DEAR ABBY: My daughter is 40 years old and a lousy conversationalist. She will answer questions, but her conversation always turns to herself and her narrow, specific interests. She never asks me (or others) about ourselves, and when she starts talking about herself, there’s no stopping her. She seems to need to dominate every conversation. […]
sj-web
Posted inbPlus, sj-web
In verse: Maine places and people
Produced by Dennis Camire This week’s poem is by Michelle Menting of Belfast. Her most recent book is “Leaves Surface Like Skin,” published by Terrapin Books. First Snow Aubade By Michelle Menting Now suncups pock the feeder, and the birds scratch seeds from flakes. Last night, we thought we heard a loon lost […]
advertisement
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
If only politics was more personal
At the last meeting of Lincoln County Republicans, I had stepped outside with another member of the committee (Joe) to have a private word. As we were finishing our conversation, a woman I was sure I knew walked past us to the entrance. She paused, looking through the window for a few seconds, and turned […]
Posted inRiver Valley, sj-web
‘Enough is enough’: Addiction, recovery and hope, in their own words
RUMFORD — Dale Korhonen Sr. was sitting in prison, anguished that he couldn’t be with his little girl as she battled cancer, when it hit him: He had to stop using and selling drugs. If he didn’t, he’d never be there when his family needed him. It wasn’t easy, of course. “Easy” has never been […]
Posted inRiver Valley, sj-web
Community hears stories of drug addiction, recovery
MEXICO — Members of the River Valley community gathered Thursday night at Mountain Valley Middle School to share stories of their addictions to opioids and other drugs and how they became free of those addictions. One young woman told of the horror of having to be the one to tell doctors to end life support after her […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Will Trump repeat Obama’s mistake in the Middle East?
WASHINGTON — During his time in CIA custody, 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed told his interrogator something prophetic. The United States may enjoy some fleeting battlefield successes, Mohammed declared, but in the end “we will win because Americans don’t realize … we do not need to defeat you militarily; we only need to fight long […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
Analysis: Politicians caused pay 'collapse' for bottom 90 percent of workers
Political decisions by elected officials are largely responsible for a “collapse in pay for the bottom 90 percent” of the labor market since 1979, according to a new analysis of wage stagnation by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. While many economists pin much of the blame for wage stagnation on impersonal market […]
Posted inbPlus, sj-web
Mystery Photo for December 23
If you can identify where this photo was taken, contact us at [email protected] or call 207-689-2896 and leave a voice mail with your answer, your name, town and phone number. Correct entries will be eligible for a drawing for a $20 Hannaford Supermarkets gift card. Find the Mystery Photo online at www.sunjournal.com/bplus.
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Mixing up everything — and everybody
As one ages, one increasingly evaluates the events of one’s life. Not just one’s personal life, but the life of the larger world as well. This is about the life of the larger world. Having grown up white in segregated Missouri, I have been aware since I was barely past toddler age that race is […]
Posted inNuptials, sj-web
Before renting a car, get the real cost
Christopher Elliott Special To The Washington Post When Jeremy Epstein rented a Nissan Altima from Hertz in Albuquerque recently, he couldn’t believe the car rental fees. They made the extras charged by the rest of the travel industry look like the work of amateurs. They do. But not for much longer. Epstein’s base rate for […]