The West End News - June 2020 - Vol. 20 No. 06

JUNE 2020.VOL. 20, NO. 06. PORTLAND, MAINE.

A Shout-Out to Our Contributors From Editor Tony Zeli You may not know that many – actually most – of our contributors are volunteers.

Writers who submit a column month after month to inform and bring joy to our readers simply because they care. Also, I hope because they find it enjoyable, even fun. But most of all, they share their talents with us because they love their community. So, in this edition we celebrate our incredible volunteer contributors and their can't miss columns…

Rosanne Graef ’s La Vida Local: Irregular Notes on West End Life

Dr. Oren Gersten: Who owns Health Care?

Keep on Keepin’ On Part 2:The insurers With Some New Twists and the large health

By Rosanne Graef After another month of holing up, hunkering down, and watching my husband’s corona beard grow, you’d think I’d have developed some sort of insights into this situation in which we find ourselves.

I suppose I have discovered some things.

Not that any of them are particularly profound, but here they are anyway.

Some things may change forever.

CONT'D ON PAGE 3

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...

Page 2

Learn how Northern Light Mercy Hospital is leveraging the power of telehealth

Page 4

Guest Opinion by Charles Skold on Absentee Voting

Pages 8 & 9

The Map Pages feature positive quotes for your amusement

Page 12

Find 'Bright Ideas' and 'Climate Solutions' on the Climate Justice page

Page 16

The Dumpster... Where we throw all the stuff that we don't know what to do with...

Page 10… Look for these new customer infographics

PORTLAND’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. FREE!

JAMES FEREIRA PRESENTS THE PORTLAND PALATE

By James Fereira

systems

MICHAEL STERN COACHES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

LAYNE'S WINE GIG

Survival & PANDEMIC Simulation PERKS

This month, I’m not actually going to write about food, which seems antithetical to the core idea of a food column. But

By Dr. Oren Gersten for food reviewers, covering a restaurant when you can’t actually visit one presents Some things are an inherent dilemma. This is not necessareasier to price than ily a bad thing when considering waistothers. You would line—and creativity. be hard pressed to find someone who I veer from the usual food-driven would pay more theme to talk about something else: surthan a portion of a vival. I use that word in the context of dollar for an apple. my belief that we’re (sadly) in this alien CONT'D ON PAGE 4

LAYNE WITHERELL BRINGS YOU

CONT'D ON PAGE 6

LEO TALLARICO'S PERSPECTIVES FROM THE SKY

By Layne Witherell I am not sure if the words pandemic and perks should take a rightful place as the title of this month’s wine column.

But, after giving it some thought, it is a celebration of those on the front lines and those who support them. Also, wine in general, like the rest of us, is going a bit wacko these days.

CONT'D ON PAGE 7

NANCY DORRANS & ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Lessons of Coping with SUMMER Abundance SHAKE-UPS Uncertainty 21-Day Meditation Journey

By Leo Knighton Tallarico

By Michael Stern

By Nancy Dorrans

In June 2020 the intensity and pace I recently completed a three-week pick up! journey. Not a typical Adventure MarketJune starts with Venus already Retro- place small group adventure, but a 21-day grade, Mercury going Retrograde on June virtual meditation journey.

17-18th, a Lunar Eclipse Full Moon on June Along with 5th, a Solar Eclipse New Moon on the a dozen or more Summer Solstice, and the 2nd pass of the colleagues from But resilience is powerful Jupiter conjunct Pluto formation. around the world, not about never getconnected via the ting knocked down—it’s about how quick- VENUS RETROGRADE ATTA (Adventure ly you recover, and whether you learn and With Venus still Retrograde (till Travel Trade Associagrow from the experience.

June 25th), as the June 5th Lunar Eclipse tion), I accepted the CONT'D ON PAGE 15 CONT'D ON PAGE 5 CONT'D ON PAGE 13 The challenging emotions that come along with deep uncertainty in times of transition are an inevitable part of life.

Page 11… Tara Treichel is making seaweed-based snacks!

Page 14... Crossword, Sudoku, trivia and NEW Words in Words

Page 15… Winners of the Adventure Travel photo contest!

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THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Leveraging the power of telehealth to benefit the community The pandemic has changed the way we humans connect. Whether it’s online meetings, virtual classrooms, or video happy hours and book clubs, we are finding ways to interact with each other despite social distancing. At Northern Light Health, we have been using technology like this for a limited few clinical applications and system administration for about a decade. It is particularly useful in states like Maine, where people are spread across vast geography and traveling can be a hardship.

Prior to March, Northern Light Health was doing a handful of patient visits using telemedicine. In March, the system logged almost 7,500 virtual visits, and in April that number has skyrocketed to 31,000 visits statewide.

Immersion Syndrome—commonly called Trench Foot during World War I,” explains George Stockwell, DO, a Mercy primary care physician. “It is a consequence of having constantly wet feet.” The patient had been using boot liners for shoes, which provide no protection in wet weather.The patient was prescribed some medicine, and several days later the patient was doing much better. He has a new pair of donated shoes, clean and dry socks from the shelter, and special access to the laundry facilities there to be sure he can keep his socks—and his feet—clean and dry.

There are many barriers in providing care to Maine’s homeless population, of which there are about 200 per night in Portland. Their circumstances change rapidly, they move around a lot, and they don’t have a lot of trust. Providing the serIn the Portland area, Northern Light vice in a place that is familiar to them reHome Care & Hospice and Northern moves some of those barriers.

Light Mercy Hospital have found a very special way to leverage the power of tele“What was keeping me up at night health. In April, the team there conducted was how we would manage our homeits first telehealth visit in a homeless shel- less population, particularly those who ter. The patient was being monitored for have underlying conditions,” says Kristen Covid-19 exposure, but the nurse noticed Dow, the director of Health and Human he was having trouble walking. “I asked if Services for the City of Portland. “Our I could look at his feet and found he had shelter staff is not medically trained and very significant ulcerations and swelling,” not equipped to manage the surveillance remembers Leann Thayer, RN for Home of guests who are suspected of Covid-19 Care & Hospice. “I got the patient regis- exposure.” tered for services and a primary care docHome Care & Hospice and Mertor saw him via video on my iPhone!” cy Hospital stepped up in a big way, ac“It turned out the patient had Foot cording to Dow. Nurses are staffing four

of the city’s shelters, monitoring guests with suspected exposure, and taking care of other health concerns at the same time.

“Our shelter director can’t say enough about these nurses and the way they have interacted with and treated our guests.

They seem to know exactly what our guests need and are clearly using some innovative strategies to get the job done,” observes Dow. “As a primary care physician, I’ve been a bit resistant to the idea of telehealth,” says Dr. Stockwell. “But being forced to take advantage of it in this unusual time, we are realizing there’s actually a lot we can do with it. I have found most patients really like it and some patient visits are actually more productive and focused using telehealth. There will always be things that require a face to face assessment, but in the case of this homeless patient, we may have saved him from permanent damage and a need for surgery.”

