I’ve been the new kid many times, including moves to new states and one totally foreign country (the USA), but the most memorable experience was when I was 9 years old. We had just moved to Vermont, and I fell instantly in love with the Green Mountain State. Being an outdoorsy sort of girl, I […]
meetinghouse
Lee Van Dyke, Portland: A quick and literal lesson in rolling with the punches
There was a new kid in our town. Like small towns everywhere in the early ’60s we were a settled-in group (you’d say, “inbred”). The same kids were in Washington and Lincoln grade schools from K-6 and collected to become the seventh grade at Jefferson School. A presidential bunch with nobody fooled. The athletic teams, organizations […]
Jean Flahive, South Portland: The heat and the hurt of the spotlight
Growing up, I was always the “new kid” at school. About every two years I walked alone into a new classroom and was often tagged as just another “military brat.” That changed when I entered, for the first time, a school in the South. I experienced a new tag. One that haunted me for many […]
Patrick Reagan, Scarborough: My cousins’ family was for the bird
The sun peeked over the trees and spread like butter across the horizon, while the morning fog melted away. Somewhere around a bend in the road, near the woods, a peculiar sound emerged from the blackberry bushes. “Caw, caw, caw. ” Peter Jr. and Benjamin were playing in the backyard when they heard a noise. […]
Lynne Benoit-Vachon, Wells: On-the-job learning
I was a plumber’s helper for six years, and I take a day off here and there from my current job to climb back into the green van. I became a plumber’s helper at the age of 45. Before this time, I cared little about how water reached a faucet. In my basement, the ancient […]
Gregory Greenleaf, Harpswell: Grill master gets the word – say goodbye to a slow-burning pal
For a brief moment in my life I owned two barbecue grills. The older one, the one I bought, I’ll call “Maverick.” The younger one, the one I found on the side of the road one morning with a “Free” sign taped to her side, I’ll call “Sassy.” Sassy, from the moment she got plugged […]
Joyce Leslie, Westbrook: From farm to town, party lines brought new meaning to ‘word of mouth’
When I first saw that the Press Herald was asking for submissions on the topic of “Overheard” for their Meetinghouse feature in December, I immediately thought, “Party line.” I spent my teenage years with a party line. I would talk to my girlfriends for hours, sitting under the desk in the dining room or stretching […]
Gail Caiazzo, Saco: Again coming in loud and clear
In our youth, we take our hearing for granted. High pitch, low pitch, in between pitch … all comes in loud and clear. Then life happens and slowly, gradually, for some of us the clearness is replaced by a lot more fuzziness. It occurs so quietly, like a thief in the night. Very annoying. A […]
Dorothy Mayville, Springvale: ‘She’s old enough to know better’
1957. I was 11, helping my sixth-grade teacher host an open house to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. The house was crowded with many upstanding people from our small-town area of Vermont. I wore a blue print dress with a gathered skirt that my mother had sewn and felt shy but very grown up as […]
Jenny McKendry, Hallowell: She read it over and over
While sitting with friends for coffee, I overheard a friend comment on rereading favorite books. When I reread, I sometimes feel I’m listening in on a conversation that’s really not mine to follow, but I don’t get up to leave, I’ve heard too much already to tear myself away. My rereading is addicting – am […]