A city's oasis

"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

- Naturalist John Muir  

LEWISTON, Maine — Call it a slice of heaven or a lush oasis which sits quietly in the middle of an old Maine mill city.
 

This fertile tract of land is walled off by huge pine trees and tall grass. Streams, ponds and hiking trails run up and down Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary.  

It's tallest point is 510 feet. The sanctuary is managed by the Stanton Bird Club, which was founded in 1919 and began receiving donated parcels of land over the last 90 years. The "Crag" once belonged to the Thorne family in the 1800s before eventually becoming a wildlife habitat.
 

The sprawling city surrounds this 357-acre wildlife preserve, but when you begin walking the trails and become enveloped in its magnificent greenery and soothing solitude, you forget that you are in the heart of Lewiston. The city's noises fade away as you venture deeper into the forest and head for the top where an open meadow greets all hikers — and it is all free of charge.
 

Making you way up solid walking trails and narrow paths is not a difficult climb. Old landmarks, which can be traced back to the 1800s, line some of the obscure trails. This habitat is also used for snowshoeing and cross country skiing during Maine's endless winters.
 

Anthony and I started at the Montello gate and briskly walked up the steep blue trail, which is marked by spray painted trees every 50 to 100 yards. It is a half-mile walk to Anthony's Fireplace, which sits on a small open field. 

I was carrying a full pack with water, food, bug spray, binoculars and a camera when we stopped to take a breather at a unique bench called Kavanaugh Bench before we continued our trek to a large pond, which is teaming with frogs' eggs at this time of year. The murky pond supports a variety of wildlife. It is an eye-opening event when the frogs take over the pond later in the summer and disrupt Thorncrag's silence with their croaking.
 

We followed a narrow path that circles the pond and trudged up a shady steep hill toward Anthony's fireplace. The huge fireplace is surrounded by large stone benches. It is a quiet area to rest and down water and a quick snack. About a couple hundred yards away on the yellow trail, we pass Miller's Fireplace and Gordon's Ledge and park ourselves at Landry Memorial Bench, which is the summit at Thorncrag. We reach for the binoculars and peer through a narrow clearing of trees where we see a snow-capped Mt. Washington looming in the distance on a clear day.

We packed up our grub and water and headed down the sometimes difficult trail toward Whale Rock, which is giant boulder that resembles a whale. When we finally made our way down the hill without losing our footing, we decided to visit Whale Rock another time and turned west. Anthony and I carefully walked through a washed out path of protruding rocks and meandering small streams. We stopped to listen to the running streams and birds interrupt the forest's tranquility.

We moved gingerly through the rocky terrain and found the trail up to the meadow a safer climb. 

We halted our advance at a wooden park bench and munched on more snacks, but the black flies and mosquitoes were out to get us. We moved on past the Farmstead Foundation and took the orange trail to the other side of Thorncrag before turning onto the red trail where we passed Cellar Hole and Springhouse Foundation on this day in May.  

The entire two-mile hike took about two hours after making numerous stops along the way to refresh ourselves.

We often take advantage of this oasis, which is 15 minutes from our home in Auburn. It is a convenient way to visit Mother Nature on hot summer days without spending an hour on the road. 

For more information, checkout www.stantonbirdclub.org.

Essential personnel

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." 

~Mignon McLaughlin

Dear Terri,

Happy Mother's Day!

I am fortunate that you remain by my side. We have lost so many people the last few impossible years, and we will never get them back.

Anyway, you know I love you, and thanks for seeing me through the darkest moments in my life. Remember, I would stand up for you until I dropped.

You are a special person who has experienced her own journey into the abyss, but I think we found a way out of that deep, awful hole together despite those tumultuous periods in our lives. We have turned out to be wonderful parents who created this extraordinary son.

I am grateful to you for keeping me from falling into this muddy pond of grief. There has been a lot of sorrow the past two years.

Mother's Day will now serve as a day of remembrance for our mothers who both passed away last year. But I will also look upon this special day as a way to honor a special person and remarkable mother.

