With Lewiston, Maine, on the hearts and minds of a whole nation, we’ve experienced some heartfelt celebrity outreach in recent days. Pro footballers from the New England Patriots gave shout-outs of support to the Lewiston Blue Devils and City of Auburn Red Eddies high school football teams. It all took place before the cross-river…
Author: Tim Cotton
The Concierge
I suspected the lady came out of retirement to take a job that most wouldn’t. I couldn’t do it, and the fact that she became a comforter to an emergency waiting room for the sick, wounded, and those in crisis— and their supporters— is enough to reassure me that she was the right one for…
Ode to Davidson
It was the day of a dump run. Yes, we call it a transfer station now. I grew up in the era of the dump, the EOTD. It wasn’t a pretty time, but the name sticks. I’ll call it a dump until death; it connects me to the past, as did the stepladder. It’s a…
Medium hot, One and One.
I remarked that the newly constructed Dunkin (formerly known nationally as Dunkin’ Donuts) looked clean and inviting. And it did. I pulled in. Sammy didn’t say anything but, “Ooooh, coffee.” We usually agree on coffee stops and are typically equally excited about the next one. My new second-cup-of-coffee-of-the-day ordering paradigm was in full force. I…
The Last Impala
“Now, you’re sure it’s a ’79? “As sure as I can be. I have the Virginia title paperwork right in front of me. Runs like a top.” Kurt had been looking for the automobile for over nine months. He didn’t want to spend the money hauling the wrong car nine hundred miles north to Maine…
A Dooryard Visit- A Downeast Primer
I didn’t meet Tin White by mistake. We were introduced, but not in an official sense. Tin happens to live in my glide path to Downeast. I am lucky enough to drive by his house about fifty percent of the time I head to camp. There are other ways, of course. And I tend to…
You Can Get There From Here
My early morning run to Portland was a welcome change from heading east. But I won’t make a habit of it. It cost me sixteen bucks to park. Thankful is the man who parks for free; I have had a lifetime of that. So, I am not being a whiner. I detest giving my money…
Anything You Want— Just Don’t Ask
Being a veteran Yankee trader, I have embraced—well, side-hugged Facebook Marketplace. I would much rather deal with Craigslist, as the users tend to be older like me. The early years were spent pursuing one or two old motorcycles per year. I also bought cars, lots of them. Please don’t mistake my old pastime as…
Road vs. Air—A Non-Binding Commentary Regarding Travel, Fashion, and Comfort
I took a one-way flight to Columbus, Ohio. Borrowing some air travel points from the Significant One made it cheaper than dinner out, even if a party of two had a good slab of steak with something decadent for dessert. Yes, I rode back to Maine with my boy. I rode shotgun. That was the…
Vast, Dense, Lush
There are many summer days when I must drive away from the woods of Washington County to attend to business a few steps back from the Jagged Edge. While my everyday life is in central Maine, my heart is on the coast. I cannot live there full-time for a myriad of reasons. But on…