You’re on a game show, at a local diner out of state, filling your car with gas on a trip, and the question get raised..”Maine, what’s it like?”
In this blog post to hit all the highlights is hard. But still as a Maine blogger proud of my state, and ready to toot the horn about it’s people and the way of life and four season outdoor beauty. Here goes anyway.
One reason I have to make a stab at being in the “spotlight on Maine” is because so little about the state is out there on line or very accurate.
If someone moves to the southern tip of Maine and is from the west coast. And suddenly put on camera as a talking head for the place called Maine. More often than not, other than the coast, the rest of Maine is left out is the sound bite.
Like Columbus felt when talk of the world being flat came up at card games, the local livery stable or on board a ship sailing to the unknown corners of the new world. Maine’s like that. Pretty much a secret.
Maine for starters is one big state, and here is a quick ME geography, history, facts, figures house keeping run down from A-Z for up here in the right hand corner of the country.
And for images, rather than worlds scope out this eyeball candy Maine photo, image site. Ok, Ok, Here is a splash on Maine lighthouses too. Happy? Maine is so much more than lobsters, lighthouses, blueberries and potatoes.
Maine people are resilent, know who they are, don’t need life coaches or extensive couch therapy or mood elevators to enjoy life. Mainers are responsible, family oriented, friendly, neighborly, community proud with a ferocity. The outdoor four seasons of Maine is where the answers to life’s mysteries, complexities, pressures are found. The Maine forests, Baxter’s Mt Katahdin and 6000 lakes, rivers know the meaning of patience, time. We Mainers protect what God gave us to be good stewards with, to pass on to our kids.
Maine is coming to terms with lower wages, smaller population centers.
But that makes us more resourceful, stronger volunteers, closer local citizens. Home grown, helping each other, more aware of the priorieties in life. No chip on our shoulder, or entitlement attitude or trying to short cut on any road to riches in Maine. Money to impress people? You won’t find that “look who I am attitude, what I have” attitude game played here. No pecking order, no steerage mentality of anyone being any better or worse than anyone else. We accept people, want the same done in return.
It’s how we roll in Maine.
Keep it simple, be helpful, make it real. Maine.
We don’t la-de-da as the Van Morrison song croones. Who we are is who you see. Whether talking one on one playing horseshoes or cribbage or at a large municipal town hall, grange bean supper or at a sporting event.
Jumper cables ready in the car or pickup and ready to stop, give you a hand. Make sure you are okay or need a lift somewhere, to call someone. To help you out. Mainer’s need each other but are self contained at the same time.
This small town Houlton Maine Meduxnekeag Canoe race video shows you how we interact with mutual respect, courtesy, friendliness, a mixture of gratitude in this case that spring is here. That means getting out on the water, a Maine river. This year’s canoe kayak race by the way is May 1st, so spread the word will you?
Or this Maine winter ski video shows you winter snow is not a dirty word.
Evidence that we thrive on cobalt blue skies, carving down a hill under a bright sun gaining strength signaling that spring is approaching. So when someone asks “what’s Maine like?” if you can only use one word answers, you could do it. If you had lived for awhile to see how different it is from most places.
To describe Maine one word at a time, I would pick “grateful”, “family”, “industrious,” “hardworking,” “resourceful,” “aware,” “outdoors,” “recreation,” “simple,” “grounded,” “clean,” “healthy,” “friendly”, “neighborly”,”unique.”
Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation Season 6, Episode 12 television food/travel show covered Maine in broad brush fashion on a recent installment.
But at least with the help of a Milo Maine camera man, Zach Zamboni for a local perspective. Scope out a Maine Bourdain show video clip. It is so refreshing to have more than the Maine coastal areas highlighted, “pressed” by someone as the local talking head who not even raised here. With no childhood, family, local community perspective to really draw from. No real history, or life long experience with this place, state of mind we call Maine.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com
MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA