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I'm sure Maine doesn't corner the market on friendliness and helpfulness, but we certainly contribute a great deal. Tonight, driving back from Bangor, I thought that it would be fun to start a thread where we could share our examples of "The Way Life Should Be".
I'll start...
A couple of years ago, I left my car at a little store out on Rt 9 in Alexander. I was sharing a ride with co-worker to a workshop in Augusta, and this was the best place for us to meet. When we got back, about 15 hours later, my co-worker got out of her car and said, "Oh no, someone hit your car!". I came around from the passenger side of her car and sure 'nough, the front headlight was broken, and that whole front corner of the car was dented. It wasn't pretty. As we were looking it over I glanced up and saw a piece of paper under the wiper. It was a note--a very apologetic note--from the person who hit my car, explaining what had happened, and included his name, address, and phone number. Now, this would be a great place for the story to end, but that's not all of it.
I called him when I got home, and it turned out we had the same insurance company---one of the online companies that you hope will pull it together when you need them (with the help of their cavemen). I made the call to the insurance company, and they said they'd contact the local ( "local" in my county means within 90 miles!) person to do the claim. The next day, I decided to take that car to another workshop, an hour from home, at UMM. I knew I'd be home before dark, and it was driveable, so I wasn't worried about it. Just after lunch, in the middle of my presentation, I heard my name paged over-head, to pick up the nearest phone. All I could think of was "there's no way that car could get hit again!". It didn't. It was the claims adjuster. She had driven down from Milbridge and tracked me down at the University, so that my claim could be processed ASAP!
I smile every time I think of this....it's an example of how you hope things will happen. The best part is, things like this happen every single day here!
A couple of years ago in January, I was headed down to Mass to visit my in-laws when the front bearing and lock-out hub on the Nissan Pathfinder we had decided to give up the ghost on I-95. Inside the vehicle besides myself was my wife and our 2 small boys. I managed to limp it off the highway and into the parking lot of Two-Rivers Canoe in Medway. The owner was just about to close for the evening, but saw us in the parking lot checking out the front-end and invited us in to use the phone. The only people we could call was 2 hours away up in Caribou, so he called his wife to tell her he was going to be late getting home because he was going to stay there so we had a warm place to stay until our ride got there. Then he called a friend who owned a repair shop in East Millinocket, the friend arrived with his tow truck and took it over to his shop so it wouldn't sit unattended over night. Two-Rivers Canoe let my boys play with toys off the shelf and have the run of his place for a bit over 2 hours. The friend who towed the Pathfinder fixed the front end the following day so I could come back down to get my vehicle and wouldn't take anything more than the $24 it cost for replacement bearings(didn't charge for getting out and towing me that night). He took out the broken hub and had the part numbers written down and cross-referenced for me even though he knew I wasn't going to have him do the work, just so I could drive it back home to the Caribou area and not pay for a tow. Nice to live where that isn't uncommon anymore.
About 15 years ago, my parents started going down to the Florida Keys for a aprt of the winter- they drive down, and enjoy doing so. The first few years, my father was much more cautious about being out of his element (which is Deer Isle for the past 67 years..) and aware of his surroundings.
One year, as they were driving through Washington, DC, there was a (freak) snow storm and many stupid people were off the road, but my dad, being very experienced in driving in snow, kept going- they wanted to clear the city before they stopped for the night. So my father gets a bit nervous, because there it a car following them.. even when they change lanes.
This goes on for several miles (this was before they had a cell phone, or I think my father might have actually used it!), until they have the opportunity to turn on to a smaller highway.. and the car still follows. They see a Holiday Inn (or similar chain) and pull into the parking lot (but damn sure to pull right in front of the lobby door!). The car follows.
My father, likely on the verge of a heart attack, gets out of their van and glares in the direction of the car, or rather the man that jumped out and was coming towards him, smiling like a fool (threat level went down quite a bit right there..), and saying "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to make you nervous, sir. I was coming up through the storm and when I was behind you, I noticed that you had Maine plates. I knew if I wanted to get off the highway without an accident, the car from Maine would be the one to follow!" Turns out, he was a business man from somewhere further south (SC, maybe..), and very unaccustomed to driving in snow..
boy, i could write a book, here,,and maybe thats a good idea molly, to write a book, with short chapters, maine, the way life should be" be good for the department of tourism. so, molly,,,i'll write it with ya,,,and we can write a song, and make a music video of it,,
our pen names can be desmond and molly jones...lol
because i travel so much around the state, ive broken down many a times, out in the backwoods,,,and small towns,,usually just opening the hood,,will entice someone to stop by , and offer some assistance,,
ive been driven 20 miles to a service station, have been asked for dinner/lunch, and i once traded, cutting up a deer, for someone to haul my car to his friends garage.
and numerous times,,i can think of breaking down,,,and the local garage will take ya right in,,,a year or so ago,,i broke down in,,,,between sherman mills and patten,,,needed a tire to be changed,,and walked to a garage a mile away,,one guy was there closing up,,he called his workers back,,and they pushed my car to the garage,,and took care of the tire,,,and what he charged was cheaper than any napa or vip auto place,,and he had me by the short hairs,,he could have charged anything,,
so after i paid the bill, i thank the fella's that helped,,and threw a 20 dollar bill on the desk,, to buy them a round of drinks,,,next time they go for a couple beers somewhere,,
the owner said it wasnt necessary,,but also said,,thats why we dont want to leave anyone stranded,,its not for the money or tips,,its the appreciation folks show,,when you dont screw them,,and hopefully they pass that along..
