I’m posting a different sort of picture tonight from my friend Peter Ralston: a painted sign listing Maine town names. It jumped out to me when he sent it because I am on the road again— in New Orleans tonight— where I have been meeting with dear old friends and special new ones.
Three, I keep hearing Willie Nelson and that song of his which Heather's words echo, and that sign with its list of towns and good qualities all invite us toward.
There was a PBS documentary about Kris Kristofferson a few years ago. The family disinherited him, wanted nothing to do with him after he dropped out of military school?
Read his Wikipedia page. His story is fascinating. He was a military helicopter pilot, Rhodes Scholar, then helicopter pilot for Petroleum Helicopters Inc in Louisiana. It's a good read. More accurate than most our memories.
I knew most of that. Best tale was when he left the “legit” life and worked as a janitor at the Grand Ole Opry. He hung around the stage when he could, and one night he couldn’t get away. Johnnie Cash asked where he was and he was ‘in’ from then on…
What we now know, D.O., perhaps as never before is that old adage: "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." We simply have to beat them at the polls. There is zero chance of any meeting of the minds.
When schools center humanities, we'll get skilled in applying them to people as individuals. People being people, as Barbra sang long ago.
We won't be trapped anymore by the packaging, stereotyping, group silos, and all the other ways our billionaire classes have fomented hate, division, and what Hunter S. Thompson saw, also back then, as "fear and loathing."
Equipped with humanities, and the patience, openness, and skills to connect to "others" as individuals, in all manner of complex communities (a couple of Faulkner sentences, anyone?), we can get to all those places in the photo Heather sent us today.
I’m in Gray Maine, but I visit my dear cousin Lisa who is an artist living on Martins point in Friendship. We often walk to the nature preserve on the end of the point. I wave to HCR from there across the bay in her kayak, but she can’t see me.
My favorite quote from actor George Sanders “the other is just us on a different day.” Or something like that…has been more true for me than I want to admit.
Something's gone terribly wrong in the U.S., Jeri.
If our schools had kept some healthy humanities, we'd have many much more comfortable with the vagaries, contradictions, complications, and other of which Joseph Brodsky used to call the "loose ends" of life.
Without that built-up, well-nurtured humanity, fearsome monsters have grown abroad the land. Do they rule?
The November election will answer that -- given that the billionaires, white trash, hate-filled terrorists, and venomously intolerant now seem dark-money-organized and set to kill the democracy and all its (now dehumanized?) institutions.
Your fears have been mine for decades. I have watched so much pushing of the boundaries, no pushback, then more aggressive pushing, with slow-walking pushback, then finally precious little pushback. Just join Fox down the rabbit hole. The monsters have become just that and people seem to think it’s a theme park. Woke is a good thing to be…
Another excellent post, Jeri. I love "and people seem to think it's a theme park." I would much rather be woke than down the rabbit hole which leads to a very large black hole.
Excellent post, Phil. I always love it when someone posts positive words about the humanities. Everything today seems to be about money. I do understand that people need to make a living, but we can value the humanities for what they bring to our way of viewing the world and acting in it.
All I know is my life started when I entered college and had my first art class. It was the first time I felt like I belonged. Although I spent thirty years teaching special ed, I also had my own business picture framing for my sanity.
I grew up in MD and raised my family in VA but I actually moved to the Paris France two years ago. Some of my ancestry hailed from Eastport Maine !
You may know, the govt / municipal buildings and the schools - have Liberté Egalité Fraternité plaques prominently displayed if not carved into the stone. Just thought of this: there’s likely no need to preference town names when the ethos of the country is so well communicated dating from revolutionary times…
Paris VA is a quaint little town! Had to say that.
I agree that with another commenter about the need for the humanities but also solid courses on the history of our country without erasure of uncomfortable truths.
The French Revolution is not forgotten here by virtue of the signs and much more.
I love Paris and Normandy on the coast. We have been invited to take part in ceremonies for a small Normandy town called Dieppe to commemorate the British, Canadian and US soldiers who fought the Nazis there on August 28, 1942, (before D-Day landings). Every year they have a ceremony and the students give speeches about The Duty To Remember the bravery and the sacrifice of those who tried to free French citizens from Nazi occupation. It is very moving and taken quite seriously.
