50 Years of

Beatlemania. All you Biebermaniacs out there listen up. You will never make it this far. The Beatles will forever be the biggest musical and social phenomena to ever hit the United States and the world for that matter.

Recently there was a special 50 year retrospective of the Beatles on T.V. Paul and Ringo were there as well as Yoko Ono who rocked out in the front row with her signature dark glasses on. Her son, Sean stood next to her looking like he needed a bath and a haircut badly. No sign of John’s other son, Julian. I wonder why? I watched part of the show along with others I was watching that night. It was quite a night.

When the Beatles hit the United States in 1963, I was a college student. I grew up on Elvis and to me and those of my age he was the King of Rock and Roll. However, the Beatles did forever influence our views of the world and of the new wave of Rock and Roll music. I was later to meet the biggest Beatle fan in the world and I’ll tell you about her later.

There is so much information out there about our Fab Four that it is daunting to even think of writing my own story on the group. I decided to include my own experiences with the Beatles along with my own opinions and observations as I lived through that era of war and mayhem and psychedelic movements. I will try to keep it in a manageable state, but I may have to continue with my thoughts in another blog. We’ll see how it goes as I continue to write. I feel I must at least try to pay homage to the Beatles in my own way. I will also give you some references if you want to peruse at your leisure.

Whatever you may think now of the Beatles or how you thought about them as they progressed from four boys from Liverpool who looked to us like their mothers put a bowl on their heads and cut around it, to the days they spent with the Maharishi, you have to at least admit that they had a huge influence on our lives. They still do. Their body of work alone speaks to that. Their music has survived the test of time. We all have a favorite Beatles song and quite possibly can identify a song on the radio as belonging to them when we hear the first few notes.

As inspiration for this story I put the 60s channel on my Sirius radio to see if I could catch a Beatles tune. I’ve heard nothing so far. I searched the channel list for Sirius and did not see a dedicated channel for them. Why? Elvis has one, by the way. However I did listen to the lyrics to “Revolution” and “Hey Jude” on YouTube. “Hey Jude” is not only my favorite Beatles song, it is the most favorite song of my life. I have told everyone who will listen that I want it played at my funeral. I’m hoping that those in attendance will get the message of the song and think of me when they hear it. I suspect that you can find the lyrics to any Beatles song on YouTube. Try to find your favorite and see what happens.

Why the Beatles?

So what is it about the Beatles that sticks in our unconscious musical soul so much?  I think the main word is “surprise.” You never knew what they would come up with next. From Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to the White Album, who knew? Their existence among us at one time or another had an air of mystery; controversy; tragedy. Simply said, they were one huge Rock and Roll phenomena.

Their music was unique, different, something we’d not heard before. Their lyrics created characters for us; told a story. It was not all about teenage angst and puppy love. Who can forget what is probably the saddest song they ever wrote and sang, “Eleanor Rigby?”

“I look at all the lonely people
I look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near.
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?

Chorus

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved.

Chorus”

Sounds a lot like a Dickens story, right? Did you know that during the 60s a state college in Maine actually had a credit course on the Beatles. I believe it focused on the poetry of their lyrics, of which there was much to study about for sure.

Why the Beatles?

At first we thought the band had named themselves after a bug; but it turned out that they were talking about the beat of their music. It does have a distinctive sound. If you really listen, you can usually tell it is a Beatles song.

The Beginnings

Their career began in Liverpool, England. At first there were three; Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and John Lennon. They were wedding singers and went under several names, one of which was the Quarrymen. Their music was called the Mersey sound after the Mersey River in Liverpool.

They progressed to singing at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. They added Pete Best as their first drummer by then. They were so popular that after they left other pop musical stars performed there. Among them were The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Who, and Elton John.

Today Liverpool is a cultural mecca for the group. There is a wonderful Liverpool site which keeps track of the latest in Liverpool as regards to the Beatles. There is a museum there called “The Beatles Story.” There is also an “Elvis and Us” exhibit which was cofounded by Graceland and The Beatles Story. Here’s the site: http://www.beatlesstory.com.

The Beatles recognized Elvis as a big influence in their music. When they landed in America, Elvis sent them a welcome message and the boys did eventually visit with him at Graceland.

