Columns

On the floor in my office, placed next to my writing chair for inspiration, is a can of cranberry sauce. If it has been a while since you've held one, you might not have noticed that the label is printed upside down. This orientation makes grocery stores have to stack the cans with the can opener end facing down so shoppers can read the label right-side up.

When a friend told me about a "double-buffer bi-phase multi-complicator" — engineer speak for circuits, code and a joke about how complicated people can make things — I thought it sounded like the boundary-pushing mechanics of creating Thanksgiving dinner.

"Does this feel sharp or just pressure?" It's a question I've been asked many times, but this time I find myself fully clothed. No matter. The first answer is always the same: "SHARP, DAMMIT! STOP THAT!"

Driving north of Oquossoc, I spotted the huge creature at the last second, avoiding a serious accident while the cow trotted on her way. Such encounters are common, with roughly 300 collisions annually. Accidents involving deer are far more common, but a moose causes extensive vehicle damage. Human deaths are rare, thanks to education, signage and safer vehicles.

Out of concern, dear reader, for your quality of life, not everything I write actually makes it to print. If you have a creative hobby or job, you will understand what I mean.

I'm borrowing trouble. I'm borrowing so much trouble that I'm overwhelmed, I'm not returning it, and the fines are compounding.

I just got a brand-new Motorola cellular telephone and it's a beauty. It replaces my previous Motorola, a brand I've carried since the '90s. I have always purchased a Moto-model made to mil-specs and I've never broken one, despite rough handling, dropping on concrete and asphalt, and being run over by a humongous snowplow.

This is the time of year when nostalgic memories surface. As the years go by, it doesn't take much to jar those remembrances. For some it's the taste of gingersnaps, for others the smell of old books, wood smoke or warm spices from the kitchen.

This is the time of year when things start to really shift. Trees go from green to gold, shorts are traded for pants, and then there is the wind. With the change in season, there is a loss of equilibrium between water and air temperatures.

October has come to the harbor. This is the period when Harpswell slips from the summer buzz and crowded calendars to island life. From the library, I stand looking out to the New Meadows River. Many moorings no longer have their charges. The shoreline is busy with docks being taken in and homes being closed for the season.