Quote of the Day

"The Amish were the solution that we were looking for--that we could never have dreamed up."

- Unity, Maine resident and college professor Doug Fox on how the Amish families moving into Unity and elsewhere in Maine are exactly the type of neighbors residents of the town have tried to recruit.

- John C.L. Morgan

Quote of the Day: Lt. David Bowler

"I would bet my next 10 paychecks that 20 percent of the people in that game were at other games we've gone into."

- Maine State Police Lt. David Bowler, defending that department's raid on a charitable game of Texas Hold 'Em in Buxton. No word yet on whether an investigation has been opened to scrutizine Lt. Bowler's invitation to participate in an unlicensed game of chance.

- John C.L. Morgan

P.S. While I'm on the subject of gambling in Maine, check out this Winter 2007 article in The Bollard on the subject.

Related: How Cribbage Explains the Two Maines (January 31, 2008)

Quote of the Day

"I'm not going to take a financial beating in it. If you told me today I had to pay off Maine, that's $900,000 (in guarantees). I can't do that."

- Florida State University (FSU) athletic director Randy Spetman on his limits for buying out the contract FSU has with the University of Maine for a football game scheduled for opening weekend next fall. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is pushing Florida State to play the University of Miami on Labor Day, but FSU would first have to cancel their currently scheduled game against UMaine to make that happen.

- John C.L. Morgan

Quote of the Day--Again, So Far

"This just proves that duct tape will not work on everything."

- Portland Press Herald online commenter "winston" in reaction to news that a water main along Route 302 broke for second time in less than a month (it broke the first time on December 8).

I don't know if this means anything, but the breaks in the water main happened on the same day of the week (Monday), at about the same time (8p).

- John C.L. Morgan

Quote of the Day--So Far

"I'm pretty good at it [texting while driving], but some of my friends aren't. So when they're driving, I'll grab the wheel while they text."

- Westbrook resident Alana Howe on why she opposes the Maine Legislature's possible prohibition of texting, talking on cellphone, watching movies, etc. while driving.

- John C.L. Morgan

Quote of the Day

"It is the worst we've seen since the ice storm of 1998."

- Central Maine Power (CMP) spokeswoman Gail Rice in a story about the 197,000 CMP customers who've lost power as a result of the ice storm.

(Update: We lost power over here on Rochester for about an hour from 5:45-6:45p. If you know someone not as fortunate--or if you're somehow reading this sans electric juice--then remember food, water, and cots are available at Westbrook High School.)

Quote of the Day: Heidi Julavits

"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.

Quote of the Day

"My guess is that if you are an experienced Maine traveler, you already own at least one copy of the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer. If you don’t, you may be the only person in Maine who doesn’t."

- Edgar Allen Beem in his article "Maine Atlas Showdown," published in the September issue of Downeast.

I've often wondered if Delorme's Maine Atlas and Gazette is the best-selling book in Maine. Would it be heretical of me to suggest that it outsells even the Bible?

- John C.L. Morgan

Quote of the Day

"The trouble with being my age [85] is you always want to impress someone, but they're all dead."

- Westbrook High alum James Ingraham ('42), in his Q&A session with the AJ.

- John C.L. Morgan

Quote of the Day

"There is no way I would have you speak for me. You are full of yourself. You wear your jealousy on your sleeve Mr. Mayor for all to see. If it's war you want with this Council, so be it!"

- Westbrook City Councilor (fill in blank)'s e-mail to Mayor Bruce Chuluda Lewiston City Councilor Denis Theriault in an e-mail to Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert.