STUDENT WRITERS: The search for happiness

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The Town Line presents the STUDENT WRITERS PROGRAM
This week featuring: ERSKINE ACADEMY

by Aidan Larrabee
Erskine Academy

Do you want to be happy? Most people will answer yes to this question, which is good. Unfortunately, we often try to simplify happiness, and lose sight of what being happy really means. Nathaniel Hawthorne described happiness as, “like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp; but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” It is easy to blame the world and the evil in it for a lack of happiness. If so, then why do we look to the world with all the evil in it for happiness? However, many people believe that happiness comes from something less worldly. Christianity is a beautiful example of finding happiness in a way that relies on no one but oneself and God. Christians believe God is love, and being loved is one of the most important things in the world when it comes to filling our soul and making us happy. Victor Hugo went as far as to say, “The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.”

There is a dichotomy to happiness, which makes it so hard to describe. On one hand there is materialistic pleasure, and on the other there is spiritual happiness. We catch glimpses of happiness through materialism, but that type of happiness is always temporary and goes away. Everybody has highs and lows, as suffering is inherently part of the human experience. Christianity has a unique view on happiness, almost a sort of paradox. “The Christian faith makes sense of the rawness we feel in the face of suffering because it says there is something wrong with the world … God is good but evil is also real and has influence in the world for now … It is only if God exists that our outrage at suffering finds a home.” The idea of humans making human civilization a utopia is never going to happen because of the evil that is an inherent part of free will. It is through our suffering that we find God, and that He wants us to serve Him here on Earth, knowing that the best is yet to come. We catch glimpses of this pure happiness in our lives, but we will never achieve that perfect state of happiness and tranquility until we reach heaven. Christians find peace because they have hope and they have faith.

In fact, Jesus speaks about the topics of happiness and fulfillment in John 6:26-35.

“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27: Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.'” 28: Then they asked him, “‘What must we do to do the works God requires?'” 29: Jesus answered, “‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'” 30: So they asked him, “‘What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31: Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”” 32: Jesus said to them, “‘Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33: For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'” 34: “‘Sir,'” they said, “‘always give us this bread.'” 35: Then Jesus declared, “‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36: But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37: All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38: For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39: And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40: For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

It is in this passage that Jesus addresses the importance of spiritual fulfillment above everything else. Jesus spoke to the disciples in the passage after he had just performed the miracle with the bread and the fish, with which he fed thousands. And these people, who want to be fed again, are reminded that it is not food that will ever truly fulfill us. They are told that if they believe in Jesus Christ they will find the “bread of life.”

In today’s society, we have a cancel culture and one of the things that has been canceled is people’s faith. When we look back at America, we see all the things we as a nation did wrong and we cancel everything that the people who did these things believed in.

When looking back at America’s connection to religion, it can be very easy to blame Christianity for some of America’s greatest failures as a nation. But is it fair to totally cancel religion because of the terrible things done by people who totally misunderstood the foundation of the religion: To love God and to love your neighbor? Was God not a driving source of happiness for the people who created America, many of whom lived lives of incredible hardship? Despite all the benefits of technology and the glory of success, people in today’s world still lack happiness. So is it possible that being religious really makes you a happier person? It turns out that there is research done on this by the Pew Research Center.

According to their statistics, “Actively religious people are more likely than their less-religious peers to describe themselves as “very happy” in about half of the countries surveyed.” In the U.S., where 11 percent of actively religious people described themselves as “very happy” compared to others surveyed in the U.S. This illustrates that people who do practice their faith are generally happier.

The absence of religion in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World depicts the dichotomy of happiness. The people in the new world delighted in materialism and in sex and in soma. Mustapha Mond, one of the World Controllers, shared that he believed God manifested himself in the World through His absence.

Ultimately, though, the quest for stability in the New World was not perfect because people whose minds refused to conform to the system were sent to islands. The soma was only temporary. There was happiness in the New World, but there was not true happiness. There was no God, and there was no unconditional love. And while the New World may have succeeded in solving many of the evils of the world such as aging, disease, poverty, and hunger, the people in the world still lacked true happiness. In fact, John the Savage claimed the right to suffer in all of those evils.

