Perspectives

There's just something special about reading a good book outside during the summer in Maine! Whether seaside or by the lake, in a hammock or by flashlight in a tent, longer days and summer vacations often mean finally getting to the stack of books waiting on our bedside table, or enjoying a light beach read — all at a slightly more leisurely, summertime pace.

"You had better be on your best behavior." Those were the last words my mother said to me as we walked up the well-worn steps to the Hackley Public Library in Muskegon, Michigan.

May is a beautiful month — the gateway to summer, when we celebrate warmth and blooming flowers. And May often creates fond memories.

During my summers in Maine, I try to take a break from the frantic pace of my normal life. I rarely look at my watch. If I need to follow the flow of the hours, the rhythm of the tides is plenty good enough for me.

The winter has been cold and snowy enough to keep our bird feeders hopping, especially before and after storms. Most wildlife species are attuned to changes in weather and know when to eat hearty or take shelter for energy conservation. I have been watching one bird in particular, a snappy dresser and one determined little fellow.

Let's begin with a dream sequence that finds me sitting at a table in a restaurant in Venice, Italy. In my dream I speak fluent Italian.

We are the King of all we survey. We decree the King's lawn will green up immediately and without regard for the weather. The grass will be beautiful and healthy, and will slow-roll any growth. In fact, it will grow slowly all summer so the King will not have to mow more than once per week, even in July after three straight weeks of rain.

I spent my career in a world where numbers defined success or failure, profit or loss, win or lose. It could be at once rewarding and heartbreaking. I made some lifelong friends — men to ride the river with, as they say in Texas — and I encountered a few black-hearted snakes destined, I hope, for a long swim in the Lake of Fire.