Columns

Every time March comes around, I think about what I might do for St. Patrick's Day. Typically that's nothing — no big celebrations, no elaborate get-togethers. Maybe I'll wear green. Maybe I'll make a matcha latte instead of coffee, just because it fits the mood. But most years, the day sneaks up and then passes just as quickly. What always stands out to me isn't the holiday itself, it's how much green we start seeing before there's any outside

If you're thinking about vacationing in Maine, March is part of the offseason for everything except skiing, sledding, and maybe ice skating or ice fishing. If you're into winter sports, you're in luck. But hiking trails are either frozen or muddy from rain or thaw. And while the weather is inconsistent, one thing is for sure: It will be cold.

Subash and I were in shock. We had spent two days cruising Vietnam's Ha Long Bay aboard a small ship and overnighting among 2,000 immense limestone towers eroded by the sea. The bay is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its "marine-invaded tower karst" geography and its diversity of wildlife.

Beginning this spring, Curtis Memorial Library's main lobby will undergo an update to better serve our patrons and reflect how today's visitor uses the library.

Let's take a moment and acknowledge the greatest gift the good souls of Ireland have ever shared. Groundhog Day.

This month we're talking about my 40th birthday. There was no party, no plane ride, but it was memorable for a different reason. At that time I had a wife, a couple of kids, a mortgage, two car payments, a crappy day job in a factory, and a tight, four-piece country band. I had everything I needed for a head-on collision with reality, and it did not disappoint.

While winter is still with us, I would like to give you all a pop quiz. Q: What is the suggested speed limit in inclement weather? A: SLOW!

Eighteen inches of snow for Christmas Eve? What happened to global warming? Mainers, especially our television meteorologists, love to speculate about the next "storm of the century." Hyperbole and selective use of data are the norm: "December was 6 degrees colder than average!" To hear the grumbling, you might think we lived in Greenland rather than our balmy little island community.

Of course I'm not going camping. Thank you for suggesting it with a straight face, as if deep in your bones you feel it's a possibility. I'm impressed by your sense of adventure when you want to trudge through a swamp, but when you ask me to go with you, I wonder, "Do you even know me?"

When the nurse came into the examining room, she came in hurriedly, a fresh smile on her face and hand extended in what she must have felt was a normal workday greeting situation. I was sitting there on the parchment paper-covered table in a too-small hospital gown that was missing one of the two strings used to tie it closed in the back.