by Peter Cates John Dos Passos Novelist John Dos Passos (1896-1970) was most famed for U.S.A., a trilogy of 3 novels- The 42nd Parallel, 1919 and The Big Money– all of which were published between 1930 and 1936, years of the “Great” Depression and the resulting misery and turbulence . Dos Passos was a very […]
by Peter Cates Big Trouble A 1998 history book, Big Trouble, by Anthony Lukas (1933-1998) is a massive 875 pages of compulsively fascinating reading centered on the 1905 assassination of Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg (1861-1905) who was originally elected via support from organized labor but then declared martial law when one mine was destroyed by […]
by Peter Cates Chechaquo When I woke up this morning at 2:30 a.m., the temperature was 9 degrees Fahrenheit. In that context, I find these following sentences from a story written more than 100 years ago quite pertinent, powerful, thought provoking and eerily poetic: “But all this – the mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence […]
by Peter Cates What It Takes A 1992 book, What It Takes, by the late Richard Ben Cramer (1950-2013) examined the lives of six candidates in the 1988 race for the White House: Republicans Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush (1924-2018) and Democrats Joe Biden, Michael Dukakis, Dick Gephart and Gary Hart. It weighs in […]
by Peter Cates Fred Bonnie Bridgton native Fred Bonnie (1945-2000) attended a two-room schoolhouse, in North Bridgton, until his father’s death in 1954 and the family’s move to Portland. He graduated in 1964 from Cheverus High School and in 1971 with honors from the University of Vermont. Mr. Bonnie moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he […]
by Peter Cates Killing Them Softly I recently viewed a 2012 movie, Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt as a gangland enforcer, James Gandolfini as a Mafia hitman and Ray Liotta as the host for a mob protected high stakes polka game, with a very good supporting cast. The plot features a businessman in need […]
by Peter Cates Christmas music Reader’s Digest released a number of record sets devoted to Christmas music, one being a 1985, two LP set Joy to the World. It contains two sides of 15 famous carols performed with decent professionalism by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Peter Knight (1917-1985); Knight’s name might […]
by Peter Cates Jimmy Carter The 39th President Jimmy Carter has achieved a few longevity records . First, he is the oldest living one at 99. Secondly, he has lived the longest of any President. Thirdly, since his defeat for re-election in 1980 by Reagan, he has been out of office the longest. Finally, he […]
by Peter Cates Samuel French Morse Poet Samuel French Morse (1916-1985) taught English at Northeastern University and summered in Hancock. His A Poem About the Red Paint People is a rumination on a long lost Native-American tribe and can be read in its entirety in the anthology Maine Speaks. Several lines evoke the sense of […]
by Peter Cates Lee Grant On the basis of three different roles, I currently find Lee Grant, still alive and very sharp in her late 90s, my favorite character actress. The emotional nuance, strength, vulnerability, anger, calm before the storm, joy, love, maturity, chaos, decorum-every ounce of one’s humanity – is channeled from her very […]