MEA Board Retreat

     I checked in yesterday here in Northport for another MEA Board retreat. I attended two meetings yesterday afternoon, began dealing with a local issue via phone call, and then had a nice dinner in Lincolnville with the Board members who had to be here yesterday.  The real retreat begins today with combined activities with MEA staff and some trainers from the NEA.
     Like all of my Association work there will be long days that end with some fun with superior education professionals. Tonight we have a dinner "at the top of the hill" there will be bowling one evening, and I'm meeting M-S in Rockland for dinner one night. Love this work.
~MET

Night on the Town

 Rolling in way past midnight is a rare event for me - but we had a fantastic time in the Old Port last night. We met up with Linda & Mark to see one of my favorite blues/rockabilly artists: Travis James Humphrey. If you've never seen him, check him out: http://www.travisjameshumphrey.com/  He's also on Spoyify. We started the night at Zapoteca, and if you like Mexican food this is the place for you.
 They have a ton of salsas to try and everything is fresh and delicious. This salsa was flavored with cashews:

 I can'r remember what this was called but it included lobster, squid, and white fish:

 From there its just a short walk to Gingko Blue:

 Its a really cool bar that features jazz and blues. They have big comfy chairs and really good cocktails.

 It was full and hoppin' by 10pm. Photo bomb:

 Travis played the two songs I requested and came over to hang out with us during one of his breaks.

 We also met up with a young teacher named Drew who works with Linda and went to college with Sarah:

Like I said, I don't stay up late much any more but we stayed for the whole show. We danced and had a blast. Life is good.
~MET

A Soggy Birthday Celebration

 Yesterday my father turned 76. To celebrate we took him to the big city. We stopped in to see Sarah very briefly...mostly so we could use one of her parking spaces. Plus Tut wanted to meet Gus:

 Then we walked up to Congress St. to have dinner at Hot Suppa.

 We had some great conversation and some amazing food. I had oysters and then an oyster po' boy - both outstanding. The highlight was to be a trip to Hadlock to see the Seadogs play the Nationals AA affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators. This was what we found when we got there:

They did get the game in after a late start, but we decided not to sit in the rain to see if was going to happen. I am going to try to get Dad to the park later this year, maybe for a day game this fall. We still had a very good time swapping stories and toasting the life of a very good man. Happy birthday, Tut!
~MET

A Beautiful Final Resting Place

 Today I joined my father and siblings to scatter Ma's ashes at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta. We decided on this spot along the Hosta Trail. Its a beautiful area, and one that we all felt that Ma would have loved.

There are lots of different plants, big rocks, nice trees, and a bench on which to sit and reflect. The path through this part of the woods is well-groomed and large. I am looking forward to walking through there many times, and I'm already planning to snowshoe to the spot on her birthday in February. It seems a perfect place for her ashes.
~MET

A Blizzard of Love

 The photo above is the front of an over-sized postcard that came in the mail today addressed to my wife. I just thought it was worth sharing. Every year we get a Christmas card from M-S's Aunt Marty.  Inside the card there is always an ornament that Aunt Marty has crocheted for us. We have all sorts of bells, sleighs, trees, and - of course - snowflakes. After the Sandy Hook massacre the school was collecting snowflakes to decorate the replacement building so the surviving children would feel like there were people out there who were thinking about them. As you can imagine, they received thousands. Three of them were from my wife via the talented hands of Aunt Marty. What I am most amazed about is that they sent a thank you card to everyone who donated a flake. Here is what the back of the card said:

I can't say how impressed I am by this gesture. The Sandy Hook faculty, community, and PTA are all class acts. And so is my wife.
~MET

Back on the AT

 Jesse and I did another section of the Appalachian Trail over the past couple of days. With the heat and humidity under control, it was a great time. We started in the middle of absolutely nowhere, miles down a dirt road along Lake Moxie. Yesterday we backpacked up Mt. Pleasant. It was a long hike and the views were spectacular:

 Then we descended to what might be the worst lean-to we have stayed in to date:

 It was small, had little mice running around, and smelled kinda funky. But it does come with a great amenity - Pleasant Pond:

 The pond has the clearest water I have ever seen in a body of water in Maine. The bottom is all sand and we enjoyed a very refreshing swim. We made supper, had a cigar, and talked education, politics, and family stuff. The usual.

 Today was another long walk with great weather and scenery. The woods always provide millions of things to look at. I love the huge moss carpet here:

 I have crossed thousands of rivers and brooks while hiking and they all seem to have a personality of their own:

Its been a while since I've had the big pack on my back, so I'm tired and sore today. We were hiking south so we crossed paths with perhaps 15 thru-hikers headed to Katahdin. They were all male, thin, and with lots of facial hair. I love talking to these guys. There were a range of ages but they all seemed pretty excited to have around 150 miles to go since they took their first step in March. Good times.
~MET

Summer Tradition

 It certainly feels like summer outside, so lets bring that feeling inside as well. M-S's sister and family is visiting from Virginia so we went to my in-laws for a ton of lobster and potato salad.

Every time I have lobster now I can't help but think of my mother. No food made her more happy. Today I will be inside working on NEA issues and a bill that will be coming to the House floor this week. Thank goodness for air conditioning.
~MET

My New Favorite Spice

 M-S & I love the Sheepscot General Store for lots of reasons...and today I found another one. Highland Foods is a local company in Newcastle, and I saw this spice on the shelves of the Sheep today. My plan was to grill some tuna steaks for supper, and this spice seemed like a natural. And it was:

Tuna steak with brown rice, grilled summer squash, and all with some delicious maple pepper. Its been a pretty good day for food. Dad joined me, M-S, Linda & Mark, and M-S's sister Mia for brunch at the Liberal Cup. My lobster omelet was very good...but it could have used some maple pepper. Just saying.
~MET

After Eating in Restaurants for What Seemed Like Forever...

...I am enjoying my kitchen again. I went grocery shopping today and planned out my seven meals over the next two weeks. The picture is of the lemon-pepper chicken that is cooking in the crock-pot for tonight. Its so easy and is supposed to be really good. I put four tin-foil balls under the bird so that it would not sit in its own juices. Dad is coming out for tonight's meal. I am also cooking the giblets for Bax and the Dingo. My meals will be:

• Lemon-pepper chicken with mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, stuffing, and gravy...YUM!
• Tuna steaks & summer squash
• Steak on the grill
• Emory's sausage and fries
• Hawaiian chicken
• President Obama's chili recipe
• Southern-style pork chops

Many of these meals will be prepared on the grill - summer cooking at its best. I love cooking and have missed preparing meals. Life is good.
~MET

Another Wonderful RA - Meet Kay Roberts

I Want to Be Like Kay!

     This is Kay Roberts speaking from the floor of the NEA Representative Assembly. She is 98 years old and she was representing Massachusetts at her 60th RA! She is retired now, but when she started teaching in 1937 she made $14 a week during the school year only. 

     I always meet or hear from amazing educators during the RA but Kay stood out this time. She represents what is best about a good teacher: she cares deeply about her students, her craft, and her colleagues. 

     This was a great week and as always the RA recharges my batteries as a teacher and an advocate. I will be working this week to prepare classes for the fall and then more MEA meetings will start happening again. It seems non-stop sometimes, but if Kay can be an active teacher and advocate for 75 years...I guess I can find the energy.

~MET

More From Atlanta

 Things are very busy in the big city now. This workday went from 6am to 7:15pm. Above is the delegation from Maine - an awesome group. Last night I attended the NEA Human & Civil Rights Dinner some folks from Maine. Its always an amazing affair honoring some unbelievable people.

 And they always have some public school students to entertain us:

 Today was the first day of the RA, and I think it went pretty well.

I think there might be some more controversial issues to deal with tomorrow. I am exceptionally tired. I do a lot of running around, and really didn't stop working all day. Good times.
~MET

Great Great Day

 Another long and wonderful day - and they only get longer from here. I love the first picture. Its from the Jimmy Carter Library, and shows all of the buttons that were made depicting the six senators he was  considering for VP. Because he took so long to make a choice they made several of each. Of course, my favorite is the middle top one. We started the day with a lengthy caucus meeting:

 From there I went t the Carter Library:

 It was awesome. There were thousands of artifacts, and much of it has to do with his years after leaving office. Here are just a few pics:

 Click on this one to check out some of his grades:

 His oval office:

 Nobel Peace Prize:

 Grammy Award for his audio book:

 Tonight was "Maine Night" where our delegation spends time together doing something special. We went to the Georgia Aquarium. Again - just a very few pics. Albino gator:

 Some dragon thingy:

 Beluga whales:

 They had a big section of tunnels that put you under the action:

It was very cool to watch a whale shark swim over your head. After that we had dinner together at a sports pub. My first meeting tomorrow (and for the next several days) is at 6am. After meetings in the morning and the afternoon I'll be attending the Human and Civil Rights Awards Dinner where President Carter should be in attendance. Then the next day the RA actually begins. Good times.
~MET