Last Week Was a Tough One

Last week was not one of the best ones I’ve had in a while. I guess as we get older in life, we tend to become more impacted by events that we don’t have any control over or feel we should have. Most of my life I’ve been the person that others have come to in their effort to fix things affecting them and others. 

I really do wish I could sleep better at night, or at least sleep six to seven hours soundly. Instead, I tend to get about four hours of sleep, which I don’t think is all that healthy. I’ll roll over and usually put on my glasses and pick up my phone and take a look at one of the sites I usually scan when I can’t sleep. When retiring for the evening on Wednesday night, after laying down for about two hours I was awake again. About 1 AM Thursday morning, I first saw the terrible news regarding the devastating fire in a Maine community I’ve become very fond of, which had broken out between 11 PM and midnight on Wednesday.

A few years ago, I had made a special friendship with a gentleman named Sonny Cushman and his wife Barbara, who lived here on Marco Island. He was quite a character, and I would visit him and his family on the coast of Maine where he had his family’s home in a little place called Port Clyde, just a little south of Rockland, Maine. I interviewed him for a story that featured both he and his wife.

Needless to say, I fell in love with that little idyllic Maine seaport where he grew up, and I’ve since visited at least two other times. Of course, Sonny and Barbara are now both gone, but the memories of the first time driving down into Port Clyde and getting a cup of coffee at the Port Clyde Country Store will stay with me forever.

It is hard to explain the unique nature of the community; From the General Store, which is at the center point of the village, to the docks which would have the gas pumps to fuel the lobster boats or the excursion boats which ran out to Monhegan Island and to those who lived out on Hupper Island. Small, well-kept homes lined Port Clyde Road, bringing you down into the bustling little port itself with its lobster fleets and the iconic small fishing shacks, such as the one that housed the Cushman family’s operation over the many years they owned it.

The fire was truly a tragedy, and nothing will ever be the same. But these are rugged people who have survived other setbacks in their history, and they will rebuild and once again provide generations of those that call Port Clyde home a proud legacy to look back upon.

If the fire in Maine wasn’t enough of an emotional roller coaster last week, we once again witnessed our nation rocked by the inability of our government, and those who sit in the seats of Congress, to act like adults. Only four times in the last 40 years have we seen Congress pass all of the required appropriation measures on time. This is an absolute dereliction of duties and an embarrassment to our nation. The fault lies squarely on the shoulders of Republicans and Democrats.

The time has certainly come for a reasoned and non-partisan review of term limits. It is apparent that a Constitutional Amendment, which will invoke term limits, is needed. Power is more addictive than some of the very narcotics that can be found on our nation’s streets.

Had our Founding Fathers envisioned a “ruling class of politicians,” they surely would have penned a limit on the number of years a member of Congress could serve. George Washington himself stepped down after two terms as President. Yet, it wasn’t until 1951 that the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was passed, which enshrined that into law.

In modern times there have been 10 Senators who have served 41-51 years in office and another 15 who have served 25 to 39 years in office. Does this make any sense to you?

The 2024 election may in fact find more serious discussion regarding a possible third party candidate for President. I am not advocating for that, but without the two major parties presenting their voters with better choices, a formidable ticket may arise.