Last edited by mainebrokerman; 07-10-2007 at 06:13 AM..
I'm back and I have a story. It's not my story, to be honest, but I enjoy it for what it is and I thought it was worth sharing:
"Hey! I live in Maine, nd Tha povity is so that the powa fogot wat bein powa is. Thaya is all kinda industry hea . Yah got the job a unloadin the stuff outa the summa camps when the flatlandas all go home fu tha winta, nd thays nut checks that go out betwwn tha fist an tha therd. nd as fa as I kin see the edjewkashon is ok too. I was jist little wen I leand ta roll a fattie in skool. Then thes the art a runnin ova tha deea with the truk. Is Legel to keep as many as ya kin run ova, the trick is giten em tyed down fist. Fiddleheaden, shrimp peelin, bluebrees ta rake, tippin, wood cuttin, the list goes on an on. But if ya got some standad a livin thayt is diffrent, nd yah git hea an deside yoo gonna change it, than ya run inta problems. As fa as waqes gos I no lots peple tha liv on les ten $500 bucks a month. Wonda how? come on and find out!"
Wasn't that fun? Here's a little more:
"DOAN FORGET FEEDING TURIST DOUBLE DIPT CLAMS CRAM CHOWDER THICK AS CEMENT AN XPLAIN Y THEM HOT DAWGS ARE SO DANG RED AYUH N WORKIN IN BAH HARBOR FOR 5.5 MONTHS JUST LONG ENOUGH TO NOT GET UNENJOYMENT"
Maybe you won't agree but they make me chuckle. Let me know if you want some more - I might be able to find some.
Yes, Molly, I'll have to think about whether being able to read that quickly is something to brag about or not? Hum.... I'll get back at you later...(the boss is comin)
I have a few...
A few years back my son (I think he was 13 at the time) bought a mess of comics from a guy cleaning out his barn. When he got home, he found one that was worth quite a bit of money. He called the guy back and asked if he wanted to split the proceeds when he sold it. The guy said, "Nope, a deal's a deal. I'm all set."
Last Christmas, the same son and my husband were some of the crazy folks that camped out for the PS3. I was so impressed with the way it turned out, I wrote this for my website (where I talk about the way life should be whenever I can...)
I envisioned vultures looking for every opportunity to take someone's coveted spot in line, a "you snooze, you lose", "every man for himself" mentality. Well, that's NOT what happened. What happened was that a local video store had a rotating crew of about 6 people for one spot. Other folks had similar plans. It became a team effort for all the folks there. If someone was going out for coffee or food, they asked if anyone wanted anything. If anyone had to go to the bathroom, get a snack or a drink or just take a walk to relieve the boredom, one of the "spares" took their place. For most of the folks present, these people were complete strangers. When they returned, the spare gave the seat back to the original occupant. No fighting, nobody screwing anyone else. What could have been a very ugly experience instead turned into an event that was enough to restore some of my lost faith in humanity.
We picked strawberries at Stone Wall Farm in Lincoln today. It was the first time we'd been there. The rows weren't weedy, the berries are sweet and the people are very nice. We talked for quite some time before we started picking berries (comparing farming notes). Thirty quarts of berries was only $45. As we were getting ready to leave I told the lady that I'd be back next year. She patted my arm and said, "I hope so, Dear. I'll be looking for you." And she meant it. She was so sincere.
About 10 days ago my husband saw two Canada geese waddling down the side of the road a couple of miles from their known "home." They weren't attempting to fly. They turned left at the first side road and kept going. There's plenty of water out here from lakes and the St. Croix but I'm not sure they'd have found any. They slept on the side of the road at night instead of seeking cover. Before long they were the big topic of conversation at the mom 'n pop store. When they'd made it several miles out that side road one of the residents caught them with a smelt net and a trash can. I'd have paid good money to watch that fiasco! He was concerned for them. They can't fly because their wings were clipped. He let them go on a nearby lake. By the time it's time to migrate their new feathers will be set and they should have the ability to fly again. In case they don't, he'll watch out for them. They didn't fly away last winter. We're not sure they have the instinct to migrate. Not many people would risk the wings of ticked off Canada geese just to make sure they got to water and had a better chance of surviving in the Maine woods.
When my oldest daughter was in high school we were always at the basketball tournaments in Bangor during February vacations. One year I had a flat tire on I95 and couldn't get the lug nuts to budge . Two men from Millinocket were on their way to Bangor to watch their sons play on our rival team. They not only loosened the lug nuts for me, they changed the tire. They wouldn't let me pay them. When I got to the auditorium they were looking for me, making sure I got there. If I hadn't shown up they were going to go looking for me. I was shocked. I'm nobody to them except a woman with a flat tire on the highway yet they would have gone out of their way to make sure I was ok. You don't find people like that every where.
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