REVIEW POTPOURRI – Movie: Lansky; Pianist: Emil von Sauer; Playwright: Henrik Ibsen

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Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Lansky

Harvey Keitel

Last night on Amazon prime, I watched the 2021 film Lansky and was quite impressed by one particular quality, the performance of 82-year-old actor Harvey Keitel as the mobster accountant and major Godfather for way too many decades, Meyer Lansky (1902-1983). The story does rehash a lot of info from the many previous depictions of Lansky abounding on films and television and in novels but the script, direction and other production details sustained the interest well also.

The opening begins with Lansky as an old man dying of cancer after smoking four packs of cigarettes a day for 60 years; he is meeting with a journalist, David, in a Miami diner and telling his life story , with the understanding that everything he recounts is to be off the record and not to be published until after the gangster dies.

The movie spans from his boyhood and his rise to power as the figure with a genius level understanding of mathematical odds and his general business sense. It is of course frequently violent; however, one scene stood out in a positive way. During the 1930s, Nazi sympathizers are holding an indoor hate rally in the upper New York City 80s neighborhood of Yorkville. The speaker is screaming antisemitic venom when Lansky and several of his associates show up, and beat the speaker and his cohorts to a bloody pulp.

During World War II, Lansky and the Mob protected the ship-building industry from Nazi spies and saboteurs, using infiltration and enforcement methods that might be considered illegal , and they worked.

The re-enactments of historic events were quite effective. The very good supporting cast included Sam Worthington as the journalist David and John Magardo as the young Meyer Lansky.

Other recommended films with Harvey Keitel are Pulp Fiction, Copland and Taking Sides (dealing with the de-Nazifying investigation of the great German conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886-1954) just after WWII.

Emil von Sauer

Emil von Sauer

In 1938, German pianist Emil von Sauer (1862-1942) collaborated in a recording of the two Piano Concertos of von Sauer’s teacher Franz Liszt (1811-1886) with the Paris Conser­vatory Orchestra led by the Austrian conductor Felix Weingartner (1863-1942) that I have on a reissued LP (Turnabout THS 65098). Critics at the time and since then cared that von Sauer’s nimble fingers at the keyboard had gotten arthritic and sloppy. I can see a few points in these misgivings but, compared to the other brilliant knuckle busters who have recorded these masterpieces, the old pianist played with a poetry, delicacy and inspired musicality matched by the conductor and orchestral players.

These recordings have been reissued on cd and should be accessible on YouTube.

Maestro Weingartner died on May 7, 1942, and what would have been the 109th birthday anniversary of composer Johannes Brahms and the 102nd one of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Von Sauer died 10 days earlier on April 27.

Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen

Some of the most intensely eloquent reading and theatrical experiences are to be found in the plays of the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), including Enemy of the People (which the late actor Steve McQueen starred in on Broad­way), Ghosts, Rosmer­sholm, and The Doll’s House. One play that stands out vividly is The Wild Duck which depicts how a lethal combination of honesty, arrogance and self-righteousness leads to the death of a young woman.

 

 

 

 

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Maine Forest Service updates information on invasive species

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Browntail moth caterpillars can be identified by the two distinctive orange dots at the tail end and white tufts along the sides.

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

The Maine Forest Service recently published its last planned bulletin of the season. It was quite lengthy so I have sorted out what I thought would be of interest to our readers. The following are excerpts from that bulletin:

Browntail Moth

This year we saw continued growth in the outbreak of browntail moth (BTM). Call activity was very high, with well over 500 BTM calls and a similar amount of emails received by the Maine Forest Service (MFS) from mid-May to August. This was in addition to calls fielded by 211 (287 calls) and other agencies such as Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC), Maine Board of Pesticide Control (BPC) and Cooperative Extension.

When warranted, we fly two rounds of aerial survey for BTM each year: one in late spring/early summer to pick up defoliation from the mature caterpillars and another in late summer/early fall to capture the skeletonization damage from the newly-hatched caterpillars. The spring survey revealed 172,870.5 acres of defoliation while the fall surveys produced an additional 26,849.5 acres. This brings the grand total for 2021 to 199,720 acres.

In the winter of 2021, field staff detected webs in Aroostook County (Fort Fairfield, Monticello and Smyrna) for the first time since the early 1900’s outbreak. This speaks to the ability of this species to hitch-hike rides on vehicles as the caterpillars, pupae and adults will all take a free ride when they get the chance.

By the second week of April, BTM caterpillars had emerged from their winter webs in Southern Maine to feed on the buds and newly-emerging leaves of host trees. By the second week of May, many of the monitoring sites had fourth instar caterpillars, which are distinguished by their white tufts on each body segment. This was two weeks earlier than in previous years. One explanation for this is that the mild, early spring may have coaxed the caterpillars to emerge and therefore begin feeding earlier. There was quite a bit of variability in size even within a single nest with some caterpillars being as large as three-quarters of an inch while others that were one-fourth of an inch looked as if they had not molted since they emerged in April.

During the second week of May, we began receiving reports of wandering caterpillars, which usually doesn’t occur until the end of May. This might be explained by caterpillars stripping the host plants they emerged on and their need to find better quality food. During the second week of June MFS staff made observations of the first caterpillars pupating at all our monitoring sites. Again, this was a couple of weeks earlier than has been seen in the past (June 26, 2020). Beginning the week of June 27, we began observing emergence of the adult BTM. During the period of adult activity, we received many photos as well as witnessed firsthand the sheer number of adult moths that were attracted to gas station lights as well as any other bright outdoor light. In many areas it looked as is if it had snowed around the lights. We began seeing the first egg masses hatch during the week of August 1, and by the third week of August we observed caterpillars starting to create the web in which they will spend the winter. In late August, we began observing feeding damage from young BTM caterpillars becoming very apparent in many areas, especially in Kennebec County.

As a silver lining to the season, in spite of another year of drought, we observed a few very small and isolated pockets of a BTM-pathogenic fungus and what looks to be the baculovirus associated with BTM in Belfast, Liberty, Jefferson, Blue Hill, Readfield and Dresden; they are likely found in many places in between. What this tells us is that the fungus and virus are very widespread, but in order for these pathogens to spread more and make a significant impact on populations we really need wet weather in May and June. In collecting some of the diseased caterpillars at our monitoring sites for use in future assisted disease dispersal work, we found both parasitoid wasp larvae as well as some fly puparia within the collecting containers. Using the collections of infected caterpillars, we performed some assisted disease dispersal inoculations in Old Town as well as Little Deer Isle since these locations are on the approximate leading edge and these BTM populations did not show signs of infections.

One observation of note in September was a few webs that have deceased browntail moth caterpillars on the outside of the web. It seems to us that this may be due to a pathogen, although we can’t say for sure. Symptomatic caterpillars were fairly widespread on the state office complex in Augusta with most trees that were inspected having at least some webs with deceased caterpillars on them. During this visual inspection we also noticed some flies in the investigating the webs. The larvae of this family of flies are exclusively parasitic on arthropods of all shapes and sizes. There are a few species of tachinid fly that use browntail caterpillars as a host- good news for us and the flies.

Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald ash borer

In October many of the ash trees girdled in the spring were peeled and inspected for signs of emerald ash borer (EAB). Over 50 trees were girdled in the spring by the Maine Forest Service and cooperators. This year we had wonderful participation by private landowners, which helped us monitor for EAB more widely throughout the state. Well over half of the trees have been peeled, and we have found EAB in two of them. In Frenchville (Aroostook County), we found EAB in a girdled tree at a site we hope to use for future biological control. This is the second time we have found EAB in Frenchville. In Cumberland County, we found EAB for the first time in the town of Falmouth, also at a potential biological control release site.

The remaining girdled trap trees will be processed over the coming weeks. If you have a girdled tree on your property and have not yet made arrangements with us for peeling, please contact us at foresthealth@maine.gov.

Out-of-State Firewood Concerns

October was a busy month in terms of out-of-state firewood inspections, with two situations of high concern brought to our attention. The first involved the voluntary surrender of a load of firewood brought to Maine from Vermont by a visitor unaware of the out-of-state firewood ban. The wood was collected by a forest ranger and transferred over to the Insect and Disease lab for inspection. We credit this positive outcome to additional new signage on the border emphasizing that all out-of-state firewood is banned from entering Maine. The only exception to this rule is firewood that has been certified heat-treated, in which case it must be accompanied by documentation indicating it has been heat-treated to Maine’s required standard.

