“Going where the weather suits my clothes…”

Everybody was talking about the soon-to-be best picture of the year in 1970, “Midnight Cowboy.” The year was 1969 and this movie is one of my favorites of all time. Jon Voight plays Joe Buck, a greenhorn from Texas; and Dustin Hoffman plays Ratso Rizzo, a street savvy New Yorker. I think those two roles are the best these two actors have ever done.

The theme song of the movie, “Everybody’s Talkin’” was a winner in its own right. I always turned the radio up when it came on. Here’s a clip of that song sung by Harry Nilson.

 

 

The film was based on a book of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The screenplay, written by Waldo Salt, and directed by John Schlesinger, won three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is the only X-rated film to ever win Best Picture.

Actually Dustin and Jon were nominated for Best Actor but they both lost out to John Wayne who won for "True Grit" that year.

As the story goes, a naïve Joe Buck decides to try his luck as a hustler with the rich women of New York City. He gets off the bus in the city dressed in his cowboy clothes including a Stetson and cowboy boots. Whoever decided to have Joe chewing gum was brilliant. With the gum chewing; the smirk on his face; the clothes, the cowskin-covered suitcase; and the music, the character of Joe Buck was defined in the opening scenes without a word of dialogue being spoken.

It’s not long before the character of Ratso rips him off. The two end up as unlikely friends—the city slicker showing the country boy how to make it in the city. Ratso Rizzo, a sickly yet street-wise man takes Joe under his wings. He finds wealthy women for Joe, both hoping to make a fortune from them. Here’s some of the dialogue between the two new friends:

Ratso Rizzo: “I gotta get outta here, gotta get outta here. Miami Beach, that’s where you could score. Anybody can score there, even you. In New York, no rich lady with any class at all buys that cowboy crap anymore. They’re laughin’ at you on the street.”

Joe Buck: “Ain’t nobody laughin’ at me on the street.”

 

Ratso: “I’m walking here! I’m walking here!”

This is probably the most famous line in the movie as Ratso, with his bad foot, tries to cross a street and puts a hand out against a taxi who doesn’t want to stop for him. I used those same words myself on a trip to NYC. I just couldn’t resist that opportunity to be a real New Yorker if even for just a few seconds.

 

Actually, the appearance of the taxi was not scripted. When it appeared in the shot, Dustin automatically said the line and the director decided to keep it in.

I always wondered if Dustin Hoffman had to go through physical rehab after they were through shooting the film for the foot he dragged all through the movie as Ratso. They put pebbles in that shoe to remind him to limp on it.

 

Here’s another moment between friends:

Ratso: “You know, in my own place, my name ain’t Ratso. I mean, it just so happens that in my own place my name is Enrico Salvatore Rizzo.”

 

Joe Buck: “Well, I can’t say all that.”

 

Ratso: “Rico, then.”

 

And Joe did call him Rico after that.

 

As Ratso’s health continued to worsen, (we assume he had tuberculosis) Joe took the bull by the horns and decided to take his friend on a bus to Miami as Ratso had suggested earlier. He ditched his cowboy clothes and bought short-sleeved shirts for the both of them and together they boarded the bus.

 

He was hoping that where “the weather suits my clothes” was true and that the warm weather would cure his friend.

The scene on the bus where Ratso dies is probably the saddest scene I’ve ever witnessed on the silver screen. Here’s a clip of that scene:

 

 



“Midnight Cowboy” has been called one of the best movies of all time. I would agree. Things haven’t changed much as far as the theme of this movie goes.  Today there are still lost souls like Joe and Ratso in every big city. They are also ignored by the bulk of the population just like they were in “Midnight Cowboy.” I think of that movie every time I see similar scenes on whatever big city street I may be on at the time. Here’s to lost souls everywhere.

Thanks for listening.

"I'll Meet you at Sims Lunch Later on, Rose"

 

 

 

         A Visit to  Sim’s Lunch            

 

 

(This story is about my friend, Rose Marie Malburg Sorbello who was a childhood friend on Mcloud Street in the Southend in the 40s. It was one of the first stories I published in my blog, “On Being a Southender,” now called “Beyond the Southend.” She contacted me a few years later and corrected a few things about this story. She also became one of my Facebook friends. My sympathies to her family. I will miss her.)

