The Wrack

The Autumn StoryWalk is now up on the Saw-whet trail!

An oscillating White House policy should not dissuade us from doing rightful work in a changing world.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 6/21/2015.

As I stood in the kitchen of my New York apartment coming to grips with the news of my father’s sudden death, something spooky happened. One of my father’s favorite tunes, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from the Monty Python film The Life of Brian, began playing. My father had been found dead only hours before, and now a clear reminder of him was spontaneously emanating from some luggage in the corner.

I assumed it was a cell phone ringtone, but standing there, in that most alone moment of my life, I had no explanation for why someone would be phoning a suitcase, or why “my father’s song” was suddenly playing.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 2/8/2015.

In America, enshrined in our First Amendment, we have a right to voicing our own opinions. But ever since the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, I’ve been thinking about whether free speech does have limits. If what I say ends up hurting others, or even myself, I may have a right to say it… but should I?

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 10/6/13:

School has started again, which means it’s group visit season at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. Those schools fortunate enough to have bus rental money are sending classes our way, and our team of educators are taking the kids out on the trails, down to the beach, and through the science and history of this 360-year-old place.

For a long time, I didn’t understand what “environmental education” was. I’m a perennial skeptic, particularly when it comes to claims from my own liberal brethren, so, over the past ten years of my environmental career, I’ve always taken my colleagues’ proscriptions with more than a grain of salt. What finally convinced me to start applying their lessons was, of course, that grand old motivator of cynic and sucker alike: money.

Many thanks to all the volunteers, trustees, and staff who made the 11th annual Punkinfiddle Family Festival and National Estuaries Day Celebration here on Saturday "one for the books." (I know, I used that for the Crafts Festival, but this was a really good "other big festival" too.)

Alas, dogs have been barred from the Wells Reserve trails since the early 90's. Why? The short answer is: to preserve nature. But here's my longer answer.