I am still baffled at how you put up with me. Living with me is like being on board a runaway freight train barreling down the tracks without a conductor. And yet, you found a way to tolerate a man whose passion for life can be quite overwhelming.

I am also impressed with your courage for undergoing life-saving back surgery last year, knowing all along that nothing is guaranteed when you face the surgeon's knife. Those four months, which were filled with uncertainty, foreboding and sadness, put an enormous strain on both of us. Thanks to our steel anchor — Anthony — we discovered a way out of that maze of sorrow and apprehension.

After 21 years of marriage, I think we both have come to appreciate and truly understand the phrase: "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health."

Happy Mother's Day, Terri. And thanks for making my life richer and more exciting. I appreciate it.

Your husband Tony

And justice for all

AUBURN, Maine - Killing Osama bin Laden wasn't the only objective of putting 25 courageous U.S. Navy SEALs in harm's way during an incursion at a fortified home in Abottobad on Monday.


It was justice, and it finally caught up with this murderer who had been on the run for a decade.


Reveling in his death is almost pointless. I  am relieved and delighted that justice was carried out swiftly and judiciously and those 25 brave souls came home without a scratch.


His death is certainly not the end to Al-Qaeda's violence. Unfortunately, there are other fanatics on deck, waiting for the opportunity to commit endless acts of terrorism.


Although justice was delivered by bullets, this raid was necessary to terminate one man who waged an endless campaign of terrorism and murdered thousands of law-abiding, devout Muslims.


I do understand that bin Laden's violent end will not bring Peter Goodrich, a Bates College All-American who was murdered on 911, back from eternity, and nor will it be a comfort to Sally Goodrich, who passed away last December after a long battle with cancer.


The Goodrichs are decent human beings who do not believe in the eye-for-an-eye thing. I am sure bin Laden's death brings no closure to the Goodrich family.


I am grateful to the Navy SEALs' extraordinary 40-minute battle to take down bin Laden despite the enormous risk of losing their own lives. These servicemen were not only in danger of being killed but they had to scurry back across the boarder to avoid the Pakistani air force.


This risky operation was also a difficult call for President Obama, who could have easily ordered an a B-2 air strike and obliterate the compound. But he understood it might be impossible to identify bin Laden's body with all the collateral damage done by the bombing.


Anyway, nice call, Mr. President, and for having the temerity to give the order to shoot to kill.


The last thing this nation, which has endured several wars and a sour economy, needed was giving Osama his day in court. Allowing Osama a court date would be like having Hitler testify at Nuremberg and listen to his ranting and ravings.


A trial would have allowed this despot to spew his hatred and enrage the American public. It would have cost this country millions to try this killer and then make him a martyr when we executed him.


I believe Americans would have little patience for bin Laden's presence on American shores.


And burying bin Laden at sea was also the right move after no country wanted his corpse. I can see why such nations as Saudi Arabia didn't want to be responsible for his burial. I'll bet his body would have incited unrest no matter where bin Laden was laid to rest.


Again, congratulations to President Obama and the Navy SEALs for a job well done.

Nature's spirit

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks     John Muir

AUBURN, Maine - You can sometimes hear the clanging of picks and shovels off in the distance as you make your way up the mile-and-half trail to Mt. Apatite - a slice a heaven located next to the National Guard Armory.

Besides the park's natural beauty and challenging trails, the mountain's eye-opening quarries, which were mined for commercial feldspar during the 1900s, are teaming with catfish and the huge blocks of stone are lined with majestic trees.

My son and I spent Easter Sunday afternoon roaming the woods and getting lost for about 20 minutes as we headed away from the huge quarries.  Since this family is dry-docked on poverty row thanks to an inept Congress, greedy speculators and traders and poor leadership at the top, we decided to ponder our fate in the woods.

I didn't panic and neither did my son, who acted as a guide as these two lost souls made their way back to the quarries without incident or having to make an embarrassing cell phone call to authorities.