Several years ago, one of my favorite shows on TV was “Evening Shade” with Burt Reynolds as a high school  football coach. It took place somewhere in a small southern town by the same name. Burt and his wife had three children I think, one of them a baby. Both Burt and his wife worked during the day; therefore, the baby got shifted around from one person to another.

In my favorite episode, the baby gets lost. But no one panics. It is assumed that someone responsible is taking care of him and he’ll show up at the end of the day somehow. As it happens, the baby is passed around and finally ends up with a man who travels around town with a child’s red wagon. The baby was quite content to sit in the wagon while this character did what he had to do that day. The man, the baby, and the wagon end up at everyone’s favorite restaurant in town. I think it was a barbecue place. Guess who is there when the little red wagon with the baby in it comes through the door—Burt.

What an ideal world, I thought, and then I remembered a similar story that happened right in the South End. I “pinky swear” the following story is true. I may not have all the facts right, but it’s true just the same.

When I was about four or five, there was a big family who lived just across the street from us. The mother had a lot of kids to keep track of and she used to tie one of the little girls out by the front of the house so she could get some fresh air. She checked on her often I’m sure, but on this particular day, she didn’t check well or often enough.

The little girl was younger than I. I was allowed outdoors by myself, and it didn’t take long for me to notice the little girl tied up by her front steps. She was very unhappy to be tied up like that and convinced me quite easily to untie her. OK, now what?

My memory is a little hazy here, but at some point, she or I or both of us decided to take a little trip “upstreet” to her Uncle Sim’s restaurant on Park Street. If you know the South End at all, you know it is about a mile from Mcloud Street to Park Street where Sim’s Lunch sat, next door to the Park Theater. If you’re my age, you also know that in the 40s, mothers didn’t work. Therefore, what is amazing is that not one mother was looking out her kitchen sink window, or hanging out clothes or something. If they saw us that far away from our homes, they would have called one or both of our mothers, or better yet, walked us back to where we belonged. In those times everyone knew what kid belonged to what family and where that family’s house was.

So there we go hand in hand up the street, crossing Suffolk Street, going down the hill, crossing to the Water Street sidewalk and walking up that long street to the South End business district. We had to cross busy South Main Street, then a couple more small streets before we got to Park Street. Thank God Sim’s was a short walk if you turned left there at the corner of Park and Main Streets so that we didn’t have to cross the very busy Park Street.

You might wonder how children so young didn’t’ get lost along the way. The answer to that is the fact that I walked that route many times with my mother, as we had no car. I also knew Sims because my father often took me there to pick up a greasy bag of French fries for our usual Friday supper of Sim’s French fries and boiled hot dogs my mother made to go with them. Sim claimed to have invented the original lobster roll, by the way. It was a well known place in town and often overcrowded with diners.

Well here comes two little girls in the door of Sim’s Lunch. Sim recognized us immediately and looked behind us expecting to see an adult. When he didn’t see anyone, he beckoned for us to sit down in front of him on the counter stools. He questioned us and found out pretty quick that we’d come all alone because we wanted to visit him and maybe get some of those famous French fries.

I think he did give us something to eat, probably French fries, and something to drink, while he called one of our homes to tell people where we were. I think my father was dispatched to bring us home. I wasn’t punished in any way, but told not to untie my friend again. My mother wasn’t too happy I’ll tell you.

We were all saddened when Sim’s burned down during the ’52 fire that took a big part of the southern business district with it. There will never be another place quite like it.

Thanks for listening.

The Peace Symbol

 

Did you know that the peace symbol so often viewed in the 60s was originally a symbol for nuclear disarmament?

In 1958, a British artist, Gerald Holtom created the symbol which consisted of a circle with three lines inside it, intending the design to be a symbol for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC).

