Stuff about me
My name is Keith Michaud and this is “Letters From Away,” a blog written by a Mainer living outside the comfortable and sane confines of New England. The blog is intended for Mainers, whether they live in the Pine Tree State or beyond, and for anyone who has loved ’em, been baffled by ’em or both. Ayuh, I am “from away.” Worse still, I live on the Left Coast – in California. Enjoy! Or not. Your choice.
Stuff people write
RSS and stuff
Monthly Archives: July 2010
And that’s for shore: Dedicated volunteers have had ample reason for keeping Kennebunk Beach looking pristine for the past 100 years | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Posted in Environment, Outdoors
Tagged debris, garbage, Kennebunk, Kennebunk Beach, Kennebunk Beach Improvement Association, trash
Scientists search for invasive marine species | Bangor Daily News
Posted in Economy, Environment, Food and Drink, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged Cape Elizabeth, Freeport, invasive species, marine animals, marine plants, red alga, South Portland, survey
A Sin and a Shame
[The behavior of which Mr. Herbert writes is a disgrace and very nearly the most un-American activity I can imagine, short of treason. — KM]
Coffeehouse observation No. 177
It’s a pleasant feeling to come into a coffeehouse you haven’t visited in a while and the barista recognizes you, says “Hey, you haven’t been around lately” and still remembers your drink of choice. Thanks Exotic Java.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observation, Coffeehouse Observer, cup o’ joe, espresso, exotic java, java, joe, pastries, tea
Hamm, Garciaparra are among this year’s guest stars at Seeds of Peace Camp | Portland Press Herald
OTISFIELD — Cool sunglasses masking his eyes, microphone in hand, Wil Smith worked his audience, priming them with introductions of the visitors. By the time Smith reached Mia Hamm, his campers at Seeds of Peace were beyond delight.
Teenage boys and girls, mostly from the Middle East, were heading to a new level of excitement. Waiting for his wife after his own noisy welcome, Nomar Garciaparra didn’t try to hide his smile.
So this is why his agent kept inviting him to this former boys camp on the pine-lined shore of Pleasant Lake. Actually, Arn Tellem’s reason was only beginning to reveal itself.
“You know the lives they’ll go back to, but you look in their faces and see the joy,” Garciaparra said Thursday morning. “They’re giving me much more than I can give them.”
This is Seeds of Peace, the oasis away from the world’s centuries-old battle for hearts and minds and land in the Middle East. Children from other places where fear and danger are constant companions also arrive here each summer.
It’s a universal mission: Dialogue can affect peace better than terror. Plant that seed.
Click for the rest of Steve Solloway’s story in the Portland Press Herald.
New TD Bank call center in Auburn could provide 3,000 jobs | Bangor Daily News
Posted in Economy
Tagged Auburn, call center, carbon neutral footprint, employment, Gov. John Baldacci, jobs, LEED Gold certification, TD Bank
Other people’s texts about Maine
I spotted the following on Texts From Last Night and it made me grin.
“Just a heads up. Everytime I get arrested in Maine I claim I lost my ID and use your name.”
Coffeehouse observation No. 176
I’m sitting outside Exotic Java with a Red Eye – coffee with a double shot of espresso, not the medical condition – checking email, LinkedIn and Facebook, and enjoying the clear blue sky and gentle breeze. Except for the exhaust from the passing traffic, it’s not a bad place to be.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observation, Coffeehouse Observer, cup o’ joe, espresso, exotic java, Facebook, java, joe, LinkedIn, pastries, Red Eye, tea
Coffeehouse observation No. 175
Spotted my new very favorite service – coffee delivery van. They deliver coffee to offices and other gatherings. I don’t think you can go wrong with a service like that.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Consumer warnings
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffee delivery, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observation, Coffeehouse Observer, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, pastries, tea
Children’s garden part of reading program | Lewiston Sun Journal
HANOVER — The summer reading program at the Gardner Roberts Memorial Library has a whole different twist.
Along with reading and doing crafts, the 20 or so youngsters who are taking part have planted and are caring for a community garden.
Each Wednesday an average of six or seven children visit the garden on land owned by Scott and Carol Gould at Howard Pond and Mill Hill roads. It’s just a short walk from the historic library.
“It’s the perfect activity for kids,” said Michele Richardson of Milton Township. “They garden, have a snack, do a craft, then take out a book.”
Click for the rest of the story by Eileen M. Adams in the Lewiston Sun Journal.
