Goodfellows52: Cold heart

Goodfellows52: Cold heart: AUBURN, Maine - For those of you who have watched from afar, the good people of New England have been freezing their buns off for...

Cold heart

AUBURN, Maine - For those of you who have watched from afar, the good people of New England have been freezing their buns off for the past six days.

If you live in a warm-weather state or are enjoying summer down under in Australia, then you can smile all you want because, baby, it's damn cold up here.

Winter is slapping New Englanders around for the moment. We are wearing 40 layers of clothing and saying prayers when we start our cars.

Car-battery killing winds have swept across Maine and turned this climate into a frozen tundra. The f-word can be heard from miles away when Mainers turn over their stubborn cars in below-zero morning cold. 

For six mind-numbing days, the cold has taken our breaths away and made oil companies rich. And even on the seventh day, the Arctic cold did not rest, leaving Mainers longing for humidity and 80-degree temperatures.

The steam rising from Casco Bay harbor in Portland was a site to behold. Slip, sliding away on my walkway will put a snicker on anyone's face.

A cold snap is not a rare occurrence in the six-state region. Winters are more famous than Gov. Paul LePage's outbursts in the Pine Tree State. Laborers make a living off the white stuff and bone-chilling temperatures.

A good deal of Maine's economy thrives on winter. The ski industry lives and dies with snowfall amounts. Snowmobiliers need a strong snow pack to race their loud half tracks on miles of trails through the backwoods of Maine.

Without snow and this tricky climate, well, Maine wouldn't be Maine.

But the Arctic air mass has modified, and on Saturday, it reached 20 degrees, making me wonder if I could slip in an afternoon swim at Popham Beach. By Tuesday, New England is looking at temps in the 30s - a heatwave for all of us wearing long underwear.

My son is a ski patrol candidate at Lost Valley. For seven hours, Anthony, an all-weather kid who loves the Great Outdoors, patrolled the slopes, making sure Lost Valley was safe for democracy in frigid temperatures.

As I proudly watched Anthony meander down the course to make sure all skiers were safely down off the mountain before it closed, it's didn't seem so cold outside anymore.

Goodfellows52: A letter to the president

Goodfellows52: A letter to the president: Dear President Obama, I couldn't care less about the pomp, celebrities or VIPs dressed in expensive attire that are the byprodu...

A letter to the president

Dear President Obama,

I couldn't care less about the pomp, pagentry, celebrities or VIPs dressed in expensive attire that are the byproducts of every presidential inauguration.

Sure, I enjoyed Maine native James Franco's "One Today" poem, but the rest of the hoopla was just a distraction from what is really important. I know parades and presidential balls go hand in hand with the celebration as Washington D.C. becomes an all-night block party, but for this American citizen, the swearing in of a president, and most importantly, the commander in chief's speech, are all that concerns me.

An inauguration is a key moment in American politics that often defines a nation's agenda for the next four years.

But the highlight of the inauguration for this family, who is fortunate to view this political event from a warm home on cold Maine winter day,  was listening to a speech that made me put down my morning coffee.

Not many things make me put down morning coffee, Mr. President, but it is rare when a politician writes a coherent and inspiring speech that makes me sit up and take notice.

Many speeches are snoozers or say nothing, which congress has mastered over the past four years. But your speech and delivery was just what the nation needed at this juncture in the country's history.

The speech's unifying theme and references to the preamble of the United States Constitution were encouraging to many of Americans who have been knocked around in an economy that is still running on empty.

You put the "we" in your speech, Mr. President, and it really is all about us, because you work for us, not for a lobbyists or party strategists. Party loyalty and polarization have held this nation back for four years. George Washington would be asking King George for a job with the Redcoats if he witnessed today's  lawmakers' moronic behavior and endless finger-pointing.

Mr. President, this was a wonderful, rousing speech on Martin Luther King Day. It was well constructed and I think your sincere words gave all Americans hope that we will remain a strong and peaceful nation.

Your words were indeed uplifting, but it will be your actions and accomplishments over the next four years that will give credence to your inauguration speech.

The best to you, sir.