I believe the reason for this is that it is in suffering that we can see the beauty and glory of God. The experience John had when he lived on the Savage Reservation and went off by himself into the mountains depicts the peace and the comfort that we experience in our suffering, because we can feel God’s presence. It is in the simple things in life that we find true happiness. I think that is because during these times we feel God’s presence; We feel the peace of His presence and we feel the hope of knowing that the best is yet to come.

Student Writer’s Program: What Is It?

The Town Line has many articles from local students under the heading of the “Student Writer’s Program.” While it may seem plainly evident why The Town Line would pursue this program with local schools and students, we think it’s worth the time to highlight the reasons why we enthusiastically support this endeavor.

Up front, the program is meant to offer students who have a love of writing a venue where they can be published and read in their community. We have specifically not provided topics for the students to write on or about, and we have left the editing largely up to their teachers. From our perspective this is a free form space provided to students.

From the perspective of the community, what is the benefit? When considering any piece that should or could be published, this is a question we often ask ourselves at The Town Line. The benefit is that we as community are given a glimpse into how our students see the world, what concerns them, and, maybe even possible solutions to our pressing problems. Our fundamental mission at the paper is to help us all better understand and appreciate our community, our state, and our nation through journalism and print.

We hope you will read these articles with as much interest and enjoyment as we do. The students are giving us a rare opportunity to hear them out, to peer into their world, and see how they are processing this world we, as adults, are giving them.

To include your high school, contact The Town Line, townline@townline.org.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Opinions and columns

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by Debbie Walker

My hope is as you read our columns that you sometimes find information of use in your daily life. Some of the columns are aimed at giving you a chuckle. Some columns are designed to give you information we have heard and you may not have yet, so we pass it along. Some are just as the title says, just our opinions.

Some weeks you may read an opinion and totally agree with it. You may in some way feel validated knowing someone else carries the same opinion you do. That same column may strike someone else completely different, they may absolutely disagree. And still others may read it and it gives them something to mull over as to how they feel about the subject.

Some weeks a column may give you something to laugh about. For at least a few minutes you forgot something weighing heavy on your mind and have a little chuckle and possibly something you feel was positive enough to share with others.

There are times we are very serious about subjects like politics of many levels. Again the information may be general or it may be quite detailed, all of which is presented for you to consider. (Very seldom do I tackle this subject. You would shortly find out I have a healthy disrespect for the subject!)

Sometimes we write about health issues as I did with “Ticks and Bumps“. I re-run it once a year because it is about a little known skin cancer, that’s the “bump”, little known and yet it is cancer. If you had seen mine you probably would have thought like I did, “It’s nothing”, however I was wrong.

Some writers give you a bit of history of the area. Local history is always interesting to me. When people are new to an area they often appreciate this info. If you have your own memories of the area it may be a trip down memory lane. If you know a local story of earlier years pass it on.

It’s my understanding that the biggest newspapers are slowly on their way out. A friend of mine, a long time newspaper man explained to me that we now have access to the subjects we are most interested in instantly with internet and hand-held devices.

Newspapers are becoming obsolete as we are driven more and more into the “tech” world. He believed the small local papers would continue for quite some time. Most people like to see local folks in their papers; local kid’s sports, celebrations, honors, obituaries, police beat; all things local, good and bad. And if anyone is like me I still prefer flipping paper pages.

I believe each of the writers for any paper hopes to please the readers with information of interest to the community. You can play a role in a local paper, as well, if you know something you think should be printed, give the paper a call! See what happens.

I’m just curious if you noticed that I have printed this article before.

Contact me with questions and comments to DebbieWalker@townline.org. I’ll be waiting.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Perry Mason continued…

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Raymond Burr as Perry Mason

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Perry Mason continued

(see previous article: TV Show: Perry Mason)

Producer Gail Patrick Jackson saw actor William Talman (1915-1968) as the serial killer in 1953’s The Hitch Hiker, directed by Ida Lupino, and immediately knew who she wanted for the role of District Attorney Hamilton Burger on the Perry Mason TV show. Talman was also one of five escaped killers in 1955’s The Big House starring Broderick Crawford, Charles Bronson, Ralph Meeker and Lon Chaney Jr., and appeared in other similar roles during the fascinating film noir years. He was scarily convincing in the sulfuric venom he exuded in those films, particularly the deranged eyes.