Tar Spot

Tar spots

There are several species of fungi in the genus Rhytisma that produce a tar spot symptom on our several types of trees and shrubs in Maine. Tar spot on Norway maple is caused by a non-native fungus (R. acerinum), and it is especially prevalent in several parts of Maine this year, as in most years. The also non-native (and currently considered invasive) Norway maples, including cultivars of Norway maple in horticultural settings, such as the burgundy-leaved Crimson King maple, are particularly susceptible to tar spot. Tar spots on our native maples are caused by native Rhytisma. They are encountered less frequently and typically cause only minor damage.

The fungi that cause tar spot survive the winter in fallen leaves and produce and disseminate spores during prolonged periods of wet weather in spring. Thus, collecting and disposing leaves is the recommended management strategy. If composting the collected leaves on-site, the leaf piles should be covered with a layer of soil, a dense layer of grass clippings or other compost. This will prevent the fungus from dispersing spores to re-infect maples the following spring. Leaves can also be burned when and where this is permitted. Chemical management of tar spot is rarely required or practical since these diseases primarily represent an aesthetic issue and have little detrimental effect on the long-term health of affected trees and shrubs.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who was the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback in their first Super Bowl appearance in 1985?

Answer can be found here.

CRITTER CHATTER: Three little kittens – part 2

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by Amy Messier

When I stopped by to talk to Don Cote at the Duck Pond Wildlife Center today about this month’s column, I was surprised to find all but one carrier empty of critters! Usually there are a variety of newly-admitted chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, possums, and young porcupines or raccoons in small cages or carriers in the living room and Carleen’s doll collection room. Today, the two incubators were empty, there were no residents at all in the doll room, and only one “patient” in the living room, a severely injured gray squirrel resting on its blanket in a cage.

My first thought was to write about the few remaining critters and plans for release or hold over until spring when fully rehabbed. As we chatted, though, Don started to tell me about his experience that morning with Jeff, a longtime volunteer, who had come over to help move the three bobcat kittens into a larger cage.

All three kittens were trapped and brought to the Center in late June and looked to be only about a month old. As they were siblings, they were kept together in a small pen away from the other animals, and their diet has consisted mainly of milk and canned dog food. At quick look, Don thought he had two males and one female. Now that they’re five or maybe six months old, it’s time to separate the boys from the girls as they’ll likely be overwintering because they’re too small and lack hunting experience for release this fall.

Don and Jeff had thoroughly cleaned two large pens which had previously housed foxes and put a rear platform and small log for access in each of them. The plan was to set three traps to catch the kittens separately so they could be sexed and sorted accordingly. The kittens, however, were naturally fearful and not cooperative. In their nervous running around, they managed to knock over and spring all three traps. The traps were reset and located in different areas of the pen, with better success. As I write this, all three are in one new pen, crouched up on the platform and warily eyeing their new surroundings. The individual traps are back in place, baited with raw chicken pieces, in the hope each cat will be caught and separated according to sex. Both larger pens are side-by-side, so even though one will likely be alone, s/he will be close to its litter mates for company.

I asked Don how their diet had changed over the summer. Our three little kittens have graduated from milk three or four times a day to a mixture of milk and three different kinds of canned dog food. He’s just started to put in a few small pieces of raw chicken injected with vitamins; eventually they’ll be weaned off the milk, then the dog food, and eat only raw meats. I’ll give another update in a few months.

As noted previously, the Center’s “Wish List” always includes bleach, cleaning supplies, heavy duty garbage bags, towels, dry dog and cat food (no dye), canned dog and cat food (no dye), paper towels, frozen berries (no syrup), birdseed, and even apples (not from recently sprayed trees). Please be advised that leftover, torn or opened bags of pet food cannot be accepted. I was also asked to include a request for disposable plastic grocery bags, which are used when cleaning pens of animal waste.

The Wildlife Care Center greatly appreciates the continuing assistance from other rehabbers to help while Don and his long-time volunteer, Amy, deal with health issues. We ask that you check these websites to see if there is a rehabber closer to you to help make critter care at Duck Pond more manageable: https://www. mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/rehabilitation.html

Donald Cote operates Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center on Rte. 3 in Vassalboro. It is a non-profit state permitted rehab facility supported by his own resources & outside donations. Mailing address: 1787 North Belfast Ave., Vassalboro ME 04989 TEL: (207) 445-4326. EMAIL: thewildlifecarecenter@gmail.com.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Talk To Your Kids About The Dangers Of Flavored Tobacco

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It’s possible to create a better, tobacco-free future in California. You can start by talking to your kids about the dangers of flavored tobacco.