There's a Paris, IL where my sister lived and now some of her family still lives. It is a southern Illinois farm town surrounded by soy and corn fields and across the Wabash from Terre Haute. When we went to my sister's funeral, my husband was suffering culture shock.
I think he has although he still talks about it. He wanted to see the countryside, so we drove north to the next town where he had enough of seeing fields of genetically modified soy and corn.
Heather, thank you for this picture. It must be a boon to one’s soul to live in a town surrounded by towns with such great names.
On another note, I love your audio letters. I find that, in listening to them after I’ve read the letters. I hear something that I’ve missed. Please continue then.
To show you that Washington is more than just a bunch of politicians, here's a photo display of what us D.C. natives really care about...the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin!
After this season, the basin will be renovated in an effort to combat climate change.
Stumpy, a cherry tree who will be making its last stand this year before it gets turned to mulch, will be sacrificed to save the other trees. Hail to Stumpy! Read and Listen here:
I went to high school about 9 blocks from the White House...the inside cover of our senior yearbook was a picture of some of my classmates among the cherry blossoms 💞
Thank you Lynell for the Spring walk past the Cherry Tree blossoms on the perimeter of the Tidal Basin. I once found a grassy spot at night in view of the lit up Lincoln Memorial -- a powerful message to the Nation.
Thanks, Lynell! How charming to meet Stumpy before "their" demise. (Hard to subscribe a sex designation to a tree that gives birth to remarkable blossoms and has been given a name.) I'll wager that there will be a movement to try to transplant Stumpy!
Ha, Judith! I never thought about whether Stumpy was a he or a she. But it makes sense now that you brought it up! I'll be sure to let you know if I hear about Stumpy's final fate.
Thank you Lynell - even though I live here and can see them in person (I love Stanton Park - lushness on a smaller scale - I'm happy to enjoy the photos.
Me too, Chaplain. In my working days, my commute took me by the Tidal Basin routinely; so I had plenty of years seeing the blossoms in person. These days, I delight in seeing them on TV. What I really love is that our local news spends time on feel-good stories like this. Being close to Stanton Park is pretty good!
Thanks for sharing this sign, Heather, listing some of the lovely towns in Maine. A meaningful list, for sure. Another iconic Maine sign that I will always remember is the one in Bethel that lists the towns named after foreign countries and cities, in this order:
The posted town names come into focus more considering the town of China, Maine:
"It is theorized that these (black) families migrated here because it represented a safe area which slave catchers would not approach as China and several other towns were "Quaker" towns which would not tolerate slave catchers, no matter what either federal Fugitive Slave Act demanded."
Our son was a counselor at that Friends Camp in South China for 3 summers during college! He loved it, & has remained friends with some of the counselors who were there at the same time.
There's a wonderful restaurant in Freedom, ME called "The Lost Kitchen". They have a weekly drawing for the 48 people lucky enough to dine there. They have a TV series that has run for several seasons. People travel from all over the US and the world to eat there. My wife and sister-in-law absolutely love the show, but haven't had their names drawn for dinner -- yet. Please check it out.
My husband and I dined there two summers ago…it was an absolute joy, a foodie bucket list item. 10 delicious courses over a four hour evening. It wasn’t just the food; the flowers, the rugged old and tenderly cared for building, and the engaging team all created a wonderful experience. Make sure they keep sending those postcards!
You never know Sherree. My wife and sister-in-law are very hopeful. Thank you for posting Sherree. Another one of Maine's hidden treasures. Congratulations for getting to experience The Lost Kitchen.
Yes! I've been meaning to build my version of that sign so that I can put it up at the front of our huge milkweed/flower garden out near the road. I'll have to make that happen this year.
Just finished "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat-Moon. Your photo reminded me of his travels. A delightful book filled with personal stories of small town folks.
“Blue Highways” was the first armchair travel book I read, back in the 80’s, followed by many more. Then I got the chance to travel and I credit William Least Heat-Moon with whetting my appetite. Wonderful book. Thank you for reminding me of it.
Friendship embodies the principles of democracy through its foundation on mutual respect, equality, and collaborative decision-making. It fosters a microcosm of democratic society, encouraging open dialogue and understanding, thereby reinforcing the essential democratic values of inclusivity, cooperation, and the collective pursuit of common goals.
