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It’s not “goodbye.” It’s “I’ll see you again.”
Back in college, I spent one of my spring breaks in western Virginia. I was one of the drivers for a service trip to a small rural community in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
We went down as free labor. It was similar to some rural parts of Maine; a wonderful community that was aging and facing economic challenges.
We painted the school, cleared brush around campsites rented to Appalachian Trail hikers and did other odd jobs. I called home one day, and my father asked if I had brought my rifle. I told him that this group didn’t have good memories from the last time Maine boys showed up armed.
That got a laugh from one of the older local gentlemen I was working with.
Our hosts knew we came from a Catholic school, so they were open about sharing their faith. Setting aside the finer points of theological debate or ecclesiastical organization, one of the guys offered a perspective that landed home.
As we were getting ready to leave, we started to say our goodbyes. He corrected me. He said it wasn’t “goodbye”; it’s “I’ll see you again.” He was a man of faith and, in his heart, knew our time on Earth was not the end of the story. And if you have eternity ahead, you will cross paths with everyone once more.
That story came to mind over the past couple weeks. It isn’t nearly as dramatic as eternity, but the Bangor Daily News is making changes to its opinion sections. So, for my regularly scheduled columns, this is the end.
But it’s not “goodbye.” It’s “I’ll see you again.”
This isn’t somber or sad. The newspaper business is difficult on a good day. Like any enterprise, the BDN’s leadership team is trying to find a sustainable way forward. I’m cheering them on. As I wrote on July 15, 2023, local news is still a good thing.
It has been a fun decade-plus experience writing this column. It gave me a place to share cherished memories of my grandfather after his passing.
Having a platform from which I could offer a quixotic rallying cry against the federal government gave me a grin. Back when it was a live issue, I suggested telling Washington to pound sand when it came to Real ID mandates. When it came to settling asylum-seekers in Maine but not allowing them to work, we could have cheekily challenged the feds for their nonsense rules.
Immigration is still a huge issue, and with a new White House team assembled, there will be action at hand. Yet it was exciting to explore Maine’s history in that arena, whether it was “New Sweden” or the Lebanese ancestors of political families like the Baldaccis and Mitchells.
Christmas columns were a lot of fun, like riffing on old poems. Frankly, I enjoyed trying to draw analogies from movies — “The Grinch,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and the “Muppet Christmas Carol” — to ongoing political and social issues.
I tried to highlight times when I might have differed from my friends who lean right. For example, it was great when Androscoggin Savings Bank started offering lending products that could let Islamic immigrants participate in the American dream. Or celebrating the Legislature’s decision to put kids on an even footing and ensure they all had lunch.
And one of my proudest moments was when Al Diamon — the dean of curmudgeonly commentators in Maine — took the time to call me “ultra-boring.” In the words of Chilli, the mom in “Bluey,” boring things are important sometimes. So I’m assuming he just meant to call me ultra-important.
OK. Maybe not.
But thank you for reading over the years. And this isn’t “goodbye” — it’s “I’ll see you again.”
That especially holds true in Maine. There’s just not that many of us.