THE MONEY MINUTE: Want to make more money? Align with vibration of gratitude

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by Jac M. Arbour CFP®, ChFC®
President, J.M. Arbour Wealth Management

Work harder. Work smarter. Give it your all. Think outside the box. Be original. Never give up. Have you ever received any such advice? While most people have, and each piece is worth consideration, there are other, less frequently discussed paths of least resistance to all that you desire, including more money.

One of them is to align with the vibration of gratitude.

Everything is energy. Look at any object, pick it up and study it. Look at a tree, a sneaker, a car, a computer, a sandwich, or the paper you’re reading right now. It doesn’t matter (no pun intended) what it is; place it under an atomic microscope and you will see that everything is made of atoms, which is energy.

Your thoughts are energy as well. Therefore, we must be aware of our thoughts and more important, our vibration. Why? Because our vibration heavily influences our actions, habits, results, and our belief systems.

You can most easily align with the vibration of gratitude by being grateful for what you already have. When you consciously decide to live in this way, you immediately begin to attract more things for which you are/will be grateful. That’s all there is to it.

Try looking at the everyday things in your life through a lens of gratitude. After you do, shoot me an email and tell me what you see.

Here is what I promise: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.

See you all next month.

Jac Arbour, CFP®, ChFC®

Jac Arbour is the President of J.M. Arbour Wealth Management. He can be reached at 207-248-6767. Investment advisory services are offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser.

Mud season arrived on time; with a glimpse of summer

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Michael Bilinsky, of China Village, photographed this sail boat on China Lake on one of the summer-like days the area experienced over the last week.

 

Eli Cates, sitting, with his younger brother Isaac, demonstrate what happens when you don’t buy your kids electronic devices. (Photo courtesy of Emily Cates)

I’M JUST CURIOUS: May crazy holidays

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by Debbie Walker

Another new month coming our way. Let’s see what we have for special holidays to look forward to:

May 1 – May Day – Do you remember when we used to hang May Baskets on friends and neighbors door? If you do how about starting up again for our newer generations. They missed all that fun. It is a Spring Celebration.

2 – Baby Day – Another spring celebration to honor new life.

3 – Lumpy Rug Day – intended to appreciate a good rug. If you have a lumpy rug, throw it out. Replace it with a nice lump-free rug.

6 – International No Diet Day – In your “diet life” remember to do so in a safe and healthy manner.

7 – National Teacher’s Day – Teachers are so important in our lives, we don’t honor them enough. If you are not a teacher you don’t truly know how hard they work, in school and on those ‘vacations of free time’ you think they enjoy too many of’.

8 – No Socks Day – While washing your feet before celebrating this day is a requirement, painting your toe nails is optional.

9 – Lost Sock Memorial Day – Say a prayer for lost socks, gather all your unmatched ones. You are never going to find the other. It’s time to throw it!

10 – Clean up Your Room Day – Kids this one applies to your parent’s room as well. (make a little exception for the creative people, they dance to a different tune!)

11- Eat What You Want Day – Today you can set aside your diet No – No List. Splurge away for tomorrow it is back to your goal.

12 – Mothers Day – Give your mother your time, your love, yourself, every day not just one a year. (RIP, Mom, we all miss you!)

14 – Dance Like a Chicken Day – Just have fun! Don’t pass up the chance to dance like a chicken!

15 – National Chocolate Chip Day – Let your imagination fly with what you can add your chocolate chips to or eat them out of the bag and smile!

18 – No Dirty Dishes Day – This is not intended to pile them up for the next day, it is no dirty, washable dishes. Either do meals (oops, that makes dirty dishes) on paper plates and tools or go out to dinner for the three meals and snacks.

22 – World Goth Day – Started in United Kingdom in 2009. It’s not just wearing black that makes you Goth. The Goth culture is expressed in fashion, music, art and to some degree, behaviors.

24 – National Escargot Day – Well that is just what we need, an eat a snail day. Guess that would cut down on garden problems but I will pass, thank you. Tried it once, it reminded me of a tire tube!

25 – National Wine Day – If you drink, don’t drive but maybe try a new wine. I have found I like Moscato. I tried a raspberry Moscato Saturday and put a raspberry popsicle in it for something different. Wine has been with us since Bible days. Celebrate! I know two ladies who will be!

I’m just curious which holidays you will observe!! Let me know. No drinking and driving! We all belong to someone who cares. (This info came from www.holidayinsight.com.)

