Editor's Note: Here's a photo we want to share. Sent to us by Cathy with the following message:
"taken last Saturday, 1st day of Spring in my old neighborhood in Buxton, Maine"
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"Bump" Orr ( mainexiles@frontiernet.net
) -- Ft Mohave, AZ
3/25/04 -- 10:52:10 AM
I want to express my appreciation to Maine
Exile Products for providing this board for all of us to
post on!!
There are so many valid points of view.
It's wonderful! There's mine & there's you.
Whether I fill you with love or hate.
If you remember me-that's just great!
To the gentleman in San Francisco on the 'Wicked Good Band'.
Why don't you query them off their product ads on this site,
or query the editor here.
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Patrick "Pat" Soule ( miepat@cox.net
) -- Hampton, VA
3/25/04 -- 07:24:17 AM
Wayne--it's time you back up the truck and
aim for 95 North--the hell with Roanoke, life is to
short--finish school at SMVTI or wherever, BUT make the
move. I know I'll never see a VIE (Virginian in Exile)
posting from you!! Good luck & Keep Posting!
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"Bump" Orr ( mainexiles@frontiernet.net
) -- Ft Mohave, AZ
3/24/04 -- 10:32:41 PM
Go Yankees! Spring training is going on
& I'm so excited to see who else George S. can buy
before the season starts. There is a rumor that Quincy
Market is for sale to get the Red Sox a couple of second
round draft choices! LOL
Have a nice Exiled Day & God bless all! Ayuh!
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James W. Dame ( afretired88@yahoo.com
) -- Ellenton, FL
3/24/04 -- 10:21:20 PM
Left Maine in 1958 and served 20 years in
Air Force.... Live in Florida now....
Would like to Email with anyone who knew me....
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Arch ( aarcherateohfive@aol.com
) -- Joshua, TX
3/24/04 -- 04:48:39 PM
I laughed at the word picture painted
in the posting from Arizona. I as someone who has lived in
the Southwest for 26 yrs now couldnt help but see the thorns
in your rosy picture. HMM lets see if I can get the words to
come out right. No vehicle inspection, so there come one of
those good old boys with half of his windshield missing or
maybe a side glass. A headlight out and a wally world tail
light repair kit on the other end. (red cellophane to the
uninitiated) Puffing on his cheap ciggys and drinking a beer
while driving from bar to bar cause they dont believe in
watching for drunks leaving bars. Oh yes and dont forget
chunking out emptys cause there is no recycling fee on them.
HMMM sounds like you could be in Texas. I still marvel at
what they get away with down here, and still point out to
the better half when I notice what would be a 24hr ticket
back in Maine.
Peace
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Jen (Wiles) Thibodeau ( jjtthibodeau@hotmail.com
) -- Incirlik AB, TURKEY
3/24/04 -- 10:49:59 AM
Maine is where my heart is, it is HOME!
I was born in Waterville, raised in Gardiner! Left to
join the Air Force! My husband and I are living in
Turkey with our two little boys! I miss my Maine
Falls, the changing of the leaves, and the nice crisp autumn
weather! Apple picking season!!
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Wayne St. Clair ( wane9779@hotmail.com
) -- Roanoke, VA
3/24/04 -- 06:41:25 AM
I do not try to attack anybody,
far from it, that is not my style, not Bump, not George,
anybody...I just find the railings about taxes in Maine (or
anywhere for that matter) tedious, nor do I believe Maine
(or anywhere else for that matter) perfect, but it is one of
the finest places I have lived in these United States. I
know taxes fall heavier on property & business owners
than on those of us who are neither and it is especially bad
for those on fixed incomes BUT as I said taxes are the price
we pay to live where we do and that is how we pay for the
services we have all come to expect. As it stands we
Americans pay less in taxes than any other industral country
in the world AND we also get less in the way of services too
for that matter. If our government eliminated all subsidies
and tax loopholes for corporations and make them pay their
fair share perhaps we could pay less taxes and get more in
the way of services but that won't happen under this
adminstration and this is not the place for that
conversation. The point is if Maine is the wonderful place
you believe it to be, and your recollections not being
filtered through the golden hues of memory then I
would say it's taxes should be worth the cost. I have been
poor most of my life, sometimes more so than others, and
while no one (I have known anyway) wants to end up on
welfare, I have been grateful it was there when I needed it,
in Maine they actually helped you out so long as you
followed the rules, down here...forget about it, they throw
your stuff out on the street and the state looks the other
way. For all those who rail against taxes pray you never
find yourselves in the situation of being so poor and
finding doors shut in your face. It is not right, but it's
done...pray you never find yourself living next to a toxic
waste site and have the state tell you to clean it up
yourself...pray you never need help period because that is
the type of world the hard right conservatives want to build
and they have almost succeeded here in Virginia...the t!
axes may be high in Maine and they could do better but
they do try and help the poor and take care of the
environment which is good. Besides if taxes were lower the
state would be run over by those damn summer people for good
looking for life the way it should be.
