Ouch! I fell on my head!
Matt Nakoa @ the Boothbay Opera House
I was helping Donna. She’s been hyper-gardening. I was wheeling a barrow full of debris, dumping it over the side, when the branches gave way and, as Howard Cosell would have said, “Down goes Barnako!”
I stopped sliding when my head rammed a tree trunk. “Brain Bleed” I imagined immediately, and so worried my sister (who’s visiting from Illinois). I called my doctor in South Carolina, who said, “Get thee to an ER”, which I did. Here in Maine, we have the BEST ER room at Lincoln Health’s Miles Memorial campus, in Damariscotta. Within 90 minutes of walking in, I had a brief physical exam, a taking of the vitals (Hey, that BP is still good!) Collection of medical history, a CAT scan and evaluation, and an Xray. How lucky am I? How fortunate am I? Ya know, while our health has been very good, at least once a summer, one of us ends up at Miles, needing attention, STAT. And each time, the folks deliver. Low key, professional, clean, skilled and accessible.
Whenever I have to go there, I talk with the medical folks. I’m never surprised when the doctors say they’re at Miles because it’s in Maine, and the quality of life here is so good. Their credentials are good, their care is good. Which is why we make contributions each year.
Later my SC doctor called to follow up and see how I was doing and to make sure I’d had a CAT scan I easily could have downplayed the whole experience, since I felt fine - and could have said the scan was much ado about medicine. “I was afraid you’d not do it,” Dr. G said. I told him that his advice was to do such-and-such, that’s what I did.
So, I’ve been taking it easy - did I mention bruised ribs? (You know what they do for bruised ribs? NOTHING!) Tylenol or aspirin, your preference
There has been lots of other stuff going on. Last weekend we went to the Boothbay Opera House to hear Tom Rush (81 years old and still story-telling-rocking. He’s touring with https://www.boothbayregister.com/article/opera-house-tom-rush-matt-nakoa-and-kruger-brothers/162108 , Matt Nakoa, a 30-ish contemporary folk singer. His musical skills - piano and guitar - are excellent, and his song writing is lyrical and poetic.
Did I mention my sister and her husband are still here? What a gift! Andrea and I live far away from each other; she in Illinois and me in Maine or South Carolina. While we have stayed in touch, the first-person encounters, have been rare. Spending time with her and Tom, has given me an unexpected, late-in-life appreciation of family.
Tom and I went for takeout pizza on Friday night to the Cubbyhole Sports Pub. A few days before, we had dinner at the Water Street Kitchen and Bar. Excellent. (The scampi was really good and buttery. Donna’s lobster risotto was good. The desserts were excellent. Business was also good … that Sunday night it looked like they turned the tables twice.
Last weekend saw the return of Wiscasset’s house tour, “Homes on Tour”. The last one was in the ‘60s, Wiscasset has a number of National Register homes, dating from the 19th century, when it was busy shipbuilding and trading. A number of homes were built by captains as the town prospered until President Jefferson’s embargo in 1807 on International trade choked the economy.
The Tour is one of five annual activities bringing arts and entertainment, under the banner of Wiscasset Creative Alliance, to this little village of about 4,000. The house tour included six properties. Docents and owners were on hand to explain the history and context of each house. I spent the day on the waterfront selling tickets where I heard rave comments about the houses and to a person the reviews were outstanding. This little town looked like it was big stuff, and delivered like it is. We’ll do it again next year.
https://www.wiscassetcreativealliance.org/houseandgardentour
https://www.mainehealth.org/lincolnhealth?utm_source=google&utm_medium=local
Matt Nakoa @ the Boothbay Opera House
Wiscasset’s favorite sign
About this blog:
Man about Wiscasset
Frank Barnako is a seasonal resident of Wiscasset at Clarks Point on the Sheepscot River. His career in journalism included on air and news director positions with CBS and NBC Radio and TV stations. He was a pioneer in the Internet, helping to create and co-found MarketWatch.com where he also developed a 200-station radio network and wrote daily columns focused on the stock market, business news, and technology. Barnako describes himself as “an aspiring photographer,” whose work can be seen at frankbarnako.com<http://frankbarnako.com>. He is a member of the town’s Investment Advisory Committee. Email him at wiscasset@barnako.com.
