In Pursuit Of Maine: July 10, 2014 - Stone Stairs

Thursday, July 10, 2014

July 10, 2014 - Stone Stairs

Small, hand-hewn stone stairs lead upward from a remote part of the beach on Bailey Island. They stop suddenly at the top of a very gentle incline. As you can see, they're not very big. In fact, they're rather smaller than most people would feel comfortable climbing. Compare them to the size of the beach roses, which are not large flowers, and you can get an idea of their size. Directly behind me as I take this picture is a very small beach that is part sand and part rock, and beyond that is the ocean looking out into the Casco Bay. Who made these stairs? They don't lead anywhere. There are plenty of ways to get up the slight incline you see that are easier than these stairs, and yet here they are.

There's a legend of a fairy castle that was here once several hundred years ago. Am I to presume that this is all that is left of it? Or, as I suspect, are these stairs still in use? Because that's what I think. I don't think the castle ever left. I think it's still right there. I think a dimensional shift occurred, but as with all dimensional shifts, a gateway has to be left if one intends to move from one world to the other. And so I think these stairs are still very much in use. They walk among us, you know. Perhaps if you climbed the stairs when the sun was at a particular angle, you might just get through that gateway and into the castle. But be careful what you ask for as it may be given to you.

"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.