Credit given where credit is due. I want to heartily commend Johnson Hall here in Gardiner for really getting it together lately. I expect to see Sting down there any day now.

Having served on the JH Board years ago for a half-hour or so, I became an outspoken critic toward (in my view) an irrational capital campaign. Many agreed — whispering so in the supermarket aisles.

Today, it’s a whole new dynamic at Johnson Hall, as was experienced recently at a gala event showcasing the second and third floors of the edifice — a feat no doubt accomplished by applying ingenuity, gumption and perspiration. I was home watching “The Roosevelts,” but the missus attended. She came home late giddy — all aglow!

This past summer, JH’s Shenanigans took youth programming to a new level of youth performance art. My three grandsons benefited greatly from this weeklong workshop. A gent named Mike Miclon (and the board who supports him) is to be commended for this long-awaited, uplifting transformation. Cue applause!

Down on the waterfront, Patrick Wright and a committed cadre of 65-plus volunteers hosted wall-to-wall tents one morning as Bike Maine bikers bivouacked in Gardiner. Spectacular sight, that. My dog was beside herself. Our walk took on another dimension.

Sadly, I was watching “Jeopardy” and missed the downtown dinner the evening before. Kudos also to the recent Barks in the Park event. I love dogs. Some say I am one. But it’s wonderful to see the Maine Street group as well — doing something very, very Wright!

Swine & Stein is set for Oct. 11. Enough with TV. I’ll be downtown Gardiner — maybe buying Mike and Patrick a cold one.

Buddy Doyle

Gardiner