Rest well, HCR, Buddy and to all! I love that, in Heather's FB talks, she emphasizes how important it is for us to take breaks for R&R. It's hard work, defending democracy and, by golly, does she ever work hard, I don't know when she sleeps!
One, there's the names of these towns in Maine.
Two, Heather says she's "on the road again."
Three, I keep hearing Willie Nelson and that song of his which Heather's words echo, and that sign with its list of towns and good qualities all invite us toward.
“Freedom’s just another word for nuthin left to lose, freedom ain’t worth nuthin if it’s free”
One of my favorite songs: Daniel Kahn "Freedom is a verb"!
One of my favorites also. I remember Janis Joplin singing this.
I could not find any records of Janis singing that song, are you thinking of Me and Bobby McGee?
I am and I am just up. I think there is a line in her song, Freedom's just another word for nuthin left to lose.
Yes..
Yes .. was just listening to her yesterday.. i think it was a recording from a concert
Didn’t Kris K write that when his mom disowned him for becoming a hippie (in her view). Read that somewhere. No idea where…
Yes, Kris K wrote it and I do believe you are right about the situation.
Thank you, thinking back, maybe it was on a PBS show with Johnny Cash, Kris, etc. His Mom would never win mother of the year. Doubt dad would either.
There was a PBS documentary about Kris Kristofferson a few years ago. The family disinherited him, wanted nothing to do with him after he dropped out of military school?
Read his Wikipedia page. His story is fascinating. He was a military helicopter pilot, Rhodes Scholar, then helicopter pilot for Petroleum Helicopters Inc in Louisiana. It's a good read. More accurate than most our memories.
I knew most of that. Best tale was when he left the “legit” life and worked as a janitor at the Grand Ole Opry. He hung around the stage when he could, and one night he couldn’t get away. Johnnie Cash asked where he was and he was ‘in’ from then on…
Lotta good road songs out there, D. O.
What we now know, D.O., perhaps as never before is that old adage: "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." We simply have to beat them at the polls. There is zero chance of any meeting of the minds.
Amen
Now im not sure i quoted that correctly.. listening to her its hard to tell
Ironic that Harmony is furthest away.
We can get it back, Ellen.
When schools center humanities, we'll get skilled in applying them to people as individuals. People being people, as Barbra sang long ago.
We won't be trapped anymore by the packaging, stereotyping, group silos, and all the other ways our billionaire classes have fomented hate, division, and what Hunter S. Thompson saw, also back then, as "fear and loathing."
Equipped with humanities, and the patience, openness, and skills to connect to "others" as individuals, in all manner of complex communities (a couple of Faulkner sentences, anyone?), we can get to all those places in the photo Heather sent us today.
I’m in Gray Maine, but I visit my dear cousin Lisa who is an artist living on Martins point in Friendship. We often walk to the nature preserve on the end of the point. I wave to HCR from there across the bay in her kayak, but she can’t see me.
My favorite quote from actor George Sanders “the other is just us on a different day.” Or something like that…has been more true for me than I want to admit.
Something's gone terribly wrong in the U.S., Jeri.
If our schools had kept some healthy humanities, we'd have many much more comfortable with the vagaries, contradictions, complications, and other of which Joseph Brodsky used to call the "loose ends" of life.
Without that built-up, well-nurtured humanity, fearsome monsters have grown abroad the land. Do they rule?
The November election will answer that -- given that the billionaires, white trash, hate-filled terrorists, and venomously intolerant now seem dark-money-organized and set to kill the democracy and all its (now dehumanized?) institutions.
Your fears have been mine for decades. I have watched so much pushing of the boundaries, no pushback, then more aggressive pushing, with slow-walking pushback, then finally precious little pushback. Just join Fox down the rabbit hole. The monsters have become just that and people seem to think it’s a theme park. Woke is a good thing to be…
Another excellent post, Jeri. I love "and people seem to think it's a theme park." I would much rather be woke than down the rabbit hole which leads to a very large black hole.
One of my favorite George lines is " I don' t want to kill you, but I would so enjoy it "
Excellent post, Phil. I always love it when someone posts positive words about the humanities. Everything today seems to be about money. I do understand that people need to make a living, but we can value the humanities for what they bring to our way of viewing the world and acting in it.