In his portrayal of Burger, the courtroom encounters with defense attorney Mason frequently brought on a look of outrage at a contentious eye contact level when Mason scored points for the defendant, raised objections to Burger’s examination of witnesses on the stand or insisted that certain testimony was irrelevant and immaterial. And he gave the same tit for tat.

However, both characters, sometimes begrudgingly, respected each other, both upheld the integrity of the law and both were in pursuit of justice and the truth. Burger himself stated a few times that, when he lost a case, it was a win because an innocent person didn’t go to prison or the gas chamber.

In 1960, Talman was found smoking marijuana with a group of friends and was fired from the show for a few months, until a vociferous letter writing campaign and the high pressure lobbying of CBS by producer Jackson, Burr and other cast members got Talman reinstated .

Talman came down with lung cancer in 1968 after decades of chain smoking and filmed a public service announcement on the dangers of cigarettes not to be shown until after he died. It can be seen on YouTube.

Ray Collins (1889-1965) in his role as Lieutenant Arthur Tragg almost stole the show time and again, not only with his formidable presence as Chief of Homicide, but also with his infectious sense of humor in many scenes. At one murder scene, Tragg cuts Mason some slack with the gathered evidence but states that District Attorney Burger would have his own head if the latter ever found out. And just about every time Mason would show up even at the most out of the way locations to help his client, Tragg would appear with his usual “Good morning, Counselor,” and an arrest warrant.

Collins worked often with Orsen Welles and was in the cast of the original radio broadcast of War of the Worlds that caused a nationwide panic. He too was a chain smoker and passed away from emphysema, at the age of 74, on July 11, 1965.

The many actors and actresses who made guest appearances included some memorable ones:

Angie Dickinson (1931-) was the defendant when a man who was blackmailing her wound up dead in an episode from the 1957 first season.

Joan Camden (1929-2000) appeared twice during the 1957-58 season as two different variants of the scorned woman, the first a collaborator/girlfriend with an extortionist who winds up dead and the second as a defendant whose ex-boyfriend is found dead and her fingerprints are on the gun. She brought a spitfire bitterness that reminded me of such actresses as Joan Crawford, Katherine Hepburn, Susan Hayward and Maureen Stapleton at their best.

Douglas Kennedy (1915-1973) was a gifted character actor who also appeared twice during the first season and as the actual killer – in one as a detective who murdered another detective, tries to kill Mason in the lawyer’s office but is caught by Lt. Tragg and his men who are hiding in the next room. A later episode has him as a corrupt lawyer who helps his girlfriend in the murder of her husband. He conveyed a nasty hot-tempered edginess that compelled attention.

Henderson died in 1973 in Honolulu after he suddenly came down with cancer while filming episodes with Jack Lord in Hawaii Five O.

Judy Tyler (1932-1957) played a delightfully sultry chorus line girl in a December 1957, episode seen six months after she was killed with her husband in an automobile accident . She was most famous for a starring role with Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock.

Ben Wright (1915-1989) played a jeweler who kidnapped his business partner and assisted in the murder of a second one when an embezzlement scheme goes awry. He was most “fondly” remembered for his role as the Nazi Gestapo representative Herr Zeller in the 1965 Sound of Music and conveyed the dubious ambiguity of both roles.

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: How does your place look?

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Growing your businessby Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

The way your place of business looks is important. It is a visual indication of how your business is run. The way your business looks, in many ways let’s your customers know a great deal about you.

In my business, which is working with electronic companies all over the country, I’ve talked to officials who audit these companies to qualify them to be able to build high technology products for the military. These auditors tell me that one of their “secrets” is to not only check out the work areas but also the common areas like rest rooms and the cafeterias. They claim that the way these areas are kept is the true indicator of how the company runs.

Think about your place of business. Think about your store, is it well maintained? Is it clean? Are the shelves well-stocked? Are all the lightbulbs working?

How about your restaurant? Obviously, cleanliness is a requirement in a place where people come to eat, right? How does your restaurant fare? How does it look to your customers?

