"In Maine, meanwhile, 2005 was business as usual--just a lot of fat people hanging out in the rain with their cats, drinking coffee brandy and trying, without cheating, to kill a bear."
- Heidi Julavits in her essay "Maine: The Way Life Should Be," which is part of the new anthology State by State: A Panoramic View of America. Julevits is a co-editor of The Believer and the daughter of a former English teacher at Westbrook High School.
- John C.L. Morgan
(Hat Tip: Portland Psst!)
P.S. As an aside, Julavits's quote and part of her essay are factually incorrect. She states "it's illegal to bait bears with donuts and then shoot them" in Maine, but such behavior was legal in 2005 and remains legal to this day. Maine voters rejected a referendum question that would've banned bear-baiting in a November 2004 vote, 53% to 47%. So we Mainers are wet and fat, do like cats, and do chug lots of Allen's. But, legally speaking, we didn't (and still don't) need to avoid cheating by baiting a bear. Baiting, after all, was (and is) the rule.
P.P.S. Here's a relatively recent video spoof of bear-baiting.
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