The lines within the circle are simplified Naval semaphore letters. The N for nuclear is formed by a Navy flagman holding a flag in each hand and then pointing them toward the ground at a 45 degree angle. The D for disarmament is made by holding one flag straight up and one straight down.

In Britain the symbol was the emblem for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), thus making it synonymous with nuclear disarmament. It migrated to the United States in the 60s and became a symbol for the peace movement. Today the symbol is recognized internationally and is still used by peace activists today.

The Summer of ‘69

Sometimes it takes years for you to realize the history you have lived through. Lately I have revisited 1969, especially the summer of ’69 and all the events of that place in time, and realized that this particular summer in my life was full of history-changing, history-making events; societal changes we see the results of today; and just plain unrest and mayhem, some of it meant to mock the political system of the day and some of it meant to spur whatever the cause of that particular day was.

1969, especially that summer, was full of riots for civil rights; anti-war demonstrations to call for an end to the war in Vietnam;  riots for gay rights; and a youthful outcry from the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) for a major reboot of the way our leaders ran the country.

Young people ran the show. Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco and the Village (Greenwich Village) in New York City were the centers of their dissent. Out of those two places the hippies and the flower children stirred the pot as often as they could to see what they could make happen next. As the decade wound down it was almost as though every protestor and dissenter in the country wanted to get their last licks in.

In this blog I will discuss some of the major happenings of the Summer of ’69. I’ll also discuss some of the music and in a later blog one movie of that August.
Some of the happenings we remember were:

The August killing spree of Charles Manson and his “family,” which resulted in the death of Sharon Tate and others.

The Stonewall Riots in New York City

The “Amazing Mets” who won the World Series on August 14 with the amazing performances of Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver.
Category 5 Hurricane Camille which touched land in Mississippi and Louisiana on August 17, killing 250 people.

 

The Stonewall Inn, taken September 1969. The sign in the window reads: “We homosexuals plead with our people to please help maintain peaceful and quiet conduct on the streets of the Village.”

The Stonewall Riots

The Stonewall riots came about because of a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in June of ’69. That raid, one of many by police against gay bars in the village at that time, became the impetus for the whole gay liberation movement that resulted because of discrimination against gays in the Village.

The bar itself on Christopher Street, was actually owned by the Mafia. It catered to the lowest level of people in the gay community at that time: drag queens, transgenders, effeminate young men; male prostitutes; and homeless youth.

This particular raid got out of hand as the police attracted a crowd who was incited to riot. More riots followed on successive nights.

The best thing to come out of all this violence was the organization of gay and lesbian activist organizations and the myriad of gay organizations to follow in the years to come.

In 1970 the first “Gay Pride” parades took place in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. Today the event known simply as “Pride” has activities and parades at some point in June in most major cities in the country, to commemorate the Stonewall riots.

 

Man on the Moon

On July 20, 1969, man first stepped on the face of the moon. “The Eagle has landed” was heard all over the world as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended in a small space vehicle to the surface of the moon while Michael Collins, the other astronaut on the mission, orbited in Columbia. It was on this mission that we heard the now famous quote by Armstrong, “One small step for a man, one great leap for mankind.” This year is the 45 anniversary of that flight.

Protestors of one kind or another would often use the space program as a scapegoat for what they saw as being wrong with the country saying, “If we can put a man on the moon, then why can’t we…” Fill in the blank.

I heard the words in the video below over the loudspeaker at the Hartford Courant as I sat proofreading on that July night.

 

Woodstock

If you ask someone who attended the Woodstock Music Festival in Bethel, N.Y., from August 15-18, 1969 if he considered Woodstock or putting a man on the moon to be the most important event of the summer, I bet you a lobster roll from the Keag in South Thomaston that he’d shout as loud as he could, Woodstock!

By the way, the joke about Woodstock goes like this: “If you remember Woodstock, you probably weren’t there.”

The four days of the “Woodstock Music and Art Fair: An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music” as it was officially billed was one of sex, drugs and rock and roll. This August is the 45^th anniversary of that event.

From Photo Bucket  By the end of the festival many of the audience was covered in mud because of the rain.

