IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of December 21, 2017

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Katie Ouilette Wallsby Katie Ouilette

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years! WALLS, yes, it is the day all of us have been looking forward to, but let us hope that our faithful readers know that the promise of Christmas is really with us until next December 2018.

By the way, do you remember my Aunt Mary Foss? Yes, she lived to the ripe age of 107 and I learned so much about living through the years from her. When she married, she and Uncle Lee lived with her in-laws at the Foss Farm on the East Madison Road, Yes, before they bought their ‘little house’ on the Madison Road, in Madison. She worked at Cumming’s Mill in East Madison and walked to and from work every day of the week and, when back at the farm, she worked in the garden or in the barn.

Y’know, WALLS, when our parents have told us to work hard, Aunt Mary is proof of the reward.

WALLS, I just have to tell you about the Best Wishes calendar that Aunt Mary gave me many years ago and it has been on my kitchen window sill ever since. It is a ‘no year date’ calendar and I change the day every day. This is what I found as I changed the pages to when The Town Line will probably be ready for our faithful readers to pick up before Christmas. Entitled ‘The Gift’ on December 21 reads: “What can I give Him, Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb. If I were a Wise Man I would do my part. Yet what can I give him? Give my heart.” Oh, faithful readers and WALLS, It is time to share with you the poem that is on a cup from which I often drink my coffee each morning. The cup is very old and was given to me when I became a Nana. The poem? “When days are long and mothers are riled, Nanas are God’s gift to a child.”

Well, WALLS, you know that I am a Nana, with grandkids and great-grands, so I have been blessed many times. So, Merry Christmas to all of you who someone calls ‘Nana’ and, yes. WALLS wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! (Woops, the phone just rang and Dean is in Maine…….and “freezing,” he says…different from Bellingham, Washington….but “welcome” to Maine!)

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of December 21, 2017

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

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

The Solon Pine Tree 4-H Club met on Saturday, December 9, for their annual Christmas Party with all 12 members, three leaders and five visitors in attendance.

Items were collected for the Somerset Human Society as one of the clubs community projects.

The members made two Christmas items as a craft project. These can be used to exhibit at the fairs next fall.

An exchange of gifts was held and snacks and drinks was enjoyed.

The next meeting will be held on Saturday, January 13, at 9:30 a.m., at the Solon Fire Station.

The Solon PTO sponsored a special Children’s Shopping Day on December 14. Students were able to shop for inexpensive gifts for their families at a “store” set up by the PTO. Thanks to parents who have donated items for this activity.

New Awards Programs: At the end of each quarter, they present honor roll awards to students in grades 3-5 who made the honor roll or the high honor roll for the previous quarter. This year they have added two new awards programs.

One new awards program is Attendance Awards. Students who had no more than one absence or one tardy during the previous quarter will receive an Excellent Attendance certificate and pencil at the assembly.

The second new awards program is the Core Values Awards. RSU #74 developed Core Values for the district a number of years ago. They decided to emphasize those core values, choosing one to be the focus for a month. At the end of the month each teacher will choose one or two students who have embodied that core value in the last month. Those students will receive certificates at the assembly. These are the Core Values: Responsibility, Respect, Honesty, Compassion and Tolerance.

The new superintendent of schools, Mike Tracy, joined the kindergarten class for Thanksgiving dinner on November 16 and read the students a Thanksgiving story. He also read a Christmas story to the students on December 20.

Now for an up-date on nomination papers that have been taken out since last weeks paper: For Selectman/Assessor/Overseer of the Poor (3 year term) James Farley and Keith Gallagher. Gary Bishop for Road Commission. Leslie A. Giroux has taken out papers for Town Clerk/Tax Collector (1 year term) and Robert Lindblom Sr. has taken out papers for RSU #74 School Board Member (3 year term).

