Dear Readers, 

I get it that you are mad at the decision to shutter the emergency room at St. Andrews Hospital. 

I get it that you feel betrayed and tricked by the Lincoln County Healthcare board of directors and the guys in the dark suits who hid behind closed doors as they decided to close the our hospital’s emergency room.

I get it you are livid because they dared to leave you out of a decision of great community importance.

I get it that you supported St. Andrews Hospital over the years because it was the right thing to do and because you might need it in the future. 

I get it you are afraid that shifting emergency room services to Damariscotta might put you and your loved ones in jeopardy.

Like Southport’s Dan Caputo said at the Wednesday meeting, I get it that lots of folks believe they have been treated like mushrooms (you know the rest of the joke). Caputo also said the time for carping and moaning is over. He said it is time to do something. He is right.

Now what do we do? We are all grownups. We understand that the tooth fairy is not going to fly down to our peninsula and drop off a huge bag of cash and make it all better. 

We know that the elected selectmen and legislators do not have the power to sign a resolution that will fix the problem in a flash. 

We live in, and represent, separate towns. But, as one selectman reminded me this morning, we are joined together at the hip. We are in this boat together. And, dear friends, it is no secret that the final solution will involve lots and lots of money.

I do not have all the answers. But this I do know. The 300-plus folks in that grade school gym last Wednesday are mad as hornets and they are ready to do something. I know these 300-plus folks are bright, resourceful, hardworking and serious.

A lot of them are gray beards, just like me, who enjoy grandpa and grandma-hood because of hard work, a pinch of grit and a lot of good fortune. We have picked up a bit of knowledge and, dare I say it, wisdom along the way.

Remember, these gray beards are part of a generation that survived the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80, '90s. They lived through World War II, civil rights battles, the Vietnam War and Watergate. They survived Hitler, not to mention Spike Jones, Chubby Checker and the Stones. They cheered with wonder when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and idolized scientists who discovered magic potions that treated our ailments. They marveled as hardworking folks changed our lives when they turned our typewriters into desktops, and desktops into laptops, and laptops into smart phones. 

Over the years, we have learned how to handle adversity and change. We have learned that hard work and brain power can solve tough problems.

So let’s get to work. The select boards, political types and committee folks will study the situation. The folks at Lincoln County Healthcare have said they will share data with us. The guys in the dark suits and the doctors who work for the guys in dark suits will be around to try to convince us they are right and we are full of hot air. Fair enough.

But in the end, it will be up to us to solve the problem, the same way our parents, grandparents and great grandparents figured out a way to scratch out a living out of a hostile land and dangerous sea. They are the same folks who built a lovely community on the “Rockbound Coast of Maine” that lures visitors from away just so they can sit on a ledge and dip their toes in our coves. 

Don’t forget, we have friends in our community who provided the leadership that built the beautiful YMCA facility, the gorgeous botanical gardens, and created a land trust that protects more than 1,700 acres of our woods and shores. We have folks living in our neighborhoods who can turn trees into stunning yachts and cold slabs of steel into mighty tugs. 

We have proved we can meet big challenges and solve tough problems. 

Dear readers, the time for complaining is over. Let’s get to work.