind
By trimming the sails, a good sailor skillfully pulls the wind into the canvas, dominates the prevailing, opposing and shifting gusts, and maneuvers his boat forward. He or she knows their boat’s capabilities, reads maps, sets the course, watches the skies, and catches the breeze with skill and strength . Know-how, common sense, intuitiveness, andContinue reading “Into the Wind”
Coffee Thoughts…
Early morning on the river’s shore, Listening to the flowing, rippling water Watching the rising sun and settling moon in an expanding universe Sipping a cup of coffee…. Peace, solitude, Then intruding thoughts…Life! Meaningless or purposeful? Insignificant or valued? The search for truth… History? Science? Philosophy? Religion? Same goals? Cohesive? Or clashing, exclusive ideologies defendedContinue reading “Coffee Thoughts…”
Land that I Love
Although written during WW1 and revised in 1938 when WW11 was on the horizon and a great testing for America lay ahead, Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” has always been my favorite patriotic song and musical prayer for America. As a kid, I remember sitting in front of our floor model radio and listening toContinue reading “Land that I Love”
Timing is Crucial!
We know plants bloom or fruit at specific times. Field daises flower, crab apples blossom, and pond lilies emerge on schedule. There are seasons to life, and at some point, we become aware that “time” for us is unpredictable and limited and that there are no extensions or redo’s. Our responses to thisContinue reading “Timing is Crucial!”
Does God have a Budget?
If we are wise, we work, budget, don’t over extend our credit, and live within our means. But our fortunes are tied to more than the money we earn or save. The cost of living changes as the economy fluctuates, a fact we have recently experienced during the pandemic as the production and supply ofContinue reading “Does God have a Budget?”
Sweet Words from Maine 