And now for Percy’s memoir: This week it is taken from a little book called, “Good Advice for a Happy Life!” If I was asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, “I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.” Then repeat to yourself the most comforting words, “This too shall pass.” Maintaining self-respect in the face of a devastating experience is of prime importance.

 

GARDEN WORKS: Making the best of a thaw + great tips for the die-hard greenthumb in winter

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Frozen soil is no fun to work, but if there’s just a thin layer of frost, it can be done without unceremoniously slamming the soil with a pick ax.

Emily CatesGARDEN WORKS

by Emily Cates

Freeze and thaw, freeze and thaw. Such is the character of the ground this time of year. While the thought of gardening is iffy at best (without season extenders, that is), a determined gardener can still work in the dirt if the opportunity presents itself between freezes. Outrageous? Perhaps, though there are times when it is necessary to work up until the very last moment. Let’s explore the possibilities so we can make the best of these moments.

In this article, we’ll look at hand tilling, mulching, and a few potential candidates for planting. Frozen soil is no fun to work, but if there’s just a thin layer of frost, it can be done without unceremoniously slamming the soil with a pick ax. Afternoon is the best time to attempt. Forget using a rototiller though – it’s not good for the soil structure when the ground is in such a condition. By digging small beds or plots by hand with a digging fork, the possibility of last-minute plantings may be achieved. (And, wait! Don’t overlook the stragglers patiently waiting for your attention. Think dandelion coffee, mallow tea, sweet carrots, and more!) Your back and shoulders will resent this, but your garlic will appreciate it.

While the soil is in an exposed state, let’s plant and/or mulch it right away. Mulching frozen soil will hold in the cold, so we’ll try to do this at the warmest point possible in the afternoon. The cast of characters available for mulching can include straw, shredded aged leaves, pine needles, old sawdust, plain newsprint, untreated cardboard, old rugs, or blankets… you get the drift.

What in the world would anyone in their right mind be planting at such a time of year? Well, it’s a great time for working with dormant trees, shrubs, vines, bulbs, and perennials. These can be dug up, divided, potted up, moved, and/or planted. (Case in point: A friend was disappointed that she did not get a chance to plant her garlic on time, but when there was a December thaw, she seized the moment. Come harvest time the next summer, she dug up some beautiful garlic!) A huge advantage of late fall planting of trees and shrubs is that you only have to keep the soil around them moist up until the ground freezes, and then that’s it! So, water generously at planting time, and that might be all that is needed if the ground freezes soon afterward.

Speaking of planting, think about houseplants for a moment. Do they need fresh soil and bigger pots? Well, go ahead, then, and have at it. Happy, healthy houseplants = happy, healthy homeowner.

If these ideas don’t scratch that itch on your green thumbs, I don’t know what will! Ah, now, on to the seed catalogs that just arrived….

TECH TALK: Net Neutrality goes nuclear

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ERIC’S TECH TALK

by Eric Austin
Computer Technical Advisor

Do you like your cable TV service? I hope so, because your internet service is about to get a whole lot more like it.

On Thursday last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), headed up by Trump appointee and former Verizon employee Ajit Pai, voted 3-2, along party lines, to repeal Obama-era rules that prevented internet providers from favoring some internet traffic over others.

You know how the cable company always puts the one channel you really want in a higher tier, forcing you to pay for the more expensive package even though you don’t like any of the other channels?

That’s right. Nickel-and-diming is coming to an internet service near you!

What does this really mean for you? I’m so glad you asked, but I’m afraid my answer will not make you happy.

It means that huge telecommunication companies like Comcast and TimeWarner now have the power to determine which internet services you have access to.

If you have a niche interest you pursue on the internet, you’re likely to be affected. Those websites with smaller audiences will have their bandwidth throttled unless you, the consumer, begin paying your Internet Service Provider (ISP) an extra fee.

That means you, Miniature Train Collector! That means you, Bass Fisherman! That means you, Foot-Fetish Fanatic!