REVIEW POTPOURRI: E.B. White, Johnny Mathis, Heinrich Schutz

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Peter Catesby Peter Cates

A few weeks ago, I covered E.B. White. Today I have an opening paragraph from his April 1939 entry in One Man’s Meat:

Saturday. A full moon tonight, which made the dogs uneasy. First a neighbor’s dog, a quarter of a mile away, felt the moon – he began shortly after dark, a persistent complaint, half longing. Then our big dog, whose supper had not sat well, took up the moonsong. I shut him in the barn where his bed is, but he kept up the barking, with an odd howl now and again; and I could hear him roaming round in there, answering the neighbor’s dog and stirring up Fred, our dachshund and superintendent, who suddenly, from a deep sleep, roused up and pulled on his executive frown (as a man, waking, might hastily pull on a pair of trousers) and dashed out into the hall like the moon might be a jewel robber. The light lay in watery pools on lawn and drive. The house seemed unable to settle down for the night. and I felt like moaning myself, for there is something about a moon disturbing to man and dog alike.

Again the great E.B. makes this resonant casual description of a spring morning in Maine seem so simple – simple as doing spinal surgery.

Recently heard

Johnny Mathis

Faithfully
Columbia, CS – mid-’60s LP.

Johnny Mathis

Johnny Mathis

Now in his 80s, Johnny Mathis has some of the finest of pop love songs. He knows how to exactly put across material ranging from the Great American Songbook through Broadway staples to current chart-toppers. Faithfully collects a range of 12 songs; West Side Story’s Maria and Tonight, Sinatra’s Where Are You? and the Doris Day’s Secret Love, etc.

Heinrich Schutz

Twelve Small Sacred Concertos
Wilhelm Ehmann conducting instrumental and vocal soloists; Musical Heritage Society MHS 3769, LP, recorded 1970s.

Heinrich Schutz

Another great composer of very beautiful music for the church, along with Bach, was Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672), born 100 years before Bach, and is much more well known than the latter composer. The 12 works are hymns of sorts with similar pious words, and involve organ, viol da gamba, lute, etc. Wilhelm Elmann was one great German baroque interpreter; this record is worthwhile listening.

 

 

 

 

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Floods Can Affect Your Well Water’s Well-Being

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(NAPSI)—For over a million families, farmers and business owners, seeing floodwaters receding may just be the beginning of their troubles—but it doesn’t have to be.

The Problem

The National Ground Water Association (NGWA)—a not-for-profit professional society and trade association—says people who have inground wells in areas affected by flooding need to watch for contaminated water.

This is particularly likely to be a problem in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and any place with broad, sand and gravel valleys and glaciated rolling countryside. These places could be standing in water for several days, risking contamination if the wells aren’t properly maintained. Exposure to E. coli, coliform and other pathogenic microbes from human and animal fecal matter in floodwaters is a common health concern following a major flooding event. Floodwater can also carry other contaminants.

“Even slight flooding around a well can potentially carry contaminated water to the wellhead,” explained Chuck Job, NGWA regulatory affairs manager, “and if the wellhead is cracked or faulty in any way, the well and water system could be compromised.”

Adds Bill Alley, NGWA science director, as temperatures rise, well owners should continue to monitor and test their systems. “While frozen ground may not be saturated from storm water, warmer weather may allow floodwaters to infiltrate and contaminate subsurface water during a thaw,” he said.

Similarly, hundreds of thousands of wells were potentially affected during the Atlantic hurricane season in places including North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Alabama.

What To Do

Following a flood, disinfection and wellhead repair may be common needs among well owners. Well relocation and elevation may also be useful and protective. As always, NGWA recommends water well system professionals be used to assess and service wells.

NGWA has a flooding resource center on its website. Included is information on how to protect well systems before and after a flooding event.

Learn More

The association also has other resources that may help when dealing with flooded water wells. These include the best-suggested-practice “Residential Water Well Disinfection Following a Flood Event: Procedures for Water Well System Professionals” and a Water Well Journal article titled “Responding to Flooded Wells.”

You can find these and more at www.WellOwner.org.

SOLON & BEYOND: Inquiry from afar on the passing of Carolyn Waugh

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, my Friends. Don’t worry be happy!

I didn’t realize The Town Line paper went as far away as Portland, I think that is wonderful! Especially after I received the following very interesting e-mail from Betty Manter who lives there.

She wrote: Dear Marilyn Rogers-Bull, I just learned Carolyn Waugh passed away and found your article/tribute to her. I am grateful to have stopped into the farm summer before last and spent time with her. She was amazing and remembered me and details about me and my last visit, which had been a longtime prior.

