Local Food is Radical

On a daily basis, we are bombarded by a myriad of messages, all carefully crafted and coordinated by our corporate overlords. In case you haven’t been paying attention, we don’t live in a democracy, a democratic republic, or whatever else we were brainwashed into believing our American government was supposed to be during our 12 years of indoctrination in public schools. And then, of course, we’re convinced to add another four, six, or eight years on top of that, just for the privilege of tacking a few letters after our names for the purpose of “prestige.” And at what cost does this so-called honor come?

It’s too easy to succumb to this onslaught and get caught up in all the finger-pointing and ideological blame-gaming—it’s so much easier to control and subjugate a people divided. But this isn’t intended to be a screed, a diatribe, or even a jeremiad. No, I’m here to talk about simplicity in its most basic form—local food. Continue reading

Dentists and Civil War Generals

Oliver Otis Howard was a Civil War general from Leeds, Maine. Prior to serving as top commander under W.T. Sherman, he attended Bowdoin College, class of 1850, his tenure at the prestigious school overlapping that of Joshua Chamberlain, class of 1851. Growing up in a state that was (and still is) the whitest state in the nation, Howard’s views on race put him in the vanguard for his time and place.

[Oliver Otis Howard, 1830-1909, bust portrait, facing left; i...

Civil War General, Oliver Otis Howard, from Leeds, Maine.

I’ve been going to the same dentist, Dr. Gary Howard, for more than a decade. Every six months, I go in for my twice yearly cleaning and check-up. I’m fortunate to have dental insurance, which provides for regular maintenance of my teeth. Howard’s hygienists and office staff are personable and most have been with him for as long as I’ve been seeing Dr. Howard. Continue reading

Perpetual War

I’m reading a biography of Howard Zinn. I picked it up at the Maine State Library, my bi-weekly way station where I gather books and do research for whatever article I’m writing, or thinking about writing.

Zinn, who left us with one of the best quotes about the inanity of the ideology that fuels America’s never-ending need for war and killing that I’ve ever run across, said that “There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” Continue reading

Solutions Trump Systems

How do we get things done? If our vaunted systems are in various stages of failure and even collapse, then it’s time we found a new way or perhaps, considered some of the old ways that are tested and true, but somehow, we’ve forgotten them—mainly because they aren’t sexy and don’t require a Ph.D. to implement. Sometimes I call it looking “back to the future.”

If we’ve reached the outer limits of growth—and I believe that we have—then what is our way forward? Economic development and a growth at all costs mentality will only take you so far. Look around at the great unwinding of the past 40 years and know that we haven’t been able to grow our way out of our troubles. Continue reading

The Quest for Education

 

Don't take my education!!

Don’t take my education!!

In the southern part of the state and mainly greater-Portland, events at the University of Southern Maine have highlighted for me (and maybe a small cadre of others) the challenges inherent in maintaining the status quo relative to higher education.

Is it possible and even feasible given the current landscape of diminishing public resources for taxpayers to be on the hook for what some consider an outdated education model? Along those same lines, is the current statewide higher education complex and namely, the University of Maine system, viable and more important, sustainable? Continue reading

We are all Detroit

Ruins at the abandoned Packard Automotive Plant are seen on September 4, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. (courtesy of Chicago CBS-2 affiliate)

Ruins at the abandoned Packard Automotive Plant are seen on September 4, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. (courtesy of Chicago CBS-2 affiliate)

 

“It regards itself as the temple of a new gospel of progress, to which I shall venture to give the name of ‘Detroitism’.”—British historian and MP Ramsay Muir in 1927

“Mayors come and go—it is the footmen that tie the knots and divide the bag—the longtime little men; bureaucrats, cockroaches.”—from Detroit: An American Autopsy, by Charlie LeDuff

Crashing the Party

My sister is a writer and a blogger. If you haven’t checked out Julie-Ann’s site, I highly recommend that you do so. She brings the goods, which translates into fresh content on a regular basis.

One of the features that she’s developed over the time she’s been blogging is a series of posts she calls, “Lady Alone Traveler.” These are some of my favorite posts that she’s been laying down over the past two years. Continue reading

Limiting the Conversation

Life in the 21st century is complicated. Everything seems to be moving at a faster and faster rate. We are bombarded with information, people are working longer and longer hours, and essential systems seem to be crumbling simultaneously, or if they aren’t crumbling, they’re being patched together with the equivalent of bailing wire and bubble gum. Continue reading

Looking Homeward

"Can't we all just get along?"

“Can’t we all just get along?”

I’ve been married to the same woman for 31 going on 32 years. Long-term relationships don’t just happen—they require constant vigilance.

For the past six months, I’ve detected relationship drift. A set of patterns were developing and I realized it was time for some honest talk. An article about marriage caught my eye. I wanted to discuss it with the one who has been my best friend for the past three decades. Continue reading

Going West

I’ll be headed west again today, driving into Maine’s western mountains. It’s a beautiful drive, and the snow-capped mountains of the region always seem to be beckoning me toward them.

The drive, usually up Route 4, is a long one and I like to stop off in Farmington because that’s about half way for me. Farmington is the big town in Franklin County and as such, has the most of almost everything related to commerce. Continue reading