by Debbie Walker

Last week I shared some southern sayings with you so…… this week I have collected northeastern sayings. I got some from friends, family and of course odd sites on the internet. I’ve been chuckling all week with all kinds of sayings and terms. Such as, “whole 9 yards” and “pleased as punch” that I will share with you another week. (I just love words!!) And remember some of this came from “Outa Staters”! Let me ask for forgiveness now, I never want to insult or embarrass you.

Here is what I believe are New England (?) words:

Leaf Peepers – people who come to New England to see fall foliage and are usually found driving 20 MPH when you are in a hurry.

Outa staters – anyone who wasn’t born here (probably the same in every state, just that some states are adamant about it).

Parlor – older term for living room.

Butts – cigarettes, especially what’s left thrown on the ground.

Clicker – remote control of TV,( usually controlled by male of home.)

Down cella – where the freezer is, otherwise known as basement.

Draw – it’s supposed to be pronounced “drawer” as in “It’s the top drawer of my dresser.”

“No-suh” – “I don’t believe it” or “No”

“Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers” – can’t blame them!!!

“Cruisin’ for a brusin’- looking for trouble.

Right now I am wondering how many of you are wondering where I am really from, so I might have some you don’t recognize hopefully they are fun to read anyway!!!

“Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey” – from the practice of piling cannon balls on a brass triangle (monkey) on a ship’s deck, if it’s cold enough the brass shrinks a bit and the balls roll off.

“Hoity-toity” – having or showing the insulting attitude of people who think they are better, smarter or more important than other people. (ya, right. NOT)

“The pot calling the kettle black” – a situation in which one person criticizes another for a fault they have themselves. (But never see it in themselves!!)

“Lie like a rug” – to lie constantly- dishonest.

“A day late and a dollar short” – missed an opportunity and been inexcusably unprepared for it or “too little, too late!”

“Piss-ah” – awesome, very good, used by one with small vocabulary!!

“Tin foil”- aluminum foil   At one time tin was involved but that was a long time ago.

“Wicked” – equivalent to ‘very’, only stronger.

“Soda” – Pop is your father, not a drink.

I have heard “Screwed, Blued and Tattooed” for years, I kind of thought it would turn out to be something harmless like freezing the balls off the brass monkey, well, sort of, kind of, NOT. Okay, here we go:

“Screwed”, yup it’s sexual intercourse

“Blued” means the blue tablet containing Mercury, treatment for syphilis (I really don’t think sex was very safe way back then. And that syphilis could be passed on by blood.)

“Tattooed” refers to the fact sailors were often marked as property of “their” Navy. (tattooing with same needles passed on syphilis). A well-used saying was “you’re one of us now you scurvy dog. No woman will have you, there’s no life left but the sea. You are screwed, blued and tattooed.

There is a machinist version for this saying also, I will add that another night. I am always open to sayings I may not have heard or read, if you have some pass them along!

Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com, sub. line: Words   So for now : “Tootle-loo” (That’s a new one for me!!)

by Katie Ouilette

Faithful readers, WALLS hope you are having a wonderful summer.  Especially, since I just met some folks from Oklahoma and we talked briefly about the terrible weather they have experienced so far this summer.  I guess what we believe and what we have heard on TV is absolutely right……..Maine…….the way life should be!  WALLS is sure of that fact, too!!

Problem is, we wonder where all the tourists are.  A pontoon-boat ride around Lake Wesserunsett yesterday proved that folks were either watching television or having their daily nap.  For sure, very few folks were outside, whether paddling a kayak or swimming or riding in their power boat!

Well, WALLS decided that Waves From Wesserunset, the summer lake newsletter, had to be written to excite everyone a bit.  Yes, we did hear that the Lake Wesserunsett Association’s ‘welcome everyone’ cocktail party at the Lakewood Inn was great for seeing folks after so long and WALLS will admit that the weather hasn’t been perfect so far for ‘fun on the Lake.’  Maybe, faithful readers, WALLS will talk about better times next week.

Actually, faithful readers, there’s no time like the present for WALLS to tell you that, today, David Richards, executive director of Margaret Chase Smith Library on Norridgewock Avenue, in Skowhegan, and the Skowhegan Heritage Council set the date for Last Rose of Summer Day, which the council has hosted for six years.  Invitations will be sent to all historical societies and associations in Somerset County and other locations in Maine for Wednesday, September 11, at 1 p.m. at the MCS Library.  We will let all the groups know where there is lunch being served in Skowhegan and the Last Rose of Summer events will be at the senator’s library this year.