When we lived in Wisconsin years ago there was a restaurant that everyone went to for breakfast. The food was great, and inexpensive, and the place looked great. But then the owner sold it to another person and retired. It soon became obvious that the new owner did not have the passion for the business that the former owner had. We started noticing the differences immediately. The tables were seldom bussed so half of them had the remnants of half-eaten meals. The floor was not washed, and the place was just generally a mess. Actually, the food was just as good since they had kept the same kitchen crew, but the place was too messy for most of the regulars, and we started to leave. In fact, the last two times I went into the place I got syrup on my shirt sleeves since the table had not been wiped. That was it for me.

That restaurant closed after six months of new ownership. It closed after 35 years of being in business. And get this, when it closed the new owner, instead of realizing that he had not done a good job, blamed his failure on the fact that a new chain restaurant had opened up in town, taking away his customers. Interestingly enough the new restaurant was a Chilis and they didn’t even serve breakfast!

Take a look around your business. How does it look to you? Be careful now, because we all get so used to how our place of business looks that we tend to overlook that broken window, those burned out light bulbs, the cracked plaster, the torn booth leather, the weeds growing in the parking lot.

No, take a fresh look at your place of business, from your customers’ point of view. What impression does it make? What does it say about you and your business? Be honest now, because if your business does not look good it will reflect on everything for which your business stands. And that is no way to grow your business.

GARDEN WORKS: Wake up, sleepy head! Maple syrup time is here

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Left, first you gather the sap from the tree using a spout and bucket. Most “backyard” syrup makers use a turkey fryer as an evaporator. It works very well.

Emily Catesby Emily Cates

Wake up, wake up! No more excuses for hibernation or procrastination, Springtime is here. Yes, I know I know — it’s still cold and there’s plenty of snow, each flake erasing an equal amount of motivation to be outside in the garden.

But let’s look at the possibilities anyways, since eventually the window of early-springtime activities will close whether we complete them or not. Why not enjoy a taste of spring by making maple syrup? Let’s whet our appetites by taking a look at this delicious task.

Ah, maple syrup — the amber nectar of our beloved maple tree, made from the sparkling, crystal-clear sap that is a delightful Spring tonic on its own. At 40-45 degrees in the daytime and freezing at night, this luminous sap flows from tree wounds and can be collected.

Maple sugaring supplies are super easy to find at hardware stores or online, and YouTube has an amazing amount of helpful how-to videos.

It is extremely important to use clean, food-grade materials for anything that comes in contact with the sap and syrup. Avoiding trees in polluted areas might is a good idea as well. Also, never overload a tree with too many taps. The best advice I can think of is to use recycled materials if possible, be safe, and to have fun!

To collect the sap, I gather containers such as traditional metal sap pails, water jugs, or buckets. Then, with a 5/16th drill bit, I drill a hole slightly upwards about 2-2 ½ inches, preferably on the south-facing side of the tree. Depending on the setup, I’ll either hang the pails on the tree by the hooks provided on spiles that are gently hammered in the hole, or I run food-grade tubing to a container set on the ground.

Once there’s enough collected, it’s time to strain it and boil it down. Since I only have a small amount of taps and my wood stove is already running this time of year, I usually evaporate the sap in big pots on the stovetop.

40:1 is a common ratio for sap to syrup, which is quite a lot of work for a small amount of product. Oftentimes, depending on how full my hands are this time of year (and how much of it gets raided by my family or myself!), I’ll make the decision to cook with the sap instead of making syrup. I always try to reserve some to slow-cook a chicken…Delicious!

Large quantities of sap are traditionally steamed off in a sugar house with an evaporator suited for many gallons. (I know folks who make a fire in a barrel on its side with foodservice basins fitted on the top.) The sap boils in the basins and is carefully watched, especially as it thickens. Ladle off any foam and impurities from time to time, adding a drop of cream if it threatens to foam over.

Now it’s down to the nitty-gritty! Tell the kids and pets to wait at a safe distance, and put on a pair of steady hands, because this is hot stuff. When the syrup reaches 7 degrees above boiling, or 219 degrees F, it’s ready to carefully strain and pour off into containers. I prefer mason jars, which are handy for canning the syrup. If desired, process in a hot water canner for 10 minutes.

Enjoy maple syrup in as many ways as your imagination allows. How sweet it is to start spring on such a delicious note!

