After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in 1961, I went to the Army Signal School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, which was close to Eatontown. We all had to do KP (kitchen police – we set up for and cleaned up after meals), which I hated. So I joined the Drum and Bugle […]
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Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Lee Van Dyke, Portland: Early mayhem still has loud echoes
I had pals who inspired mischief, and I wanted to get away with the same or better than they did. I know this particular mischief wasn’t really clever, and it didn’t turn destructive, or I’d never ’fess up to it in a family newspaper. Much of the time it started in garages when our parents […]
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Brenda E. Smith, Belfast: Come on in, the water’s fine
We rarely went to the beach when I was a child, but one day Mom promised my 4-year-old brother, and 5-year-old me, that if the following day was “beach weather,” we’d pack a picnic lunch and spend the day frolicking in the cool waves and building sand castles. The next morning we woke to a […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Gregory Greenleaf, Harpswell: Dear Math, We’re through.
Last week I sent Math a text message that said, “I’m breaking up with you.” Math told a mutual friend that our breakup “can’t last forever” and that I’ll soon learn I “can’t live without Math.” Math has quite an ego. It’s tough to be with someone who is so certain about everything all the […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Buddy Doyle, Gardiner: The guy who won’t stay down
I believe I’ve slept on this topic more than any other that I can recall. “Quitting” or “to quit” conjures up conflicting reactions. To abruptly quit one’s job, or simply give up prematurely on a worthy endeavor, are negatives. To quit a harmful habit, on the other hand, or an abusive, dangerous relationship – those […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Jody Rich, Waterville: ‘So long, farewell,’ and other tunes to walk out the door by
Are you familiar with the phrase, “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins”? I don’t think it is true. There are times, places and situations in which “So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu,” is appropriate. I’m a quitter. Most of the time, I know when to hold ’em, but I certainly know when […]
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Brenda E. Smith, Belfast: Stopping before you’re ready can be a good thing
Quitting often has a negative connotation, when it refers to giving up prematurely, being unable to achieve a goal or being a bad sport because things didn’t go the way a person wanted. Certainly these things do happen, not always with good consequences. But I believe quitting can be a positive option in our lives. […]
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Noreen Skoolicas, Portland: Effective immediately
In the summer of 1967, when I was nearly 17, I worked at a bingo lounge called Skill-Right on Revere Beach Boulevard. I would walk up and down the long U-shaped aisles, with customers on either side. They’d hail me if they wanted to buy more cards, or if they’d won. The customers were exactly […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Irving Williams, South Portland: ‘The Big Quit,’ times four
2021, which has become known as “The Year of The Big Quit,” takes me back to another year in which I quit not once, but four times. In the fall of 1971, I quit my junior year of college. I had run out of money and had taken out large loans and a ton of […]
Posted inMeetinghouse, Opinion
Janet Anderson-Murch: Not for the faint of heart
I wanted to be brave. She was sweeping when I walked in. It was just her and me in the salon. She greeted me and came closer to ask how I was. I had been practicing. What to say. I had never said it to her before. Two of my sisters had done it. And […]