Talk of the Town Ernie Anderson

The eyes of a spurned lover

So, I was stomping back from the courthouse on Lisbon Street one recent afternoon, when I climbed the stairs to Park Street and found myself under the hard gaze of the most penetrating pair of eyes I’ve ever seen. Maybe I knew at one point that this mural existed on the side of a building near Park and Ash streets, but I’d apparently forgotten because I jumped and screamed a little when I beheld those unblinking eyes. “It is the eyes of a spurned lover!” was my very first thought and I have absolutely no idea where the thought came from. Don’t want to know, either. If you are the spurned lover in question, well played and, again, I apologize for everything.

There once was a lad from McFalls

Oh boy, oh boy. Ernie Anderson, whose illustrations on this column are way, WAY better than the columns themselves, has a new project for the new year. It’s called “52 in ’25” and plays off his Anvil Falls series, which has been running in the Sun Journal since early 2023. Anvil Falls, as it happens, is coming soon to a town near you. “Each week in 2025 I’m doing an Anvil Falls comic themed to a town in western Maine,” the cartoonist explains. “I’m really going to try to tie in something of local, cultural or historical significance to each town’s limerick. So each comic will be a little community play for our Anvil Falls actors to perform, so to speak. Lisbon, Norway and Lewiston will be first up, and, man, I’m super excited to share these.” You can check out more of Ern’s (I call him Ern because we’re buds) work at ernstarcomics.com or order his “Guardians of the Second Congressional District: An Anvil Falls Anthology” on Amazon.

What rhymes with ‘Sabattus?’

I’m a little miffed because every time I write a limerick, my editors tear it to shreds and refuse to run it in the paper. It’s too bad. I got a beauty about some guy from Leeds . . .

Parental discretion advised

So, in response to groups of porn stars relentlessly posting their links and images on my Facebook page, I’ve been forced to limit comments to those who are already on my friends list. I hate it because I like hearing from strangers now and then on my Facebook page, but it had to be done. I also realize that many of you are aspiring porn stars yourselves, so I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. I wish you good luck in your endeavors.

Duck and cover

Whooee! It used to be that the crime beat was the most dangerous position for a reporter, but lately I recon it’s the education reporter covering Lewiston School Committee meetings who probably deserves hazard pay. At those meetings the claws are out, fur flies and things seem just a small step away from turning into Jerry Springer-style melees. Thank God I do most of my work in downtown Lewiston where it’s safer.