SOLON & BEYOND: Pine Tree 4-H Club still active

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

I am so happy to have some recent news to share with you this morning. And I would like to thank Hailey Dellarma for sending it.

Solon Pine Tree 4-H met on Saturday, March 13, at the Solon Fire Station. In attendance were: Cooper and Kaitlin Dellarma, Lindsay and Charlotte Hamilton, Jillian and Desmond Robinson, Katelyn and Devyn DeLeonards, Autumn and Matt Ladd, and Isabella Atwood. There wasn’t any craft project during this meeting. Demonstrations were given by the following members: Devyn DeLeonards and Matt Ladd: DIY Knife Sharpener; Isabella Atwood: Guinea Pig Treats, Charlotte Hamilton: Fabric Guinea Pig Shelter; Linsay Hamilton: How to make a rope halter; Katelyn DeLeonardis and Autumn Lass: Kiss Cookies.

New News:

The club raised $209 on March 6 for the Solon Food Cupboard. The club members will be thinking of a possible Educational Exhibit for the Skowhegan Fair. The next meeting will be Saturday, April 9, at 9:30 a.m., at the Solon Fire Station.

I am so very pleased that the Solon Pine Tree Club is still going on for the young people in Solon, it is a wonderful group.

I also received an email from Margaret Chase Smith Library: It was this time a year ago that COVID-19 was beginning to shut down daily life in the United States. Since then we have all had to adapt to the new normal of restricted movement, limited capacity, and social distancing. While we have made progress, and hopefully crested the peak of the pandemic, the library is still operating under restrictions that will once again not make an in-person Maine Town Meeting possible this spring. They will, therefor, use the same format as last spring and offer another Zoom event. They are sticking to the original theme, although in greatly extended form, of using the Maine Bicentennial as a time to assess where the state has come from, where it is now, and where it should be headed in the future. Professor Liam Riordan from the Department of History at the University of Maine laid the groundwork last May with his lecture on Maine’s origins as a state. Next up on Friday, April 9, at 10 a.m., will be Bill Green. Drawing upon his four decades of experience as a broadcast journalist for WLBZ in Bangor and WCSH in Portland.

The final talk in the Maine Bicentennial town meeting series will also be via Zoom on Friday, May 21, at 10 a.m. “Thank you for staying ‘in this together’ through these unprecedented times. While the internet and Zoom have been indispensable tools during the pandemic,” said Director David Richards. They look forward to the day when they can welcome back everyone without the need for contact tracing forms, face masks, and social distancing signage. Now for a short explanation of why I didn’t have a column last week: Lief and I had gone to see if a store had the airplane models that he likes to put together and I had gone with him. There was a long flight of stairs to climb, and I made out just fine, but on the way down, I got to only two or three stairs left, and I don’t know what happened, but I fell, and I have a lot of black and blue places on my body. So I had to spend a few days in the hospital! It is great to be back at home and I’ll try to be wise and stay off stairs, ( for a while.)

My many, many thanks and love go out to all of you who have called or sent get well cards, it means a lot!

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Turkey vultures becoming more and more common in central Maine

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SOAKING THE SUN: This turkey vulture was photographed by Pat Clark, of Palermo, stretching its wings while soaking in the sunshine.

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

I remember as a young boy growing up of going to the “movies” at the old State Theater, on Silver St., in Waterville (now Cancun Restaurant). It was the Saturday kids’ marathon. You would get to the theater at 10 a.m., and probably wouldn’t come out until dark. There were cartoons galore, news reels, several feature films, and even a commercial for popcorn in the lobby. (For 25-cents, you got admission to the theater, a bag of popcorn and soda – and get change back.)

One of the things I remember well, and are still my favorites today, were the old film noir westerns. The films were marked with poor lighting, corny sound effects and acting – but Gene and Roy could sing you a tune, and beat up the bad dudes. Pretty versatile guys to have around.

One scene would always be of a vulture circling overhead, signaling the presence of a corpse, or a carcass of a dead animal near a watering hole, an indication of a poisoned pool.

I had never seen a real vulture. I thought they only existed where the cowboys roamed the western range.