There is also a Hard Day’s Night Hotel in Liverpool, named after that song, which opened in 2008. Because of their song “Penny Lane” which talked about Liverpool, the Penny Lane street sign was stolen so many times by avid fans that they finally decided to just paint the name on the stones at the corner of that street. I suspect someone will eventually find a way to dislodge those stones too.

You can also find some great pictures from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at:

http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,18340

The Beatles in America

Although their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show was their first gig in America in 1963, where they sang “I Want to Hold your Hand” to an audience of screaming fans, their first mention was actually on NBC news, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, as reported by Edmund Newman on November 18, 1963. Here’s that video from YouTube:

Face to Face with the Beatles and the Biggest Beatles Fan I Know

The following pictures were taken when Nanci and I went to New York City for her appearance on the Millionaire show with Regis Philbin in March of 2001. They come from a montage I did of the trip so please excuse the quality. We had two Beatle experiences while we were there.

The first was the excursion we took in a Hansom cab along Central Park. We passed the Dakota where John and Yoko lived.

I shot this picture looking up so that it really looks ominous. I can understand why they wanted to film “Rosemary’s Baby” here. John was shot and killed just outside the apartments. We walked past the front gate later on and it must be at least three stories high and as we passed a doorman gave us the hairy eyeball.

In Central Park almost directly across from the Dakota is a small park dedicated to John. It is called Strawberry Fields after the song. There is a sign that asks for silence as you walk through the park. Nanci and I respected that as we walked through.

In the center of the park is this circle with the words “Imagine” in it after that Beatles song, which asks for peace and understanding in the world. I noticed that one of the skaters in this winter’s Olympics used “Imagine” as the music for her performance. Very appropriate for an international event don’t you think?

As for the biggest Beatles fan I know it is my very good friend, Iris Mirles, who lives in Connecticut. She is several years younger than I and was certainly a Beatlemaniac. She has every album they ever made including the rare ones. When John was killed she actually went into mourning for several days. She introduced me to “Hey Jude” and I was surprised she didn’t call me and sing “When I’m 64” from the Sergeant Pepper album when I turned that age.

More to Come

I can see that this blog is beginning to be unwieldy so I’ll stop and bring you more later on. I would like to discuss their vast catalogue of music and delve into the many facets of the Beatles which concerned us at the time, mainly, how their lives and their music overlapped; the mystery of Paul’s supposed death; the reason or reasons for why they broke up as a group; the controversy over some of their music and their political views; the tragedy that came from some of their music, particularly from the likes of Charles Manson. I would certainly like to hear about your own views of the Beatles, pro or con. This blog is open to any or all views you may have. If I have made any mistakes here in my facts concerning the Beatles I do apologize. As I said before, the references out there are overwhelming. I hope you did enjoy this part of my homage to the Beatles.

Thanks for listening.

Georgia Snow Pictures 2014

I finally figured out how to get the snow pictures on my camera to the computer and then to you. These are from the first ice storm we had.

Me standing outside of my apartment. I'm cold. Brrr.

Don't know where this guy thought he was going.
 It was sheer ice under the snow
 and the complex doesn't do anything to the roads.

The sidewalk leading up to my apartment.

My grey HHR.

The path. The balcony by the bush is my apartment patio.

Walking up the hallway to the other side of the building.
 There was ice on those tree limbs.

The backside of my building.

How’s Your Year going so Far?

How many times did you hear, if you grew up in New England, “If we can just get through February…then winter will be about over.”  You all know I’m not a big fan of February and we only have 28 days of it this year, thankfully. February is known to lie a lot. March first doesn’t guarantee that winter is really over. February in its orneriness refuses to let matters be and so spills its lies over into March. However we still like to live under the illusion that there is indeed a spring ahead if we can only ignore the present weather situation.

So far this year we’ve had a couple of doozies in the way of storms. Here in Georgia, the two ice storms we had stranded people on the highways and children were stranded at school. Those on the highway who chose to walk off and find a warm store to go into stayed where they were. The stores were accommodating and even let people sleep on the floors. The kids caught in the schools were all camped out on gym floors for the night.

