"Carving Your Niche"

Thomas Cote is a woodcarver from Limestone, ME... and with tongue-in-cheek, I think I can safely say that he has certainly “carved” his niche.

He and some of his family were in the coffee shop the other day, and the usual light banter broke out.  Noticing their French accents, we asked if they were from “The County”. They were.

Now, for those of you reading this that aren’t from the state of Maine, “The County” is the popular name for Aroostook County, the northernmost county in Maine. How far north is it, you ask?....  well, as some folks  like to say – you’re not quite up to the North Pole, but you can see it from there.

The predominant ethnicity of “The County” is French-Canadian, or to be specific – Acadian. The Acadians were forced out of the Canadian Maritime Provinces by the British during the French and Indian War in the late 1700’s.  They settled in Maine, Quebec, and Louisiana. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made them famous with his poem, “Evangeline”.

OK, enough of the geography and social studies lesson… Thomas is an artist in residence this week at a local campground – Searsport Shores. Yes, I said a campground, and not an art gallery or a school of fine arts. Thanks to the eclectic thinking of the campground owners – Steve and Astrig Tanguay - they have had an artist-in residence for many years. They get a quick “tip-of-the-hat” from me for such a creative way to provide an enjoyable, and unique, camping experience for their patrons.

Thomas Cote’s story doesn’t stop there. It continues into next year… 2014. On August 15th, 2014, the National Acadian Day will be celebrated in St. David, Madawaska, Maine… right at “the top” of Aroostook County. Thomas is a wood carver, and his work will be on display before, during, and after, that day. As you drive north on U.S. Route 1, towards Madawaska, you will see eight wood carvings – each, 4 feet by 8 feet – posted along the highway. All eight will be the work of Thomas Cote, and will depict scenes from Acadian history, and life activities indigenous to Aroostook County.

Of the eight roadside panels he is commissioned to carve, he has finished the first two – a mural of the annual fall potato harvest, and the spring-time maple syrup activities that take place each spring in Aroostook County.

We asked how long it takes to carve each panel, and he said between 350 and 400 hours. We did the “math” and said it seemed like he wouldn’t get them done in time for National Acadian Day. “Oh,” he said,” that’s not a problem. I have my grand-daughter helping me.”  How nice it is to know that his craft is being passed along for more generations to enjoy.

So, I tip my hat to Thomas Cote… and if perchance you happen to be driving north on U.S. Route 1 next summer, and you see the wood-carved panels along the roadside, you can say to yourself, “Oh, I know who made those”… and a few “oohs” and “aahs” as you pass them would be nice, too.

"The Kid"
William Bonney, notorious outlaw, better known as “Billy The Kid”, got his nickname because he killed his first man at the tender age of 17. Riley “The Kid” Colby got his moniker because he left a trail of moaning cribbage players in his wake before he graduated from junior high.

Our local summer cribbage tournament started today, and I went down to defeat at the hands of “The Kid”. I didn’t have to, mind you, but I chose my fate. I am the tournament director, so the first round matches are all my doing. I thought I was going to emerge as some kind of cribbage super-hero, by eliminating “The Kid” in the first match, but, alas, it didn’t happen.

When I was asking folks if they wanted to participate in the tournament, I frequently got… Sure, count me in, but not if I have to play “The Kid” in the first round. I’ll play anyone else, but not “The Kid”. Riley just graduated from the 7^th grade, and this is his third year of playing in our cribbage tournaments. I guess a lot of adults don’t like to lose to someone whose voice hasn’t changed. His reputation precedes him, and for good reason, as I found out today.

This all started when Riley’s grandfather, Rusty, decided to teach him how to play cribbage. (Hmm, remind me to take Rusty out of my will).  Anyway, Riley played lots and lots of cribbage games with whoever would play with him, and he soon became an above-average cribbage player. He entered his first tournament in 2011, and in prior matches his adult opponents would approach their match with “The Kid” as if it would be an easy victory. The majority of times, it was not. They came away with a puzzled look on their face, while “The Kid” had a big smile on his.

Well, enough time has passed that “The Kid” now has a “Rep”… and it’s a feared one. Well, I thought, I’m not easily shaken. I can look danger in the eye and not blink. He’s no better than I. “The Kid” puts his pants on one leg at a time, the same way I do. He drinks the same water I do… no problem. I was wrong. “The Kid” puts his pants on both legs at time and drinks some concoction of special brain-enhancing fluid. He beat me, two games to one.

He also has “roadies”.  People kept wandering in and out of the coffee shop to see how he was doing. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, his sister, a long lost cousin or two… I lost count. Everyone is cheering him on. About halfway through my match I realized that if I won, I would be looked on as if I had killed Bambi. 

Undaunted, I kept dealing, kept counting, kept pegging, but alas, I came up short in a tightly-fought, close match. Well, OK… not exactly tight… He skunked me in our first game… I squeaked out a win in game two… and then he got a decisive win in the final game.. 

I really enjoyed playing against “The Kid”. He was first and foremost, a kid. He would fidget in his seat sometimes… he’d lose his concentration at times… but best of all he had the “exuberance of youth” you always see whenever youngsters play anything. It was really refreshing, and that feeling was well worth all the ribbing I took for being another notch on “The Kid’s” cribbage board. 

As for the next tournament? Well, I’ll still be the director and I’m scheduling “The Kid” for me… a re-match… and you may be walking tall now, “Kid”, but next time…. You’re TOAST!

"Cribbage Magnetism"

When I started dating after my divorce, I was told to “get a puppy”. The advice was to go walking with a puppy and the little pooch would be a “chick magnet”.

Well, I never did get a dog, but I think the advice is correct. I’ve noticed that men walking dogs tend to have females come over to them, pat the dog, and then chat.