I am a direct descendant of the original Solon French family that built her farm, my great-grandmother, Livonia French, grew up there and my grandmother (Mary Berry Manter) and I often visited the farm as my grandmother had so many memories there. The last family member to have grown up there, Esther French, gave me a photo of the farm which I’ve always treasured. It was taken on her wedding day to Earl Spaulding, who lived on a neighboring farm. The last French to own the farm, sold it to Carolyn’s father.

Anyway, I’m writing because I would really love to come to Carolyn’s celebration on June 29. I’d also like to donate my old photo to the Solon Historical Society. (There must be one?) Could you help me here and offer information as to how I might learn more about Carolyn’s celebration?

Thank you in advance for your help.

I am hoping I can find out the answers to her questions and get in touch with her.

Embden Community Center will be putting on their monthly supper on Saturday, May 11, at 5 p.m.

Went to the Solon Town Office one day last week and received this bit of information: “On behalf of the MMA Workers Compensation Fund, we are pleased to send the Town of Solon a grant reimbursement check for $2,000. The check was mailed to Elaine Aloes has been copied on this letter.

“The check is payment for the October 2018 Ed MacDonald Safety Enhancement Grant awarded to your department for purchasing of fifteen Fire Helmets.

“If you have any questions about your grant award please call Jennette Holt at 624-0140. Your interest in workplace safety is appreciated and we are glad the MMA Workers Compensation Fund could assist you with your safety efforts. Together we are building safe communities.”

Again this year BIKES FOR BOOKS PROGRAM is going on at Solon Elementary School. This spring Solon students are participating in the Bikes for Books program. The Solon Masons are sponsoring a program at the school for the fourth year.

In this program, students read books and fill out a form on each book they read. In early June there will be an assembly with a drawing from the book forms that have been submitted. A girl and a boy from each class will win a new bike donated by the Masons. We will also award a prize to the student who reads the most books in each class.

Your child’s teacher has book forms for this program. Students are encouraged to read books at school and at home.

We appreciate the support of the Masons in making this program possible at our school this spring.

In March the third graders participated in a coloring contest sponsored by the Elks for schools in our region. Two of the regional winners came from Solon Elementary School.

Winning fourth place was Levi Hamblen, who received a certificate and a check for $15. Winning first place was Lane Frost, who received a certificate and a check for $75. Congratulations to Levi and Lane!

And now for Percy’s memoir entitled: The Human Touch: ‘Tis the human touch in this world that counts, The touch of your hand and mine, Which means far more to the fainting heart Than shelter and bread and wine; For shelter is gone when the night is over And bread lasts only a day, But the touch of hand and the sound of the voice Sing on in the soul always. (words by Spencer Michael Free.)

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Yes, there are flying squirrels in Maine

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flying squirrel

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Did you know flying squirrels exist in Maine? Well, be it known that Maine is home to the northern flying squirrel.

The northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus, is one of two species of the animal, the only flying squirrels found in North America. The northern flying squirrel is found in coniferous and mixed forests across the top of North America, from Alaska to Nova Scotia, south to North Carolina and west to California. The flying squirrel was placed on the protection list on June 6, 2011, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

If you want to see a flying squirrel, you will have to be an early riser, because the flying squirrel, unlike its cousins, is nocturnal. All other North American squirrels are active during the day.

Arboreal rodents, they have thick light brown or cinnamon fur on their upper body. A furry membrane extends between the front and rear legs, and allows the animal to glide through the air. It’s grayish on the flanks and whitish underneath. They have large eyes and a flat tail. They can also be identified by their long whiskers, which are common to nocturnal mammals.

A flying squirrel doesn’t actually fly, but glides downward, using the wide flaps of skin along its sides to help slow its descent. To become airborne, this mammal leaps and spreads its legs, uses its tail as a rudder and moves its legs. Immediately after it lands, it will scurry to the far side of the tree just in case an owl is in pursuit. They can glide distances of 20 to 30 feet.

Northern Spotted Owl

Northern flying squirrels are an important prey species for the Spotted Owl. Other predators include large birds, especially the Great Horned Owl, hawks, the American Marten, the Canadian Lynx and Red Fox.

The major food sources for the squirrels are mushrooms of various species, although they also eat lichens, nuts, tree sap, insects, carrion, bird eggs and nestlings, and buds and flowers. The squirrels are able to locate truffles, although they also seem to use cues such as the presence of coarse woody debris, indicating a decaying log, and spatial memory of locations where truffles were found in the past.

They are also known to cache food for when food supplies are lower. These caches can be in cavities of trees, as well as in the squirrels’ nest. Lichens and seeds are commonly cached.