This year also seems to have started out with more than our share of obituaries. They seem to come in threes don’t they? Recently we lost one of my classmates, Darold Poulin. I also just learned that my classmate Jo Ann Knowlton LaFrance lost her son, Christopher, in a car accident. He was only 37. Jo Ann has now lost her husband, her sister, also recently, and now her son. Today I also saw a notice on Facebook of the death of Meredith Dondis, of Meredith Furniture and the Strand Theater, back when I was growing up in Rockland.

The threesome entertainers we just lost were: Pete Seeger, 94, on January 27; Maximillian Schell, 83, on Feb 1; and Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46, on February 2. And just this week we lost Ralph Waite of The Waltons; Shirley Temple; and Sid Ceaser. Our past just seems to whiz by us doesn’t it?

I’m sure I have many of Pete’s lyrics embedded in my master’s theses which focused on WWII and the Vietnam War. He practically invented protest music and stood by his beliefs all through a Congressional Hearing on Un-American Activities to the present day.

Maximillian Schell, who played the judge on Judgement at Nuremberg, for which he won an Oscar, was himself a refugee from Nazi Germany.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died way too young, is in that group of young entertainers who get caught up in the drug scene. It’s a scourge of the business and I’m not hopeful that the accessibility of these drugs to our idols will wane anytime soon.

I found a seedpod from Rob McCall’s “Awanadio Almanack” in the latest Maine, Boats & Harbors magazine that seems appropriate here: From John Banister Tabb: “Are ye the ghosts of fallen leaves, O flakes of snow, For which, through naked trees, the winds A-mourning go?”

Enough of death for now. We all have some of the same problems this time of year. Pipes freeze. The fiscal year budget runs out and some workers suffer with shorter hours or even layoffs. This happened to a former worker friend of mine just recently. She fell into that category of oldest worker/highest pay scale who suffered when my old company had problems a few years ago. She must have had five jobs in as many years. I lucked out on that one by retiring just before the s….&*^ hit the fan.

As for Nanci and I, this month brings the need for two tires on her car; taxes to be paid on my car; and whether or not we can afford to both have haircuts at the same time. As it happens, I had to wait till my Socialble came in to have mine cut. The cupboard is looking a little bare today too.

So what do we do to get through the rest of this month?

Well Nanci and I decided to do a little retail therapy just after Christmas. Maybe not such a good idea considering our present money needs, but darn it, we needed things. We took our Christmas money and the $200 the apartment complex figured they owed us somehow and spent a day getting new shoes and replacing some of our wardrobes. Felt good too.

When I was feeling at my lowest, partly from being more or less housebound because of my bad left foot, which will get operated on soon I hope, I get mail from my great-niece, Danielle Sylvester Deal. As a member of the present third generation of Sylvesters, Danielle makes us all proud.

These pictures were on the Thank You note I got from she and her new husband, Haydn, when I contributed a small amount to their mission in the Dominican Republic.

The Deals were married this summer. It was a beautiful wedding which I was fortunate enough to attend. Danielle is an RN working at Boston Medical Hospital and Haydn is working on his masters at Boston University in Social Work.

They were there during the bombing but were not hurt, thank God. They didn’t have time for a long honeymoon, therefore this mission, called the Good Samaritan Mission Council, which took them to the Dominican Republic, served as their honeymoon. The people there even made them a cake for the occasion.

Danielle went on a previous mission there when she was still in nursing school. Here’s some of what she says in the note:

“Each day we served between 70-130 patients. Funds raised were used to help provide medications for ailments such as high blood pressure, and infections and pain, among other things.”

Haydn also helped with construction of a new hospital that will offer healthcare to Haitian immigrant sugar cane workers.

“The people we met were all very thankful and appreciative for everything, none of which would be possible without the donations of people like you. Thank you!”

I say Thank You, Danielle and Haydn for making me realize that I’m not so bad off after all. You brought much needed light into my life.

To make a contribution to the Mission send to:

Good Samaritan Mission Council
800 Main St., Suite 126
Holden, MA 01520
In the memo section write "Boston group"

 

I leave you with another seedpod from Ron McCall: From Albert Einstein, “The most beautiful things we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead. His eyes are closed.”

