This American Life: Maine Edition
Maine is a big state.
Now, I know all my friends out west will try to put me in my place. Of course Maine doesn't compare to most western states in geographical area, but maybe it's because Maine feels particularly big relative to our surroundings. Also, our roads are not generally very straight. The only state we border is (no offense) pretty small land-wise, and the other states past that are also relatively small. We're next to lots of big Canadian provinces, but somehow that doesn't seem to be a factor in perception. So when you tell someone from another part of the northeast that you live in Northern Maine, they most likely won't understand what that really means. Heck, a lot of Mainers don't really know what that means.
"Northern Maine? So, like, Bangor?" "Ummm... not quite..."
Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that Maine felt especially big today on my drive from Old Town to Dover-Foxcroft to Caribou and back to Presque Isle. An easy drive, and beautiful, but long. Luckily I had a few episodes of This American Life to keep me company.
As many of you probably know, every episode of This American Life always has a theme and they have a number of stories to go along with that theme. Today I listened to "Conventions" and "What I Did For Love." The latter had a great story about a duck falling in love with a rock. But I digress.
I stopped in Howland at the 95 Diner to get some coffee and a snack. Coffee mug in the cup holder, date bar sitting on the console, I was about to drive away in the big red Maine Winter Sports Center logo-plastered truck hauling a Healthy Hometowns trailer when I noticed a man walking towards me. He motioned to roll down my window. My first thought was that I had maybe upset him with my parking job. I was way off to one side of the lot, facing the road, but parking that trailer always makes me nervous.
Turns out this guy wasn't at all interested in where my truck was, he was only interested that it was a MWSC truck. He introduced himself as a relative of a former MWSC employee and wanted to know what I was doing in that part of the state. I told him I'd spent a couple days skiing with kids in Dover-Foxcroft and we got to chatting. This guy loves skiing and was really excited to hear all about the increasing momentum around Nordic skiing in the center of Maine. He seems like one of those enthusiasts that's a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, the ones that make everything happen that most skiers never even realize happened. (Grooming! Track setting! Trail building! Race course set-up!) He told me to contact him if he could help in any way and I actually managed to find a business card to hand him. I left the 95 Diner feeling pretty excited about life. There's nothing like finding another Nordic lover to make you smile.
Back in the truck, sipping my coffee, and ruminating about the past few days, I got thinking that This American Life should do a show about one place. That would be the theme. Go to that place and find the stories. And the best way to discover the stories would be to shadow someone that has to do a lot of driving around that place. Of course I'm totally biased and think that northern Maine would be a good place to start. (Other things would be cool too, like following a bike delivery person in a city or a highway patrol officer in a state with really long, straight roads.) But just follow me around for a couple days and it's inevitable that you meet some really cool people. Evidence: the guy I just met in the parking lot in Howland. Not only would you meet interesting people, but you would get a different look at some really interesting places. Visiting a school is one of the best ways to get a feel for a town. Turning off the main drag and down the main street is the only way to really see a town. Drop into the Appalachian Trail Cafe in Millinocket. Visit a school in an unorganized territory. Stop in at the Boom House Museum on Ambajejus Lake and get Chuck to tell you a few stories.
In lieu of actually having a This American Life producer shadowing me around, I'll do my best to write down the good stories when they happen. Maybe you can even imagine Ira Glass reading it out loud. Just kidding, don't do that. The writing won't be good enough to merit that. But I think maybe sometimes the best stories are the ones that at first glance don't seem like stories at all. I'm sure my idea isn't new and that many folks have already harassed the poor interns at Chicago Public Radio with similar pitches. But it's made me look a little differently at my travels around the state and that's enough for me. Time to get writing!
Now, I know all my friends out west will try to put me in my place. Of course Maine doesn't compare to most western states in geographical area, but maybe it's because Maine feels particularly big relative to our surroundings. Also, our roads are not generally very straight. The only state we border is (no offense) pretty small land-wise, and the other states past that are also relatively small. We're next to lots of big Canadian provinces, but somehow that doesn't seem to be a factor in perception. So when you tell someone from another part of the northeast that you live in Northern Maine, they most likely won't understand what that really means. Heck, a lot of Mainers don't really know what that means.
"Northern Maine? So, like, Bangor?" "Ummm... not quite..."
Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that Maine felt especially big today on my drive from Old Town to Dover-Foxcroft to Caribou and back to Presque Isle. An easy drive, and beautiful, but long. Luckily I had a few episodes of This American Life to keep me company.
As many of you probably know, every episode of This American Life always has a theme and they have a number of stories to go along with that theme. Today I listened to "Conventions" and "What I Did For Love." The latter had a great story about a duck falling in love with a rock. But I digress.
I stopped in Howland at the 95 Diner to get some coffee and a snack. Coffee mug in the cup holder, date bar sitting on the console, I was about to drive away in the big red Maine Winter Sports Center logo-plastered truck hauling a Healthy Hometowns trailer when I noticed a man walking towards me. He motioned to roll down my window. My first thought was that I had maybe upset him with my parking job. I was way off to one side of the lot, facing the road, but parking that trailer always makes me nervous.
Turns out this guy wasn't at all interested in where my truck was, he was only interested that it was a MWSC truck. He introduced himself as a relative of a former MWSC employee and wanted to know what I was doing in that part of the state. I told him I'd spent a couple days skiing with kids in Dover-Foxcroft and we got to chatting. This guy loves skiing and was really excited to hear all about the increasing momentum around Nordic skiing in the center of Maine. He seems like one of those enthusiasts that's a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, the ones that make everything happen that most skiers never even realize happened. (Grooming! Track setting! Trail building! Race course set-up!) He told me to contact him if he could help in any way and I actually managed to find a business card to hand him. I left the 95 Diner feeling pretty excited about life. There's nothing like finding another Nordic lover to make you smile.
Back in the truck, sipping my coffee, and ruminating about the past few days, I got thinking that This American Life should do a show about one place. That would be the theme. Go to that place and find the stories. And the best way to discover the stories would be to shadow someone that has to do a lot of driving around that place. Of course I'm totally biased and think that northern Maine would be a good place to start. (Other things would be cool too, like following a bike delivery person in a city or a highway patrol officer in a state with really long, straight roads.) But just follow me around for a couple days and it's inevitable that you meet some really cool people. Evidence: the guy I just met in the parking lot in Howland. Not only would you meet interesting people, but you would get a different look at some really interesting places. Visiting a school is one of the best ways to get a feel for a town. Turning off the main drag and down the main street is the only way to really see a town. Drop into the Appalachian Trail Cafe in Millinocket. Visit a school in an unorganized territory. Stop in at the Boom House Museum on Ambajejus Lake and get Chuck to tell you a few stories.
In lieu of actually having a This American Life producer shadowing me around, I'll do my best to write down the good stories when they happen. Maybe you can even imagine Ira Glass reading it out loud. Just kidding, don't do that. The writing won't be good enough to merit that. But I think maybe sometimes the best stories are the ones that at first glance don't seem like stories at all. I'm sure my idea isn't new and that many folks have already harassed the poor interns at Chicago Public Radio with similar pitches. But it's made me look a little differently at my travels around the state and that's enough for me. Time to get writing!
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| Every blog needs a photo. View of Katahdin at sunset from South Twin Lake on Wednesday. |
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