Well, I think I’ve found a “tourist magnet” – cribbage.

This phenomenon started last year when we started playing cribbage in the front part of the coffee shop. On many occasions, tourists would step into the shop, spot us playing cribbage and say things like, “Oh, cribbage. I haven’t played in more than ten years.” … or since they were kids… or since they were in college. We’d always ask if they wanted to play, and a decent number of them would. They’d sit down and we’d play a game or two..

What I like about cribbage is that it’s a very “social” game. You can play it and chat with someone without giving up a competitive advantage. We’d always learn about where the “tourist-turned-cribbage-player” came from…what they were planning for their vacation… or places they’d already seen on vacation… and once in a while we’d be able to tell them about where the good restaurants are…  stuff  like that.

Well, this season, we are off and running with the “cribbage magnet” again. Six delightful ladies came in this morning and two of them were former cribbage players. It’s like riding a bike – once you learn how, you never really forget how to play.  Cribbage is a fairly quick game… so we played a 4-handed game in the time it took to get their food order ready. Then we continued the conversation over their late-morning breakfast.

I don’t know what the fascination is with cribbage. I guess it’s because you use a special board for keeping score, so you don’t have to ask what you are playing. I’m also amazed at how many (as in, virtually everyone) learned the game as a kid… either because their parents or grandparents played the game… or because it was an interesting way to practice your number skills at an early age.  I never learned to play bridge, or gin rummy, until I was of college-age, but cribbage…  I learned that as a kid… from my grandfather.

I’m passing along that tradition. My son and his family live in Iowa, and whenever I go out for a visit, I play at least one cribbage game each day with my granddaughter, Katelyn. (She beats me, too)

So, if you are single and looking for a mate, I’m not sure a game of cribbage will attract someone as quickly as a puppy, but I do know this – you don’t have to house-train a cribbage board.

"By the Sea, By the Sea"

“…by the beautiful sea”..  as the old song goes. We humans seem to have a fascination with getting married by the sea. I wonder why that is?

I am no exception. When Beth and I had our Commitment Ceremony 10 years ago, we did it at the Portland Head Light overlooking Casco Bay…. facing the sea. We were not alone that year. The facility is available from mid-May to mid-October, and EVERY weekend was booked for a wedding, and we got the last available date for that year. 

In May, I wrote about the wedding party from Georgia, Texas, and California, that had never been to Maine, but came to Searsport for a long weekend because… they wanted a wedding by the sea.

This past weekend, my youngest daughter, Amanda, had her Commitment Ceremony at the Vesper Hills Children’s Chapel in Rockport, Maine… it was a LOVELY event, and you guessed it… facing the sea. 

When I mentioned the topic while sitting in the Brick House Restaurant (next to Coastal Coffee), my friend Steve mentioned that 10 years ago, when he and his current wife were on vacation in Hawaii, she had dropped him off at a hiking trail so he could spend the day in a rain forest, pursuing his hobby of photography. As she drove around the island she thought, “What a lovely spot to get married.” She got a marriage license, and proposed to Steve when she picked him up later in the day. Wise man that he is, he said “Yes.” Three days later they were wed… overlooking the sea.

The co-owner of the Brickhouse Restaurant, overhearing our conversation chimed in. “I eloped to Maine twelve years ago,” she said, “to get married in Ogunquit, (Maine).”  Angie and her hubby were wed at a spot in Ogunquit called “Marginal Way”, because the rocky coast, as she said… “looked like Hawaii, and it was… by the sea.”

All this got me to thinking (always a risky proposition with me). Maybe Darwin didn’t get it right. Perhaps we are not evolved from apes, but got here because a sea nymph jumped out of the ocean. She had probably gotten tired of everything being wet and clammy… and decided to give dry land a try… and she liked it…. and STAYED. Maybe our fascination with weddings by the sea is to make a connection to our earliest ancestors -  sea nymphs. I have no scientific proof of this, of course, but… you know…. just thinking…

"Attitude is Everything"

Many times, when life isn’t going too well for me, I have to remember that I can’t control what happens to me… I can only control my attitude. It’s all about attitude. 

Elizabeth came into the coffee shop today. She is a middle-aged, attractive woman who grew up in East Machias ME (about 100 miles due east of Searsport… as the puffin flies). She talked about how marriage and work have kept her in New Hampshire for “far too long”, and she has been avidly trying to get back to Maine for the past few years. 

“I really like it in Searsport”, she said, “I can’t put my finger on why. I just seem to like it here.” My sentiment, entirely.

She is here on vacation. “I don’t get much vacation time, but when I do, I like to spend it here”. We talked amiably about how life takes us through hills and valleys, and during the course of the conversation I apologized for the rather abysmal weather we’d been having, and for the poor outlook for it getting much better before her forced retreat back to “reality”. 

“Quite the contrary” she chirped back. “It’s all about your attitude. Everything’s been delightful.”  She continued on… “Weather doesn’t matter to me when I’m on vacation. If it’s a nasty day out, I do ‘inside’ things…. When it’s not, then I go outside. I’m able to get out of my daily routine… see new things… meet new people… change my sleeping habits… listen to different sounds. It’s wonderful,” she said, “when you think about it.” 

In my mind I had to admit she was right. Back when I was working for a living, I couldn’t recall any vacation I didn’t like… and I couldn’t remember what the weather was like on any of my vacations, either. The fact that I didn’t have to get up and trudge to work every day was the real joy. She was definitely “spot on” when she said that “attitude is everything.”

They say people are divided into two groups… those who see a cup as half-empty, and those who see it as half-full. Elizabeth is neither... she is an ALWAYS FULL kind of person…