We bumped into a couple of older gentlemen who spent the afternoon with pick and shovel, looking for rare stones. There are many amateurs who spend hours on the mountain digging for precious minerals. These fine gentlemen could easily pass for determined miners out to strike it rich. My next-door neighbor, Dan, also spends his time pounding away at the rocky soil on Mt. Apatite. He is an amateur geologist who would give a professional a run for his money.

As we hiked around the park for the first time this year, we noticed small patches of snow holding out in the shady areas of the park. Most of the lowlands were flooded by runoff and relentless April showers. The trails were muddy and small streams of water cut through the paths, making it slippery going for hikers on a mission to get  to the quarries.

Environmentalist John Muir believed nature could also serve as a place to worship. While I am not a religious person, the long hikes with my son and being surrounded by the pristine woods often serves as my cathedral and a way to strengthen my bonds with my family and nature's magnificence.

After setting our compass straight, this duo found themselves back at the edge of the quarries' dangerous cliffs. There is about a 30-foot drop to the cold and murky waters below. This is also the perfect perch to lob giant boulders into the water. Suddenly, I am like a rambunctious teen. I joined my 14-year-old son as we bombarded the still water below.

As we prowled the cliffs, another hiker came upon a large brown porcupine cleaning itself on a ledge below the cliffs. Anthony and I moved in closer to snap a picture and take

some footage our prickly friend, which was a bit unnerved as we snuck up on him to take a bird's-eye view of this remarkable creature.

Anthony and I downed our flavored water and watched catfish swim around the flooded quarries before reluctantly heading down the mountain after our two-hour visit with nature.

I have been taking to the woods for years with my young son, and I have come to understand what Mr. Muir felt when he said," Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

Two hours on a quiet mountain with my son was enough to lift my spirits and rejuvenate my soul.

Going to the prom

PORTLAND, Maine — The long walks allow us to open up with each other, inhale the soothing sea breezes and marvel at enormous cruise ships quietly slipping into Casco Bay

It is a mecca for out-of-breath joggers and hard-core walkers who enjoy traversing the Eastern Promenade's winding trails in the cooling salt air. The Eastern Prom also serves as an outdoor gym for numerous canines that dash across the hilly terrain that rises above a small rocky beach.

For mariners who can afford the gas — or the boat for that matter — dropping your vessel in the water at a launch and heading for open waters makes us all wish we were asked to come aboard and travel around Casco Bay. The harbor certainly puts on quite a show with sailboat races and enormous cruise ships drifting around the harbor.

For this family of three, the Eastern Prom and its next-door neighbor, the Old Port, gives us an excuse to pack a lunch, find a secluded park bench above the tranquil beach and just stare at Portland harbor's vastness without the interruption of an annoying cell phone, laptop or the television set.

Who needs technology when nature's allure and splendor make any social network on the Internet seem boring and inane.

The Prom is an inner-city refuge that delivers all of us from a planet enveloped in endless wars, hate and economic upheaval.

If you got the gas money and don't mind packing food, this is a cheap date with nature. After a three-mile hike around the prom, get the chow line going, open a book and find a shady tree. Do some people watching while you turn the pages of your book.

A park with a past

Besides the stunning views of Casco Bay, the Prom is sprinkled with history. There are two Civil War cannons perched on the grass. Below the two cannon is a gazebo and a breach-loading cannon from the "Maine," which was sunk in Havana Harbor and triggered the Spanish American War.

To the left of the gazebo is a giant mast surrounded by a gray deck rail from the U.S.S. Portland, a heavy cruiser that was built in Quincy, Mass., and commissioned in Boston in 1933. The World War II ship saw action at Coral Sea, Midway, the Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal and Okinawa. Leaning against the old ship's deck wall and staring up at the tall mast allows anybody with an appreciation of old battle wagons to step back into its glorious past.

 

Other historical plaques can be viewed during walks on the trails that line the park.

