by Norma Best Boucher I just spent one of the best mornings I could want. I didn’t set out to do that. I don’t think that life works that way. I do try to start every day with a positive attitude, but this morning God just pointed me in a direction and said, “Enjoy!” The […]
by Norma Best Boucher “Hello. My name is Norma. I am an English major and a literary snob.” If there were such groups as Literary Snobs Anonymous, I would stand before their podium addressing my captured audience saying those exact words to my fellow literary snobs. Then, when they finally gave me the proverbial shepherd’s […]
by Norma Best Boucher As I ask myself when this journey all began, I must start with my mother in the ‘60s when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had been an older mother when I was born, so I had the advantages of having a mother who was secure with herself. I remember […]
by Norma Best Boucher We ran down the roadway to the Old Orchard Beach Ball Park. We were a little late because of the traffic, but that didn’t make any difference. His golden voice filled the air, and each perfect note sent a shiver through me. That was the first and the last time I […]
by Norma Best Boucher I have always loved raspberries. My earliest memory of the sweet seedy globules was on my aunt’s farm, in Bangor. In the summer my father and I visited his older sister’s family for a week filled with the softness of feather beds, the smell of sweet peas, the taste of fresh […]
by Norma Best Boucher At first, I was embarrassed when I couldn’t remember this teacher’s name, but then I realized that teachers’ names are not written on their students’ foreheads, but what they do for their students is indelibly written on their minds. I was going through adolescence. I hated the world, and I was […]
by Norma Best Boucher I was backstage opening night of my debut performance peeking through the curtain at the audience, asking myself, “What the heck am I doing here?” Since I was a little girl, I had dreamed of acting. I had dreamed of dancing and singing, also, but I knew early on that those […]
by Norma Best Boucher I sat in my car in the parking lot eating a candy bar enjoying the pounding rain both assailing and cleaning my car. I had not planned this scenario. My plan was to buy my favorite sandwich, go to the beach, relax and enjoy the sound of the waves. My trip […]
by Norma Best Boucher “Drat!” I just spent two minutes trying to save with a piece of paper a nondescript insect that was stranded on my living room floor. The insect finally grabbed the paper. I walked the paper with the tiny creature to the door and opened it. The insect then let go of […]
by Norma Best Boucher Listen up! You are the first to know. I am “officially” eccentric. I can see the raised eyebrows of the people who do not know me and the rolling of the eyes of the people who do know me. For the new people, just how eccentric am I? For my friends, […]