(NAPSI)—After a year and a half of remote learning and social distancing, kids are back to socializing after school and between classes. A return to school also means kids are once again exposed to the dangers of vaping and flavored tobacco products, which could worsen with a return to in-person learning.

The Problem

The tobacco industry knows flavored tobacco is highly addictive—and that’s why it targets kids. Among high school kids in California, 96% of teens who vape use flavored products. By giving vapes and smokeless tobacco products such kid-friendly flavors as Blue Razz, Pegasus Milk, and Menthol Freeze, the tobacco industry falsely markets them as less harmful than cigarettes.

Flavors might mask the harsh taste of tobacco but they don’t hide the toxic chemicals that can damage lungs and the nicotine that is poisonous to developing brains.

Nicotine addiction is especially dangerous for kids. It rewires the brain to crave more of it, creating nicotine withdrawal symptoms including headaches, mood swings and the inability to concentrate. Nicotine even changes the way connections form in the brain and can also interfere with attention and learning.

Big Tobacco understands these harms, yet it still uses flavored products to target youth to turn them into lifetime addicts. Many vape brands now use a highly concentrated form of nicotine called nicotine salts that’s engineered for vaping. These ‘salts’ let higher concentrations be inhaled more easily, and absorbed more quickly, than regular nicotine—addicting kids even faster.

The tobacco industry also experiments with new ways to push nicotine onto youth. In rural communities, it markets smokeless tobacco called chew, and snus—a new product that’s a smokeless tobacco pouch. More than 80% of youth ages 12 to 17 who have ever used snus indicated that the first type of the product they used was flavored.

The industry markets these products, particularly to young men, by showcasing images of rugged cowboys, hunters, and race-car drivers—presenting tobacco use as a rite of passage. This specific targeting may explain why students at rural and town schools have more than double the rates of smokeless tobacco use as those in city or suburban schools.

The Good News

The rate of teens in California who want to quit vaping doubled from 2018 to 2020, and the majority of California teens believe their close friends view vape use negatively. Education about the harms of flavored tobacco products is working, but with kids going back to in-person learning, it is crucial to continue making progress.

Learn More

Kids need support to quit the addictive and deadly products pushed on them by the tobacco industry. Parents and families who want further facts about the dangers of flavored tobacco use or to find quit resources, can visit www.flavorshookkids.org. Californians looking to quit can text “I Can Quit” to 66819 or visit www.NoVapes.org to join the free quit program.

MY POINT OF VIEW: The evolution of Halloween

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by Gary Kennedy

Halloween will occur on October 31, 2021. This holiday occurs the day before the Christian holy days of All Hallows’ Day. In some countries this is known as All Saints Day or Hallowmas which occur on November 1 and 2, respectively.

In Germany, when I was assigned there, it was also re­ferred to as Totensonntag or Blue Christmas, Thursday of the Dead. Costume parties, jack-o-lanterns and huge festive bon fires were part of the fanfare. The why of that is unclear but it just seemed to be part of the evolution of the holiday. Trick or treat just seemed to jump in there as well.

By today’s standards, I don’t believe we would consider this a religious holiday. The advent of costumes seems to me to be a competition between good and evil, for the most part, in a fun, peaceful way. However, many of we ancients can remember 1950-70 in which if you didn’t give a treat then you stood a good chance of having your house, car and other personal property pulverized with eggs or bad things being written on your walls with crayons, magic markers and even paint, by the real evil ones. Some of us with hopes of avoiding this would keep a light on, maintain a smile and give treats to the little monsters and some not so little.

The police were always on high-alert during this time. I should add it wasn’t all bad as some of the children were adorable and sweet. Some of us even loved the event so as to enjoy the children and to say hello to their parents. For the most part the event was territorial. Some of the older unaccompanied children figured out that the more affluent sections of the town gave the best treats, some even money. So, they being mobile and unattended would head for these locations to cash in on the better goodies. Those that would cause the damage were usually of the older groups with no adult supervision.