Words to live by. Thanks for listening.

The Last South End Snow

(Former police chief for Rockland, Bertram Snow, cousin to Richard Snow, still maintains a home in the South End, which makes Richard one of the last Snows in the South End.)

We said goodbye to Richard Maurice Snow, age 97, on October 8, 2013. He was the last Snow of the well-known Snow Shipyard fame to have a home in the South End, where that dynasty began in 1862.

My friend, Ruth Wade, reminded me of his death of which I wasn’t aware when she commented on the story I wrote last month, “Rockland’s Sea Captains: Hiram and Albert F. Pillsbury. He was a good friend of Ruth’s.

Before we look at Richard Snow’s life, I would like to give you an overview of Snow Shipyard and the Snow family who had a family home on Mechanic Street in Rockland’s South End. I have given you some references which you might want to look into further if you are interested in this dynamic family.

From Rocky Coast News, Oct. 2013

Old Snow Shipyard Gallery

Doug Mills

RCN America network

“Rockland, Maine - The old Snow Shipyard was started in 1862 and produced wooden boats on the south side of Rockland Maine till the mid 1940's.  Rockland Marine still maintains a railway for repairs and refit.  The rest of the property houses the Sail, Power and Steam Museum, operated by Jim Sharp, a longtime schooner captain on the coast of Maine.
Though there are no more ships being built here one can still see signs of the old railways that launched so many ships from the south end of Rockland, Maine.”

You can find pictures of ships from the yard here.

This picture comes from http://bookmanslog.blogspot.com and shows one of the wooden ships that were built in the 1940s for the war.

From Greg Gibson on this site:

“We used wooden ships during WWII.

In 1940s: This is an archive of 400 photographs and construction records from Snow Shipyards in Rockland Maine. It shows that they built any number of tugs, minesweepers, net layers and rescue ships employing essentially the same wooden ship construction methods that had been in use a century before.

Why? Because all these vessels had to work safely in the vicinity of submarine mines, and hence could not have metal hulls.”

There are 400 photos of the yard on this site.

This view of boat building at the yard comes from www.sharp’spointsouth.com. 

This picture comes from the Rockland Historical Society Facebook Page: “A nice view of Rockland Harbor and I.L. Snow & Co. shipyard taken on August 1894 from the home of Capt. Richard K. Snow on Ocean Avenue in Owls Head. I.L. Snow & Co. (named after the owner Capt. Israel Larkin Snow) built 13 vessels between 1886-1917.”

The odd part about this picture is that there is no breakwater out in the harbor. It was just being built at that time.

There are some genealogy materials available if you search hard enough. Richard Snow did write some of it for family use only. There is a lot of information on Shipbuilding and the Snow’s part in it in Shore Village Story, starting on page 125. Check with the Rockland Historical Society.

Below I have repeated the information as reported by Austin Pillsbury Nagel, which came from www.mainemaritimemuseum.org.  in last month’s blog:

“Captain Israel D. (Dade) Snow, son of Captain Israel Larken Snow (1829-1899) and Luella Austin Keating (1838-1920), was born on March 4, 1863 in Rockland, Maine.  Capt. I. D. Snow came from a long line of seafaring men. His great-great grandfather, Capt. Elisha Snow (b. 1739) of Wessaweskeag in South Thomaston, Maine, launched some of the first ships in that area. His great grandfather, Capt. Robert Snow, commanded the schooner Barbados. Sadly, Capt. Robert Snow died of yellow fever while aboard the schooner Barbados in 1803. His grandfather, Capt. Israel Snow I, began the Snow shipyard business back in 1862. For clarity of lineage, below is list of the Snow men:

Capt. Elisha Snow, (1745-1826) great-great grandfather Capt. Robert Snow, (?-1803) great grandfather, commanded schooner Barbados Capt. Israel Snow I, (1801-1875), grandfather, began Snow shipyard in 1862 Capt. Israel Larken Snow, (1829-1899), father Capt. Israel Larken “Dade” Snow, (1863-1928), son

Capt. Snow started his seafaring life at a very early age.  When he was 15 years old, he was aboard the 13-ton schooner "Willie" owned by his family. He was often in the company of Albert F. Pillsbury who would later purchase Capt. Snow's interest in the schooner Jennie Greenbank in June of 1882.”

