It’s about 40 minutes from the Blaine House to Second Street in Auburn, and you, Gov. John Baldacci, should make the trip. You’ll find a “State of the State” much different than the rosy picture you painted this week.

There, you’ll find an apartment building abandoned by its landlord, and a family of five searching for a new home because their pipes burst from lack of heat. You’ll see real Mainers, trying to make ends meet, and survive the winter.

You’ll also find hope there, the indomitable Maine spirit that looks at mountains as minor mounds. There’s no sense in crying over broken pipes; we must carry on. Tomorrow, we hope, is a better day.

Sen. Carol Weston, in reacting to your speech, said, “Maine’s best days have yet to come.” This means today isn’t so great in Maine. And, governor, despite your copious optimism and cheer, the Republican from Montville is right.

The state is $100 million backward, and Maine people – through cuts to social services – will pay the price. Costs for food and fuel are stratospheric, hurting industry and the poor. Many are hungry, cold or in financial straits.

You said, in your speech, you would neither cut social services, expend financial reserves or raise taxes to bring Maine into balance. These are promises that must be kept, now more than ever.

We cannot pay more for the government we have.

Yes, you centralized systems and saved $11.5 million. “This is not the stuff of headlines,” you trumpeted. But, we’ve lost $28.6 million in a gift card blunder, and $20 million in a questionable, risky investment.

Maine is not ahead on this ledger.

Tax reform is dead, replaced by consolidation. As we’re seeing in Lewiston-Auburn and with schools, mergers are long, tortuous processes with fiscal outcomes usually less than hoped. We want efficiencies; but we need savings.

So what can you do? Straight talk to the people of Maine. Among the soldiers, wealthy benefactors and developers, the person who really should have been recognized during the State of the State was the Average Mainer, who is weathering these disconcerting times without losing hope.

Your plan, governor, reflects our values and desires: protecting natural resources, strong, local economies, energy independence, affordable health care and insurance, and an efficient, pro-active state government.

But today’s problems in Maine are serious; they cannot wait for tomorrow’s solutions. Some laudable relief steps have been taken, but there must be more.

Most troubling, though, is you spoke like a governor who didn’t barely defeat two draconian spending referendums. You lacked urgency. “Our people are strong, they are resilient and they should not be underestimated,” you said. But we are neither content, nor patient.

Ask the people on Second Street, or anywhere, what is urgent for Maine. You’ll likely hear many viewpoints that deviate from your own. And you’ll be told tomorrow, we hope, is a better day.