Columns

Boycott Oreo Cookies! That’s the headline on a Facebook post a nice lady shared on my page recently. She was upset that the CEO of…

Financially speaking

Late last year, Congress authorized states to set up ABLE programs, offering tax-advantaged savings accounts for people with…

Who killed Captain Robert E. Cochrane?

Vessels were built by people investing in them by shares, like one-sixth, one-32, one-quarter, one-eighth.  If the…

Who you gonna call? Whatcha gonna do?

WALDOBORO — This spring, one-half of the Edwards Apiary team in Camden has "caught" nine honeybee swarms. Six were in trees near blueberry barrens, two were in trees at private residences that…

Grandchildren

It's weird. While we're raising our own kids we can't see the wonder. There's a saying that goes something like, "I want to have grandchildren first."

That won't work because we have to…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic…

As the planet continues its million-plus year slow-down....

I try. I really do. There’s so much negativity and things to worry about, that I constantly focus on positive things just to try to stay ahead of it, but there’s always something. Most of the time…

Down to the sea

All the wooden boats built over the centuries in Camden could not have been completed without many skilled workers. It…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make up. After…

Here we are at graduation. That’s right, kids. School’s over! Now you’re in charge and you can really get some stuff done. You’re going to hear some inspiring speeches. Short ones, I hope, because…

 Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make up. After…

Down to the sea

Most places down by the sea built wooden vessels because at one time wind and water was the cheapest mode of…

May 11 was Yogi Berra’s birthday. He’s 90. He’s a great guy with a wonderful wife, and I had the privilege to escort Yogi and Carmen when they came to Maine for the MBNA management conference…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and…

National EMS Week: May 17-23

I know I'm not the only one, but I've been asked plenty of times before. That same old cliched line: "How do you do what you do?"

Always at some uncomfortable party where I'm the least paid…

Penobscot Falcon

Entertainment is fascinated by crime, and whether it's realized through television, movies, or novels, we all have our favorite…

Down to the sea: In celebration of the 100th birthday of the Camden Post Office

The Post Office is the hub of Camden, where people meet and greet, during its open hours. This month the building will be 100 years old; Camden’s newest postmaster will be officially installed May…

 Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make up. After…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make up. After…

Free speech, the American Flag and Playboy

Being serious is no fun at all. Usually I like to keep my topics local and keep them on the fun side, but every once in a while…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make…

Penobscot Falcon

We all know about the precariousness of expectations and how damaging they can be, but I must admit, I had believed that Ben and…

It’s the little things

Happiness is an integral part of good health and wellness. Happier people are healthier. They live longer, have less chronic disease, become sick less often and if they do get sick, they get…

students find their voices in augusta

AUGUSTA — Watershed School students had two unusual opportunities to take part in the democratic process…

Financially Speaking

If you leave an IRA to a spouse, it’s easy to keep it going and growing. Surviving spouses can roll over the funds to their own IRAs, postponing distributions—and taxes—until age 70 1/2.

But…

Financially Speaking

There’s still time to save on 2014 taxes—hurry, hurry—by opening an IRA for that year. The deadline is April 15 for setting up an IRA, and the contributions must be made by that date, too. Even a…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make…

It was just us kids, having the time of our lives

As Easter just passed, I’m reminded of something that was a huge event back in the day. WRKD was the AM radio station and if there were any FM stations, I don’t remember them. Every Easter, the…

Down to the sea

Before the days of television, people belonged to groups to enjoy each other and to have a common interest. They…

 The 19 residents of a small, isolated ledge…

Penobscot Falcon

In 1989, a preacher, mildly senile at 84, escaped from a nursing home in Maryland and…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic…

Out to sea

Among the many things we, who live on these islands take for granted, beyond the natural beauty and the joy of community is the daily back and forth of the Maine State ferries. We get on; we ride…

Fish Soup

My friend, John, was out in his field yesterday on snowshoes working up his arm strength, casting his heavy tarpon rod. He will meet his son, Jessie, later this month in the mangrove…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make…

Not that long ago when our news was delivered, we could only read it. There was no interacting. Even when print publications went online there were no comments at first and then they had to be…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical…

About three miles from the sea are our lakes and ponds. At Hosmer Pond, with the National Toboggan Races over and winter coming to an end, we think of the beginning of the Camden Snow Bowl in 1936…

Out to sea

I can't get my mind around the current fashion, even among young women — although fewer than their male counterparts — who wear their pants so low that it's difficult, impossible…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make…

Financially Speaking

The 401(k) retirement plan is real money earmarked for retirement, yet financial and retirement experts are seriously concerned about the money that is being taken out too soon.

Some 25…

Financially Speaking

 

Recent estate tax regulations have eased planning, especially for most of us whose assets do not exceed the $5.34 million tax exemption. “Portability” permits the surviving spouse to add…

Out to sea

Back in November, we found ourselves driving through the mountains in New Hampshire and Vermont. As we drove higher we caught an occasional glimpse of a snow-covered peak — Mt. Washington, of…

‘You may win a suit, but trust me, you will not win’

Once again, there’s a court case about some folks moving to local community and suing the town and the neighbors, I guess because they believe they own some land that has been used by the public…

Industrial Arts

MATINICUS — It isn't exactly a steady round of parties out here in the winter. The women don't gather at 10 o'clock for coffee, with a nice view of the harbor and all that floats within to…

Out to sea

A young woman walked into a bar. Fortunately for her, and for the people who care about her, it was her bar, rather our bar — or more precisely — the island bar, and there she found community, her…

Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make…

Financially Speaking

Reverse mortgages let a homeowner borrow against home equity at age 62 or more. The loan doesn’t have to be repaid until the owner moves or dies. But years of misleading marketing and other…

Financially Speaking

Service dogs can be lifesavers for the disabled. Some are trained to lead the blind. Others can turn on lights and bring things to paralyzed people or warn of danger. Now it turns out that these…

It was a case of David and Goliath. Back in 2003, the multi-billion dollar company Monsanto picked a fight with Maine-based Oakhurst Dairy over the label on its milk bottles. Responding to the…