Across the harbor, you can see Fort Gorges lodged in the middle of the bay. The Civil War-era fort was completed in 1865 and it was modernized in 1869, but was not garrisoned even though 10-inch Rodman guns were installed there. Fort Gorges was acquired by the City of Portland in 1960. The only way to visit the fort is by small boat.

The Eastern Prom is a historic park that rings around the Munjoy Hill neighborhood in Portland. The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum is located there. A vintage train still transports tourists along the promenade.

Good place to park yourself

I was raised in a seacoast community, and that is why the Eastern Prom holds a special place in my seagoing heart. You don't need money to enjoy a park that offers every citizen something without wringing your wallet dry.

This family becomes certified beach bums and avid hikers. The television is often ignored while my son and I battle the surf at Popham Beach on searing summer days.

Newspaperman Horace Greeley once said, "Go west, young man."

But this clan would rather go East and spend their day on the Eastern Prom — a park that only demands that you enjoy yourself — at least for the afternoon.

1. 
   

Close it down

Wait, wait, wait! 

Don't shut down the government!

Close down Congress for several weeks, turn out the lights in the White House and allow the president to head to the links to improve his golf game. Let's throw the lobbyists out of town and invite a handful of educated constituents who know how to compromise, think on their feet, make informed decisions, and call the shots. Common sense is definitely a prerequisite for those who want to right this sinking nation.

We are not asking for much other than cooperation from elected officials, especially a handful who apparently flunked fifth-grade history and couldn't pass a basic American trivia quiz.

Sarah Palin told an audience that Ronald Reagan graduated California's Eureka College. Reagan matriculated from Eureka College in Eureka, Ill. Rep Michele Bachmann made a real boo-boo when she said the "the shot heard around the world" occurred in Concord, N.H. According to Map Quest, she was only off by 71.5 miles. That shot was first heard in Concord, Mass. Bachmann has been on a roll, saying that the nation's founding fathers worked to end slavery. Our founding fathers owned slaves and it wasn't until the Emancipation Proclamation that blacks were freed in 1863. She topped it off by saying she wanted to thank the people of Idaho for her visit. She was in Iowa. 

Oops!

The sideshows in Congress are a wonder to behold. My favorite is the tears of a clown - John Boehner who cries needlessly at the drop of hat. Quick, get that guy a hanky.

And there is the president trying to sell us on our fireworks display in Libya, telling us all this intense bombing campaign was a humanitarian venture to protect Libyans from their leader. I guess the citizens of the Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia aren't that important - for the moment. As long as there is oil in your backyard, America will come to your aid - because we really care - about the oil.

Here in the Pine Tree State, we have a governor who fancies himself an art critic. A dispute over the removal of harmless mural erupted at the State House and consumed his administration. What a public relations disaster for Maine's leader, who can't seem to pick his political fights wisely. Where was his staff on this one?

What is transpiring in Washington is simply absurd, inept and really insane. Congress has got a twisted agenda, which obviously doesn't include their constituents' welfare. Both political parties are to blame should the government stop doing business after Friday.

While these 535 lawmakers, although I wouldn't call them that, haggle and finger point, the country continues to perform like the hapless Red Sox this season.

This is a nation that gave away good paying jobs to China, celebrates celebrity to the extreme, blames teachers for society's woes, and meddles in the Middle East whenever our oil supply is threatened.

The United States has been coming undone for nearly five years and many citizens have become disenfranchised thanks to leaders whose only concern is themselves.

There is no excuse for this stalemate. Just remember that when you head to the polls in 2012. Think about the guys and gals up on the HIll. They all had a big hand in weakening a nation and turning a deaf ear to their citizens.

What's the difference if the government closes up shop, anyway.

America hasn't been in business for years. We have been giving the store away for decades - and now there is nothing left and all the bills have come due.

Save the Olympia

Olympia

What shall be done with such a mass of floating steel?

Should she be sunk to become another ocean meal?

For though she belongs to us, we belong to her.