Later in life, around the 1980s, I saw my first real vulture on top of French’s Mountain, in the town of Rome. However, recently I have seen a growing population of the turkey vultures in central Maine. First, on the Nelson Rd., in Vassalboro, and recently on Chase Ave., in Waterville, near the Delta Ambulance headquarters. Last Sunday, I saw four of them in the road.

Its range is from southern Canada to the southermost tip of South America.

Turkey vulture

The turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, or turkey buzzard as it is known in some North American regions, is a scavanger that feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. This is an uncommon ability in the avian world. The olfactory lobe of its brain, responsible for processing smells, is particularly large compared to that of other animals. Lacking a syrinx, the vocal organ of birds, its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. It has very few natural predators. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

It is listed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Populations appear to be stable, thus has not reached the threshold of inclusion as a threatened species, which requires a decline of more than 30 percent in 10 years or three generations.

In the U.S. it is illegal to take, kill, or possess turkey vultures, their eggs, and any body parts including but not limited to their feathers; violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 for individuals or $200,000 for organizations, and/or a prison term of one year.

Turkey vultures appear black from a distance but up close are dark brown with a featherless red head and pale bill. While most of their body and forewing are dark, the undersides of the flight feathers (along the trailing edge and wingtips) are paler, giving a two-toned appearance.

The turkey vulture received its common name from the resemblance of the adult head of a wild turkey, while the name vulture is derived from the Latin word vulturus, meaning “tearer,” and is a reference to its feeding habits.

The wingspan of a turkey vulture is between 63 – 72 inches, has a length of 24 – 32 inches and weighs 1.8 to 5.3 pounds. Northern vulture are generally larger than the ones from its southern range. It is the most abundant vulture in the Americas. The global population of the turkey vulture is estimated to be 4.5 million individuals.

The turkey vulture is gregarious and roosts in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day. It roosts on dead, leafless trees, and will also roost on man-made structures such as water and microwave towers. Though it nests in caves, it does not enter them except during the breeding season. The turkey vulture lowers its night time body temperature to about 93 degrees F, becoming slightly hypothermic.

Turkey vultures are perceived as a threat by farmers due to the similar black vulture’s tendency to attack and kill newborn cattle. Turkey vultures will not kill live animals, but will mix with other flocks of black vultures and will scavenge what they leave behind.

The breeding season varies according to region. In the north, it commences around May and continues into August. They do not lay eggs in a nest, but rather on a bare surface. Females generally lay two eggs, but sometimes one and rarely three. The incubation period lasts between 30 – 40 days. Chicks are helpless at birth. The young fledge at about nine to ten weeks, and family groups will remain together until fall.

Turkey vultures are majestic but unsteady soarers. Their teetering flight with very few wingbeats is characteristic. Look for them gliding relatively low to the ground, sniffing for carrion, or else riding thermals up to higher vantage points. They may soar in small groups and roost in larger numbers. You may also see them on the ground in small groups, huddled around roadkill or dumpsters.

Turkey vultures are common around open areas such as roadsides, suburbs, farm fields, countryside, and food sources such as landfills, trash heaps, and construction sites. On sunny days, look for them aloft as early as 9 a.m.; in colder weather and at night they roost on poles, towers, dead trees, and fence posts.

Thankfully though, they are pretty harmless. Turkey vultures really do only eat dead flesh, so your pets and children are technically safe. When they gather together in trees though, people will often bring their children inside. They also can give people an eerie feeling when they circle overhead.

They have no incentive to attack humans and they lack the physical attributes that could pose a threat. Some vultures will spew projectile vomit as a defense mechanism, which is about the extent of their hostile behavior.

Again, like many other species I have observed, more and more of these critters are beginning to show up in the urban surroundings, where in the past they were only seen in rural areas.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who is the only NFL quarterback in the Hall of Fame who is left handed?

Answer can be found here.

STUDENT WRITERS: Why fewer people Are Getting Married

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The Town Line presents the STUDENT WRITERS PROGRAM
This week featuring: ERSKINE ACADEMY

by Grace Kelso (China)
Junior at Erskine Academy

Growing up, many Americans believed they would get a job, buy a house, get married and start a family. However, it seems that for many Americans, life did not turn out that way. The amount of marriages that happen every year in the US is at an all time low at two million a year. This is half a million less than its peak in the early 1980s. The marriage rate is also at a record low at a little more than 50 percent which peaked at 70 percent in 1967. This percentage is only likely to decrease. The Pew Research Center has estimated that by the time today’s young adults are 50, over 25 percent of them will have been single their entire lives.

