An Alna without Everett “Tom” Albee is not quite the same. Albee, who died Dec. 31, always embodied the best of the town, its ruralness and good nature; and when someone has been so much a part of a town, a local icon, really, their death leaves a void. But their life leaves an example of how to be, as a person and a town.

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Well, 2024, with all the floods, you are not making a good first impression. The nuisance snowstorms and upcoming frigid temperatures come with any Maine winter. It is part of the deal living on the beautiful Midcoast. So are floods, but the back to back, extreme ones were a little much. 

Thank you to public works, public safety and others for dealing with it all and encouraging the rest of us to stay safe and not drive or walk through flood water. We all have places to go, but play the long game, fellow laypeople: Heed the familiar advice: Turn around, don’t drown. 

This also avoids putting others at risk trying to pull you out. 

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Week’s positive parting thought: January is more than half over!