And if they say she should be scrapped, I cannot concur

For across the seas and in the enemy's grasp, she sailed to them and let loose her mighty blast.

And when this cruiser at last avenged the Maine, she sailed herself and America onto better fame.

And when she brought our last soldier home in the fall of '21, this great deed, we all know, did not go unsung

And when our children ask, where is this brave ship now, will we tell them where and will we tell them how?

Even though she survived her wars, the enemy sinking her not.

Is it our American duty just to let her rot?

And though you may sink her, or tear her up for scrap, you will not destroy her legacy or find it in that trap.

And posterity will read of her and think of her with pride. Will they see her at the wharf, as Philadelphia pride?

- Anthony P. Blasi, 2011

"A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace."

                                                  - President Theodore Roosevelt, 2 December 1902, second annual message to Congress.

AUBURN, Maine - Anthony's passion for ships and boats began when he cast his oversized plastic vessels into the sea and watched them being tossed about by large waves at various beaches across New England.

He would study the toy ocean-going vessels being pummeled by breaking waves at Popham and Revere beaches. This 4 year old found it fascinating as the ocean's force capsized his fleet over and over again. He would marvel at how some of his boats would slowly sink to the bottom of the raging waters. 

Although he was still fascinated with cars, planes and trains, Anthony was eventually consumed by his passion for ships and the sea itself.

The years would pass, but his fascination of ships, particularly naval vessels, grew as well as his love of the ocean and all its sweet mysteries.

He began reading book after book about sailing ships and then set his sights on the world's navies and their amazing and destructive warships. The introduction of ironclads and the construction dreadnoughts between 1870 and 1920 fueled his passion to learn more about these behemoths and their deadly force.

Anthony also embarked on building his own fleet of Lego and plastic model warships, organizing battles between these toy fleets on our parlor floor. He would bring his Lego ships to the ocean and navigate the vessels on the tranquil seas as parents gathered to watch this young man let his fleet loose upon the world's oceans.

During our visits to the waterfront in Portland, we visited the U.S. Coast Guard's training ship, "Eagle," which was a Nazi vessel that America received for war reparations. We have seen huge cruise ships and toured the U.S.S. Cassin Young and the U.S. Constitution in Boston.

But his particular interest in dreadnoughts steered him to great warships like the Cruiser Olympia, which was Admiral Dewey's flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish American War and also saw action during World War I. He created the Olympia out of Legos and sailed his toy masterpiece in pools and on the high seas.

He was astounded to learn that this great ship with a storied history was in danger of being scrapped because of a poor economy and lack of funds to preserve the Olympia.

His disgust prompted him to write a poem entitle "Olympia" about her uncertain fate for a classroom project. 

I am forwarding this article to the Independence Seacoast Museum in Philadelphia to demonstrate our support for this great ship.

The Olympia is a wonderful piece of American history, and it would be a travesty to see this great ship drift into obscurity without a fight to save her from the scrap heap.

A sweet rite of spring

 

SABATTUS, Maine - You don't have to wear your Sunday best when you celebrate this mouth-watering tradition in the Pine Tree State.

I only became aware of the informal Maine holiday after marrying a true Mainer who knew her away around this vast state and its customs.

I learned that it's an event that happens every spring, just like baseball, and life-long residents turn out in droves to attend Maine Maple Sunday, where taste buds come alive over homemade syrup, maple doughnuts and fudge that you won't find at your local grocery store because these home-grown creations are in a class by themselves.

That's what makes Jillson's so unique and worth a scenic ride through long-winding roads and small bridges that cross over small streams.

Some locally-owned farms like Jillson's put on a spectacular breakfast that would have the glutton King Henry the VIII demanding at least four helpings of this enterprise's fresh eggs and sausages. It is a morning extravaganza that features a smorgasbord that celebrates breakfast on a frigid March day.

But expect long lines on a chilly morning as you watch customers overindulge at that breakfast table. But these hardy Mainers and tourists don't seem to mind the long delays as reluctant and well-fed customers trickle out of Jillson's.