“As a primary care physician, I’ve been a bit resistant to the idea of telehealth. But being forced to take advantage of it in this unusual time, we are realizing there’s actually a lot we can do with it," says Dr. George Stockwell, a Mercy primary care doctor (pictured above). -Photo courtesy of Northern Light

Mercy Hospital

stone going forward as we begin to reopen services across the state, while working to maintain social distancing for the health and safety of vulnerable patients. It’s easy to use and it is secure. For a rural state like Maine, it may be the silver lining in this “We are beginning to use it for pandemic.This is a technology whose time pre-procedural and follow up visits in car- has come.” diology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, neurology, orthopedics, and even some Content submitted by Northern Light primary care, and I don’t see any reason Mercy Hospital, which has been serving to go back,” said Dr. Ross. “The technolo- the greater Portland community since gy has been a lifeline and will be a corner- 1918.

At Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, regional medical information officer Michael Ross, MD, is watching what he predicts is a permanent transformation in healthcare delivery.

LA VIDA LOCAL Years ago, I would sometimes fly from LaGuardia to Logan on the Eastern Air Lines Shuttle. You could just arrive at the gate, walk on, claim a seat, and pay on board. When one plane filled up, they’d bring out another. While the shuttle was long gone before 2001, the events of 9/11 brought a sudden end to any such type of informality or spontaneity in air travel.

What changes will Covid-19 effect? In the grander scheme of things, I definitely hope for some big changes in our society’s many inequalities and profligate wastefulness, and the elimination of the political polarization that now permeates every choice we make, stamping each of us with a simplistic identity.

NEIGHBORHOOD NOTES CONT'D FROM PAGE 1

Window decorations?

If you’re active on Next Door, you probably remember the Virtual Easter Egg Hunt. People were encouraged to color some paper eggs and tape them on their windows so children could go around the neighborhood and search for them.

A friend of mine reported that her kids enjoyed the hunt and had found 17 eggs!

Definitely.

Keeping a journal?

This is not a habit of mine. The last time I attempted a diary was probably when I was eleven and the entries were pretty banal, unless someone were interested in investigating the shampooing habits of preteen girls. I’ve started up again, though, with a diary of daily contacts and will attempt to keep it up. If it isn’t eventually necessary for contact tracing purposes, it’ll at least be a memory jog of when I last went to the grocery store.

Compassionate and Innovative Memory Care

Safety first and strive to be unremittingly kind.

Rosanne Graef is a West End resident.

Readers may reach her by email at lavidalocalwen@gmail.com.

P.S. If you do not have a face mask, let me know at lavidalocalwen@gmail.com.

Trees ◊ Shrubs ◊ Evergreens Annuals ◊ Succulents ◊ Air Plants Perennials ◊ Herbs ◊ Roses Pottery ◊ Vegetable Seedlings

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Many residents and our true-blue staff know this inspiring and newly relevant song~

“There’ll be blue birds over...”

In late May, I was outside when a father and his little girl, around three years old, stopped in front of our house. He explained that seeing our three paper eggs is the high point of their walk.

Are my paper eggs the equivalent of the Christmas wreath that’s hung on the Closer to home, though, changes door until June? Should I keep them up are what concern me. until this little girl is seven and her interI know I’ll be trying to ests change? Or maybe switch them out settle on an alternate for the Fourth of July and Halloween? Stay way of meeting and tuned… some sort of window decoration greeting – out with is here to stay. handshakes and hugs, Wearing a mask? in with what? Bowing? Hand on heart? A

By Kraken Images Social distancing? snappy salute? We’ll see.

Adobe Stock Hand washing?

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

Mural at Fallbrook Woods

For an informative conversation please contact Susan at 207-878-0788 FallbrookWoods.com 60 Merrymeeting Drive Portland, Maine 04103

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THEWESTENDNEWS.COM

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

GUEST OPINION

How You Can Vote

(and Help Others Vote,Too)

By Charles Skold As someone running for State Representative in Portland, I believe in the democratic power of people choosing their own representatives. That means I want every eligible Mainer to vote in the upcoming July 14 Primary Election, regardless of who they choose. However, coronavirus is making it harder for many people to vote. Last month I sent a letter to the Governor and Secretary of State with recommendations for making our elections safer and more accessible during this pandemic. As always, our democracy only works when we keep working to improve it. If you are registered to vote, here are three things you can do to vote in this election and make sure everyone else can vote, too.

Vote in the mail with an absentee ballot. Did you know that any voter in Maine can request an absentee ballot without excuse? Just take five minutes to request an absentee ballot online [https://www. maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/voter-info/absent. html] or over the phone (Portland City Clerk: 874-8677) and your ballot will be sent to you in the mail. Fill it out, sign it, and send it back through the mail or drop it off in-person by election day. Absentee ballots count the same as every other ballot and are a great way to reduce the number of people gathering at the polls on election day. Some people will have no choice but to vote in-person, but you can lower their risk of contracting the virus by skipping the line and voting ahead of time in the mail. Request your absentee ballot today!

Help others vote by working the polls. Maintaining some in-person voting is still an important way of making sure everyone can participate in our democracy—especially voters with disabilities, voters without a stable address, and those who need same-day registration. However, around 60% of those who usually work at our polling locations are in coronavirus high-risk categories. If other workers don’t

SUBMISSIONS WEN is a community newspaper and we need your voice!

Share your submissions with thewestendnews@gmail.com or send to: West End News Attn: Editor 795 Congress Street Portland, Maine 04102 • Letters to the editor should be no more than 300 words. Include your name, neighborhood, and phone or email for confirmation.

• Op-eds should be no more than 650 words and include a brief biography of 1-2 sentences.

• WEN also accepts poetry and photo submissions.

Deadline for publication is the fourth Friday of every month.

Our column space is very limited, publication is not guaranteed, and submissions may be edited for length and content. Thank you for your voice!

Who owns Health Care?

CONT'D FROM PAGE 1

The value of an apple is easy to comprehend. The same cannot be said for a take their place, some polling locations service. may need to close—forcing in-person votFor example, a haircut may cost $10 ers to risk larger crowds and longer lines.

If you are at lower risk for coronavirus, at one salon but $200 at a different salon. consider stepping up this year to work at In the example of the salon people may the polls. The people of Portland have al- justify the added expense because of the ready shown a remarkable ability to help expertise of the person cutting the hair or their neighbors in need at this time.Work- the amenities of the salon. ing at the polls is one more important way Health care is even harder to price. to help our community respond to coroLike a haircut there is variability in quality navirus. Get more information and sign up and experience. Unlike a haircut the contoday at VoteInMaine.com/Work. sumer may not have a good sense of what Make voting easier by advocating for good quality means. Anyone can recognize change.This pandemic shows us that more a bad haircut. Could the same be true for action is needed to make sure every eligimedical care? Because human health is so ble Mainer has the opportunity to particcomplex, it is hard for a consumer to asipate in our democracy. How can people sign a specific value to good care. register to vote when city hall is closed?

