When baked goods go bad Sad news in Auburn Wednesday as a cupcake maker caught fire, filling a building with black smoke and forcing the would-be baker to flee. Nobody was hurt, but the confection fire reminds us all that if you’re going to give the gift of cupcakes for Christmas, it’s a good idea […]

Christmas Eve in Lewiston. It’s early afternoon and Hannaford is rocking. It’s elbow to elbow in the wine aisle and there’s a thrashing mob in front of the meat counters. No aisle is safe. If you came for a simple can of tuna, you’ll have to dig your way through a thrashing sea of humanity […]

Last week in this space we had a frank discussion about the end of the world and how if you stay drunk until the new year, you’ll barely notice. It was an unpleasant conversation but we got through it and many helpful ideas emerged.”What,” went a typical email response, “have you been smoking?” There were […]

OMG! His Holiness the Pope is Tweeting now. It’s keen that the Vatican is taking strides into the 21st century, but if I see his Papalness using ROFL, LOL, BRB or TTYL out there on the webs, I’m going to lose faith in all things in heaven and on earth. 12/12/12 At 12:12 p.m. on […]

Sock blocked! On Wednesday, a complaint from a mail carrier as heard over the police scanner: “He’s trying to deliver the mail but there’s a sock blocking the way.” I have no comment to make about this. I really just wanted to use “sock blocked” in a subhead. Twelve days and counting Here’s your friendly […]

Good morning, commoners. I come to you today wearing a glorious Armani robe, drinking Cristal through a straw fashioned out of a rolled $100 bill. Or is it $1,000? Who cares, really? I’m just going to use it for kindling, anyway. While you’re eating that egg-like substance and rushing to get ready for work, I’m […]

You celebrate your way, I’ll celebrate mine The dispute over holiday greetings has become madness. People will get offended if you say Merry Christmas. Others will get offended if you do not. Why, just the other day I was in a department store and the clerk who addressed me altered his greeting so it barely […]

You could see the strain around the man’s eyes. He was standing at the window in the police station lobby, frowning over a stack of papers and listening to the clerk tell him what was what. “That’s a lot of tickets,” she said. “If an officer happens to run your plate, these tickets are going […]