After you have had your fill, stop next door and watch sweet-smelling syrup being made and get ready to spend some dough buying syrup that makes pancakes and waffles the perfect meal any time of the day. These farmers work hard to make this stuff so its worth shelling out a few extra bucks to enjoy such fine syrup.

Walking around the grounds of Jillson's offers customers awesome views of the countryside in central Maine. The views across open fields are simply awesome and a quick walk-through of a large barn that houses a variety of animals takes the chill out of a frigid March morning.

It's a sweet tradition, and it is easy to see why families mark this day on their calendars when spring rolls around each year.

Preserving the union

AUBURN, Maine — Marriage requires tenacity, compassion, understanding and the willingness to go bungee jumping — every day.

It's right up there with cliff diving, treasure hunting, rafting on the Amazon or driving in Massachusetts.
 

When two people give monogamy a chance, well, it's like jumping off a bridge with with an enormous rubber band attached to your midsection. You are taking a big chance on a person who just wandered into your life and turned your world upside down - all in the name of love and happiness. 

It is also sort of like leaping out of a perfectly good plane with a parachute. You are counting on that chute to open, but in marriage you are putting all your money on your spouse to help break your fall - every day.

Anthony and Terri hanging out at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth last summer.

Marriage isn't a cakewalk. It requires a lot of damn work, patience and stamina. Anybody who tells you its a cinch suffered head trauma after the bungee cord snapped.

I have been married 21 years and I still don't know if I am doing it right. But I can tell you this, it has been one helluva of ride and I would be the first in line to try it all over again with just one woman - Terri. We have been married for over two decades, which is a test to our endurance or insanity - take your pick. I believe our union is held together by two people who really dig each other, and there is no secret to our affection.
 

Terri is one of the most resilient and remarkable human beings I have ever met, and get this, she finds a way to put up with me each day. I am glad she is not billing me for this successful relationship. I could not afford to pay this kind soul, who turned out to be an outstanding mother and raised a fine son.
 

Truth be told, we have experienced our ugly moments and tragic events that puts every marriage to the test. Our union is not perfect, but we try to make it function each day. It will always be a work in progress - especially when you are raising a child, and that is another full-time job that puts additional stress on a marriage, but we both would not have it any other way.


I was fortunate to listen to an audio essay on National Public Radio during an afternoon commute. I must apologize for forgetting the producer of this wonderful piece. The speaker wisely said that marriage requires both spouses to bring their excess emotional baggage to the relationship and then unload it together. Terri and I have unloaded a lot emotional issues together over the past 21 years, and still our marriage survives.

 

That wonderful radio essay is not only accurate but endearing. Marriage is work and every relationship needs a tune-up as the years pass.
 

Despite 21 years of marriage, which we are celebrating today, I can honestly say I wouldn't bat an eye if I had to jump off a cliff with Terri over the next 20 years. 


She's worth the fall.

Keeper of my soul

Remember, you hold my heart in your soft and gentle hands while we continue take a firm stand and struggle against this bland life.

So for goodness sakes, let us never part because
you are indeed a work of art

You are the keeper of my soul, a beacon of light

so please don't lose sight of our love,
or I just might fade into the night

We've been together for decades now

The years fade, yet we continue to wade through time

as we turn a blind eye to the passing of our primes

Our love still endures and I will always find you oh so alluring

Your charm and compassion will never be out of fashion. You are a fine mother like no other.

And there's your son who understands you will always be number one.

And now we have this opportunity to celebrate another anniversary

We've experienced our numerous ups and downs, but 

that never stopped us from clowning around

We have lost so many loved ones along way, and 

even though it's not OK, we still find a way to make it through the day.

So let us honor this union and hope there will be more reunions

Let's take the good with the bad in a marriage that has withstood its tribulations and temptations

So remember, this heart you hold, which is frayed and has some tares, should always be handled with loving care

Anthony Blasi, March 24, 2011