**************************************
Editor's Note: Here's a photo we want
to share. Sent to us by Cathy with the following
message:
"taken last Saturday, 1st day of Spring in my old
neighborhood in Buxton, Maine"
**************************************
B. W. -- San Francisco, CA
3/23/04 -- 06:18:13 PM
Does anyone out there know what became of
the Wicked Good Band? They used to be pretty damned funny
until that tall, doofus who did the thumpa thumpa thumpa on
the tub disappeared...Now....I haven't heard a thing about
them. Mention them in San Francisco and you get some funny
looks, that's about it.
And ask for an italian around here and they send you to
North Beach...
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Cindy Crane Chapin ( cynthiachapin@hotmail.com
) -- Greenacres, FL
3/23/04 -- 11:43:27 AM
I was born in houlton maine parents lived in
Oakfield until I was 12 then they moved to connectiut, left
there when I was 19 been in florida since then I really miss
family and the beautiful sencery hoping to get home in
september with my husband. it has been a long time. great
site
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"Bump" Orr ( mainexiles@frontiernet.net
) -- Ft Mohave, AZ
3/22/04 -- 12:06:31 PM
Where do I start? My posts to this board are
not meant to upset people, but rather to express a point of
view. I reviewed the prior posts extensively before making
my first entry. My posts are not 'tirades' but rather one
man's observations about his perceived negatives, or
differences, with what is going on in his home state. This
does not mean that he loves it less, than those who find it
to be perfect!
My views have been shaped by past (or current) affiliation
with the following organizations: Brunswick Rotary Club;
Brunswick Chamber of Commerce (board member); Harpswell
Garden Club; Village Improvement Assoc.; Merrymeeting Alumni
Assoc.(UofM); Casco Bay Tuna Club (Pres); Brunswick Elks
(Life member); American Legion Post 201 (Bath); Maine
Bluegrass Music Assoc.; Brunswick Area Bowling Assoc. (Life
& HOF member); Maine State Ten Pin Bowling Assoc.(HOF
member); Brunswick Music Theater (20 yr ticketholder); and
the Orr's & Bailey Island Methodist Church (board
member).
I list these to show a diversity in my makeup - I'm not a
conservative, or a liberal, but rather a pragmatic person
who will speak his mind on various subjects. I have found a
warm place to live where my smoking and off-color jokes are
accepted, and the cost of living stretches my retirement
dollar.
To the gentleman from Roanoke - I would defend your right to
your views, and your right to speak your mind, to anyone who
would criticize you for posting them. I would expect that
you would do the same for me. We are a democracy, and at the
core of that democracy is healthy discourse.
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Wayne St. Clair ( wane9779@hotmail.com
) -- Roanoke, VA
3/22/04 -- 05:37:08 AM
Terri, Gilsland Farm is the
Audubon (? spelling) sanctuary about a mile up the road and
on the oppiosite side from Mackworth Island...it is right at
the point where rtes #1 and i believe rte #88 seperate, you
access it off a small bit of the old rte #1....it is about
180 acres with 2 large fields, an apple orchard 2 state of
the art solar buildings, community garden, wildlife rescue
station, duckblind etc...it is really lovely.
when i read bump and george's tirads i sometimes wonder if
we are even on the same planet and i also wonder how long it
has been since they have been in maine for any length of
time....their discriptions don't jive with the maine i know,
the place is thriving, the place is open and progressive and
the government seems to honestly care about its people and
the place as opposed to here where our legislators have
their thumbs up their a----- and have sold their souls to
corporations....virginia is a commonwealth which means all
those who have the wealth treat the rest of us commonally.
And if the taxes are high, get over it taxes are the price
you pay to live where you do and to pay for the services
they provide...and, i garuentee it all those conservatives
who rail against taxes would be screaming bloody murder if
those services disappeared....don't wanna pay taxes move to
some 3rd world country and see what life is really like
without them.
