Beyond the South End

Sonny’s Sunshine Corner

This month of February will bring us through the “dead” of winter. This winter has already brought a devastating tornado to a county north of me in Georgia; but I appreciate the fact that I won’t have to shovel two or three feet of snow off my steps and driveway like my friends and family up north in Maine.

I invite you to sit back inside your cozy homes up there and check out “On Being a Southender” once in a while to see what I’ve been up to. The news goes both ways, by the way. I always enjoy hearing from my loyal fans and anyone else that would care to chime in. Speaking of which, I heard from David Lyman of Camden, who with others is now the owner of the “Bert and I” franchise. I posted his comments at the end of the “Storytelling and Maine Humor” blog from last month. Check out the projects he has in mind for “Bert and I” at www.Bert-and-I.com I look forward to seeing his many projects go forward.

The readership of this blog continues to grow. We are now at 23,586 plus and climbing. There was a gain of 576 hits in two weeks time, so we are still on track for an additional 1,000 readers each month. I also thank all of you who have hit the ads on the right hand side. There was a slight gain this month also in that department. Please keep it up.

Things not to miss this month on the blog space are Ted’s column, “Fish and Chips” which contains his attempt to get a government refund for overpaying on his oil bill and also a daring DYI project of which he has always been famous.

Kendall Merriam, our South End Poet, has two more poems to share in his blog this month.

This month I will also begin a project with my cousin, Mary Sue Weeks, who recently inherited the Hilton Homestead over in Bremen. The 100 acre farm has a history that goes back to pre-Revolutionary times. We will bring you some historical stories as well as show you what’s going on over at the farm, which is very exciting. I can’t bring you any details at this time, but look for updates as we go along and also a special documentary soon. This month features an old picture of my Uncle Carl with his oxen.

As for family news, we will have a new member of the family this coming summer. My great-great-niece, Ali Sylvester, will become a big sister. Her dad and mom, Jake and Linda Sylvester, as well as the rest of the family, are all very excited by the news.

There will be two marriages this year also: My great-nephew, Jon Peabody down in New Jersey in March and my great-niece, Danielle Sylvester up in Maine in July. I won’t make Jon’s wedding, but I do plan to attend Danielle’s. She will marry a very nice guy by the name of Haydn Deal and her name will become Danielle Deal. What a wonderful alliterative name! I predict she will soon acquire the nickname of DD or Dee Dee. In any case, I’m saving my junk mail shreddings to help celebrate her special day.

The problems I had with my computer last month seems to be OK now. I am, however, keeping my new book on a flash drive exclusively, so I won’t lose it if all goes to *&^$%$#$# in a hand basket once again. Oh for a Mac to work on…sigh.

Sonny and Butch hope you all stay well through this winter month. Remember, March comes next and spring will be with us again, along with my birthday…hee hee.