Amen and Amen ☘️ 💙🇺🇲💙🇺🇲
All I know is my life started when I entered college and had my first art class. It was the first time I felt like I belonged. Although I spent thirty years teaching special ed, I also had my own business picture framing for my sanity.
Wow! And look at all the good "places" we go on our way there!
As a sales rep, my territory included Peace and Freedom. It was always a treat to call the kids and say “I’m at Peace.”
Very nice, Citizen! There's a sign in Virginia on my way to my sister's house saying Paris was only five miles away...imagine!
I grew up in MD and raised my family in VA but I actually moved to the Paris France two years ago. Some of my ancestry hailed from Eastport Maine !
You may know, the govt / municipal buildings and the schools - have Liberté Egalité Fraternité plaques prominently displayed if not carved into the stone. Just thought of this: there’s likely no need to preference town names when the ethos of the country is so well communicated dating from revolutionary times…
Paris VA is a quaint little town! Had to say that.
I agree that with another commenter about the need for the humanities but also solid courses on the history of our country without erasure of uncomfortable truths.
The French Revolution is not forgotten here by virtue of the signs and much more.
I love Paris and Normandy on the coast. We have been invited to take part in ceremonies for a small Normandy town called Dieppe to commemorate the British, Canadian and US soldiers who fought the Nazis there on August 28, 1942, (before D-Day landings). Every year they have a ceremony and the students give speeches about The Duty To Remember the bravery and the sacrifice of those who tried to free French citizens from Nazi occupation. It is very moving and taken quite seriously.
What a wonderfully rounded life you've had, Andrea. It makes the acceptance of someone else's way of life so much easier, IMO.
There's a Paris, IL where my sister lived and now some of her family still lives. It is a southern Illinois farm town surrounded by soy and corn fields and across the Wabash from Terre Haute. When we went to my sister's funeral, my husband was suffering culture shock.
Oh, my goodness, Michele. Hope he has recovered!
I think he has although he still talks about it. He wanted to see the countryside, so we drove north to the next town where he had enough of seeing fields of genetically modified soy and corn.
LOL, I think!
Heather, thank you for this picture. It must be a boon to one’s soul to live in a town surrounded by towns with such great names.
On another note, I love your audio letters. I find that, in listening to them after I’ve read the letters. I hear something that I’ve missed. Please continue then.
Yes , I agree 👍
Enjoy your evening off! You deserve it! Thank you for keeping us all updated and informed. Loving your book too.
What a great photo; thank you, Peter!
To show you that Washington is more than just a bunch of politicians, here's a photo display of what us D.C. natives really care about...the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2024/washington-cherry-blossoms-photos/
After this season, the basin will be renovated in an effort to combat climate change.
Stumpy, a cherry tree who will be making its last stand this year before it gets turned to mulch, will be sacrificed to save the other trees. Hail to Stumpy! Read and Listen here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/stumpy-d-c-s-beloved-short-cherry-tree-to-be-uprooted-after-cherry-blossoms-bloom/ar-BB1jTbcN
Thank you, Lynell!!
I went to high school about 9 blocks from the White House...the inside cover of our senior yearbook was a picture of some of my classmates among the cherry blossoms 💞
So cool, Sandra! Maybe between the cherry blossoms and the Panda bears, there'll be hope for our keeping tensions down with China!
I love this. Thank you Heather. Get some well-deserved rest!
Thank you Lynell for the Spring walk past the Cherry Tree blossoms on the perimeter of the Tidal Basin. I once found a grassy spot at night in view of the lit up Lincoln Memorial -- a powerful message to the Nation.
I bet it was a site to see, Bryan. What a great memory.
Thanks, Lynell! How charming to meet Stumpy before "their" demise. (Hard to subscribe a sex designation to a tree that gives birth to remarkable blossoms and has been given a name.) I'll wager that there will be a movement to try to transplant Stumpy!
Ha, Judith! I never thought about whether Stumpy was a he or a she. But it makes sense now that you brought it up! I'll be sure to let you know if I hear about Stumpy's final fate.
Thanks, Lynell! Please do! I'm hoping.
Thank you Lynell for posting these gorgeous pictures of the Washington cherry trees. A real treasure.
Thank you, Helen; after all, it's our federal tax dollars that's been maintaining the trees all these years.
Thank you Lynell - even though I live here and can see them in person (I love Stanton Park - lushness on a smaller scale - I'm happy to enjoy the photos.
Me too, Chaplain. In my working days, my commute took me by the Tidal Basin routinely; so I had plenty of years seeing the blossoms in person. These days, I delight in seeing them on TV. What I really love is that our local news spends time on feel-good stories like this. Being close to Stanton Park is pretty good!
How fun - thanks for sharing! And I agree about the news!
Thanks for sharing this sign, Heather, listing some of the lovely towns in Maine. A meaningful list, for sure. Another iconic Maine sign that I will always remember is the one in Bethel that lists the towns named after foreign countries and cities, in this order:
Norway
Paris
Denmark
Naples
Sweden
Poland
Mexico
Peru
China
There’s no place like home.
The posted town names come into focus more considering the town of China, Maine:
"It is theorized that these (black) families migrated here because it represented a safe area which slave catchers would not approach as China and several other towns were "Quaker" towns which would not tolerate slave catchers, no matter what either federal Fugitive Slave Act demanded."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China,_Maine
The town of South China, ME has a Friends (Quaker) run summer camp. My kids attended there when they were school age.
Our son was a counselor at that Friends Camp in South China for 3 summers during college! He loved it, & has remained friends with some of the counselors who were there at the same time.
There's a wonderful restaurant in Freedom, ME called "The Lost Kitchen". They have a weekly drawing for the 48 people lucky enough to dine there. They have a TV series that has run for several seasons. People travel from all over the US and the world to eat there. My wife and sister-in-law absolutely love the show, but haven't had their names drawn for dinner -- yet. Please check it out.
https://findthelostkitchen.com
and check it out on Prime or other streaming providers.
My husband and I dined there two summers ago…it was an absolute joy, a foodie bucket list item. 10 delicious courses over a four hour evening. It wasn’t just the food; the flowers, the rugged old and tenderly cared for building, and the engaging team all created a wonderful experience. Make sure they keep sending those postcards!
You never know Sherree. My wife and sister-in-law are very hopeful. Thank you for posting Sherree. Another one of Maine's hidden treasures. Congratulations for getting to experience The Lost Kitchen.
We started sending in the postcard last year. No luck, but there's always hope...
Yes! I've been meaning to build my version of that sign so that I can put it up at the front of our huge milkweed/flower garden out near the road. I'll have to make that happen this year.
Mary Anne -- I've seen that sign in Bethel and have been to or through most of the towns! Thanks for the reminder
Just finished "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat-Moon. Your photo reminded me of his travels. A delightful book filled with personal stories of small town folks.
“Blue Highways” was the first armchair travel book I read, back in the 80’s, followed by many more. Then I got the chance to travel and I credit William Least Heat-Moon with whetting my appetite. Wonderful book. Thank you for reminding me of it.
Also enjoyed his "Road to Quoz: An American Mosey" and "Riverhorse"
For fiction journey stories, you can't beat Roland Merullo's "Breakfast With Buddha" series.
Loved that book!
Read that book years ago, loved it!
LFAA is definitely a 6 calendar diner!
What great names! Rest well, dear one.
Think of the residents living in Moscow, Idaho.
I imagine there is some history behind those names.
Words that have, can, should, and will define our nation.
Excellent, your fellow Mainer approves! https://www.ralstongallery.com/
"The Democratic Essence of Friendship"
Friendship embodies the principles of democracy through its foundation on mutual respect, equality, and collaborative decision-making. It fosters a microcosm of democratic society, encouraging open dialogue and understanding, thereby reinforcing the essential democratic values of inclusivity, cooperation, and the collective pursuit of common goals.
Speak up. Speak out. Vote. Pray!
Heather! In N’Awlins, for the good music, go to Frenchmen Street, and don’t miss The Spotted Cat club!
Rest well, HCR, Buddy and to all! I love that, in Heather's FB talks, she emphasizes how important it is for us to take breaks for R&R. It's hard work, defending democracy and, by golly, does she ever work hard, I don't know when she sleeps!
Spent a wonderful summer teaching sailing at a summer camp in Friendship. A beautiful place.
Yes, I have seen all these towns, during the time I lived in Maine. Unity was close to where I lived and worked. One of my cousins also lived there.
Enjoy your rest Professor. To me it looks like freedom gives us all the rest of the terms. Peace all. May we always stay true blue.
Mileposts to live by. Thanks!!