How can voters request an absentee balIn addition to variability in experilot if they don’t know they have this op- ence, consider the fact that health care is tion? How can voters return an absentee often not discretionary. In other words, ballot in the mail if they don’t have a stamp someone can choose whether to get a on hand? In my letter to the Governor haircut without risk of bodily harm, but if and Secretary of State last month, I raised one puts off healthcare for long enough these questions and recommended some there may be serious consequences. Even solutions: using email to help new voters the most fiercely independent Mainers register, mailing all voters an absentee bal- will likely need health care at some point. lot application, and more. As citizens, all There is also good evidence to show that of us can advocate for these important spending on things like preventive care dechanges. Add your voice by asking your creases the need for costly care further city clerk, your elected officials, and the down the road.

Secretary of State what they are doing to We have established that health care make sure everyone can vote. is hard to price. So, who decides on the With our future at stake, we cannot prices?

The answer to this question is allow coronavirus to disrupt the integrity quite complex, but in the U.S. by far the of our democratic choice. However you biggest players are the insurance compachoose to rank your ballot in this July Prinies (both public and private) and large mary Election and the November General hospital systems.

Election, I hope you will vote and do what you can to help others vote, too. The fate of our democracy is in each of our (thor- INSURANCE oughly washed) hands.

Insurance companies negotiate costs Charles Skold lives in Portland’s West End and is a candidate for State Representative in District 38 (CharlesForPortland.com). He holds a Master’s of Theological Studies and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University.

[Editor’s Note: Charles Skold is running against Michael Flaherty and Barbara Wood in the Democratic primary for Maine House of Representatives District 38 on July 14th.

There are no candidates on the primary ballot for the Republican or Green Independent parties.]

If access to insurance determines a person’s ability to receive health care, then in some sense insurance companies do “own” health care. As the gatekeepers to medical care insurance companies have de facto power in people’s ability to maintain health and treat disease.

Because around 9% of the US population does not have any health insurance folks have been forced to come up with workarounds. Unfortunately, this often means putting off care or going to the most expensive place to receive care, the Emergency Room.

HOSPITALS This is where Hospital Systems enter the picture. As the entity delivering the care, they help decide rates with insurance companies and arbitrarily set prices for individuals without insurance. Surprisingly, the prices they set for individuals without insurance are astronomically higher than the prices they give to insurance companies. In the U.S., 66% of those declaring bankruptcy cite medical bills as a key contributor to their financial situation.

Hospitals and insurance companies are not inherently “good” or “bad.” They serve a function in our society. Unfortunately, their relative power to decide who has access to care and how much that care costs has outstripped their ability to distribute care equitably. A possible solution is to redistribute some of that power to patients and the individuals who care for them.

In PART III, we will dive into the power of the healers in our society to take back some ownership of our healthcare system. Pick up a copy of the July issue (arriving First Friday, with hospitals and thus dictate cost. With- July 3rd). Read Part 1: The Health Care Brain out insurance many lifesaving procedures Trust at https://thewestendnews.com/whocan be prohibitively expensive. This has owns-health-care/. created a two-tiered system in the U.S., those with insurance and those without.

Oren Gersten is a board-certified family doctor who brings his passion for connecting and caring for people to his private practice, Portland Direct Primary Care, at 27 Ocean Street, #3, South Portland. Reach him at (207) 618-9792 or visit the website at PortlandDirectCare.com.

Community Leaders Business Owners Artists & Other Interesting Folk of Southern Maine

Podcast available on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts and Spotify

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Coping with Uncertainty

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

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CONT'D FROM PAGE 1 If you find yourself feeling “knocked down” more than usual these days, here is a simple practice (adapted from the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute) you can use to recover quickly and respond effectively.

STOP

threatened in some way? Is that threat as real as it seems? What is actually happening right now, both within and around you?

REFLECT

For better or worse, what you focus on becomes your reality. If you focus on scarcity, threats, and what’s not working, you will probably feel hypervigilant and under-resourced, creating a vicious deficit-based cycle.

By shifting to a positive outlook of appreciating the resources that are available and building on what is working, you may start to feel more capable and optimistic, enabling you to feel and perform better, and achieve better outcomes.

This is the most important step and can also be the most difficult. In my experience, sometimes it can take several hours (or even days) to slow down enough to see that I’ve been stuck in my emotional reactivity.

No matter how long it takes, once you recognize that a disruptive emotion has overwhelmed you, you can use that self-awareness to slow down and find a RESPOND more effective way to relate to what is By noticing your trigger, slowing down happening. the automatic reactive process, bringing BREATHE mindful self-awareness to your experiWhen our body-mind system is “hi- ence, and focusing on the resources and jacked” by challenging emotions we can possibilities that are available, now you lose access to our abilities to self-regulate, can consciously choose how to respond. empathize with others, and be flexible in What outcome do you seek? What is our responses. most important right now? How can you We can intentionally shift out of “fight behave with kindness and compassion toor flight” and calm down by taking slow, ward yourself and others? deep breaths through the nose. After just We can use the “SBNRR” practice a few minutes, or even a few breaths, you above to cultivate essential emotional inmay notice you begin to relax and feel telligence skills such as focus, self-awaremore spacious, grounded, and clear. ness, empathy, positive outlook, and adaptability, which all help us learn and grow NOTICE Once you have slowed down the au- from the inevitable uncertainty of life, tomatic “trigger” process, you can be cu- even in the midst of a pandemic. rious about your experience and become Michael Stern (www.IntegralAlignmore mindfully aware of “what is” in an ment.com) is a certified Emotional intentional and compassionate way.

Intelligence coach whose mission is to What sensations, emotions, and support others in creating a better life thoughts do you notice? Do you feel and a more beautiful world.

HELLO FROM BAYSIDE BOWL! 58 Alder Street, Portland | (207) 791-2695 While we hope to see you on the lanes again soon, we have created a take-out menu while you spend time at home.

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Have your Bash at Bayside! Available for parties, reunions, receptions, bar mitzvas & corporate events.

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OLS in the Meantime

One Longfellow Square is keeping an eye on the current pandemic situation, and we’ll be opening up as soon as we can while ensuring the health of our patrons, staff and artists. In the meantime, we will be hosting live streams – keep updated on our website or by finding One Longfellow Square on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to see what we have coming up!

Upcoming Live Streams Heather Pierson Acoustic Duo Thu. 6/4 • 7PM Replacing a show by Heather Pierson’s Acoustic Trio on the same date, Heather Pierson is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, and performer whose inspiring live performances and growing catalog of releases delve into Americana, blues, New Orleans jazz, vocal chants, instrumental piano, and poignant folk.