The northern flying squirrel nests in holes in trees, and will also build outside nests called dreys. They sometimes use cavities created by woodpeckers.

Except when rearing young, the squirrels shift from nest to nest frequently. They often share nests. Although there usually are 2-5 individuals in a nest, it was once observed that over 50 individuals were occupying one nest.

The sharing of nests is important in maintaining body temperature in the winter, as flying squirrels do not hibernate. In the winter, they tend to live in conifer areas of mixed woods, while in summer they are found in conifers and deciduous areas. This behavior is associated with the belief that the canopy cover is important in protecting the squirrels from predation and colder temperatures. In all but the worst severe weather conditions, the squirrels are active year round.

Squirrels, in general, get no respect. They are a nuisance around bird feeders and can raise havoc in a garden, not to mention them digging through your pumpkins in search of the seeds. But, did you know that January 21 is Squirrel Appreciation Day? Founded by Christy Hargrove, a wildlife rehabilitator, from Asheville, North Carolina, in 2001, that day is set aside annually to give us all the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the tree-climbing, nut-gathering neighborhood squirrels. That includes flying squirrels, too.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What player made the first 3-point basket in the NBA?

Answer can be found here.

TRASH TALK: We should treat every day like Earth Day

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by Irene Belanger

Mon. April 22 was “Earth Day.”

In our towns we should treat every day as Earth Day to keep our roadsides and yards clean of litter as possible.

Many thanks to China Democrats for cleaning in the China Village areas (thank you Matt Brunton for organizing the effort), Boy Scout Troop #479, for the areas they will do, the Bennetts and Richard Dillenbeck, for Lakeview Drive areas, the Goodine Family Group, for Route 32 South, and all of you who clean your roadsides to make us all proud . Thank you to all Palermo folks who do their areas.

If some of you would like to do a cleanup of your road please feel free to organize a group and let me know if you need some extra bags.

Please remember it is state law to keep your large loads covered and secured so that debris doesn’t fly off, and so that you don’t get fined for littering.

Thank you all so much for doing your part! Irene 445-2349.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Welcome to Citrus County, Florida

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by Debbie Walker

Last week I wrote about an area north of where I live in Florida. It was Panama City Beach and that area was devastated by hurricane Michael in October 2018. The damage from this storm has been estimated at $25.1 billion dollars. Some readers were curious why I would want to live in Florida and go through hurricanes. I am prepared to answer that question.

My area of Florida is considered to be Central West Coast. We are about 90 miles north of Tampa. I lived here for 30 years before I went back to Maine for a few years. What will follow is the information that was passed on to me in the first couple of years that I was here:

I knew nothing about Florida when I moved here in September 1984. My first hurricane experience was quite the lesson. I lived in a mobile home and came home to the evening news announcing the evacuation rules. It said that anyone in Citrus County in a mobile home needed to evacuate to somewhere high and dry.

After we heard the alert, we went out and cleaned up anything that could fly with the wind. About that time my boss arrived and said we ought to come to her house. She had a concrete block house, quite a bit stronger than a mobile.

While at her house with native Floridians, I got an education. Citrus County is bordered on the west side by the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane was spinning and stalled in the gulf. It was out there for a couple of days. It was said we would be a direct hit. The natives said, ‘Absolutely not just watch and see.’ Just as the natives said, when the hurricane started moving again, it left us without much more than some winds and rain.

That night they explained to me there really wasn’t much of a problem unless your home was built on the water, a higher tide than usual would be the issue there. Occasionally, Citrus would get some high winds but sometimes we get that in an afternoon electrical storm.

Hurricanes prefer to travel in warm waters and low elevations. We have seven spring (cold water) fed rivers that feed cold water out into the gulf and we have some of the highest elevations in Florida. If we ever go under water, they will be using scuba divers in Mickey Land. Hurricanes usually hit south of us in Tampa (built primarily under sea level!) and bubble out around us north to Cedar Key.

We also have about a 30-mile shallow shelf of land under our section of the gulf. It gets deeper about a foot a mile. (It’s not the best place to plan on deep water fishing or diving.) This is also said to be a possible reason for the detouring storms.

Proof of our good fortune are that the tiny islands off our coast are still here. In other coastal areas the wind and flooding have eroded their islands. Okay, so I learned this stuff from the natives but in the past 30-plus years they appear to have been right. I do still believe in evacuations to be on the safe side.