 

This festival was the epitome of how NOT to run a music festival. The 400,000 people more or less who gained free admittance to the grounds created one massive traffic jam that was backed up for 10 miles and which closed the New York State Thruway. Many fairgoers ended up walking a good distance to get to the festival when they became stranded in the pile up. The same goes for getting home afterwards.

Those gathered at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm heard some awesome music. There were 32 acts including Santana, The Grateful Dead, Credence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and more.

The massive mess and garbage they left behind had to be cleaned up by volunteers.

Here’s a couple of YouTube songs from Woodstock by Jimi Hendrix and my girl, Janis Joplin.

 

 

Here’s another video about music in The Village at that time. I believe some of these artists were also at Woodstock.

 

Class Reunion

On top of everything else that happened in the summer of 1969, my 10^th 1959 Class Reunion from Rockland High School was held at Beaver Lodge up home. I attended. This year, in 2014 we had another reunion, our 55^th. It’s the only class reunion I’ve ever missed in all these years

Next time I’ll bring you a tribute to one of my favorite movies, “Midnight Cowboy” which came out in 1969 and won three Academy Awards.

Thanks for listening.

Museum Events August 16-17

On Saturday, August 16th at 7:30 pm, we will be featuring Geoff Kaufman whose music is well known for the flavor and delivery.
GREAT ENTERTAINMENT!

 

 

 

 

 Geoff has a quite diverse repertoire of music that he performs there being something for everyone to favor.

 

 

THEN on Sunday afternoon at 4 pm, August 17th, along the shore, we are honored to present Marlene Hall and the Bay Winds and North Wind Ensemble performing for your pleasure--bring a snack and beverage to enjoy while being entertained.

 

 

Spruce Head Island
Photo by Sandra Sylvester

The Maine Report…2014

(or What I did on my Vacation)

 

Sonny’s Sunshine Corner will not be posted this month as much of the information I would have included in that monthly column will appear here.

 

This is my annual report of the state of my home town of Rockland in the summer of 2014 when I visited this month.

Thank you everyone for the beautiful weather I had while I was home. We had a couple of thunder showers but they cleared up quickly. The little fog I saw in Spruce Head was like a welcoming blanket that gathered itself on the horizon over the water; proceeded to come inland; and then disappeared over the top of the cottage. Welcome home, Sandra…welcome home.

One day I took a friend who was visiting from Connecticut uptown to peruse the shops on Main Street. While she was doing that, I visited some friends. I stopped into the Reading Corner to say hi and to ask how their past year was. They informed me they were able to stay open at least and that made me happy. Independent book stores are having a hard time these days because of the existence of Amazon online. They have signed copies of my book, The South End, on hand, by the way.

I also stopped into E.C. Moran and had a nice chat with the present owner, Patricia Moran Wotton. We talked about the old days as I described them in a recent blog I did on the business. It is the oldest business on Main Street. The only other long-lasting business is the Strand Theater, which I believe is now a non-profit organization.

My mother worked for the company back in the 40s, along with her two best friends, the Blackington girls, Audrey Teel and Dorothy Baxter. The three were friends from Kiln Hill when they were in school and maintained that friendship all their lives. Audrey and Dot worked for E.C. Moran for over 50 years.

Post Lobster Festival Main Street appeared to be busy and full of life. I noted two new businesses in the new ice cream store and the new popcorn store. I wasn’t able to visit either one but sure will plan to in the future.

One disturbing notice I saw on a bulletin board that stood in a doorway leading to the upper story of a building near E.C. Moran was a desperate plea by a veteran with a wife and young child who needed a place to live. He noted that the Veterans Administration would probably help with the rent and that he was actively searching for a job. If you come across that flyer, please see what you can do for them.

I was home during the Festival but was unable to participate because of my mobility problems at the present time. I was sorry to hear that there was an accident during the parade with one of the Shriner cars which jumped a curb and injured a couple of people. Main Street is so narrow that maybe we should re-consider inviting these mini-cars to participate. At least just limit them to one group instead of several.

