Leaving Maine...Leaving Home

The Fulton Street house.

Things change slowly in Maine. If you live there you may see the changes as they come; but if you are a Maineiac who returns home after a long time, everything looks the same to you. Of course Main Street in Rockland has changed a lot. Anyone can see that. The buildings are all the same (except for that new building on the corner of Pleasant and Main). However, none of the old businesses we remember remain.

Something that doesn’t change is the fact that many young Maine people leave Maine for more and better opportunities. I was one of those young people. I did stay one year after college to teach in Kittery, after that I was off to Connecticut and then Georgia.

Another thing that doesn’t change is the fact that those same young people, when they reach retirement age, return to Maine to live. I’ve noticed references to these “return to our roots” phenomena recently.

For instance, there was an article by John Christie in the Village Soup of late. Christie is a Camden native, outdoor columnist and a member of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. He was gone for 55 years before he returned to live in Maine. He talks about his feelings and why he left Maine in the first place. He sums up his analysis by quoting a Maine poet, Wilbur Snow, who was born on Whitehead Island:

“The sea is forever quiv’ring,

And the shore is forever still

And the boy who is born in a

Seacoast town is born with a dual will

The sunburned rocks and beaches

Inveigle him to stay

While every wave that breaches is

A nudge to be up and away”

Now you may ask me, “Why don’t you come back to Maine?”

I have to admit that lately my thoughts have drifted North to Maine and the rockbound coast I love so much. Things being as they are economically and otherwise prevent my moving at this time. I do, however, dream of the time when I can make it a reality.

I’ve had many adventures in my life since leaving Maine in the 60s. I’ve had the opportunity to travel; to meet many different kinds of people; to further my education; to even publish a book. Imagine that! I’m not done yet as far as adventure goes. I may be retired but I’m not “retiring.”

I will miss the friends I’ve made here in Georgia. Of course they will always be welcome wherever I land in Maine in the future.

I believe as Christie does though when he says: “I no longer feel guilty about bursting out of Camden’s protective cocoon because, as Snow said, I was influenced by forces far greater than myself, and beyond my control.”

He says not much has changed in Camden since he left so long ago. “The mountains will always meet the sea. The tides will always rise and ebb. And our youth will continue to be torn between staying and leaving. As they should.”

See you all this summer. Thanks for listening.