A Christmas walk by the sea and donating historic artifact to the Independence Seaport Museum in Philly

PORTLAND — The three of us walked along on the beach at the Eastern Promenade thanks to bare ground and a warm sun that made the waters of the Atlantic sparkle with Christmas cheer.

I called it our Christmas walk on a cold Sunday afternoon. Runners and speed walkers passed us with a smile and a hello. Playful dogs and their owners roamed the sand. A vintage narrow-gauge train raced by, blasting its ear-splitting steam whistle that was heard clear across the empty bay. We waved to the conductor and marveled at a machine that was nearly a century old.

Was this the beginning of a new Christmas tradition?

I doubt it because Old Man Winter, who appears to have gone West for the holidays, has way of getting back at all of us the next season. This guy knows how to hold a grudge.

But for the moment, the old geezer has concerned himself with creating havoc on the West Coast, and that is just fine with me. The residents on the other side of the country need the water and I could do without the white powder. 

After last year, a warm December has been a real treat for many of us in Maine this holiday season, but whatever you do, don’t share your enthusiasm over the lack of cold temperatures and snow with skiers.

You might get a punch in the nose or be ignored the rest of winter. Whenever I mention this spring-like weather, I get dirty looks from my son — a ski patroller who lives for the white stuff.

I could give a damn about a White Christmas. 

Sorry Bing! 

I am perfectly content standing on cold, clear bare ground. Santa will just have use a helicopter to make his appointed rounds on Christmas Eve. Rudolph and his buddies can take the day off.

The walk in the crisp, cold Canadian air cleared my head and made me appreciate the fact that I can go for a two-mile walk with my wife and son and not get winded. The sea has always been my open-air cathedral where I go to sort out life’s problems.

Traditions fade and new holiday customs suddenly emerge with the passing of time and loved ones whose absence at Christmas dinner is always a heart breaker. Those who have passed on are now a part of Christmas past and a time that seemed so much simpler.

The holidays and depression often go hand and hand, and the absence of a mom and dad makes me acutely aware that all those wonderful people who celebrated the yuletide are gone forever.

But staring out across the chilly waters of East End Beach in a warm, winter sun preempted the deepest feelings of desperation. I was grateful my son was home from the University of Maine at Farmington. His presence makes the holidays that much more meaningful. While we were at work, he decorated the entire house with holiday spirit.

And so a new holiday tradition is born — the homecoming of my son.

By the way, depression and anxiety can find another mind to haunt — mine is occupied with positive thoughts. I miss my parents and all those who were so important to me during the holidays, but if I allow melancholy and the past to pester me, I miss what is going on the present — and that is not going to happen to me.

The gift that keeps on giving

Several days before Christmas, my son did something remarkable — at least in his parents’ eyes. He donated a historic artifact to a world-class museum in Philadelphia, Penn.

My son, a history major and honor student, had spoken with his archeology teacher about owning pieces of American history. The archeologist told him when people have private pieces of the past in their hands, other can’t see and enjoy a relic from the past.

My son took his conversation to heart and decided to donate an 1899 commemorative plate of the USS Olympia that was produced by Macy’s to honor Admiral Dewey’s fighting vessel, which fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.

On Friday, we spent $60 to carefully pack and send the plate to the Independence Seaport Museum in Philly. We visited this maritime museum in 2013. If you like maritime history, this is to place to tour and learn. The Olympia is moored next to the museum and it is still in fighting shape. We photographed every inch of the naval warship during our last visit.

I am looking forward to seeing my son’s name next to the historic plate the next time we cross the Delaware River and visit the Cradle of Liberty.

My son continues to pleasantly surprise us, but that’s what children do when you love them.

Modern Marvels

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. —  For these young engineers, thinking outside the box is mandatory. These cars do not come in a model kit box. There are no directions.

Students start from scratch, and they must come up with a game plan to construct their own unique solar-powered cars, which are also built for speed. Creativity is definitely a perquisite — along with patience and dedication.

Watching these students learning how to think on their feet and make things work when all goes wrong is astounding.

Even though money is tight, gas remains criminally high, and time is always at a premium, a sour economy didn't stop this family from traveling four hours to proudly watch our son, Anthony, compete in the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Junior Solar Sprint Competition at the High School of Commerce on a cloudy Sunday.

 

It was nearly a 500-mile round trip after leaving Auburn, Maine, but watching Auburn Middle School's two three- and four-man teams compete in this grueling, seven-hour event was worth the price of filling my gas tank twice as AMS's finest competed against their exceptional peers from all over the Northeast.

 

The designs were creative and eye-opening, and you could tell students put a lot of hard work into perfecting their solar-powered cars. Besides being judged on technical merit, innovation, craftsmanship, artistic merit, best reuse of material, best compartment, team spirit and sportsmanship, these cars were also engineered for speed.

 

Building sun-powered cars requires using a variety of lightweight materials, a soda can and a solar panel, to get the cars to run on a track. These teams gave up two afternoons a week during the school year to make their creations come to fruition.

 

The solar-power car teams from Auburn Middle School began their journeys to Springfield, Mass., from Owls Head, Maine, where two teams qualified to compete in the Northeast competition. AMS students went head to head against other Maine schools at the Owls Head Transportation Museum.

But every solar-powered team needs a dedicated teacher who has the ability to inspire his teams to create a sun-driven model car out of limited materials.

Jim Rowe is that kind of teacher who knows how to keep his students motivated. He has that special gift and infinite patience to point them in the right direction.

Rowe has been coaching aspiring engineers for over a decade, and it never gets old for this talented teacher. His students thrive under his direction. Under his tutelage last year, the Sun Ship, which was designed by my son and Damian Yoder, won for Artistic Merit at the Northeast competition and was the fastest car at Owls Head.

Last Sunday in Springfield, the AMS teams finished in the top 25 percent in speed even though Auburn Middle School did not receive an award, But kudos to the team of Anthony Blasi, Damien Yoder, and Cole Taylor for their "When Pigs Fly" creation, and to the team of Ben Knoblach, Erza Thomas, Jarod Cloutier and Harley Lombard for their car - "Cool Running."

"First I want to congratulate and thank you all for a successful year," said Rowe in an e-mail to his students and parents. "Although the teams did not win awards in Springfield, they did very well, from my experiences, finishing in the top 25 out of 108 for speed and doing very well in artistic merit and craftsmanship.

  "I was very pleased and proud to have so many parents in attendance. The most I have ever had the honor of participating with. It has been an honor to work with your children.  It truly has."

All six students found common ground to work together and make this competition a success as well as build confidence and pride in themselves. And, of course, Jim Rowe's input obviously had a lot to do AMS' strong showing in the competition.

For more information about solar powered cars competitions, check out www.nesea.org and www.meepnews.org.