Another disturbing note about the Festival is the fact that the city charged them a fee for the use of the grounds this year. What are they thinking? I know they want to be fair because they charge the other summer festivals rent, however, this is the 67-year old Festival we are talking about here. This non-profit organization contributes money every year to city causes. Is the Blues Festival, and the boat show, non-profit? I doubt it. No festival contributes more to the city during the year than the Lobster Festival. I expect that some long-time volunteers who have been faithful in their service over the years, and who now are thoroughly disgusted with the whole situation, won’t be there to help next year. What does that bode for the future success of the festival?

If the city wants more money from the festival, why not charge the carnival people a higher rate for the privilege of setting up and running their rides and games down at the landing? They take up a considerable amount of space AND they take all the money they make with them when they leave.

 

What I did on my Vacation

While I was home this year I was chauffeured around by a wonderful Real Estate agent from Jaret & Cohn, Dale Martin. He helped me get an idea of what houses might be available for me to buy when I eventually move back home. There are plenty of homes out there if you are interested in purchasing real estate in Maine, but be warned that the market is changing and it might soon be a seller’s market rather than a buyer’s market. Now is the time to buy if you can.

I always enjoy eating my favorite Maine food when I’m home. This year I got to eat fried clams twice and had two lobster rolls and one crabmeat roll from the Keag Store in South Thomaston. They are the best! I also had some rhubarb pie made by sister-in-law, Kay that was delicious. And I enjoyed a pistachio and black raspberry ice cream dish from Dorman’s.

During my stay I got to visit with a few of my classmates from the Rockland High School class of 1959. We had lunch at the Keag Store and gabbed about everything. I was sorry I missed meeting a new Facebook friend who lives in South Thomaston, but simply ran out of time.

Some fun time was spent with family, namely brother Ted and wife Nat, their kids and grandkids, and Kay and my niece Brenda, who I spent time with when I stayed with Kay for some of my vacation.

The only bad thing that happened was the fact that when I went to board the plane in Atlanta I discovered I’d forgotten to renew my driver’s license in March. I’ve been driving around without one for four months. It was real fun trying to get through security let me tell you. Later on, Nanci sent me my passport so I could use it as ID on the way back. Guess what? They said it was no good because the owner of the passport, namely me, had not signed it. So I had to dig out my expired driver’s license again, which they accepted Thank God. My question is…can’t they see by looking at the picture on the passport that it is actually me they are looking at? The minute I sat down at the gate in Portland, I whipped out the passport and signed it.

Of course the absence of a valid driver’s license meant I couldn’t borrow my brother’s truck while I was there. Therefore, I didn’t get to some of the places I had wanted to visit. Oh well, next year maybe.

One amazing thing happened to me towards the end of my vacation when I was staying down at the cottage with my friend Iris from Connecticut. As I was sitting out on the porch enjoying the goings on out on the water, I saw this blur buzz over my head. It was a hummingbird who mistook the red lettering on my hat for a flower I guess. I watched about three of the tiny birds chase each other in and out of the spruce trees, as well as the squirrels. It’s also fun to watch the ducks feed as the tide is waning and to watch the cormorants shake their wings while sitting on the rocks out at the end of the cove. I soaked in as much of that scenery as I could so that the memory of it would last me for another winter in Georgia.

That’s my report for this year. Thanks for listening.

Recipe of the Month

 

 Grilled Chicken Foil Packets

with Summer Squash

(from Hunts.com)

A grilled chicken recipe of chicken, tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash cooked in foil packets and topped with cheese for an easy summertime meal.

 
Ingredients

• 1 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, sliced
• 1 small yellow summer squash, cut in half lengthwise, sliced
• 1 can (14.5 oz each) Hunt's® Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano, drained
• 1 can (8 oz each) Hunt's® Tomato Sauce
• 1/3 cup Kraft® Grated Parmesan Cheese
• PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (5 oz each)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

 Directions

Directions Preheat gas grill for medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, combine zucchini, yellow squash, drained tomatoes, tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese in medium bowl.