Americans are also getting married later in life. The median age for first marriages reached a record high in 2018 with most men getting married at age 30 and women, 28. However, many people don’t want to get married at all. The Pew Research Center found that 14 percent of never-married adults say they don’t plan to marry at all, and another 27 percent aren’t sure whether they want to get married. There are many things that could have caused these trends, such as the change in gender roles and more gender equality, increasing financial instability, and the increasing benefits of staying single.

One explanation for why fewer people are getting married is the changing gender roles and more gender equality in today’s society. In the past, men were expected to be the ones to work and earn money to support their families. Women were not expected to work and instead take care of the home and children. This is not the case anymore. Having to take care of the home and raising children while still working full time is too much for some women, and most women are not willing to give up their career to become full time housewives. Also, women today are more educated than men and earn close to the same income. Women no longer have an incentive to marry for financial security because most women can financially support themselves. This change in gender roles and more gender equality in today’s society makes marriage seem like something of the past, which could explain the drop in marriage rates.

Another explanation could be the increasing financial instability among young adults. In 2017 the Pew Research Center found that 41 percent of single adults who wanted to get married in the future said that financial stability was a major reason why they had not married yet. Getting married and starting a family is a huge financial decision and many young people feel like they are not financially stable enough to make a life long commitment such as getting married. One reason for this financial instability is the record high amount of student loan debt in the U.S.. Americans collectively owe $1.7 trillion in student loans and the average college senior graduates with $37,691 in debt. Having this much debt at the beginning of adulthood has kept a lot of young people from getting married. Also, a study done by Cornell University found that most American women want to get married but many are unable to find “marriageable” men, which can be considered men with stable jobs and a good income. This increasing financial instability has made marriage less attractive or just out of reach for many young people, causing fewer people to get married.

Lastly, fewer people are getting married because of the increasing benefits of staying single. The Pew Research Center found that half of American adults believe society is just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children. Fewer and fewer people want to get married in order to pursue their own personal goals, whether it be in their career or hobbies. Also single people are actually more social. Sociologists, Natalia Sarkisian, of Boston College, and Naomi Gerstel, of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, found that marriage actually weakens other social ties. On average, single people provide more care for their siblings and aging parents, have more friends, and are more likely to offer help to neighbors and ask for it in return.

This huge drop in marriage rates has many causes, some of which are a change in gender roles and more gender equality, increasing financial instability, and the increasing benefits of staying single. Is this something we, as a society, should be worried about? Marriage has a lot of benefits, including better outcomes for children, less crime, an increase in longevity and generally happier lives. However, the way marriage is today is also very challenging and does not work for everyone. Perhaps in the future there will be other forms of partnerships that better fit the needs of our society without the negative side effects of marriage. There have already been suggestions of alternative forms of marriage such as “beta-marriages” where a couple is married only for a short period of time before making a commitment, almost like a “test run”. Our society is changing fast, so it only makes sense that the relationships we form with other people change as well.

Student Writer’s Program: What Is It?

The Town Line has many articles from local students under the heading of the “Student Writer’s Program.” While it may seem plainly evident why The Town Line would pursue this program with local schools and students, we think it’s worth the time to highlight the reasons why we enthusiastically support this endeavor.

Up front, the program is meant to offer students who have a love of writing a venue where they can be published and read in their community. We have specifically not provided topics for the students to write on or about, and we have left the editing largely up to their teachers. From our perspective this is a free form space provided to students.

From the perspective of the community, what is the benefit? When considering any piece that should or could be published, this is a question we often ask ourselves at The Town Line. The benefit is that we as community are given a glimpse into how our students see the world, what concerns them, and, maybe even possible solutions to our pressing problems. Our fundamental mission at the paper is to help us all better understand and appreciate our community, our state, and our nation through journalism and print.

We hope you will read these articles with as much interest and enjoyment as we do. The students are giving us a rare opportunity to hear them out, to peer into their world, and see how they are processing this world we, as adults, are giving them.