All Hallow tide, the time in the liturgical year (relating to liturgy or public worship) in which the dead are acknowledged, especially saints, martyrs and other revered individuals. This is strongly a religious attempt of defining this holiday. Obviously, Jesus and testimony for him were death sentences which consisted of swains, burning at the stake, crucifixion as well as various forms of torture. The first Christian martyr was Saint Stephen who was taken out of the city of Jerusalem and stoned to death. Final words echoed those of Jesus, a prayer of forgiveness for his attackers. (Acts of Apostles 7:60) Jesus (Luke 23:24) Stephen is the patron saint of deacons and stone masons both Christian and Secular.

So as you can see, Halloween is not just a day of door knocking and treats giving, but also has religious overtones far more significant than the Halloween we celebrate. We have allowed it to evolve into something totally different from what it was intended. There is so much more to this holiday than what I have given you here.

In any case we are still under the influence of this terrible Covid epidemic and that leaves us with many questions to resolve before we knock on doors and accept food stuff from strangers. Some folks known to each other will have small gatherings at their homes where there is some semblance of safely. In my opinion, all should not be lost during these hard times regarding our children.

This is a time when memories are created and shared throughout the years to come. It’s up to us to make them good and safe. God bless and enjoy your holiday. Also, remember there are more than just treats; we have family, friends and the one who makes all things possible. I’m not sure exactly what he thinks of this holiday but he reads the heart. So I am pretty sure he knows we mean no harm or disrespect.

MAINE MEMORIES: Life’s experiences

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Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcgovphotos/29657603423

by Evangeline T.

Hello and welcome to Maine Memories, little snippets of life from our home state. This week, I’m going to talk about my childhood and an interesting thing I experienced. Enjoy!

From ages 10 to 17, I grew up with foster kids. Since I was an only child, this presented quite a challenge. And an adjustment.

My mother explained to me before any children arrived how they either had parents who didn’t love them or that they didn’t know how to behave. That was an understatement!

If children got in trouble, they had two choices: reform school or a foster home. At foster homes, they were expected to accept positive changes. If, at any time, the foster parents decided they weren’t “making the grade,” so to speak, they’d be removed and sent to reform school.

The first two foster children who arrived at our house were 6 and 15 years old, both boys. The 15 year old wanted everything his way. The 6 year old still did baby things and had absolutely no interest in school, which he ran away from more times than I could count.

I, as a 10 year old, tried to somehow accept these boys; they needed what our house had to offer.

Mom instinctively knew how to deal with their problems. She had great compassion and talked in such a way that we understood. Neither parent hit us or gave us spankings. It just wasn’t in them to be unkind.

The punishment I remember most vividly happened if we got into a squabble. She’d take two chairs, place them face to face – our knees almost touching – and we would have to sit there until we were willing to give in and be friends. Believe me, we’d sometimes prefer a spanking!

One day, the school called. The 6 year old had run away with a big dog from next door. Mom found him hugging the dog. She stayed on the opposite side of the road and said, “I’m afraid of that big dog, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not,” he replied.

Well, Mom talked that little boy into helping her to not be afraid of the dog. Likewise, he promised not to be afraid of school. She’d be at the house when he got off the bus each day. That was all he needed, no further running away or calls from the teacher.

I could write a book about fostering kids. We met many others through those years, and bless my mother, she helped them all. The 6 year old grew up and visited my parents many times. One girl became like a sister to me, and we kept in touch for years, even after we married.

It was a rewarding part of my life, and later, I took in foster children myself. But that’s a story for another day.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Two books and a string quartet

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Peter Catesby Peter Cates

William Huie

The Klansman

by William Bradford Huie

A 1965 novel The Klansman, by William Bradford Huie (1910-1986), depicted the exacerbated racial tensions in a Deep South town in Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement. What particularly distinguished it from other novels was Huie’s ability to convey the attitude of the sheriff, himself a racist; a childhood friend who is not; and a host of other characters ranging from members of the KKK to civil rights workers risking their lives.

Most importantly, Huie was one incredible storyteller; I read the 400 and more pages in less than 24 hours while the plots and sub-plots moved right along.

Huie also wrote a non-fiction book Three Lives for Mississippi dealing with the 1964 murders of Civil Rights workers Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman by the Klan and local law enforcement officers. A book which is also recommended.

J. B. Priestley

An Inspector Calls

by J. B. Priestley

An Inspector Calls is a suspenseful 1945 play by J.B. Priestley (1894-1984) in which a British police inspector calls on a wealthy family at their country estate during a dinner party celebrating the daughter’s engagement. The year is 1912 and each family member is smug and selfish.