It means pay-to-play is coming to the internet. When ISPs are allowed to favor some traffic over others, the Almighty Dollar will determine the winners and losers.

It means smaller newspapers like The Town Line, already suffering in a climate of falling ad revenue and competition from mega-sites like Buzzfeed and Facebook, will be forced to struggle even harder to find an audience.

Remember when chain super-stores like WalMart and Lowe’s forced out all the mom and pop stores? Remember when Starbucks and Subway took over Main Street?

That’s about to happen to the internet.

This move puts more control in the hands of mega-corporations – and in the hands of the men who own them. Do you want to choose your ISP based on where you fall on the political divide? What if Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News, bought Fairpoint or Spectrum? Which viewpoints do you think he would be likely to favor? Which websites would see their traffic throttled? What about George Soros, the billionaire liberal activist? No matter which side of the political divide you come down on, this is bad news for America.

In 2005, a little website called YouTube launched. It was competing against an internet mega-giant called Google Video. Two years later Google bought the website for $1.65 billion. Today, YouTube is one of the most popular websites on the internet.

That won’t happen in the future. Under the new rules, Google can simply use its greater capital to bribe ISPs to squash competitor traffic. YouTube would have died on the vine. In fact, that’s exactly what’s likely to happen to YouTube’s competitors now. Oh, the irony!

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook — none of these sites would be successes today without the level-playing field the internet has enjoyed during its first two decades of life.

So this is now the future of the internet. The barrier to innovation and success just became greater for the little guy. Is that really what the web needs?

These are dangerous days we live in, with freedom and democracy apparently assailed from all sides. The internet has been a beacon of hope in these troubled times, giving voice to the voiceless and leveling the playing field in a game that increasingly favors the powerful.

This decision by the FCC under Trump is a huge boon to the power of mega-corporations, telecommunications companies, and established monopolies, but it’s a flaming arrow to the heart of everyday, average Americans and future entrepreneurs. America will be the poorer because of it.

If there’s anything left of the revolutionary spirit that founded America, it lives on in the rebellious noise of the World Wide Web. Let’s not squash it in favor of giving more money and control to big corporations. America has had enough of that. Leave the internet alone!

Eric Austin is a writer and technical consultant living in China, Maine. He writes about technical and community issues and can be contacted at ericwaustin@gmail.com.

Further reading:

TECH TALK: The Internet – At War with Itself

TECH TALK: Why you can’t afford to be neutral on Net Neutrality

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Tackling Depression Can Lead To A Happier New Year

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FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI)—As cheerful and joyous as the New Year can be, it can also be a trigger for stress and depression for some people—but there is hope. There are many resources for people who feel wrung out ringing in the New Year.

For example, Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) can help. MFTs are licensed mental health professionals who work with individuals, couples (married or not), families of all types, and groups to cure or relieve mental, emotional and relational concerns of all kinds.

At New Year’s, or anytime, you don’t have to let depression get you down. Talking to a therapist can help.

How To Recognize Depression

To help you tell if you or someone you care about is suffering from depression, the experts at the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) offer these warning signs:

  • Feeling sad and/or irritable
  • Changes in weight or appetite
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Feelings of guilt, hopelessness or worthlessness
  • Inability to concentrate, remember things or make decisions
  • Thoughts of death or suicide.

How To Handle Depression

If these symptoms look familiar, here are some things to do right now:

