June 12, 2010

Note from the editor:  Rather than just re-post the Dumpster sequentially, I think we might enjoy re-posting “seasonally appropriate” Dumpsters.  By that I mean posts from June in June, posts from November in November and so on.  I always enjoyed Dale’s observations on the seasons and holidays, and hope you do, too.  

So with that, here’s a post from June 2010.  

Stephen

 

I am back.

I am here to fill your ” You Have Mail ” box with spam. Remember you have two choices: change your e-mail or find the delete button quickly.
I feel that the month of June is pretty nice. You have weddings, graduations, retirements, etc. Plus many things are slowing down or stopping for the summer. As an old school teacher how we love to see the end of the school year near. We were four times more excited than the kids. Yes ! Life is different in June, we start to feel that summer is here. Full of those Lazy, Hazy , Days of summer. We can get out and enjoy a more restful, peaceful, time of year. Enjoy ! but remember the sun screen lotion.

Ticks, ticks, more ticks. Yes it is deer tick season big time.This year could be really bad.and Lyme Disease is nasty. With the mild winter here in Maine, many ticks were able to survive. This means you should be watchful and do a ” tick check ” if you have been in the grass and near bushes. I being a good neighbor and concern citizen have offered my services for free tick checks to all the fine ladies in Juneberry.

It is time for a History Lesson. Flag Day is on Monday. What is Flag Day ? Flag Day is to commemorate the date that the Continental Congress first approved the design for a national flag, instead of 13 separate banners. It was on June 14,1777. Us teachers may have stretched it a little bit with the George Washington and Betsy Ross version.

BUMPER STICKER of the month : ” Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you want to meet Him ”

This time of the month most of all the high school and college baseball games and season is over. And the Sea Dogs and Soxs are day by day until Sept. and Oct. But the Little League season is hot they are right into the best part of their schedule. A LL game is always exciting, you can never guess what a boy or girl might do with the bat or ball next.They love to play and it is not all about winning. They are here to have fun. Running to the wrong base, dropping a fly ball, striking out is never as important as being on the team. Being a team player and showing good sportsmanship are great lessons they are learning for life.

THOUGHT for the Month: ” Be a kind, gentle, caring and helpful person. For everyone you meet is probably dealing with a problem, so make sure that problem is not you. ”

In June we will brave the cold, heat, wind, rain and mosquitoes just to cook and eat outside. We drag the barbecues grills out of the garage and fill the patio with chairs and cover the table with the finest paper plates and plastic forks. While the wind blows the napkins all over the lawn but let’s face it we since the cave man have had a foolish love with outdoor dining.
The true Maine summer cooking experience begins in June. We love those juicy burgers and red hot dogs charred at Dale’s Great American Smoke-Out or the Sinclair’s Famous BBQ Ribs served at the Quadruple By-Pass Party.But the best summer meal of all is found on the docks and wharves of Maine’s sea ports. It is the famous MAINE LOBSTER. On a hot sunny day nothing taste better than a cool lobster roll chucked full of a quarter pound of fresh picked lobster. Or on a chilly evening you can warm up holding a steaming bowl of lobster stew. Or on any day you can stop at a local fisherman’s shack and be served a red hot boiled lobster right out of the big kettle. A true Maine summer eating experience must include the lobster,

The other day I had a big box to put into my car. I had to get the owners manual out of the glove compartment to figure out how to lower the back seat. They make cars so complicated today. I thought back to the first car I ever purchased. a 1962 FORD FALCON.
It was a classic. I was just out of college and I was proud to own a new car. This shiny light green two door compact did not attract a lot of attention. But I was honored to drive it down Congress St. with its 3 speed standard transmission and zero options. It had no radio, no AC, no powered windows, no power at all.  It had vinyl bench seats but in summer and winter it always started. In the six years I owned it , it never broke down. I only had to do tires and put in gas and oil. I sold it and went to a station wagon when by second child Bobby came along and we needed more room for strollers and diaper bags. Back then you never had to use the owner’s manual for it was all simple stuff ,plus I never had to look for my car keys because they were always in the ignition. No one was going to steal a Ford Falcon.
I love listening to music on the radio, not on a cord hanging out of my ear playing the same song over and over on an I-pod. I don’t sing, all notes and tunes are a foreign language to my ear. Most of my family never got that music gene when God passed them out. In church I pretend to sing but not loudly, church going people are O. K with it, for they are very forgiving and will ignore most of my flaws.
In my house while growing up the radio was always on. Grammie loved the Big Band era, Mom was with the swing of the Jazz age and the crooners of the post war era. In my teen years it turned to Rock-an-Roll. Yes Elvis was King and he hadn’t left the building yet. As I grew an matured my car radio or “boom box” was set on stations that played the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Simon-Garfunkel, and later Bruce Springteen, JT, or Van Morrison.

Now today the radio in the kitchen is tuned into the “OLDIES ” I love the music, I know all the words and I sing along with it. Yes Thank God I live alone. I guess I like it for these songs bring back great memories. It was a time when the world was a happier place and a more peaceful time. We can never go back to those eras but the music can take you there.
You may have noticed that the quality of the material contained in the ” Dumpster ” has been going down hill, maybe you might say it is getting trashy. I have come to that same conclusion as well. The main reason I believe that it is happening is because it is the same condition the writer is in.
Next week I am heading to Maryland to visit my son John and his friend Lanie and the cats and dog for awhile. My good friend Ewen will be going with me to keep me out of trouble if possible. So unless this trip turns out to be a ” Thelma and Louise Part II ” I should be back in time to pester you again next month. Enjoy the rest of June it doesn’t get much better.

I Love You All. Dale