The inspector is investigating the suicide of a young woman and shows her photo to the parents, son, daughter and her fiancé. From the looks on every face, he correctly ascertains that all five crossed paths with the young woman and may have contributed to her destruction.

A 2015 BBC film assembled a very good cast led by David Thewlis as the inspector is available on Pluto TV and DVD.

Haydn String Quartets

Two very beautiful Haydn String Quartets – the Opus 20 #4 D major one and the Opus 76 #2 D minor – were recorded in 1961 on a Concert Disc LP by the then Chicago-based Fine Arts Quartet consisting of first violinist Leonard Sorkin, second violinist Abram Loft, violist Irving Ilmer and cellist George Sopkin .

By the late 1970s, Sopkin (1914-2008) would retire from the group after almost 40 years to live in Surrey, Maine, not too far from Ellsworth. I met him in 1980 at the Blue Hill Congregational Church where he performed as part of the Maine Trio with violinist Werner Torkanowsky, who had also been music director of the New Orleans Philharmonic and in later years led the Bangor Symphony before his death in 1992, and with pianist Mike Ikemiya.

The Trio was formed for the purpose of giving free chamber music concerts in small Maine villages that had never experienced these events. One very worthwhile endeavor.

SOLON & BEYOND: I’ve been feuding with my computer

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

Sorry I haven’t had anything in the paper for a few weeks, I have been feuding with this computer, big time, so I am crossing my fingers, and praying that it goes this week!

When I wrote one of the columns, I think the following news didn’t get in about a couple of items from the Solon Elementary School. Bus questions or concerns? If you have general questions or concerns? If you have general questions about busing, please call our transportation Director Lorie Agren at 431-8812. When your children are on the bus and you have concerns about pick-up or drop-off, please call Bonnie White in the morning at 696-3100 or Candy LeBeau in the afternoon at 635-2209, and they can radio the bus driver.

Staff member in new position is Mrs. Amanda Deleonardis who has moved from her position as a Title I ed tech to a teaching position as a learning interventionist at our school. This new position, funded by coronavirus relief funds, provides us with more support for students needing interventions in literacy and math to help them to be successful.

I am pretty sure that I might have sent this before, but just to be sure, it is: Need a Christmas present? Please order by November 15 to allow for timely delivery as there are delays with USPS. Contact Emily Quint 635-2231 quint@tdstelme.net.

The following are for sale: Embden Town of Yore book, $40 ( +$ 5.50 if shipping is necessary) Original price was $60; South of Lost Nation book with Index $20 ($4.50 if shipping is necessary) South of Lost Nation ( Index only $3 ( $4 if shipping is necessary) Afghans (2004 Bicentennial) $25. ( +$9++ if shipping necessary) Embden Map (Historical) $2 + shipping, and Embden Map ( Streets and Roads) $ 2) .

The above is all the recent news that I could round up. I did start up the “teacher-less painting club a month ago at the Skowhegan Adult Ed classes, several people have asked how many years I have been doing that. I really don’t know for sure but I found some information on a poster I had made about that club. It was an article I had written for The Town Line back on April 13, 2006, with a picture they had taken of club members at that time. That was a meeting when we were going to come up with a name for this club, so it has been going on for some time before that. I came up with the crazy idea of calling it a teacher-less-painting club. When I arrived the first night I was given the attendants folder with M. Rogers, “Instructor” on the cover. The first night those who attended were, Suzanne Currier , Shirley Foxwell, Linda Sullivan, Gerda Pilz Betty Dow, Dana Hall, Linwood Turcotte, Peter Foxwell and me. There have been many, many wonderful painters and friends that I have met over those 15 years and I hope they have enjoyed it as well.

The times have changed so much in the last few years and when I started going through old newspapers it was very evident. There used to be so much local news about what everyone was doing, etc., but that has all changed. I still enjoy trying to find different things to write about…… and when I found this old, old letter that I received back in 2007, it made me feel really good. It is from Ron Colby, a person I had never met, and still have not. He wrote, “Hi Marilyn, My name is Ron Quimby, I live in China, Maine. I am married and have a 14-year-old daughter who attends Erskine Academy. I wanted to write to let you know that I love all of your articles in The Town Line. I work at China Middle School and at a store at the head of China Lake. I always grab a paper as soon as it is delivered to our store and look for the Somerset County News where I know I’ll see an article from you and Percy, too. I enjoy all your news from the Solon area. You are a very interesting person and I hope you keep writing for a long time. Keep up the good work! Thank you. Ron Quimby.”