  • Recognize depression early. Depression can happen to anyone. It’s not a character defect, a weakness or a shameful condition. It’s a serious disorder that no one is immune to.
  • Engage in your life. If you are depressed, you may feel like you don’t have an ounce of energy or motivation to tackle depression. Recovery, however, requires your active participation. Be willing to take the first step, even though it’s not easy.
  • Build your skills. Learn why you’re vulnerable to depression and specific ways to become more resilient by breaking unhealthy patterns of thought and behavior. Developing good coping and relationship skills can reduce both the frequency and severity of depression episodes.
  • Find the right therapist. Talking through one’s stressors and understanding the underlying causes is a proven way to effectively treat depression. Look for therapists with training and experience in treating depression, as well as someone who is warm, supportive and goal oriented. Use short telephone interviews to find a good fit with potential therapists. Ask about how they approach problems like yours.
  • Be optimistic. You have every reason to believe you can get better with effective treatment. While anti-depressants are not a cure, they can be very helpful to some people in managing depression. Whether or not you choose to use medicine to manage your symptoms, therapy can give you the long-term skills you need to live a productive, fulfilling life.

How To Learn More

For more information about how to find a therapist, visit www.CounselingCalifornia.com.

At New Year’s, or anytime, you don’t have to let depression get you down. Talking to a therapist can help.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Bird disappearance is phenomenon that exists nationwide

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

Two months after writing an article about the lack of song birds in our area, the feedback continues to pour in from all over the country, not to mention from friends and acquaintances whenever the subject surfaces. Everyone has also commented on the extremely large number of crows that have emerged in our area.

Even in my backyard, where we generally have a multitude of bird varieties, it has been quiet. We have completely cleaned out the bird feeders and restocked them, to the point where we have even purchased new ones, and other forms of bird seed dispensers like nets, seed balls and containers.

The problem is universal, it seems.

Mimi replied to me, “My neighbors and I also noticed a very sudden decline in feeder birds since mid-September in the Catskills as well. It is so sad to not have the birds about though there are geese and crows, so hopefully the others will be back.”

Sj says, “Over the last two years we have noticed the decline of spiders on our property in mid-coast Maine. The mosquito decline is possibly due to the second year of a drought. Wild bees, and our bat [population] all seem stressed and in decline. I have kept daily journals for 25 years, making daily notes of weather and wildlife. The odd absence of birds is ‘different’ this year, for us as well, and another alert to change in our environment worth keeping track of.”

Msdarlene writes, “We are in central New Hampshire and have always fed birds with multiple feeders and a varied diet of sunflower seeds, hearts, nuts and suet. We have cleaned out our feeders monthly and replenished the food and still no birds in sight. We normally have to refill our feeders twice a week. Since September 2017, our woods and feeders are silent. No birds, zero, zilch, nada…scary quiet. I hope they return, I sure miss them.”

Rich speculates “that the malathion aerial spraying for zika vectors has done damage to large insect populations.”

Finally, Lyn, of Fairfield, writes, “Wow! This article came up on my Facebook feed. Some friends and I were just talking about how we have no song birds this fall. I said I thought they had been driven away by massive crow populations, just as you observed, too. They are all I see. I am sad to know this is happening all over. I hope the Audubon Society is right that it’s just a normal migration shift, but I am missing the birds very much.”

With the first measurable snowfall this fall, only 12 days before the official winter solstice, we will keep vigil as to the turnover in bird varieties. We’ll see if the cardinals arrive, along with the European starlings that come around in the winter. Also, don’t forget the pigeons and mourning doves. Not to beat a subject to death, but since noticing the large number of crows around, the pigeon population seems to have taken a hit. Since the crow onslaught, I have noticed no pigeons in my yard, which is extremely unusual. There also seem to be more seagulls than normal. Is that another sign of changes in the environment?

It’s probably time we pay attention to what Mother Nature is trying to tell us.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the original six teams of the NHL.

Answer here!

I’m Just Curious: Words

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by Debbie Walker

This afternoon has been just wonderful with our first and second graders. I’m not exaggerating. When you introduce words to a child (18 of them) and they get excited about what they can do with these words, their teacher and I couldn’t help but get excited. You see we are word lovers as well.

The activity started out as a project to write Christmas cards (yes, I did say Christmas). Their first task was to come up with words they might want to use for their cards.

I pointed out that sometimes when I write, if I have trouble coming up with the subject for a column, I will start thumbing through magazines and books for ideas. So….

