by Katie Ouilette

WALLS, if our faithful readers aren’t off to the stores, somewhere, and Christmas shopping, hopefully they are taking time to read about your suggestions this week. Oh, and while I’m on the subject of our faithful readers, you may have no idea how many of our readers are truly faithful. Wow, readers that I do not know recognize my glasses, I guess, and that you, WALLS, have a writer. Yes, each of them that tells how much they enjoy you are really giving us a ‘gift for all seasons’, right?

You, WALLS, know that Lew and I hope that our gifts inspire our great-grandchildren to learn and have fun, at the same time, as we fill all their parent’s mailboxes with National Geographic for Little Kids and for Kids (KIDS receive the issues that are published for seven years old and ‘up’). We are told our beloved kids really enjoy both editions together and the ‘more grown up great-grandkids’ receive the Smithsonian Magazine…and so do we! What an interesting read that affords us! Yes, WALLS, no one is ever too young or too old to learn!

Adults? Well, we do that the easy way, too. You see, we have a cancer-free great-grandson who was diagnosed at five years old and was sent to St. Jude’s by Seattle Children’s Hospital. What a wonderful research hospital that has to be, as our now grown up 17 year old was schooled for 12 years while at St. Jude’s and he only lost one year of school while there.

Equally, dear to us is his original doctor who had retired, but saw our great-grandson at his home, since a loving mom felt that treating her son for the flu was not what he needed. Yes, that doctor said he had to go to Seattle Children’s immediately and, it just happened that the world’s outstanding authority on Wilm’s Cancer was at St. Jude’s.

Some of you faithful readers maybe saw our great-grandson on Keeping Pace when he visited Maine from Bellingham, Washington. Former Town Manager John Doucette interviewed our handsome cancer-cured grandson and you faithful readers learned why Make a Wish is so important for giving, too.

Do you remember Danny Thomas, who brought fun, laughter and real lessons to everyone in the family once a week? His daughter, Marlo Thomas, promotes St. Jude’s as her dad’s dream. Well, Danny’s dream made our dream come true, too, so now WALLS, you can write the letter to Marlo and tell her of all the Ouilette family members’ Christmas gift that has been sent to St. Jude’s every year since Danny’s dream became ours, as well.

Many thanks for the cards that you send us, Marlo, so that we can send to those at St. Jude’s and wish them wellness in their respecdtive future, Marlo and all that work day and night to make that wellness a reality……her dad’s dream.

So, now, faithful readers, we of WALLS will be back next week and wish you a very happy holiday season!

by Debbie Walker

Remember I bought some odd ball books last month? To refresh your memory the list of my new books reads like this: “A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant”, “The Left Hander”, “Can Holding in a Fart Kill You?”, “What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper”, “Why Do We Say It?”, and the newest addition is “Manners and Morals of Victorian America”. So….. I’m going to share a couple tidbits from each book or all I have room for here.

Manners & Morals: Never punish your child for a fault to which you are addicted yourself. Never exhibit too great familiarity with a new acquaintance. Never will a gentleman allude to conquests which he may have made with ladies. “The Curtsy vs the Bow.” Formerly it was the habit for the ladies to curtsey on being introduced, but this has been changed into the more easy and graceful custom of bowing” (1868). Yeah, I can see me worrying about doing a curtsey or bow, not a chance these days! I am reasonably sure I would be the one in the family to question these behaviors.

Yes and I know I have to answer the great questions of the book title “Can Holding in a Fart Kill You?” It was believed at one time that it could cause poisoning of the body. People still try to hold it in until the coast is clear, believing this behavior is more acceptable. The main side effect of” holding it in” is probably some stomach discomfort but they won’t die.

“What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper?” is the title of another of my books. The Chinese invented toilet paper in the 14th century and the Bureau of Imperial Supplies began to produce paper for use by the Chinese emperors. Toilet paper was factory produced in 1857 and named “Therapeutic Paper” and sold in packs of 500 sheets. Different areas of the world used different products. Such as: Rome – moist sponge on end of a stick, wealthy used wool and rosewater, Vikings in the Middle Ages used hay balls. Hawaii: coconut husks. Eskimos used snow and tundra moss. There are, of course, more but the ones who used grass, stones (?), moss were considered poor. Some countries use their hands. A friend of mine was in Afghanistan, he was introduced to an important woman and he offered the wrong hand for her to shake! BIG mistake: Woman was insulted! Sears catalogs were favorites until they started using glossy paper!! That’s where it went, I never knew!

Okay, I think I’m about at the end of my allotted words! We will, of course, be visiting my books from time to time, especially when I find some of the really interesting tidbits!!

I’m just curious what I’ll find yet?! Hope you enjoyed and I thank you for adding me to your day. Love comments! dwdaffy@yahoo.com is my e-mail, sub line: Odd Books. Thank you again!

by Katie Ouilette

WALLS, you sure do have a lot to write about today! Thanksgiving was wonderful at Samantha and Leigh’s house in Canaan, as they not only had both sets of parents present for the simply divine turkey dinner, but their two little ones, Reese and Owen were absolutely wonderful with their books and, yes, Reese’s performing what she would be doing at her dance recital on December 10.

Also, with the last issue of The Town Line on my desk, how could WALLS not congratulate China for having Maine’s largest solar farm! Frankly, faithful readers, WALLS sure got a bit nostalgic when reading about the large solar farm that is planned for China, as thoughts of such incredible scientific developments haunted everyone who grew up when such science was only being thought about. Ah, sweet memories! In fact, WALLS, it has been said by many of my era that we grew up in the best of times….but, my being a Great Depression born and bread kid, when folks bought only what was needed, as there was no money for what was wanted.

I wonder what scientists would do today, if times were like that? Yes, Madison has created a beautiful view in Maine with its Electric Works Solar development and last week, Lew and I rode from Bingham to Athens in order to view the great wind towers that will bring electricity to our, once, forgotten countryside. Yes, these have been a long time coming to our area, as the reminiscing of them occurred of our riding the countryside in upstate Little Falls, New York, en route to our friends in Starks, New York.

O.K, WALLS, that also goes for the telephone. Wow, our old telephone service at 29 Chestnut Street, in Skowhegan, was far different than what we are accustomed to today. In fact, son Nick called us from Ferndale, Washington, and with Lew’s hand-held phone, we could even see Nick as he talked to us. Wow, I question if we were really the Great Generation that everyone of my era professes!

Speaking of the phone, Marilyn Rogers-Bull, who writes Solon and Beyond for The Town Line and I talked and we wished each other a very Happy Holiday … and Percy sent us all a message via The Town Line: “Life’s greatest celebration comes from the heart”.

One of our family members missing for Thanksgiving dinner was Roxie Paine, but we call her our World Traveler. In fact, on Thanksgiving Day, she was in Antarctica……yes, you faithful readers read it right…..Antarctica. We will learn all about how one runs a marathon race in Antarctica, but our Roxie did it on the day after our traditional Thanksgiving,……we think. Yes, you will read about Roxie’s running a marathon in Antarctica after she tells WALLS and her brother, Leigh, all about it.

Now, Lew and I will send the Christmas gift from all our adults to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, in Memphis, Tennessee, in honor of our great-grandson, Landon Ouilette, who was diagnosed with ‘rare’ Wilm’s cancer at five years old, and was at St. Jude’s for seven years…..but is now 17 years old, cancer free, and planning to attend college……and we hope he will choose to attend in Maine!