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Author Archives: WD
Quality
Around the corner from where I live is a small shop called “Quality Market.” It has been a family business for over 30 years. In addition to the regular fare of foodstuffs and drinks, they make pizzas, sandwiches and tasty deserts. However, if you visited them today, you’d never know. The shelves are emptying and are no longer being replaced. The beer selection has dwindled, and the once bountiful muffins and cakes are no longer forthcoming. This is our America. We live in a time where our cities are dying and our strong foundation of small businesses is being eroded. What is left in Lewiston? Well, there is a Wal*Mart distribution plant, chain supermarkets and struggling strip malls. When local businesses can not flourish, neighborhoods are left to die, and when neighborhoods die, those who care not for life move in. It’s a sad day in Lewiston and a sad day for America.
Moments of Sound
Working on a college campus has its perks, among them, free activities and food. I’ll use today as an example. At noon, the digital media center was having an open house. At this event, not only did I learn about the great video editing studio on campus (all Apple,) but I also received a satisfying deli lunch. Immediately following that event was another, held just a few minutes away at the arts center. This low-key performance was part of a series of afternoon concerts. Today’s entertainment was a saxophonist and drummer – here’s a link to the website of the drummer, Mike Calabrese… check out those photos!
In the audience there was a group that I am assuming came from a local center for mentally handicapped young adults. One cohort was sitting in the very front row and included a young man who appeared to have some form of autism. During the music he was waving his hands around and rocking back and forth. The reason I mention this is because it was distracting. I had come to listen to a musical performance and instead was drawn to this individual’s own form of expression. While a part of me was thinking that his movements were perhaps more genuine than the rest of the audience’s stodgy straight-backed sitting, another part of me was angry that he was stealing the spotlight. I began to think about alternatives: what if they had all sat in the very back row, thereby not drawing attention to themselves? Would such a thing be the equivalent of warehousing? I was not sure how I would have handled the situation had I been an employee of this center. The extent to which mentally handicapped individuals should be allowed to participate in activities seems to be tied to the disruptiveness factor. Just as a crying baby would not be welcome at a musical performance, so too should be the case for individuals who create a commotion. However, I realize the coldness of that logic, and would not wish to unnecessarily deny any individual, regardless of his/her special needs, access to enjoyable events. The question then becomes who dictates what constitutes a distraction and what action can be taken. It was an odd moment which leaves me with no good answer.
Meat
There is something very satisfying about sitting around a grill filled with meat and then eating it immediately. I think it is one of man’s primitive pleasures. What other primitive pleasures do you enjoy?
Routine Danger
It’s been summer-like here in Maine and I’m enjoying it as much as a working stiff can. For lunch I like to walk over to either the Bates campus quadrangle or the area around a small pond. The quad is similar to any other you would find at a Bates-like institution (although Trinity’s is better, of course) and provides ample space to throw down a blanket and soak up the sun or sit under the shade of one of the many trees. The second spot, by the pond, is even better. In addition to a grassy knoll, there is a rough granite bench which is shaped like a flexed arm with the upper part contoured to the shape of the human back. Reeds line the pond and every now and then quacking ducks can be heard.
When I’m not able to linger outside, I’m enjoying my newly re-designed office space. Once my predecessor’s term expired (we overlapped for about a month,) I re-organized the area to better suit my tastes. I now have a space which provides ample natural light onto my desks throughout the day; working with the windows open ruffles the various piles of paper strewn about (in systemic fashion of course.) I’ve more to do, and have recently been programming a large tri-state meeting which will be occurring in October.
I’ve also been getting out a bit more, though still not quite as much as I’d like. Just tonight I went to the first of a six week book-discussion at the local public library. Thanks to an introduction by my supervisor in August, I’ve come to know the head librarian. He’s a kind man who works hard to program quality events. This particular series discusses the book Genome by Matt Ridley and is led by a Bates college professor. Since I can’t take classes at Bates, this strikes me as a darn good compromise, with the added benefit that other than the reading, there will be no homework.
Other items of note: here in Maine there is a doughnut chain with which I had previously been unfamiliar. Tim Hortons, a Canadian brand, has slipped across the border and has been expanding south ever since. Though Dunkin still carries great cachet here, Hortons is a welcome rival.
The other day I was reading on the balcony, (where I now write) when I heard the screech of tires and a loud bang. I went downstairs and saw that there had been an accident at the intersection by my apartment. Luckily no one was hurt, but the two cars were a bit smashed up. When the police officer finally arrived, he just got out of his car, kicked the barely attached bumper from the smaller car, and proceeded to push it off the road. I assume that accidents such as this are common.
Learning to drive here has been a bit of a lesson for me. While at home, I’m used to a more suburban style, i.e. long windy roads, minimal traffic and driveways, here the situation is quite different. Like many older cities, parts of Lewiston seem to have been designed for streetcars rather than modern automobiles. Many of the major roads are wide, but the danger lurks in the intersections, which have either 4 way stop signs or just for the smaller cross streets. Since many of the apartments do not have off street parking, cars (often SUVs) are parked all along the curb, often closer to the intersection than they should be. This creates some blind intersections which must be navigated both slowly and with faith. It’s been a bit disconcerting, but luckily Mainers tend to drive far more slowly than us Massholes, thereby reducing overall friction.
Tomorrow I’m attending a conference in Bangor which is 2 hours away and begins at 8:30… do the math. So with that, on this lovely warm fall night, I will say farewell.