Place four 18x12-inch pieces of heavy aluminum foil on counter. Spray each with cooking spray. Place 1 breast in center on each piece of foil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spoon 1/4th tomato mixture over chicken for each packet. Double fold top and ends of each piece of foil, leaving space for steam to gather.

Place packets on grate; cover grill. Grill 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in centers (165°F). Carefully open packets; sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese.

Thomaston Public Library News

 

 

 

Intergenerational Book Club to Discuss

Townie by Andre Dubus III

On Tuesday, August 19th, at 2:30 PM, the Thomaston Public Library's Intergenerational Book Club will discuss the memoir Townie by Andre Dubus III.

After their parents divorced in the 1970s, Andre Dubus III and his three siblings grew up with their exhausted working mother in a depressed Massachusetts mill town saturated with drugs and crime. To protect himself and those he loved from street violence, Andre learned to use his fists so well that he was even scared of himself. He was on a fast track to getting killed--or killing someone else. He signed on as a boxer.

Nearby, his father, an eminent author, taught on a college campus and took the kids out on Sundays. The clash of worlds couldn't have been more stark--or more difficult for a son to communicate to a father. Only by becoming a writer himself could Andre begin to bridge the abyss and save himself. His memoir is a riveting, visceral, profound meditation on physical violence and the failures and triumphs of love.

On the third Tuesday of every month, the Intergenerational Book Club, a group of men and women of all ages, comes together to share their opinions and ideas about the book selection. Extra copies of the books are purchased by the Friends of the Thomaston Public Library from the Annual Appeal funds. We thank you for your donations. All are welcome at the Thomaston Library on August 19th at 2:30 p.m.

If you live in Thomaston and would like to attend but need a ride, please call the library at 354-2453 a week before the discussion date.

 

Library the Site for Thomaston Farmers' Market

Every Saturday 9 to 1

The Library is open on Saturdays from 9 AM to 1 PM, which is exactly when the Thomaston Farmers' Market happens -- right outside the library's back door. Visitors can browse the library's books and movies and also load up on the market's wonderful produce; fine, organic meats; deliciously-fresh desserts and baked goods; seedlings; herbs; candles and scents; coffee and kombucha (stop by to find out what kombucha is!); and a host of other great fare.

Fresh early greens and lettuces are a particular attraction just now, along with many other early-summer vegetables. Among the meats for sale are steaks, a variety of sausage flavors, lamb, chicken, and pork chops, all of the finest quality. The baked goods range from candy, muffins, and cookies to pies, whoopie pies, bars, and sweet quick breads. There's something for everyone.

The market's vendors are set up in the parking lot behind the Academy building. The library sets up a booth among them, so market shoppers can stop by for information on the library's upcoming events and choose among some of the Hallway Bookshop's sale books.

Don't miss this one-stop, book-and-food shopping opportunity every Saturday morning at the library.

 

Taijiquan (Tai Chi) Sessions Every Wednesday

Sessions of the Kennebec Taijiquan Association will be held at the Thomaston Public Library on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM.

These sessions provide participants the opportunity to learn a "T'ai C'hi" long form and to
practice it with others who enjoy taijiquan. Life can be a challenge and the long, slow practice of taijiquan, which deepens across the years, brings profound satisfaction and surprising benefits.

One begins by learning the form and then slowly adds the principles of practice to a daily effort of two long forms. For those who are social, these sessions provide the opportunity to meet others to practice with. For those who are dedicated, they provide the opportunity to learn how to deepen your practice.

Whether you are completely new to taijiquan or would like to share your practice with others, the Kennebec Taijiquan Association welcomes you.

Saltwater Film Society Screening of American Movie

On Thursday, August 21st, at 6:30 PM, the Thomaston Public Library will host the Saltwater Film Society screening of 1999's Australian documentary American Movie, directed by Chris Smith.

On the northwest side of Milwaukee, Mark Borchardt dreams the American dream: for him, it's making movies. Using relatives, local theater talent, slacker friends, his Mastercard, and $3,000 from his Uncle Bill, Mark strives over three years to finish "Coven," a short horror film. His own personal demons (alcohol, gambling, a dysfunctional family) plague him, but he desperately wants to overcome self-doubt and avoid failure. In moments of reflection, Mark sees his story as quintessentially American, and its the nature and nuance of his dream that this film explores.