NOAA: ‘Unmistakable’ evidence shows world getting warmer
Rehabilitation programs at Down East prison save Maine money | Bangor Daily News
MACHIASPORT, Maine — The rows of sewing machines are busy, humming through the fabric in the small workshop. The men working the machines are quiet, with heads bent and hands at the task of turning denim fabric into jeans.
Nearby, another pair of men work on reupholstering chairs. One is cutting out new padding while the other reinforces a frame.
This could be any workshop, anywhere. But the salty breeze coming through the open door gives it away: this is the garment room at Downeast Correctional Facility, a former U.S. Air Force base tucked on a ridge on the Machiasport peninsula.
The garment workshop is one of a half-dozen self-sustaining rehabilitation programs at DCF, and Director Scott Jones estimates the programs have saved the state, Washington County towns, and area non-profit organizations millions of dollars in expenses.
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Sharon Kiley Mack in the Bangor Daily News.
Truck driver can’t believe the true direction to Oakdale
I must have a face that at once tells a stranger “hey, he can be trusted” and in the next moment tells the stranger “this guy is off his rocker.”
In the past week or so I have been asked for directions by three strangers. Each time I was in the middle of my walk around Victory Park, which surrounds Haggin Museum, in Stockton. Apparently, my face also tells a stranger “this guy can be interrupted in his futile attempt reduce his waistline, lower his weight, and reclaim healthy ways.”
The first was easy – a family wanted to know where Banner Island Stadium, home of the Stockton Ports, was located. It was merely a matter of telling them to turn around, go back the way they had come, and make a left turn onto Fremont Street that runs along the Stockton Deep Water Channel and to the stadium before running into downtown Stockton.
The third was merely to confirm what a motorist knew.
“Is Harding (Way) that way?” yelled a motorist at a red light pointing northward.
“Yeah,” I yelled back, bobbing my head up and down in affirmation.
Of course, as soon as I walked away, I immediately doubted myself. It forced me to plot out in my mind the street grids in that part of Stockton. I was correct. I think.
But it was the second person to ask for direction that makes me scratch my head, even now.
A tractor trailer rig with a load of lumber pulled up in front of Stockton Fire Station No. 6, which is located in Victory Park. The driver – a fella in his late 50s or early 60s with graying hair and glasses – jumped down from the cab and ran around the front to stop me on my fitness quest.
(I told you that my face must say to strangers that I can be interrupted on my fitness walk.)
“Do know how to get to Oakdale?” he said. “It’s around here isn’t it?”
I told him that I believed that Oakdale was in the next county to the south, about 30 minutes drive. (In fact, it was in the next county and closer to Modesto than to Stockton. Yahoo! Maps has the travel time at nearly 40 minutes.)
He didn’t believe me. He said the map he had showed that it was much closer. I asked to see is map so that I could show him his destination was in fact in the next county.
His response made me believe that the map he had must have been scribbled down on scrap paper by someone else who wasn’t certain of the area or simply didn’t know it.
I assured him that Oakdale was in the next county and that it was about 30 minutes drive away.
“Is that a fire station?” he asked me, pointing to the structure with “Stockton Fire Station No. 6” on the front and a fire engine parked in the driveway. I’m not sure the guy had a solid grasp on the blatantly obvious.
He made his way to the fire station to garner more reliable directions, which I am sure would have confirmed my own directions for the guy.
Here’s the sticking point – why is a truck driver in an unfamiliar area not carrying a map of the area? A truck driver without a map? Doesn’t make much sense to me.
Hope he made it to Oakdale.
Coffeehouse observation No. 174
I skipped the coffeehouse today and now am regretting it. I’m struggling to keep my eyelids open. … And I’m listening to Dana Owens and she’s singing “Close Your Eyes.” I just can’t win.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged “Close Your Eyes”, barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observation, Coffeehouse Observer, cup o’ joe, Dana Owens, espresso, java, joe, pastries, Queen Latifah, tea
Coffee shop arson suspect says he’s not guilty | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Posted in Law and Order, Maine
Tagged arraignment, arson, coffee shop, fugitive, Grand View Topless Coffee Shop, naked, nude, nudity, Raymond J. Bellavance Jr., topless, Vassalboro
Bangor police officer an Angel Flight pilot: Mother calls free service a ‘lifesaver’ | Bangor Daily News
For more information about Angel Flight or to support its mission, visit http://www.angelflightne.org/ or call 800-549-9980.
Letters From Away 