When Tommy and I moved our family here in 2006 we were asked "why" by most of our New York friends. The answer was simple in our minds but not so easy to articulate. If you've ever been to Maine you probably get it. Maybe not and that's okay too but for those who get it, it's never just one thing. It's more like a feeling. It starts once you cross the Passmethekeg Bridge. That's not the actually name, that's just what we always call it. It's the Piscataqua Bridge but in all our giddiness to get across it, we gave it a little pet name. Plus we really like beer so it made sense to us (and it has the same number of syllables). Anyway, somehow traversing that bridge does something magical. Like entering Narnia. Even if we've just gone to Boston for the day, crossing that bridge is like getting a big hug. You can literally feel your blood pressure drop and your shoulders release from close to your ears back to where they should naturally rest. Even though it's still two and a half hours from where we actually live in Maine, we always say “We're home!”
A few years back I started counting the reasons I love living in Maine. Mostly in Facebook posts and I started with a random number. Reason 214 Why I Love Living In Maine. The first time I posted about it was from the Portland Jetport. I was traveling to New York to see my best friend and I was alone. The Jetport is pretty low key. Security is tight but not UPtight. It was early and I was sleepy having left the house at about 3 AM to catch my flight. The airport was bustling but not in the way JFK bustles. I got my Starbucks and settled into a white rocking chair to watch the first planes taxi in. That's when I heard the PA. He said “May I have your attention please? Someone has left their ukulele at the security check point. Please check your belongings and if you're missing your ukulele please return to the security checkpoint to claim it.” With that I laughed out loud and snorted. Which made a few people around me laugh too but they were laughing at my snort, not at the ukulele comment, I assumed. Well of course I had to post about this on Facebook because it was funny and my Facebook peeps would agree with me. I mean seriously, how many people were carrying a ukulele? And of those people, who would forget they were carrying a ukulele and leave it behind long enough for the PA to get involved? So I rattle off the post and board the plane. Phone off. I settled in, I had a window seat. My isle seatmate settled in as well. After a while she asked me if I heard the PA announce that someone left their ukulele behind? YES! I certainly did and we got a really good laugh out of it. I suppressed the snort, I didn't know this woman and she was really close to me. We exchanged other pleasantries and at the end of the flight wished each other well and off we went. Phone back on. I texted my family to let them know I'd landed safely at JFK and then checked Facebook. A friend on mine commented on my post that a friend of HIS had posted the same thing about being at the Jetport and the whole lost ukulele story. Evidently she thought it was pretty funny too. My friend who commented on my post happened to be the director of the Camden Chamber of Commerce at the time and he has lots of friends so not a shock that he knew someone who happened to be there too. What was great was that he tagged her. So like any armature Facebook stalker I checked her out. Shut the front door! It was my isle seatmate! Fast forward a little, she is now the director of the Bangor Chamber of Commerce and it turns out we've laughed a lot together over the years because obviously now we are actual friends.
Maine is small the grand scheme of things. It's a really big state with only about 1.3 million people in it but when you get right down to it, it's a small world after all.
From the way this place makes me feel to the people I've been introduced to, randomly met and the ones who have been in my heart from the time I was a little girl spending summers here, there is no place I'd rather be and I'm so glad Tommy agrees.
I hope you are all staying well and feeling safe. These are strange times, indeed. Tommy and I are spending this time reevaluating our business, planning and taking care of our hearts and minds. Our son Jack has been home with us for about a month now, maybe less, I'm losing track of the days. It's been wonderful having him here but we look forward to the day he graduates college on May 16th and sets out to make his way in Boston.
More fun stuff to come so please check back and follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We are working on a YouTube channel and will squeeze every bit of Generation Z knowledge out of Jack before he hits the road.
Be well and take good care.
Warmly,
Alex
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