The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. The New York Times named it one of the “1,000 Greatest Movies Ever Made.”

For more information about the Saltwater Film Society, please see their website, http://www.saltwaterfilmsociety.org/.


Library Hosts Evening of Literary Readings

Wednesday, August 27th, at 7 PM, Thomaston Public Library will host an evening of readings by poets and writers from Maine and New York.

The literary line-up will feature the following writers:

• Christopher Fahy of Thomaston will read from his new novel, Gone from the Game, in which a shell-shocked World War I veteran and former Red Sox pitcher attempts to kill Babe Ruth. Mr. Fahy is the author of seventeen books, including novels, short stories, and poetry collections. His poetry has appeared in Atlanta Review, The Beloit Poetry Journal, and other magazines.
• Martha Webster of Long Island took a thirty-year hiatus from poetry to raise a family and pursue a career in critical care and hospice nursing. Ms. Webster now spends as much time as possible in Manhattan and at the Frost Place in New Hampshire surrounded by all things poetry.
• Jane Brox of Brunswick, Maine, writes works of nonfiction. Her fourth book, Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light, was named one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2010 by Time magazine. Ms. Brox teaches nonfiction writing in Lesley University's MFA program.
• Martha Rhodes of New York is the author of four poetry collections, most recently The Beds. She teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and in the MFA program at Warren Wilson College and is the director of both the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and the literary publishing house Four Way Books.

The readings will take place in the main room of the library and light refreshments will be served.

 

 

 

 

 

BY TED SYLVESTER

Seafoods Festival money-loser

This column gives Ted’s opinion of the 1983 Seafoods Festival as the Lobster Festival was called then. The 1983 festival was the 36^th year of the event. This year was the 67^th. Evidentially it wasn’t a good year for the annual event.

 

If there were any doubts last week that the annual Maine Seafoods Festival was a success, the revenue figures released earlier this week erased any misconceptions. Financially, it was a flop.

Unless the final tally shows a big reduction in expenses—the chances of this are almost assuredly nil—the festival will lose money for the third straight year.

Last year, officials decried the lack of local support. They said that unless the community was willing to chip in and help, the future of the 36-year old festival was doomed.

It was our observation that the community, in fact, turned its back on the event. About the only local dollars spent at the festival were at the carnival. We suspect that the carnival made some money over the weekend. And they took it with them when they left town.

What’s happened?

For one thing, in years past, the festival was conceived and used by lobster dealers as an outlet for unwanted, cheap, shedder lobsters. No more. Shedders are a marketable item that restaurants grab up to feature on their menus. And they sell them as cheap, or cheaper, as they are sold at the festival. The festival can’t compete.

Then there is the insistence upon sameness in presentation of the festival. The 1983 version is similar to the setup and format of 30 years ago. People are tired of the same old thing, year after year.

We were raked over the coals last year for criticizing the festival, and especially for blasting the poor quality of food items, namely fried clams. We were challenged to become involved as volunteer help, instead of standing back and finding fault. We accepted the suggestion and this year, volunteered to judge parade floats and work in the friend clam and shrimp booth.

We can tell you from being on the inside that things were worse than we thought. It was total chaos as far as the food booth was concerned. The fryers were constantly broken down, and when they did work, the quality of the clams left much to be desired. Some people brought their clams back for a refund. We didn’t blame them. They were terrible. Our impressions of last year have not changed. We will say that the shrimp was good they are easier to handle.

I hate to think that summer visitors went home with a bad impression of one of our choicest seafood delicacies, friend clams. But no matter how hard you try, you cannot turn out a good product using frozen, breaded clams that are prepared in antiquated, malfunctioning fryers and are tough or practically raw, mealy and tasteless.