Lucy Wainwright Roche Sat. 6/13* • 7PM Those familiar with Lucy Wainwright Roche are aware of her bell tone voice, her unshakable melodies, and her knack for wise, wry lyrics that clench the heart. It’s no surprise that Wainwright Roche is the daughter of Suzzy Roche (The Roches) and Loudon Wainwright III, half sibling to Rufus and Martha Wainwright. She grew up steeped in music. *Tentative date, please stay tuned on Facebook in case it changes

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As an independent music venue, One Longfellow Square has lost its main sources of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To continue offering music the community on the other side of this we will need all of the help we can get – please consider supporting OLS through a membership, a donation, or purchasing merch from our online store! You can find links to all of these on our website, onelongfellowsquare.com

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FOOD & DRINK

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

THE PORTLAND PALATE

Survival & Simulation CONT'D FROM PAGE 1 reality for the long haul. It turns out that Covid-19, like another virus that I survived 40 years ago (which killed scores of friends and acquaintances), forces me to choose my health and safety over privilege.

casing holds all the required components, but upon closer inspection you notice that some of the items have been swappedout. There are puzzle pieces missing, and some that simply don’t fit. It is as if the very DNA of life as we knew it has been altered. Even scarier, there is no clear end There’s too much to lose — I’ve been in sight, and the resulting final product is here before. I’ve already made the deci- indiscernible. sion that I personally will not be stepping inside to sit-down at a restaurant in the Is this a 21st century adaptation of foreseeable future. It is premature. For- “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” or a tunately, we are coming into summer, so previously scrapped episode of the Twiwhen I do go out, initially I’ll be dining al light Zone? Or even a portent film, “post– fresco only.

Outbreak: The Sequel”? It might be.

For the task at hand, I tell myself to write from the heart. “Trust yourself… the words will come,” I reassure myself.

While the cartographer’s been furloughed, his canvas is bare and is open to possibility.

“Just write.”

REGARDING SURVIVAL…

For me, spending time outside feels dangerous. There’s huge irony in this because when growing up, the outdoors was by contrast, my absolute sanctuary. Shelter-in-place requires that I now retreat to the closest and safest outdoor venue I have: the back porch. It is semi-private up here. I witness the comings and goings of neighbors, hoping they won’t spot the Hitchcock-esque voyeur on the fourth floor trying to be inconspicuous – as if immersed in a suspense-filled scene from “Rear Window.”

I am finding this pandemic existence to be both challenging and heuristic to my psyche. The realizations come at random, as I navigate a revised owner’s manual in a new, unsettling world, one which could not have been predicted nor fully preUpon first observation, life on the pared for. Everything seems upside-down, ground seems normal enough— until one out of sorts, or in some other way “just looks closer. Everything is moving more not right.” slowly. People seem kinder and are taking Life feels like a simulation of itself: its the time to stop and talk to each other, though with more physical distance and

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often a palpable sense of caution in their in town, chasing-away visitor and local gaze. alike. Even the pigeons looked bored. It was a world suspended in time.

Some are wearing cloth masks – eyes exaggerated because we can no longer see Weaving our way home to the West whole faces. I hadn’t known until recent- End, “Franned” and I found ourselves ly how much I read lips when watching walking down the middle of usually trafothers speak. Mask culture has become ficked streets… because we could. The a phenomenon unto itself and a subject Nickelodeon marquee was hollowed of matter a writer and pseudo-sociologist film announcements. There were shutlike me salivates over. tered store fronts and few pedestrians.

The city seemed to be a facsimile of itself, Even the grayback gulls appear to be a shell of an economy forced into humility more agreeable – and happily for me, less and submission by an invisible adversary. screechy. Maybe they’re just worn-out from another day’s scavenging and are setWe spoke post-walk of how horrified tling down to rest for the night. we were about our surroundings, while simultaneously being grateful for the calm SIMULATION OF LIFE and quiet: two qualities which under most To walk deep downtown for the first circumstances would be incongruous. time in ten weeks was, in a word, startling.

It was the Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day Weekend. Friend Fran and I could not recall a time, not even in the dead of winter, when the Old Port looked like a ghost town… or “Ghost Port” as we now quip.

With most businesses closed and a few restaurants offering delivery and take-out, Portland seems to be having a prolonged siesta.

Sharing a virtual hug, back into the relative safety of my apartment I went, feeling appreciative. I’d survived another precipitous stroll into the unknown. There’s no telling when I’ll be brave enough to leave again. Perhaps I’ll seclude myself until writing duty next calls, or I find my cupboards nearing empty, forcing me to choose between hunger or venturing out into uncertainty.

Occasional pairs and small pods of people dotted the sidewalks. Gone was any impulse to lock elbows for fear of being knocked over by an oblivious tourist on a frenzied shopping spree. Parking spaces and lots were empty. The usual parade of horn-beeping, exhaust-emitting delivery trucks, and SUV’s with out-ofstate plates was absent. Buskers, street vendors, and food carts were nowhere to be found. Typically teeming restaurant patios were devoid of patrons. It was hard to tell if there was anything happening at hotels, where inactivity seemed the predominant feature.

Author’s note for the more adventurous: In Cumberland County, restaurant dining rooms can start re-opening as of June 1st. For an ever-growing list of them, visit the rigorous www.

PortlandFoodMap.com for announcements and updates. It’s also likely that many of these will continue to offer curbside pickup, delivery, and take-out. That’s what I’ll be doing when I’m not cooking in.

Next month, the food returns with a look at Rosemont Market, Saeng Thai House, Gilbert’s Chowder House, and more!

The air was free of the usual stench wafting from a wharf bait processing plant. The Holy Donut and Harbor Fish were closed, and all the lights were out at Gritty’s. But worst of all… no Five Guys!

What?!

54 Bridgton Road (Route 302) Free Delivery On All Orders

A seemingly empty city on Memorial Day weekend. Left: Free St. at Cross St. looking west. Right: A pedestrian walkway, viewing Monument Square.

-Photos by James Fereira

COME IN WE’RE OPEN! HOURS:

9am - 4pm

CARPET HARDWOOD LINOLEUM TILE FLOORING

We took a break and sat at a bench in Bell Buoy Park to enjoy an impromptu seafood chowder from Gilbert’s. We were delighted that they were open. The square was deserted, no crying children being consoled by overwhelmed parents pushing double-wide strollers. We could hear songbirds, and the subtle wake generated by a water taxi arriving from Peaks.

If you didn’t know better, one might have thought a plague or something had arrived

Fran and James Fereira behind Harbor Fish Market. James has a background in playing Pac Man, lip-syncing, and crisis counseling. In his spare time, he enjoys living alone and questioning authority.

James can be reached at ThePortlandPalate@gmail.com.