Richard Maurice Snow, from

http://obitsforlife.com/obituary/779842

Richard Maurice Snow is a good example of a Southender who has traveled “Beyond the Southend,” accomplished many things, and then returned to Rockland to retire and share his experiences and the knowledge he gained while he was away with us.

The following information comes from Richard’s obituary. See the Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home site for the full obituary. I have edited it for space reasons here.

ROCKLAND - Richard Maurice Snow, 97, died at his home, Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 6:55 am after a short illness.

Born in Rockland, March 2, 1916, he was the son of Maurice and Stella Farnham Snow. He attended Rockland schools and was a 1934 graduate of Rockland High School. Following graduation he worked at the former Snow Shipyard, now Rockland Marine Corp in their yacht building endeavors until entering college.

He earned a BS degree in Physics at Wheaton College in Illinois. Following college graduation in 1939 he entered the Army Air Corps as a Flying Cadet, earning his pilot’s wings and a commission as 2nd Lt. in 1940, and was assigned to Kelley Army Air Base in San Antonio, TX, as a Flight Instructor, Advanced Flying School. Later he was promoted to Captain and commanded a Squadron at Kelley.

He married his wife, Carleen White, in 1940 while still serving in the Army/Air Force. They had two children: David, born in 1943, and Charles, born in 1945.

In 1951 he moved the family to Laconia, New Hampshire, where he had his own practice for 30 years. During this period he was promoted to Lt. Colonel in the Air Force Reserves, being a member and eventually commander of a squadron at Grenier Air Field in Manchester. He retired from his military career in 1967 after 28 years.

Following retirement in 1982 Dr. Snow moved with his wife to Rockland, taking residence at the family homestead, his childhood home, on Mechanic Street. They wintered in St. Petersburg Florida, for the next 15 years, where he volunteered his professional services in the Eye Clinic of the Bay Pines VA Medical Center.

In retirement, Dr. Snow collaborated with his cousin, Bertram Snow, in the research and recording of the Snow family genealogy and history, including the Snow Shipyard and its fleet of sailing vessels over a 75 year period. They co-authored “An Adventurous History of the Snow Fleet of Sailing Vessels of Rockland, Maine”, copies of which are in the Rockland Public Library, Penobscot Marine Museum, and Maine Maritime Museum.

Dr. Snow enjoyed sailing on the windjammers Heritage and American Eagle out of Rockland several times each summer, experiencing some of the seafaring life of his master mariner grandfather Capt. Richard K. Snow and master mariner great-grandfather Captain I. L. Snow, co-founder of the former I. L. Snow Co. shipyard, now the Rockland Marine Corp. shipyard on Mechanic St.

The South End will certainly miss having a “Snow” presence in their midst. However, the name will always be associated with the South End and the fact that some of the best boat-building in the world has the name “Snow” attached to it.

Our South End poet, Kendall Merriam, paid homage to Richard on his 96^th birthday in this poem which I now share with you:

THE PILOT

                   On The Occasion of Richard Snow’s 96^th Birthday

                   Tomorrow you will be at Wheaton

                   Celebrating among friends

                   You have lived almost a century

                   Flying from schooners

                   To B-24s

                   Life here in Rockland

                   Is simple and quiet

                   No one out today except plows

                   And a few hardy travelers

                   I just wonder how any ship

                   Would make it into the harbor

The day you were born

With a stiff easterly

And ice on the sails

So many ships

Were launched on the Mechanic Street shore

And went on to win fortune

Or meet dire disaster

You were chosen to survive

By God’s mercy

You still love Rockland

With the smell of the ocean

And the view of the lights of Owls Head

It’s a good place

And you are a good man

Helping defend your country

From the evils of dictators

You try to convince Phyllis and me

Of the existence of Angels

But you come closer to that

Than any Heavenly spirit

From books and Hymns

So we await your return

To make the street

More interesting and lively

With your tales of the past

And your advice on how to do good

As you do

And be happy in this small town

Bounded by the sea

From which all life came

Kendall Merriam, Home 3/1/12 9:28 PM

Listening to Jean Sibelius “Symphony No. 2 & 7”

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of history from the South End. Do you have a “Snow” memory you’d like to share with us? If so, email me at southendstories@aol.com. Thanks for listening.