I am not just curious about why I appreciate my area. I could go on all night with neat things about Citrus County, Florida, just ask me. Send your comments or questions to dwdaffy@yahoo.com or call the office and leave a message if you ‘don’t do computers’. Thanks for reading.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: The Carol Sudhalter Quartet and other recordings

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The Carol Sudhalter quartet

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

The Carol Sudhalter Quartet

Live at St. Peter’s Church; Carol Sudhalter, baritone sax and flute; Patrick Poladian, piano; Kevin Hailey, double bass; and Mike Campenni, drums. Alfa Projects AFPCD194, CD, a recorded live concert, from March 7, 2018, at New York City’s St. Peter’s Church.

Carol Sudhalter, now in her 70s, has gained a much-justified fan base in New York City’s Queens in the last 35 to 40 years as one of the finest jazz musicians on baritone sax and flute. Her quartet, consisting of three extraordinary musicians, include pianist Patrick Poladian, Kevin Hailey on the traditional double bass and Mike Campenni on drums.

They perform nine selections in a 50-minute program; the composers are comprised of such jazz legends as Bill Evans, Sunny Rollins, and Hank Mobley, along with good tunes by pianist Poladian, Carol herself (in which she sings very nicely) and a beauty, Luiza, from the Bossa Nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Carol is open to bookings here in Maine. For those who run clubs and other such venues, the contact email address is sudhalter.com . Her music making can also be heard on several YouTubes.

This CD is one that holds up with repeat listenings.

Given my perpetual fascination with duplicate recordings of favorite classical works, I offer quick comments on four different renditions of the ever popular Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto, arguably the most famous Piano Concerto ever composed:

A live broadcast featuring Van Cliburn with Istvan Kertesz conducting the Berlin Philharmonic; Priceless C70581, cassette, released mid-1980s. It is a good performance but doesn’t stand out like others. Strange, because Cliburn and Kertesz did exceptional recordings in otherwise separate realms. And there is no information with the tape about anything.

Another Tchaikovsky work is the Violin Concerto in an exciting Yehudi Menuhin/Ferenc Fricsay collaboration with the RIAS Orchestra, of Berlin, possibly the same studio one released elsewhere on Deutsche Grammophon.

A studio CD of pianist Misha Dichter, with Jan Latham-Koenig, a name new to me, conducting the Baden-Baden, Germany, SWF Symphony Orchestra; DDD USCD71845. Misha Dichter recorded this back in the mid 1960s with Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra for RCA Victor, a solid dramatic performance on its own terms.

Dichter’s re-make is even more exciting and was recorded the same day, March 22, 1988, as the composer’s Second Symphony, the Little Russian, with the gifted well-known David Zinman replacing Latham-Koenig at the podium.

Two CD couplings of Tchai First with the wonderful Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto:

Hiroko Nakamura with Evkeny Svetlanov conducting the USSR State Academy Symphony Orchestra; Sony SK48030, recorded at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall May 23 and 28, 1990.

Geza Anda with Alceo Galliera conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra; Testament SBT 1064, recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios (the exact same locale as the classic Beatles album in 1969), with Rachmaninoff’s G Major and G Minor Preludes, October 12 – 15, 1953, and January 4, 1954.

The late pianist Hiroko Nakamura possessed an elegant balance of sweet lyricism and tart intensity that added an extra special quality to these much-recorded works. It was a style that didn’t call attention to itself, unlike the differently gauged flamboyance of such virtuoso titans as Horowitz, Richter, Lazar Berman, and Georg Bolet. There were a few moments when her lyricism skirted blandness. But these performances were quite enjoyable. And Svetlanov conducted with lots of excitement and intensity.

She died of colon cancer, at 72, in 2016.

Geza Anda (1921-1976) left a sizable recorded legacy of crown jewels. He had precisely-filleted virtuosity, probing musicianship, commitment to the score, legendary virtuosity and a roaring zest for the good things in life – wine, good hardcover books, records with a high class music system and great conversation for when hard labor was over.

According to one observer, “he disliked sackcloth and ashes.”

The performances of both Concertos, with the superlatively powerful and eloquent conducting of the horrifically underrated Alceo Galliera (1910-1996) and the sizzling two very famous Preludes render this CD an absolute must for listeners who truly care about this music.

Another Jim Thompson quote, from his 1961 novel, The Transgressors, describing a good guy deputy sheriff and a bad guy muscle man, Augie the Hog Pellino, from the Tony Soprano cosmopolitan New Jersey areas, stalking each other in the West Texas nighttime countryside, the sheriff with the greater advantage – “Pellino was doubtless a real handy boy around the big towns, but out here he probably stumbled over his own feet. Set a little trap for him, and he’d run over himself to get into it.”