Tag: borders

Our border with Mexico is not the problem

Sachem butterfly, female
(Click the Play arrow to listen to this column.)

Beyond the walls of our domicile, all borders are figments of our imagination, maintained by mutual fear of those who live on the other side. — T.S. Emery; author, philosopher, nemophilist

My family moved to Maine the summer I started Fourth Grade. We took up residence on the shore of a 500-acre lake, populated by mostly moose and loons in summer and snowbound silence in winter. It was widely accepted in town that the previous owner, also from a Big City, got the better end of the deal by selling 50 acres of mostly swamp land to a fellow City Slicker.

But there was sufficient dry land on the parcel and Mom and Dad had no designs of building more than a home for their budding family and maybe a couple of cabins they would rent out to fellow New Yorkers to help pay the mortgage.

Continue reading Our border with Mexico is not the problem

Stealing American jobs

A slightly foggy day at the modern general store — John Messeder photo
(Click the Play arrow to listen to this column.)

When I was a kid vacationing with Mom and Dad in Maine — we moved there when I started fourth grade — our ride home to the Big City was punctuated by a stop at the Bates woolen mill, in Lewiston, Maine. The mill on the banks of the Androscoggin River was where Mom picked out fabrics that would keep her sewing machine busy making clothing for her family.

Back in the day, a person could save a ton of money by purchasing stuff where it was made; why pay transportation costs when you were making the trip anyway. In particular, that mill was what turned Lewiston from an agricultural town to a fabrics manufacturing center.

Continue reading Stealing American jobs

Politicians and other birds

Morning Glory flowers have segued into their final stage: seeds for next year. Each former flower has become a pod with five tiny black seeds perfectly fitted. Outside my window, a Cardinal, a woodpecker and a Mockingbird have been devouring the bright red dogwood berries. That avian affinity for seeds is how we got the marvelous Morning Glory wall on our front porch rail.

Continue reading Politicians and other birds