By the way, do you know why the Heritage Council has chosen that name for celebrating our beloved Senator Smith?

She always wore a red rose when attending Congressional meetings in Washington, D.C., and, though the red rose will forever be a reminder of this woman who loved her Skowhegan and Maine, we know there will probably never be another ‘Margaret’ for us who knew her.

By the way, if you are not a member of an historical group but would like to attend, please tell our administrative secretary, Cynthia Kirk, at 474-6904.

WALLS say again:  “have a safe and happy summer,” faithful readers.  Don’t forget that Historian Earle Shettleworth will be speaking at the Fairfield Center Grange on July 15, at 7 p.m., and Barb Bailey told me via e-mail today that the event will begin with a BBQ before.  Bon Appetit, too!

SCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

It’s amazing the subjects you can come up with while sitting around. Last Sunday we were sitting by a campfire when we noticed a lightning bug. Notice I said “a,” like in one, uno, solo. It was the first lightning bug I had seen in a while. I remember when I was growing up, we used to go visit relatives in Canada, and sometimes go  to a camp where we would see hundreds of lightning bugs flying around a field. You just don’t see that anymore. And, lo and behold, on Monday morning, I received an email from a reader asking the same question.

Anyway, lightning bugs can make summers magical, but there is more to learn about these beauties.

First off, lightning bugs are actually fireflies. Fireflies are cute and elegant by day, but downright dazzling after darkness falls. But behind their charming facade, fireflies are fascinating little insects. Consider the following facts:

They are beetles, not flies. Fireflies are nocturnal members of Lampyridae, a family of insects within the beetle order Coleoptera, or winged beetles. Yes, they are officially beetles.

They are alchemists, poetically speaking at least. While they don’t actually turn base metals into gold, they do create light as if by magic. When a chemical called luciferin (note the same Latin root as Lucifer) inside their abdomen/tail combines with oxygen, calcium and adenosine triphosphate, a chemical reaction occurs that creates their spectacular light.

Firefly light is incredibly efficient. The light produced by the firefly is the most efficient light ever made. Almost 100 percent of the energy in the chemical reaction is emitted as light; in comparison, an incandescent light bulb only emits 10 percent of its energy as light, the other 90 percent is lost as heat.

The main reason lightning bugs flash is to attract mates. Among most but not all species of North American lightning bugs, males fly about flashing while females perch on vegetation, usually near the ground. If the female sees a flasher and she’s ready to mate she responds by flashing right after the male’s last flash. A short flash dialogue takes place as the male flies closer and closer, and then, if all goes well, they mate.

They come in a rainbow of colors. Well maybe not the whole spectrum, but they do come in yellow, light red, green and orange.

They taste awful. Not that we were planning on snacking on fireflies anytime soon, but for predators that might like a light meal, beware the lightning bug. Firefly blood contains lucibufagins, which is actually a defensive steroid that tastes really disgusting. It is similar to that found in some poisonous toads. Predators associate the bad taste with a firefly’s light and learn not to eat bugs that glow.

However, their numbers are declining. If you’re seeing fewer fireflies each summer, you’re not alone. Evidence suggests that firefly populations may be on the decline, most likely due to a combination of light pollution, pesticide use and habitat destruction. For example, according to Smithsonian.com, if a field where fireflies live is paved over, the fireflies don’t migrate to another field, they just disappear forever.

The scientific and citizen consensus is that fireflies could be facing a tough time. Malaysia even holds an international symposium dedicated to conservation of the firefly. Scientists have for years been warning that the world’s estimated 2,000 species of fireflies are dwindling.

And is it any wonder? As the man-made environment continues its march into the natural world, where are these things supposed to live? Fireflies breed and exist in the woods and forests, along lakes and streams, in dense gardens and unruly meadows. Where are they supposed to do their firefly things when those places are paved over and built upon?

All of it doesn’t bode well.

“Fireflies are indicators of the health of the environment and are declining across the world as a result of degradation and loss of suitable habitat, pollution of river systems, increased use of pesticides in agro-ecosystems and increased light pollution in areas of human habitation,” notes the Selangor Declaration, a firefly advocating document. “The decline of fireflies is a cause for concern and reflects the global trend of increasing biodiversity loss.”

Fireflies are part of our heritage; they are an iconic creature and have played a role in many, many cultures. They are the epitome of summer evenings, for many of us they served as an introduction to the wonders of nature. If we lose the fireflies, we lose an important invisible thread that connects us to the magic of the natural world. And as a species, we can’t afford to lose that right now.