I dug out all of our Christmas story books for them to go through on their word hunt. Their teacher took them through a process where they all had a chance to look over the books for “their” words. The process I believe was called a “Book Pass.”

I was pleased to see them with their answer, for each of them to have used all the books, not just the one given to them. We also have special dictionaries for the class. Sometimes in a free time the kids will choose a dictionary to look at. Word, word, words!

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Pop Artists

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Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates

How I started collecting records:

Gustav Mahler

My first encounter with the music of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) occurred during the spring of 1963, when I was 11. That year RCA Victor had developed the Dynagroove recording process, initially releasing 10 LPs with both mono and stereo editions, and touting the enhancement as the greatest advance in sound since the electrical microphone in 1924 during the 78 days. I remember salivating over the record ad in the Portland Sunday Telegram advertising the black label pop and red label classical items, wanting all of them and worrying about whether I would like the music later. In those days, I considered any LP from RCA Victor and Columbia as a status symbol, just as I did the huge Magnavox cabinet with radio, phonograph, and color TV and the Thunderbird convertible. I was definitely a crass materialist in those days – money was everything!

Meanwhile, RCA released a $1 album, entitled The Sound of Tomorrow, which was heavily advertised on Sunday night’s Wonderful World of Disney, RCA being its sponsor, but also in Buick ads, as RCA forged a deal with the auto company for its dealerships to be the exclusive venue for purchasing the record. Naturally, one afternoon, Mom drove me to Waterville’s own Buick dealer, then owned by a family friend, Nick Saporita, and located on Silver Street, and I took my copy home to play on the $32 manually operated RCA Victor stereo player. The machine was given to me as a birthday present but I was given to understand that it was the family player. Such double-dealing was then common as part of family sharing.

Side one had the black label, thereby providing the following five pop artists:

  1. Peter Nero, a most agreeable pianist who would sneak in quotes from classical pieces as part of his usual pop program.

    Peter Nero

  2. Marty Gold, a very gifted pop arranger/ con­­ductor who worked for both Victor and Kapp records.

    Marty Gold

  3. Hugo and Luigi, a duo of producers and arrangers for the Roulette and Victor labels, specializing in records of very pleasant chorus and orchestral selections.
  4. Dick Schory, a soft jazz arranger.

    Dick Schory

  5. Sid Ramin, a jazz arranger/ conductor with imagination and taste who helped Leonard Bernstein with orchestration during the Broadway run of West Side Story.
    The second side red label featured the following five fine artists:
  6. Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Boston Symphony in the second movement of the Mahler 1st Symphony. Finally, this joyous Scherzo was my first hearing of the music of a composer who previously had just been a slightly intriguing name in a Columbia Record Club booklet. Leinsdorf at that time was beginning what would be seven years as Boston’s Music Director.

    Erich Leinsdorf

  7. Arthur Fiedler, Boston Pops. This orchestra would make many records featuring both pop and the classics while Fiedler had formidable talent, wide-ranging musical curiosity and taste and astute political and business skills.

    Arthur Fiedler

  8. Robert Shaw Chorale. Like Arthur Fiedler, Shaw was a very gifted orchestral conductor but his fame lay in the many records with his chorus and training choirs all over the world. His Christmas album from the late ‘40s, Joy to the World, is still available on CD and sounds great with its a capella singing.

    Robert Shaw

  9. Charles Munch with the Boston Symphony. Munch spent 13 very exciting years in Boston, made a lot of great records and retired in 1962, being replaced by Erich Leinsdorf.
  10. Leontyne Price was one of the finest sopranos who ever lived and possessed a voice with both power and beauty during her thankfully long prime, giving goosebumps to many, including myself.

My second Mahler record wouldn’t be added to my then very small collection for three years due to very limited cash and the distractions of other composers!

IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of December 14, 2017

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Katie Ouilette Wallsby Katie Ouilette

WALLS, I am thrilled that you talked to our faithful readers for December 7. Our apologies must be extended to faithful readers who sought us for a couple weeks, because we lost our power. Frankly. we surely know what our neighboring states have gone through. True, we didn’t have a hurricane, as they did, but we sure had wind! Well, faithful readers, WALLS will now catch you up on news that hasn’t been written yet.

Son Dean and his wife Donna will arrive just on December 14 and will leave to enjoy Christmas with most of our family in Washington state. On December 6, Danny drove to get his son, Landon, who celebrates his 20th birthday this month. Yes, WALLS, he now attends Culinary Arts College, after the horrible battle with Wilm’s Cancer at St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. No question that St. Jude’s was the place for Landon to be, as he even had schooling there, so that he would not lose all those seven years in the hospital.

Oh, back to Dean and Donna. Dean’s birthday is December 19, and we hope to celebrate it with him before he has to leave on December 17. Actually, Dean and Donna have done so much for the folks that their Bellingham, Washington, church has adopted, and they go to Haiti about three times a year. We hope to have a bit of a gathering for Dean’s birthday with our Channel-ll TV Manager John Harlow and host Chris Perkins, so that folks will hear about their work there, though we are well-aware that you faithful readers may not receive that BeeLine Channel. However, we spent a wonderful time with residents of the Redington Home, in Skowhegan, on December 4, when Barbie Demo joined us for Christmas Carols. Just imagine it, she and three friends left for the Holy Land on December 5!

Oh, yes, like you, faithful readers, we will be celebrating Christmas with good friends, when Van, Jen, Chris and Clare, owners of Alton Whittemore Real Estate, entertain us at Whit’s End Restaurant. Yup, faithful readers, for sure Christmas looks like a merry one, already!

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of December 14, 2017

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

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

Would like to inform all of you that the town meeting is coming up and that nomination papers are available at the Solon Town Office. The following positions are elected during the annual town meeting on March 3, 2018. Qualifying signatures must come from registered voters in the town of Solon. All nomination papers must be returned to the town clerk by the end of business day, January 3,2018.

Selectman/Assessor/Overseer of the Poor, 2018-2021 (3 years) vacant as of March 3, 2018 (current selectman not running for re-election). Road Commissioner 2018-2019 ( 1 year ) vacant as of March 3, 2018 ( current commissioner not running for re-election), town clerk/tax collector 2018-2021, school board member 2018-2021 ( 3 year term ). Please see the clerk during business hours to receive a nomination paper.

Direct Hire Opportunities: Public Works Laborer (with class B license) See Selectmen or Road Commissioner for application and more information.

Listing of candidates who have taken out a nomination paper for Election (to date). Selectman/Assessor of the Poor, Craig Gerry and Gaye Erskine. Town Clerk/Tax Collector, Leslie Robert Lindblom Sr.

Last night I got pretty upset when this machine failed to cooperate with me, and I called Peter to see if he could fix the problem! We made a date of 8 a.m., this morning, and he came down and performed one of his miracles, and now I am hurriedly typing this column! Really wanted all of you who read this column to know about the nomination papers being out, in case you should want to run for one of the positions listed above. Sorry, but this will be a short column because we have another engagement.

Received this note and a card from one of my un-none friends, back in November, 2015: “So sorry to hear about Percy. I will miss his words of wisdom, but I’m sure you will miss him much more. I am a cat lover and have had several very special cats so I understand what you are feeling. Know that he had a good life and was loved by people that never met him. Enjoy all of your wonderful memories. Margaret, A reader from Massachusetts. (I hope this friend who I have never met is still getting The Town Line, and enjoys Percy’s memoirs also.

And so for Percy’s memoir: “Laughing stirs up the blood, expands the chest, electrifies the nerves, clears away the cobwebs from the brain, and gives the whole system a cleansing rehabilitation. Anonymous.