FOOD & DRINK

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

LAYNE'S WINE GIG

PANDEMIC PERKS CONT'D FROM PAGE 1 We have a strong tendency toward The on-line stuff lethargy while stranded at home. In the There is so much in the way of ship to case of wine, especially when great deals appear, some are too great and need a your door wine that it boggles the mind. closer lens, while others do not even All the way from Sotheby’s $10,000 bottle of Chateau Petrus and assorted high-end make the cut from afar. email collectable options to Splash Wines, The good news is that we can pur- a subscription service featuring “auto enchase take out wine, local beer, and cock- rollment” and “curated cases,” together tails to-go from our favorite restaurants. with “founder reward options.”

This may not seem like a big deal, but My latest find is Vin Connect. It has when I was General Manager of Maine the feel of a bespoke dating app. And you Beverage—in charge of all distribution thought that going to a store was tough? of spirits in the state—if someone would Be careful out there. have proposed the idea, my jaw would have dropped. Such is the revolutionary nature of that reality. It takes a pandemic. Deals Best deal of the season was a two-day When scouring the restaurant wine lists, it pays to research the actual retail “let’s give you all a break sale” from the price on your phone and compare the Cellar Door Winery in Lincolnville, Maine.

Just a one-time deal with no club to join, two. and a long waiting line of cars.Their grapes are sourced from premium locations in WINE PRICES Washington and California and crafted This is the moment for getting out here. “American” will appear on the front your smartphone and doing some home- label as a sign that the grapes came from work. Wine in the world is going through outside Maine. “Produced and bottled” on a strange time. That 25% tariff panic that the back label means that they made the we both experienced and read about, little wines themselves. did we realize it could become old news Cellar Door Merlot, 2014, ($24.00 so quickly. Well, there is a lot of wine on the planet aching for a home right now. bottle reg.) $5.00 btl. By the case. This is not a typo! Washington State fruit aged in Some thoughts: new American oak barrels. A splash of moThe Pricy Stuff cha, plums, and blueberries.

A delicious piece recently appeared in the New York Times, titled “The Grapelord of Napa Faces a Threat Worse than Plague,” May 9, 2020. Seems like the “millenniums” (his word) just aren’t doing their part in buying, swirling, and swishing those expensive Napa Valley Cabernets, according to Andy Beckstoffer, owner of many of Napa’s choicest parcels.

We toured his To Kalon vineyard atop a tractor while drinking the rare Mondavi I Block Fume blanc, made from those grapes, and he has a point—Hey, you kids can come back and play on my lawn.

Monti al Mare, 2014, ($25.00 bottle reg.) $5.00 btl. By the case. A Super Tuscan style red made with Sangiovese and Syrah grapes. Dusty and elegant like a polished high-powered Chianti.

Petite Verdot, 2014, ($25.00 bottle reg.) $5.00 btl. By the case. An infrequently grown grape, as it ripens late. When the harvest ends, the winemaker is drinking their second beer, is tired, and does not care to deal with picking, then it’s ready.

A blockbuster with strong cheese and a braised beef short rib.

These are older vintages—hence the Seems like the allure of a several hundred-dollar bottle of Napa Cab has slowed sale. Keep your eyes peeled here. Things down dramatically. Despite drought, wild- do pop up. fires, and more, there are lots of high-quality grapes recently put in bottles seeking FOOD & LIBATIONS homes.

TO-GO Intriguing greatness is still available in The Roma Café featured a weekly the remaining 2016 Napa Cabernets, as deal for every meal sold being matched well as the sensational 2016 Bordeaux. with a meal delivered to the Maine Medical Center staff. I love their chicken parm entrée at $24.00. Wash it down with their Lone Wolf Cocktail: Makers, Carpano, black tea, rosemary, $10.00.

BEER PEEPS The big beer peep of the month award goes to Allagash Brewing for donating 11,400 cans of their great beer to medical responders. (Full disclosure: My wife works at Maine Med.) Stay safe out there.

Layne has been a professional in the wine business for many decades as a teacher, importer, writer, competition judge, and winery CEO. He was awarded a Master Knight of the Vine for the pioneering work he did in the Oregon wine industry. His website is http://winemaniacs.wordpress/blog.

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We are maintaining a safe and enjoyable shopping environment!

The sun himself is weak when he first rises...

Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it.

...and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.

Let everyone sweep in front of his own door and the whole world will be clean.

Tough times never last, but tough people do!

Be so happy that when other people look at you they become happy too!

Success is not final, failure is not fatal.

It is the courage to continue that counts!

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.

Don’t worry, be happy.

Positive anything is better than negative nothing.

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Keep your fa to the sunshine you cannot se shadow.

ace e and ee a

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around.

Better to be busy than to be busy worrying!

If you’re going through hell, keep going!

Don’t worry ’bout a thing, cause every little thing’s gonna be alright.

That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.

Dawn comes after the darkness.

Who knows what the tide could bring?

Tomorrow the sun will rise...

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.

It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.

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BUSINESS & COMMUNITY

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

Business Guidelines & Customer Responsibilities

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As businesses begin to carefully reopen, the challenges they face are immense.

Portland Buy Local overwhelmingly SPONSOR A BUSINESS represents micro-businesses. Two-thirds The infographic project is just the latof our membership are businesses that est that we have been working on. Over have five employees or fewer, frequently the last two months, Buy Local and our making the business owner-operated. staff of one has been working harder Local business owners are worried for than ever to support our local business the health and safety of themselves, their community. We’re advocating for local staff, and their customers. As they look to businesses on the local, state, and Federre-open, they are purchasing equipment, al level. We’ve pushed for micro-business conducting training, and re-thinking their grants with the City of Portland, rallied for non-essential businesses to be able to ship entire business models. and deliver, held a town hall with Senator CUSTOMER CONDUCT Angus King, and so much more.

INFOGRAPHICS

One of the biggest challenges for local businesses looking to re-open is that the employees of these stores are tasked with communicating customer conduct expectations.

In response to that need, Portland Buy Local created flexible infographics that can be used across our business community so customers have recognizable, cohesive guidelines as they start returning to businesses. Working with a local designer, we created infographic packages to save local businesses time, money, and effort communicating with their customers.

To further our support of local businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, Portland Buy Local is introducing a community-based sponsorship program. If you are interested in supporting the work we do to lift up local businesses, consider sponsoring a business for membership.

Each sponsorship supports a business by providing: access to critical digital resources, ongoing education and consulting, promotion through Portland Buy Local’s website and social media, connections to financial assistance, and local, state, and federal advocacy efforts raising awareness for the needs of local businesses.

As always, we hope you will keep supporting local businesses, and now, more than ever, please be patient with them, and extend an extra measure of kindness.