To include your high school, contact The Town Line, townline@townline.org.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Support For People With Disabilities On The Journey To Work

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Social Security may have the ticket to success you need on the path to work.

(NAPSI)—About 40.7 million Americans have some kind of disability, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. If you or someone you care about has a disability, you may wonder what it means for employment. You may be encouraged to know that there are supports and services available that can help you or your loved ones pursue work and reach your goals through Social Security’s Ticket to Work (Ticket) program.

Ticket To Work Program

The Ticket program supports career development for people ages 18 through 64 who receive Social Security disability benefits and want to work. This program is free and voluntary. Program participants select a service provider to help them prepare for, and find, a job. The provider may be a State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency or an Employment Network (EN)—a public or private organization that has an agreement with Social Security—to offer:

•Career planning
•Job placement assistance
•Ongoing employment support.

These career development services and supports are unique to each individual. Participants work with their service providers to develop a customized plan and identify the supports they need to reach their work goals.

Finding A Path To Financial Independence

The road to financial independence looks different for everyone. Whether joining the workforce for the first time or returning after a difficult diagnosis, there are challenges that each person must navigate. Working with a Benefits Counselor and Ticket to Work service provider can help you remove some of the obstacles and learn more about the resources available to you.

This could include Social Security Work Incentives, which are designed to help you transition to the workplace. A Benefits Counselor can help you learn more about Work Incentives, including which ones you qualify for, and discuss how working will affect your benefits.

If you connect with an EN, the EN can help you find answers to questions, whether they’re about reporting your wages to Social Security, requesting job accommodations, or even how you can advance your career to earn even more money.

With the knowledge, support and services of a Ticket to Work service provider, you may find yourself on the path to success and financial independence through work.

Learn More

For further information about the Ticket program, call the Ticket to Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842 or 1-866-833-2967 (TTY) Monday through Friday.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Those casual evenings

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by Debbie Walker

This is a casual evening for me. It’s been raining all day so I am quite mellow at this point. I figured tonight would be casual and hit several subjects. I’m starting with:

40 Days – 40 Nights Items Challenge. It is about giving up something for Lent. I know nothing about Lent but I liked the concept presented in the passage that was sent by Instant Message to one of my friends and passed on to me.

Each day of Lent, remove one item from your home, something you don’t use or wear anymore and place it in a bag. At the end of Lent, donate these items to a charity shop or to a homeless shelter (and don’t forget our wandering veterans). It will all be appreciated.

However, I think this is a wonderful “challenge” to put out to family or friends. You could challenge co-workers and the end of any challenges could be finished up in a yard sale, money could go to a charity.

Challenge your children. Let them go through their old toys and out-grown clothes. Donate or yard sale.

Just use your imagination, see what you come up with.

If you have been reading I’m Just Curious for the past year then you know I chose a 26-foot fifth wheel camper, in a campground, for my retirement home.

Twenty-six feet, even with the slide out, giving me about 4-feet x 10-feet more living area in the kitchen and living room, doesn’t give much room. But, then you decide to add a little renovating to the mix. I decided I wanted to take out the bench seat and the sleeper sofa. When you need to relocate things there is just no room to put everything.

I will let you know how it turns out.

I also have a new collection I am working on. No, I don’t have room to store it here but I am sure my daughter will give me a spot in her house.

A while ago I found a ladies hanky in Dollar General. I also have one that was my great-grandmothers. I decided to start collecting things that Addi (10-month old great-granddaughter) might never know had existed without this collection.

I will write some history for each item, explaining the history and my personal knowledge to help her feel the importance of each thing. I will write a little about why it was called a kercher or kerief. It was for wiping away wedding tears, runny noses, all during love and sorrows. In later years they have made beautiful squares for quilts.

The collection now has a donation of a Tea Towel. The Farmer’s Almanac yesterday had a little history of them. I don’t believe we ever had any in our house. These little towels of linen type material are still used in Europe, here, not so much. They were also know as “Glass towels”, crash towels, and damask”.

OK, I am running out of space so I would like to finish by asking if you are curious enough to send me more ideas I should use in the collection box. Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Have a wonderful week and thank you for reading.