In Pursuit Of Maine: April 23, 2014 - It's A Living

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

April 23, 2014 - It's A Living

The lobster men are gearing up for the season. Every year, it's the same thing, and it goes off like clockwork. More boats are appearing in the harbors, and they're being loaded with traps. Soon lobster buoys will pepper the coves and bay. Everywhere you look, people will be busy making a living. The lobster men will all play their roles as perfect lobster men, the customers will all play their roles as perfect customers, and even the lobsters will cooperate by being perfect lobsters. Everyone will play their part perfectly, having recited it for most, if not all, of their lives. No one else will seek to be anything other than what they assume they are. It's a strange thing, this business of "making a living." It goes on like a perfectly choreographed dance. But I wonder . . . if the music stopped suddenly and the masks all fell off, how would each player "make" their life? Would they make a mad dash for their fallen mask? Would they find a new mask? Or would they simply live with the sudden realization that a mask was never necessary?

"The Plain Maine Cookbook" is my own collection of vintage Maine recipes that will immediately bring you back to a simpler time, a less confused time. These recipes are more than just comfort food. They're family food, traditional food, simple food, plain food. One bite and you'll say, "Ah, yes! I remember my grandmother used to make this. I had forgotten all about it!" Recipes for whoopie pies, funnel cakes, fried fiddleheads, haymaker's switchel, coffee can bread, glogg, and much more are in these pages. There is even a recipe on how to render lard. So open the door and go back to some simple, time-tested foods you can prepare easily. You'll find that you save money and waste less by "making do" with commodity cooking. What's in the pantry or in the garden is what's for dinner.

"So You Want to Move to Maine" is an invaluable little book in helping people to make a permanent move to Maine. It will save you a ton of time because all the initial footwork is done for you, including 100 links on how to find work and living quarters, getting your driver's license, pet requirements, programs for people with disabilities, programs for senior citizens, getting married in Maine, hidden taxes and expenses, hospitals, health insurance, handling a real winter like a pro, etc. Stop being "just a number" or another face in the crowd. Walk away from the rat race. Become boldly individualistic and make your mark in life. You can still do that in Maine, one of the last holdouts of ordinary, old-fashioned, kind, and decent American living.

I’ve chosen 37 unique fairy tales that will be loved by both adults and children as they can be read and interpreted on many levels. But if you are looking for only sweet tales that end in joy and fairness, you may want to pass this book by. Some fairy tales are simply “dark,” and that is because sometimes life is simply dark. Not always, of course, but often enough. Sometimes the hero lives; sometimes he dies. Check out my book, “Fairy Tales of Maine,” in the photo link below. If you are brave, you might just meet yourself in one of these tales.