Owning a small, locally owned business has never brought more uncertainty, and these businesses are doing everything You may start to see these stickers they can to safely serve our community. across town, with businesses each displaying the stickers that are relevant to their Mary Alice Scott is Portland Buy Local location. Hopefully, these graphics make Executive Director. it easier for you, as a customer, to know Discloser: Publisher Tony Zeli is president of what is expected of you at any given store. the board of directors and a media partner.

Each sticker set has 10 stickers that can be used individually: Customer Conduct, Mask, Maximum Occupancy, No Cash, Curbside Only, Social Distance, Sanitize, Gloves, At-risk Hours, Limit Touch.

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BUSINESS & COMMUNITY

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

had a few Zoom cocktail dates, which have been fun. And when you compare Zoom to a phone call, Zoom is so much better – I feel like I’ve actually seen someone.

Tara Treichel of SeaMade

But with my closest girlfriends – I’m not sure. Some of them I haven’t seen in months now. We’re such a sharing and emotive group, and Zoom is not the way I want to connect with those friends, which is unfortunate, because then we don’t connect at all.

Every month Peloton Labs founder Liz Trice interviews a Peloton member for the West End News. This month Liz caught up with Tara Triechel, the owner of SeaMade, a Maine-based company that makes seaweed-based snacks.

Silver Linings: Local Foods & Time to Experiment

11

dling supply. Seaweed is a small fraction of the harvest from the ocean, but can we eat wild seaweed forever?

So this morning we were experimenting with baking with farmed seaweed What’s happening with SeaMade – sugar kelp – which we think will give us a more consistent and cleaner product. It during the pandemic?

For example, when I started baking brings a really robust flavor, and it’s really small batches in my kitchen, I was usOur “Cranberry Almond Kelp Bar” high in potassium chloride, so we think it ing puffed millet. Now that we’re doing is available at Rosemont, Harbor Fish, may be popular with endurance athletes. larger batches, it turns out you can only and Bow Street market, places like that, buy puffed millet in a 10-ounce bag, or a You’ve been running this company but with no foot traffic, those sales have 220-pound pallet. There’s nothing in bealmost come to a standstill. No one is call- for a while in your spare time. Where is tween: we cannot find anyone who will ing up and ordering Kelp bars with their your company in the growth process? sell us 25 pounds! So now we have to refish order!

It’s like a little fir tree in the forest place the ingredient, and then we’ll have to On the other hand, our bar is pro- that stays small because it’s shaded in the buy new labels and pay for new nutritional duced at Fork Food Lab, and they have forest, but when there’s a break in the analysis. an online store, so we’re getting orders canopy and it gets some sun, it can shoot How has life been for you personthrough that website. Definitive Brewing up very quickly. We’re staying small while ally during the pandemic? contacted Fork and asked for products, finding solutions and waiting for opportuand we have a ready to go shelf-stable nities, like the infrastructure for farmed I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this snack that their customers can buy. Fork seaweed in Maine to develop. There’s also time, but I don’t like being on the computis also putting together sample baskets of a lot of education to convince consumers er all the time. I have a day job working reproducts produced there. We also set up that seaweed is a viable source of food. motely, and I recognize that Zoom is what an account at FoodDrop and are working we have to stay connected.

That opening in the canopy could be a on getting into Whole Foods. large order and then we’d have a different I have connected with many people The other thing is, we have time to problem – how do we ramp up to fill a big on Zoom. There are some old friends in work on our recipe. Farmed seaweed is order. It’s hard to be a small producer.You Wyoming, and if it weren’t for the panavailable now . . . the only wild food we eat need machinery, you need ingredients in demic, we wouldn’t have connected until in this country is seafood, and it’s a dwin- bulk. . . small steady growth can be difficult. we could travel out there again. And we’ve

I’ve had group work experiences on Zoom, and that’s not very satisfying either.

It seems like there’s a wide variety of experiences people are having.

Yes. I have a friend who is an athlete and likes challenges, and he says that the extra stress has been a focusing influence on him and that he’s thriving under the pressure. Other people feel like they can focus and are not distracted by the demands of the outside world.And then other friends have anxiety that makes them want to avoid going out: Oh no, is that person going to walk too close to me, will they be offended if I step away... And it can be stressful to have to maintain distance from people we love.

I think love is like that in general: it’s most painful when there are barriers to expressing the love we feel.

PelotonLabs is a coworking space in the West End of Portland, Maine with a mission to connect and encourage people to manifest their visions without fear.

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THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

CLIMATE JUSTICE

We’re All in This Together

Climate Solutions Beyond Your Backyard

A NEW NORMAL

With attention focused on Covid-19, health threats posed by climate change remain unchanged and existential. By continuing to burn fossil fuels, coming decades could experience average temperatures up by 8.8 degrees Fahrenheit, water supplies reduced by two-thirds, areas burned by wildfires increased by 77%, and most beaches severely eroded.

How we treat the natural world affects our well-being. Loss of habitat and biodiversity create conditions for lethal new viruses and diseases to spread. With lung health so critically important, there are dire health consequences. Frontline communities, like South Portland with its tank farms, disproportionately bear the brunt of fossil fuel pollution-induced disease – including asthma, heart disease and diabetes – putting such communities at high risk of complications from C-19.

The virus is revealing fundamental flaws in our societal and economic norms.

With the current crisis, however, the planet is the real winner with air and water pollution down, and emissions that have dropped precipitously. So, how do we proceed? We took inspiration from www.resilience.org in writing this article.

BRIGHT IDEA: Imagine a brighter future.

Holding on to a vision of a just, peaceful, and sustainable Earth may give us strength for the future.We could remember this as a time when we were suddenly forced to stop what we were doing, pay attention to one another, and take action.

If we absorb the lessons of the pandemic and fight for a world in which everyone can thrive, what would it look like?

BRIGHT IDEA: Clarify your priorities.

The decision we face is of epic proportions.We can allow discomfort and fear to overwhelm us and put all our energy into getting things back to the way they were… OR… we can create a new normal.

We are currently locked in an abnormal space of relative stillness.With life-aswe-have-known-it paused, it’s the perfect time to ask what would we like “normal” to look like?

•

What kind of work do we do?

•

How much would we work?

•

Would we need to drive to work every day?

•

What kind of businesses would we like to see in our community?

•

How and how much would we travel?

•

Are we really OK with so much wealth in the hands of so few?

•

Are we really OK with ecological destruction that has been normalized?

•

What actually makes us happy?

CRISIS LESSONS

By Peter Dugas As the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating economic impacts, another crisis looms.

The novel coronavirus has overwhelmed the world.Yet, these dire events may ultimately be remembered as a dry run for a global emergency that cannot be mitigated with social distancing nor dissipated with a new vaccine.

We’re talking about the climate crisis. Before you jump to think it is trite or opportunist to compare our current crisis with the climate crisis, consider the parallels. Coronavirus has exposed inequalities and created untold social and economic hardships. Likewise, the climate crisis has been linked to increased mass migration causing social and political upheaval—which will only increase as the number of climate refugees is projected to grow to 3.5 billion by 2070. Also, if past pandemics are an example, coronavirus will remain a threat for months and possibly years, while the devastating effects of man-made carbon pollution will be felt on Earth for millennia.

Covid-19 has offered a glimpse of what our world could look like in a post-carbon pollution world. Lockdowns imposed to bend the curve of infections have caused a sharp decrease in air pollution that kills 114,000 Americans each year.

Fortunately, bringing the economy to a full stop is not the only way to save our biosphere. For the first time since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution it is possible to decouple our economy from the pollutants that threaten life on Earth.

If we lead our leaders to the right policies, we can transition the world to a cleaner future and have both a vibrant economy AND a healthy climate.

This month, volunteers with Citizens’ Climate Lobby will be meeting our national lawmakers (virtually) to ask them to implement a fee on carbon and give that revenue to each household. Carbon fee and dividend (think “Carbon Cash Back”) has been proven to reduce carbon emissions beyond traditional regulation, while providing financial assistance for low- and middle-income households.

If you would like to exercise your democratic right to fight for our common home, please join the 190,000 plus Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers by asking Senators King and Collins to join Representative Pingree in endorsing the bipartisan “Energy Innovation Carbon Dividend Act (HR763).”

As coronavirus has taught us, the longer we delay action, the worse the problem gets. Learn more at: citizensclimatelobby.org.

Peter Dugas is a Citizens Climate Lobby volunteer.

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Let’s not waste this crisis. Let’s not let the lives and livelihoods lost be collateral damage of a broken system. Instead, let it be the impetus for creating a world that works better for all of us.

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THE BROADER PICTURE PERSPECTIVES FROM THE SKY JUNE 2020

SHAKE-UPS

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

CONT'D FROM PAGE 1

Full Moon in Sagittarius erupts, we can At this Lunar Eclipse and leading up expect relationship issues to be front and to it, you can expect events and stories center in our lives. that are difficult to decipher, hard to understand, or straddle the line between Venus Retrograde is a time when falsehood and truth. we look over our current relationships, while also remembering relationships of STATUS QUO SHAKE-UP the past. Those old relationships come Eclipses bring increased intensity and back into our memories and dreams, or a shake-up from what is seen as normal people come back into our lives. This can or expected.

The status quo can be greatly be any kind of relationship: friends, romancompromised. tic, or family.

SUMMER SOLSTICE On June 21st at 2:02 AM EDT there is another eclipse, a Solar Eclipse New Moon in Cancer. This is on the Summer Solstice.

The last time this happened was Summer Solstice 2001. Later that summer 9-11 erupted in America.

The Virus and Economy are current What is happening planetarily on issues that will remain in the spotlight this Summer Solstice is part of the “signature” Eclipse Season. Drums of war and issues of the whole summer season. concerning the upcoming elections in November are also likely in focus, too.

A Solar Eclipse on Summer Solstice tells us that the summer of Joe Biden will pick a running mate FACT CHECKING 2020 will be a powerful season with this Eclipse Season and planetary moveimportant events happening in our world.

The Lunar Eclipse Full Moon on ments favor Elizabeth Warren, as the Solar June 5th at 3:12 PM EDT, has the Eclipse New Moon on Summer Solstice THEN & NOW Sun in Gemini exactly opposite the falls exactly at her natal Sun and Uranus Moon in Sagittarius. Communica- in Cancer.

In June 2001, I wrote in my pubtion issues are in the spotlight, as lication Spiritual Renaissance that the Gemini is about information and MERCURY RETROGRADE Summer of 2001 would be a summer messages while Sagittarius is about On June 18th at 12:59 AM EDT of great shake-up for the US. I put a finding solution, resolution, meaning, Mercury goes Retrograde, bringing picture of the tarot card The Tower and bringing issues to an answer.

Venus and Mercury both Retrograde along with my article. For those not familiar the Tower Card, it shows a huge There can be a lot of talking and/or from June 18th to June 25th. This tower on fire with people jumping out the texting with Gemini, sharing information gives much concentration and chalwindows. or ideas, sometimes to the point of over- lenge for communicating and relatload. Those who think more slowly may ing.

I knew the US would feel overwhelmed by all the facts and poshave something big that It is easier during this time to sibilities. threatens it because of mis-communicate, to not be understood other aspects, not just Sagittarius can come to opinions or con- when relating. Being in the middle of that Solar Eclipse. clusions very fast, often just using intuition. Eclipse Season gives extra added intensity Gemini is then a good fact-checker to to these relationship and communication This summer also make sure the opinions are on track and issues. has powerful planetary the conclusions are accurate.

There could be shake-ups in the sta- aspects to the USA natal chart, but I do not anticDonald Trump was born at this tus quo of relating, not only romantic relaipate anything like the same Full Moon Lunar Eclipse, with tionships but any kind relationship. Family burning down of the Twin his Sun in Gemini and his Moon in and friends are included in this.

Towers.

Sagittarius.

As always, Mercury Retrograde On a personal level, He is often way off with his facts, and slowly shifts our perceptions, and often the Solar Eclipse is in Cangets us to question what has already been inaccurate with his opinions and conclucer, so issues concerning sions. Our world now, partly because of decided or question the direction we have family, women, Mothers, as been leaning toward.

Always best to wait him, is confused about what is Truth and well as issues of nurturing until Mercury goes back Direct before what is falsehood. Media, other governthose who are vulnerable making big decisions or starting major ment officials, and conspiracy advocates are likely themes. projects.

It goes back Direct on July 12th. muddy the waters of clarity, too.

Current relationships need more of our attention and require us to look at the issues and patterns that are unhealthy, unwise, codependent, stale, or repeating over and over again.

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CLEARING THE AIR On June 25th Venus goes back Direct. Hopefully, relationship issues have been addressed and changes made. Hopefully, some healing has occurred also. It may be several days before all clears up and for a relationship direction to be found.

On June 30th Jupiter makes another conjunction with Pluto. This aspect has been involved with the great changes that have been happening this year. Add the eclipses and the Retrogrades and you can see transformation continuing in a big way now.

There will be one more eclipse on July 4th. We will talk about these next month.

Take care, Leo

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THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

PUZZLE PAGE

Summer Soltice Trivia 1. During the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice, the sun will be directly above what geographical line?

2. In Ancient Egypt, they recognized the solstice as the time that what brightest star, whose formal name is Alpha Canis Majoris, would reappear in the night sky?

3. The Goldpanners are a baseball team who play an annual game starting at 10pm on the solstice, in the city of Fairbanks in what state?

Our live quizzes are currently on hiatus!

Find us on Facebook and Instagram: @bestworsttrivia

4. When is the earth closer to the sun: During the summer solstice or the winter solstice?

Find the answers online at thewestendnews.com/puzzle-solutions or come ask us at one of our weekly quizzes!