Kendall Merriam was born and raised in Rockland, Maine. He has a history degree from Gordon College in Wenham, MA and graduate studies in military and maritime history at the University of Maine at Orono and Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Conn. He also received grants to study historical research at Colonial Williamsburg and the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Merriam has been widely published, including in Katyn W Literaturze(Katyn in Literature), a Polish anthology of literary works about the WWII Katyn Forest Massacre by 120 international authors, including Czeslaw Milosz. Merriam has written more than twenty books and plays. Most of Merriam’s work has a definite muse – family, friends, and strangers – with life’s larger themes of work, love, loss and death. On April 29, 2010, Merriam was appointed Rockland, Maine’s Inaugural Poet Laureate, an honor from his hometown Merriam cherishes.

A POEM FOR ALEXIS WRIGHT

An Apology from the Men of the World

I have women friends

Who were sexually abused

When they were children

Or teenagers

So frightening

So damaging to the soul

What you did

Is not wrong, not revenge

For what happened to you

As a child

What the judge, the prosecutors

Said about you

Was fallacious

Why they said them

I have no idea

Why they gave you 10 months

And a huge fine

Is not understandable

I think you are a good person

Suffering from the touching of men

I do not know why women

Are not defending you

If they, themselves, have been abused

Or have friends who were

A woman friend thinks

You should have a book, a movie deal

If you wanted to go through

It all again

But you may want

To go to the beach

And enjoy the redeeming sun

Kendall Merriam  at my brother’s house 6/1/13  3:33  PM

Listening to the cat eating

CARLOS SANTANA WINS MEDAL

                  For Parker

Every time I listen to his music

I think of you

Maybe you are playing

In his band

Or perhaps in one of

The Muscle Shoal’s back up groups

Or maybe Joni Mitchell

Took you by the hand

Made you her drummer and lover

I never saw you dead

All possibilities are open

All those times you ran away

Perhaps you were just looking

To sit in in some bar

And prove what you could do

On a full set

Not the split conga

That I bought for you

One Christmas in Boston

For $12.00

Our parents couldn’t understand

The need for music

In your mind, heart and soul

Were you listening to sounds

From somewhere else

In our brilliant, giant Universe

Are you playing now

In Jesus’ night club

With pretty women

Eyeing you from the audience

Wanting to take you home!

Kendall Merriam, Home, 12/9/13  8:42  PM

Listening to “The Best of Santana”