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"B". O. -- Ft Mohave, AZ
3/21/04 -- 10:58:55 PM
WEDDINGS MAINE-a simple search under this
heading will yield a lot of info for the young lady in Corte
Madera, CA & anyone else who wants to start a blissful
& legal relationship in the state. A further search
under SNOWSHOES MAINE will help with transportation after
the wedding if it is held in the Winter.
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Terri ( yankeeexile@aol.com
) -- Williamsburg, VA
3/21/04 -- 08:47:12 PM
the Amatos up on Washington ave. still makes
the good italians. Also I know mackworth Island or as we
call it Baxters. I spent my childhood in Falmouth foreside
and every summer on that island it is a nice setting for a
wedding as far as the field goes I have never heard of it?
wayne could you narrow that for me
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"Bump" Orr ( mainexiles@frontiernet.net
) -- Ft Mohave, AZ
3/21/04 -- 03:06:41 PM
MY post of 03/03/04 referenced a "story
for another day"-here it is! (gentleman from Marion, NC
should like this)
FT MOHAVE-a brief explanation of the area where we live. We
are one mile East of the Colorado River in the Northwest
corner of the state. Some call it the 'armpit' of AZ, or
worse.It is 12 miles South of Bullhead City,AZ and
Laughlin,NV is on the opposite side of the river (same
distance). Lake Mohave lies some 15 miles North and Lake
Havasu is about an hour South, by road. Needles,CA is 10
miles South of us. The Grand Canyon is 2 hours away and Las
Vegas is 1.5 hours away. There are mountains 10 miles East
and 12 miles West (providing a changing panorama much like
the ocean) and we are 500' above sea level. These are
striking differences goegraphically from Maine, and an arid
environment is the norm (humidity 10-30% & temps up to
120 degrees in the Summer).
THE DIFFERENCES-climate; lack of taxation & fees; the
great attitude of people.
HERE WE GO: economic differences between the
Brunswick-Topsham area in our home state and where we now
reside-State income tax 2.88-5.1%(Maine 2.00-8.5%)-Drivers
license $20 & good for 6-14 years-No vehicle inspection
every year with costs (a paper is signed upon initial
registration that you will keep all safety equiptment
working [an emission check is done on older vehicles]-No
excise tax (your registration is mailed to you)-Electric
cost about $100 per month with central a/c and a pool pump
running 12 months a year (no CMP @ $200+ per month)-Water
$25 a month w/pool fillings-Natural gas at $15 per month
(heat, hot water, cooking)- Property taxes on $165,000
valuation (3 bedroom w/AZ room, walled, landscaped,w/palm
trees,& pool w/waterfall) @ $1000 as opposed to $235,000
(comparable) @ $3500-4500 (no LD1994 to mess things
up)-Cigarettes $18 per carton w/no limit(there is a 4 ctn
limit on non-Maine taxed cigs)-No surveillance by state
police on transportation of cigs or booze (ie: bought at NH
State Liquor Store & transported into Maine)-No staking
out of bars within 2500'(no clipboards w/police sitting
across from bars-No 'doctored gasoline' in certain counties
producing lousy mileage (while trucks & busses pollute
the air)-Same clothing year round (cost savings a lot)-No
recycling (here) and no deposit/return on cans & bottles
(these depend on your point of view).
DOWNSIDE-Insurance is higher(fire+$100 & auto+$300 per
year)-Insect spraying $20 per month-Water softening salt $6
per month-Not many trees & virtually no grass unless you
go down the valley where hay & cotton crops are
expansive.
NOW FOR THE SOCIAL ASPECTS-a 'live and let live'
attitude-Smoking & non-smoking accommodations-Not
politically correct(the'f'word does fly a little)-Kids wear
clothes w/o labels that say Land's End; Abercrombie &
Fitch; Eddie Bauer; etc. and are not laughed at when they
wear WalMart clothes to school-People smile, laugh,and hug a
lot, in a valley where the average construction pay is $7
per hour(the 'rearview mirror faces' in Maine were of people
making big money, but looked like they had been sucking
lemons).
WELL-we are vacationing on Prince Edward Island this year
where you can get a lobster salad sandwich; fries w/the
works; fresh seafood of all kinds, and a feeling that is
reminiscent of Maine 30 years ago!
GO YANKEES! GREATEST FRANCHISE IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS!(for
all Atlanta,GA fans) LOL
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