In Pursuit Of Maine: January 28, 2015 - Divine Favor

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

January 28, 2015 - Divine Favor

Yesterday I said, “If we are saved, if we live through it, if we make it to the other side, we rejoice in our good fortune and clever choices and divine favor.” And here we are at today, having made it through to the other side. Now the sun sets on a glorious day, and if I hadn’t seen yesterday’s terrible storm with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. If I had seen only today and not experienced yesterday, I would have said the writer was exaggerating.

Now that I am on the “other side,” shall I rejoice in my good fortune, clever choices, and divine favor? Yes, I am happy to be alive and to have made it through the terrible storm. But . . . divine favor? I am not sure about that. To the Earth, one day is no better or worse than any other day. They are all days, and therefore, they are all perfect and exactly as they should be. It is only people with their subjective egos who think they can decide what is awful and what is glorious, what is divine and what is hellish.

Allow me, then, my imperfections, if only for today. Saying goodnight to the Earth and the Sun on what I choose to call a strikingly beautiful day gives me cause to celebrate my good fortune and clever choices. My job, for another day, is to be able to see just as much beauty in the terrible, terrible storm and icy death as I see in the setting sun. Then, perhaps, I will have deserved divine favor.

The calm after the storm.

"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.