During that storm last week that brought snow to some parts of the state and rain to others, a TV reporter asked a shopkeeper in Farmington how business has been. The store, which sells winter sports items, has not been doing well lately, she said. The two agreed that it was probably because, if there was no snow at home, people just assumed there wasn’t snow “up north.”

There’s a lot of that going around.

Myopia has become contagious. Too many Americans can only see what’s right in front of them — and, of course, if they’re texting, they don’t even see that.

Ever been behind folks in a movie theater line who don’t decide what to see until they reach the cashier? How do these people live with themselves? I don’t step out of the house until I’ve seen the trailer and read at least two reviews. I don’t even order DVDs from Netflix unless I’m sure I want to see something. I might stream a program for free, knowing I can turn it off at my first “yech,” but otherwise, I’m not wasting my time.

I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum from the indecisive, it’s true. I check out the menu online before going to a restaurant. And you can bet I do not try anything new without a personal or a Yelp recommendation. It’s called planning. Foresight. Thinking ahead.

I highly recommend it.

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People who have no idea what they want in an ice cream cone even though they’ve stood in line for 10 minutes ought to try it.

Oh, and how about those who fail to save money or buy life insurance for their loved ones, and then have to crowdsource their funerals?

I love it when I see a news story about people not buying fuel-efficient cars right now. Why? Gas prices are low. “Today, people,” I want to shout. They are low today! What about tomorrow?

Not only is the energy market perpetually volatile, right now we are enjoying (if we are afflicted with myopia) low prices because of fracking. This process is unsustainable. Look at North Dakota, which initially boomed with fracking. Politico reports output declined 65 percent in 2015.

Maybe we’re in denial. Sure. The world’s a mess right now. I empathize with those who don rose-colored glasses, who want to see the world as they wish it to be, not as it is.

But at the end of the day, adults need to be adults and take the long view. Otherwise, we’re headed south.

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I’m thinking … climate disaster, economic collapse and the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Here’s another funny one. Pundits muse that we don’t know what a Trump presidency would look like. Really? Because we here in Maine can tell you what happens when people elect a leader who is bombastic, misogynistic and combative; who doesn’t play well with others; and who suffers from foot-in-mouth disease.

A whole lot of nothing, for one thing. Even when Gov. Paul LePage has a good idea, such as reining in welfare cheats, he can’t make progress because he has few allies. There are three branches of government for good reason, and an effective chief executive works well with the other two.

Image goes down the drain. I went to a national library conference in Boston in January. A young librarian from Illinois, upon noticing I was from Maine (it was on my badge) said, “I couldn’t believe your governor said that about drug dealers impregnating young white women!”

I believed it. What Mainer didn’t?

Trump would be this tone-deaf, and worse. Ticking off fellow Americans is one thing; insulting North Korea is quite another. We already have a do-nothing Congress. We need someone who brings people together, not tears them apart.

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LePage does not have the power to wage war. (Neither do presidents, but that doesn’t seem to stop them.) He doesn’t have the nuclear code. LePage has not suggested building a wall along our border with New Brunswick. He has not proposed banning Muslims from moving into Maine.

Perhaps if our shortsighted, Trump-supporting friends saw our governor as a Donald-like Mini-Me without all the power their hero would have as president, they would have an aha moment.

Or they could just put on their big-people glasses, to clearly foresee exactly where their votes will take us.

Liz Soares welcomes e-mail at lsoares@gwi.net.


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