ON COLD MOUNTAIN

Up on Cold Mountain

the Devil has roared by

searing my soul with his cold fire

his white angels

have stabbed me with their

icy glass daggers

tied me down with white cloths

locked me in a white cell

yet my mind was not imprisoned

with his pain and poison

it roamed from Siberia

to the Enchanted

listened to whale chants

and

tasted forbidden wine

You put me on Cold Mountain

Cold Mountain is your master

Cold Mountain is my prison

you intend to build terraces

and plant soil holding trees

to preserve Cold Mountain

so you can continue

to offer up our bodies

I intend to tunnel under Cold Mountain

and plant charges

to call on wind and river

to wear Cold Mountain away

if my mind still wanders

it is still escaping from Cold Mountain

I pray you understand this

and why I must tear your altar down

and you must give us up

as your sacrifice

and go back to tilling the fields

while we, your prisoners,

carry Cold Mountain away

on our backs

Kendall A. Merriam

A TYPEWRITER SONG

For Phyllis

My wife, Phyllis

Bought this machine for me in 1970 or ‘71

It turned me from an amateur

Onto the long road as a professional

Writing all the poems, plays and stories

People tell me they like

It gives them something to enjoy

I love the clicking and clacking

That I first heard at the Courier-Gazette office

Where they set the type

With hot lead machines

Now I have a view across the Head of the Bay

Much better than any screen saver

Today, snow and wind

Yesterday, the glamour of sunlight

Sometimes moon or stars

Sometimes brilliant dry lightning

Over the Mussel Ridges

Sometimes I think I have no control

Over the keys

They tell me which one to push

I just take the cover off, put in the paper

And turn on the music

Write the title, write the muse

And type down to the bottom of the page

If I don’t make too many mistakes

It takes about a half an hour

Some poems are personal, some public

The latter are copied

At Huston-Tuttle where for the 10 cent miracle

I can deliver them down Main Street on my poetry route

So, Phyllis’s $l25.00 investment

Those many years ago, has given me meaning in my life

And perhaps new knowledge about heart and mind

Kendall Merriam   Home April l, 20ll  5:36 PM

Listening to Rod Stewart “The Great American Songbook  Vol. 1”

LANCOME

For the Order Lady, Order Number#LAN_01481755

Thank you for taking my order

It was a bit complicated

But worth it

You were so polite

In a vexing situation

My wife is beautiful

With silver hair

She ran out of perfume

Just yesterday

She used Antilope in Paris

Opium back in the states

Neither is available in Maine now

So one day we were in

A Rite Aide drug store

In Camden, Maine

And I saw in a yellow box

Poeme

Which I had to buy

Being a poet

She adopted it immediately

But now we can’t get it

So I called you

With your beautiful voice

Are you from Paris?

Lancome is fortunate

To have you as a representative

So feeble men like me

Who know nothing about perfume

Just to order the best

So thank you for helping me

To do that

Kendall Merriam, Home 1/4/14 6:33 PM

Listening to supper cook and Phyllis talking to Clare on the phone

By TED SYLVESTER

Coastal Region Has Wealth of Boating Superstitions

This excerpt is from Ted’s column of January 14, 1972

Superstitions. Where did they originate and how seriously are they taken?

For instance, the superstition that black cats are evil stems from an ancient Greek belief when cats were worshipped as Gods. At that time, a black cat represented evil and the superstition was handed down from generation to generation.

This probably is the basis for the thought that a black cat crossing your path brings bad luck.

If this belief were true we would sure be in a peck of trouble at our house with two black felines having the run of the place.

Some old sayings and signs are taken seriously. Take the following instance, which happened to a friend at Christmas.

It seems a pair of nice scissors was purchased as a gift for an elderly relative. When presented on Christmas they were refused as a gift and would not be accepted unless the person could purchase them.

It was said that to give a loved one anything that had a sharp point was a bad sign.

Here’s another.

We know a mother who insisted that the crib of a new born baby not be made up until the infant was brought home from the hospital. Its bad luck we were told.

The parent of a baby born just recently told us that his mother-in-law strongly advised against allowing a cat near the baby. “The cat will suck the breath out of the baby,” he was told.

Along the coast there are many superstitions concerned with the sea.

Never lay the keel for a new boat on Friday.

Fishermen don’t wear dungarees on board the boat. It’s bad luck.

Don’t take a black suitcase on board a boat.

Don’t allow a woman on board on the day a boat is set to sail.

We were told that back a few years (we don’t know about now-a-days) that if a woman happened to come aboard a fishing vessel the day it was supposed to sail, the trip would be postponed. The belief was so strong that fishermen were sure they would have a bad trip and would rather wait in port an extra day.

Here’s one that is new to us.

A pig was never allowed on a boat. The reason was that if a pig fell overboard its thrashing hooves would cut its own throat and it would die thus placing a curse on the ship.

The list is almost endless. We would be interested in hearing about some of the lesser known superstitions and their origin.

(An example of the kindness of neighbors in Maine)

Returning from a Massachusetts trip recently, a Camden couple was faced with frozen pipes from unexpected cold weather.

When they went next door to a store to seek a propane tank to free the pipes, a stranger offered his help and asked the address. Sure enough, an hour later the man showed up with an industrial heater used to heat foundations and cement pourings.

In short order, the pipes were freed. They were frozen in three different places. With two small children, the family was faced with a difficult night, at best, without help.

Within 30 minutes all the faucets were running, which made for beautiful music.

When asked for a bill for his services, the neighbor declined, saying, “If you can’t do a favor for someone, what’s the use of being alive?”

He added, “Move your car and I’ll plow your driveway.”

And he did.