I was very pleased when I came across that old letter and if he is still reading my columns, as I hope he does (when I get the best of this machine of mine and it gets printed). My many, many Thank you goes out to Ron Quimby.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Untreated Vision Loss Can Speed Cognitive Decline

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Getting a thorough eye exam can solve some surprising health matters for many people.

(NAPSI)—There’s a reason you shouldn’t skip your routine eye exam—and many people don’t even know about it. A growing body of research shows that vision loss can affect how well your brain works. The most recent study found that people who scored poorly on vision tests were more likely to suffer from deficits in memory, language and the ability to identify and locate objects in space. To protect your brain, get an eye exam to make sure correctable vision problems are detected and treated. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends all adults receive a comprehensive eye exam by age 40, and every year or two after age 65.

Why Check Your Eyes

Here are three more reasons to get your eyes examined:

  1. The leading causes of blindness— including glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration—can begin without any noticeable symptoms,. The best way to protect your vision is to see an ophthalmologist, a physician who specializes in medical and surgical eye care.
  2. Seeing an ophthalmologist can improve your overall health. Blood vessels and nerves in your eyes are reflective of the rest of your body. Ophthalmologists are sometimes the first to diagnose systemic diseases, such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis or vitamin deficiencies. For example, when David Hibler, Sr. went to get his eyes checked, his ophthalmologist detected signs of a blood clot just by looking into his eyes. Seeing an ophthalmologist helped save Hibler’s life, as it led him to get appropriate medical attention to avoid a potential stroke.
  3. Some adults shouldn’t wait until they are 40 to have a complete eye exam. See an ophthalmologist now if you have an eye disease or risk factors such as:
    • diabetes
    • high blood pressure
    • family history of eye disease.

EyeCare America Can Help

If the cost of an eye exam is a concern, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s EyeCare America program may be able to help. This national public service program provides eye care through volunteer ophthalmologists for eligible seniors 65 and older and those at increased risk for eye disease.

Learn More

For further information regarding EyeCare America and to see if you or someone you care for can qualify, visit www.aao.org/eyecare-america.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Do you ever wonder?

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by Debbie Walker

Do you ever wonder? Tonight, I am wondering. I am wondering, is there ever going to be an end to these ridiculous phone calls or junk mail? I know I am not alone. So why are we bombarded with such junk?

The phone calls are so we can be entertained with their recorded chatter, must not be important enough to them to put a real person on the line. SO, its not important enough to me to listen to them. I also want to mention a tip that Eric gave us in one of his columns this year. Be wary, some of those calls that would make you think they are people are also recorded. Their responses are timed to make you think they are listening. You can pick those out by saying, ” Excuse me, are you a real person?” Guess what, they will keep talking over your question. I hang up.

It doesn’t stop the calls to just hang up and I am not a big believer in the “Do not call list”. I block numbers whenever possible. Since a lot of these calls are computer generated, they call from multiple numbers and I just keep on blocking. It’s all a big pain in the neck (or lower)!

There are so many companies doing this. On the list are health insurance companies, political surveys, extended warrantee companies, etc. Very often if it doesn’t show a name or name of company on my screen, I am not likely to answer the call.

My own insurance company calls me way too many times and I have now blocked them! Leave me alone. No, I don’t want to do your survey and you wouldn’t want me to at this point. No, I don’t need one of your nurses to come to my home for a checkup, check to see if my medications are right for me. It was my doctor who prescribed this medication and I feel like “too many cooks ….”. If I have any questions, I will contact my doctor or my pharmacist with my questions.

The extended warrantee companies have become a joke. I have even seen cartoons that included it. But they keep on keeping on. Give us a break! They are companies trying to sell you insurance. A lot of people are still not understanding. Some people would actually buy this if they didn’t understand. My theory is ‘when in doubt, don’t’, but for some having some woman on the line telling you ‘this is the last attempt to contact you before it will no longer be available to you’. I can see a few people intimidated enough to do as told.

Okay, enough of that mess. I am wondering what some of your family traditions are for the holidays. I would love it if you would let me know what some of them are.

In the mean time I am just curious what you do with those ridiculous calls. Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Have a wonderful week and thank you for reading. I’ll be waiting to hear from you!