Words In Words

By Rosanne Graef

How many words can you make from the letters in the phrase? Words must have at least 4 letters, plurals don’t count, and no proper nouns, abbreviations, or foreign words not commonly used in English.

“So rare as a day in June” -from The Vision of Sir Launfal by James Russell Lowell

GOLD = 150 words | SILVER = 125 words | BRONZE = 100 words BONUS = How many words can you form that have 2 adjacent vowels?

May’s Bonus : Some possible flower names in "A host of golden daffodils": hosta • daffodil • solidago • gladiola • sage • nigella • genista • godetia

Cast Iron Skillet Fried Chicken Korean Style Wings Buttermilk Biscuits Soups, Salads and Daily Specials

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11am-8pm Tuesday-Saturday Closing for the season 3pm-sellout on December 23 Thank you for understanding.

TRAVEL & ADVENTURE

THE WEST END NEWS | JUNE 2020

15

21-Day Meditation Journey ADVENTURE TRAVEL CONT'D FROM PAGE 1 Do not dwell on the unknown… do challenge to meditate once a day for 21 days. Our journey was coordinated each not dwell on the unknown? Instead, “give day through WhatsApp by Mandip Singh to others, transmit, let go, indulge, be grateful, give to yourself… forgive.” These Soin and narrated by Deepak Chopra. daily affirmations continue to be at the I met Mandip almost two years ago forefront of my thoughts and actions. at the 2018 ATTA World Summit in TuscaEach day during my journey, I imny, Italy. He is a “prominent Indian mounmersed myself into the exercise and all taineer, explorer, adventure travel expert, the reflections of the group. I traveled environmentalist, speaker, and a Fellow of deep into my own self and (be it virtually) the Royal Geographical Society. He has into the homes, backyards, thoughts and spent over forty years in the field of adconcerns of all the others. venture… In 1979, he co-founded a national and international award winning This virtual community came to me travel company, Ibex Expeditions, offering at the best time and I am grateful. We adventure and safari travels in India and continue to stay connected even after the later also to the more discerning parts of original journey and tasks are complete. the world,” says the Royal Geographic SoSPRING IN TENNESSEE... ciety website.

Our small group of Adventure Travel professionals (three of us from Portland), bonded quickly through our daily connections and check-ins. Mandip and Deepak’s daily tasks, questions, intentions, affirmations, mantras, and soothing tones were hypnotic and kept us calm and focused on feeling abundant!

• • • •

As I let go of the need to arrange my life, the universe brings abundant good to me.

•

Today I remember to be grateful.

WINNER – James Fereira,“Siesta” with Fran Houston, Guadalajara, Mexico, 2019.

I participated in this meditation journey while spending the last two months with my family in East Tennessee. Spring arrives here about six weeks earlier than it arrives in Maine.The budding season has brought many moments of appreciation in the flowering trees, perennials, bird nests, herbs, and baby chicks!

cycles, hives, packages, nucs, frames, propWhat I want to attract into my life. olis, the queen’s mating flight, her drones and brood, even witnessing a few hatch Inviting unlimited abundance. out of their combs.

Embracing my potential to be, do, A walk down the country road from and have whatever I can dream. my sister’s home led me across a hidden I make great choices because they ridge and a natural forest path. Resting on are made with full awareness. a log to call a friend I noticed a small Eastern Box Turtle at my feet.

Attention energizes, intention transforms.

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Okay, now as promised – here are the results of last month’s Friendly Uplifting Adventure Marketplace Travel Photo Contest! Thank you to all that participated! I look forward to when we can be together and travel together again. -Nancy Dorrans

SOON HOME TO MAINE

Each task during the 21-day Resurrecting my mother’s flower virtual meditation journey had beds has been another form of meditation. I’m learning all about bees: their life a special focus: •

PHOTO CONTEST

I took this daily exercise and journey seriously. Each new lesson or reminder built on the prior one and increased my On Mother’s Day along the same appreciation, while helping to dissipate ridge, I spotted a turkey as she spotted many of my current fears and anxieties. me. As I moved away from her, the forest floor came alive with at least a dozen of DAILY AFFIRMATIONS her teeny tiny babies (poults).

“All things that happen, now and My father is turning 87 years old on ahead, known and unknown, good or bad Father’s Day weekend. I’ll be returning are finite. Live the moments with awarehome to Portland soon after that, full of ness in each moment and do not dwell on gratitude, embracing more present mothe unknown.” ments of abundance that will bring joy.

HONORABLE MENTION

Susan Holton, “Happy Cats” at Lucky Cat Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2018.

Nancy Dorrans with her father (May 2019). Nancy is a West End resident and independent travel agent at Adventure Marketplace.

THE WEST END NEWS Published by Zeli Enterprises, LLC 795 Congress Street Portland, Maine 04102 www.thewestendnews.com thewestendnews@gmail.com Tony Zeli, Publisher & Editor Rick Ness, Sales Printed in Maine by Lincoln County Publishing Co.

ALL SALES INQUIRIES Contact Rick Ness 207-577-7025 rickthewestendnews@gmail.com

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in our pages belong solely to the authors and not necessarily to the publication.

VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTORS Nancy Dorrans, Travel & Adventure James Fereira, The Portland Palate Dr. Oren Gersten, Beyond 7 Minutes Rosanne Graef, La Vida Local Michael Stern, Emotional Intelligence Leo Knighton Tallarico, Astrology Layne Witherell, Layne's Wine Gig

Thank you for contributions from Peter Dugas, Citizens' Climate Lobby Mary Alice Scott, Portland Buy Local Ben Taylor, Best Worst Trivia Liz Trice, PelotonLabs Northern Light Mercy Hospital & Portland Climate Action Team Thank you for reading!

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THE WEST END NEWS

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Catholic Diocese of Portland adapts to the times and offers drive-thru confessions… In bike related news, Rosemont Market West End offers bike delivery by Norman Patry and Summer Feet Cycling… Speaking of Summer Feet, bike tour guide Art Bell runs in the Democratic primary for State Rep in Yarmouth… Portland Kids Duathlon goes virtual to raise funds for Portland schools and encourage families to recreate the race in their own neighborhood… From other modes of transit, we have Portland Paddle offering pay-what-you-can sea kayak trips to Maine residents… From wildlife, CMP reports a raccoon break in at their Monmouth substation that knocked out power to 3300 households… Wildlife officials confirm first recorded bald eagle death by loon right here in Maine… The brave loon protected its chicks by wielding its mighty beak and stabbing the bald eagle through the heart… In entertainment, Nathan Berger of Portland wins $12,000 on Jeopardy… the third Mainer to compete on the show this year… Elsewhere in Maine, reports out of Mount Desert Island suggest seasonal residents are switching their plates to Maine registrations to avoid harassment… And the mighty Katahdin is the first National Park in New England to be designated as an international Dark Sky Sanctuary…

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