Other observations we made found some bad things, but also found many good things. The parade, for instance, was excellent, one of the best in years. Of course, there’s nothing like offering $1,000 in prize money as an incentive to enter floats. The entrants turned out and produced some attractive and interesting floats.

The entertainment by the Country Wranglers was superb. It was disappointing, however, to see that the crowd was sparse. Most of those attending were local folks who knew the band and its qualities. But, let’s face it; if you want to attract a big crowd, you have to offer a big name. We went to the Bangor Fair and saw Louise Mandrell. There had to be 10,000 people jammed into the grandstand and racetrack for the 50-minute performance.

We’re not saying the festival has to pay out the kind of bucks necessary for a Louise Mandrell, but you get the idea.

Staging fireworks once again was a nice touch. But we can’t really agree that the brief 15-minute showing was worth the $2,200 cost. Can you? And wasn’t it ironic that the purpose of the fireworks was to draw people to the grounds so you could sell them clam and shrimp dinners, but the booth never opened because the fryers were busted? And the street dance scheduled to be held before the fireworks was a dud. The band showed up more than two hours late, played for 30 minutes, and left.

We avoided the Friday night pageant. After listening to the same thing for more than 30 years, it was just too much to take anymore. Our spies tell us that this year was no different. Same procedure, different faces.

We enjoyed the lobster pot and sardine packing contests, although it was difficult to see what was going on in either event from the available vantage spots. We want to congratulate Rita Willey, the Muhammed Ali of sardine packers. We expect that she will be the undisputed champ forever, because we don’t believe the event will be held again. The sponsors would not have held it this year if they did not have the opportunity for national exposure from the Real People television show. They don’t give a damn about the contest, only the publicity it can bring them.

It was obvious to us that the crowds were down this year. Officials kept extolling about how successful the event was. But the proof was in the revenues. They were less than last year.

So what about the future?

We can’t blame festival directors if they say to hell with the whole thing. They worked hard to try to bring a profitable event to Rockland, and perhaps make some money for the community’s benefit. All they got was grief and very little support from the townfolk.

What are the alternatives?

We believe that if the festival is to continue and prosper, directors are going to have to change their philosophies. First, they need some professional advice on promotion. The press releases this year were some of the worst we have ever seen. Every chairman was left to promote his or her own activity. None of them did a very good job at it. Locally, most of the media took the time to rewrite and present information on events. But what about out-of-town media? We bet that if they received any information at all, it went into the round file.

The Chamber of Commerce and festival officials got into a tug of war over publicity, instead of working together. Each put out independent brochures. If the festival is ever going to survive, there will have to be a combined effort with people in the community. The chamber is the ideal catalyst. Those people know what promotion means to an event, and they know how to do it.

We have had more than one person ask us this week if the festival could survive without a carnival. The answer, obviously, is that it cannot under the current setup. The carnival pays the festival $14,000 just to set up. If it were not for this money, the festival would have gone broke a long time ago.

Many have expressed a desire that the festival should be more of what a festival is supposed to be—family fun, events, contests and games. Others think that more emphasis should be placed upon crafts and craftsworkers. One suggested that a boat show would be a nice addition. Another thought a firemen’s muster would attract local people, and be fun.

The only way there could be such a format change is, again, community involvement. There is no reason there could not be an off-season fund-raiser to help defray some of the expenses. How about combining with the chamber for a second auction during the year? Also, why should the out-of-town carnies come here and reap the cream from the top? As far as games are concerned, there’s no reason the festival or clubs and organizations could not manufacture their own game booths. How difficult would it be to set up some wooden bottles and get some baseballs? Just about any of the games offered by the carnival this year could be reproduced.

There also is the feasibility of bringing in a big-name entertainment star as a draw. Officials keep saying they can’t do this, because they can’t charge admission to the grounds, because of the private businesses located within the perimeter. But they could cordon off a bigger area in front of the stage and charge $5 or so a head for a seat. We would gladly pay it to see a top act.

Probably none of these things will happen. We believe directors are discouraged from the lack of support they have received and the financial losses. They likely will give it up. And that will be too bad.

From The Bangor Daily News, August 13-14, 1983.