Maybe Maine isn't so bad after all

[Elcarim]

Beautiful family, Bob! And nice catch!! (the fish)

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

Beautiful family, Bob! And nice catch!! (the fish)

Thanks to all for the nice words about the family ... and she (DW)was a nice catch!

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by BobTex

For sure!

629-0, 4", pinned and recessed! Odie but goodie!
I love my Smith & Wessons!

Ah, yes, I have one similar, except with a 3" bbl. I usually feed it my custom handloads, underpowered compared to factory mag loads. Two cylinders of factory loads and everything has to be tightened up again.

The shot shells are definitely handy in snake country.

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by Petertherock

I lived in Massachusetts almost all my life and if you said "Hi." to a stranger on the street you would get dirty looks. As bad as I make Maine out to be it's 1000 times better than where I was in Massachusetts.

I'm curious...where were you in MA?
I grew up on Cape Cod and although the people drove like LUNATICS I didn't find them to be unfriendly.

[mollysmiles]

where is Peter? has he been around? hmmm.....he must be out enjoying the great weather!

[mainewannabe]

I have to say that Texas has some cool people. Most of the really cool and decent people have already left Florida. It is one of the most corrupt states in the Union, racing neck and neck with Jerz. (sorry but it's true) In New Jersey the other day they arrested about 11 or 12 people -- if the people here in Tampa FL who run the place were put under a microscope the same thing would happen here (only more would be arrested) and in most of the FLorida cities I can think of.
The mob is taking over FL; they're going to own it just like they do jersey and vegas ... it's just not a good place to be. It really doesn't even look that pretty anymore. You can't get near the water, all the marinas have been sold to private developers .... you see what I mean?
Some folks (the new ones) have this idea in their heads of "what is 'florida' " so they started barrel-tiling all the roofs (hellllloooo cheap-zorro-set) .. painting everything absolutely putrid shades of some brown green or pastel ... (not attractive) .. AND they plant at least 100 palm trees every 200 feet. It's unbelievable.
I got in trouble once for making a comment without backing it up. I hope this is considered 'backup'. It's personal observation and it's the truth. If you're considering Florida, please reconsider. Or visit for a long, long time first. There are still nice parts but that would be in the center of the ... nope, not even there. There is nowhere I would recommend, frankly.
Maine sounds like paradise in comparison and I've lived in this unendurable heat forever .... Too bad we can't work out a trade. You take my house for the bad winter months and I'll take your place ...
My intention is never to endure another Florida summer. Every day we talk about how happy we are to be moving.
I've lived here all of my life and we've never been afraid of hurricanes. (we laugh in the face of danger ho ho ho ... j/k) but this last few years the fear factor has been stressed to scare more folks out. The rising insurance rates and taxes do not factor for me (luck) and --- when the home-depots sell out of plywood and water every few months during hurricane season (now) I can only wonder what these people did with all the plywood from last year.
I've never bought any. We've never had any trouble. People with million gazillion dollar homes, plywooding up the windows.
One State Senator requiring ... shutters. Yes, in a hurricane 5 get behind those shutters. Kickbacks.
I just don't know where to go to look for FLorida but, she is NOT HERE anymore.

Florida left and something strange remains and it's very sad. Or else I would not be ... as happy as I am to come to Maine.
I always wanted to be in Maine since the first time I laid eyes on her/him. But, now with the additional assault on the loveliness and sanctity of Florida, I won't even have anything to miss. My memories here are all wiped out replaced by someone's idea of what "Florida" is.

I just get the feeling you have too much appreciation for life to miss what I am talking about. It's not in Florida anymore. And true Floridians have already mourned same.

Originally Posted by Petertherock

I know I have almost constantly complained about Maine. But in reality my biggest issue is I hate the winters. But as much as I hate the winters I also have a hard time dealing with the heat and humidity of the summer.

As many of you are aware I have been considering a move to Florida or Texas. As much as I would love the winters and the palm trees and having flowers and leaves on the trees year round I don't think I could deal with the constant heat. Sure, I would probably be able to deal with it by having the AC on 24/7, going to work and Church in AC all year around but is that really any healthier than the winters in Maine?

Sure, no snow and no cold weather will result in less car repairs and less wear and tear on the cars and the cost of living may be a little cheaper. But is it worth it to have higher crime, more nasty bugs year round, wall to wall traffic and people...and quite honestly with the way places like Florida and Texas are expanding it won't be long before the cost of living is just as expensive there as it is in Maine. It's already high in Florida.

Yeah, the southern states give you more opportunity to swim in the ocean since you can't comfortably swim in Maine beaches (I don't consider water temps in the 60s as swimming temps) but at the same time you don't have sharks and jellyfish in Maine. Not to mention alligators in your swimming pools like you have in Florida.

From what I have heard the job market is just as bad if not worse in Florida as it is in Maine. I don't see where Texas is any better either. Another thing is even though hurricanes can happen in Maine, they are rare and almost always lose most of their strength by the time they get up this way. We also CAN get tornadoes but those are also rare and if we do get them they are usually weak...even though a weak tornado can still be deadly. But at least in Maine we don't have to worry about a Cat 5 Katrina or Andrew or Charlie destroying most of the state of Maine. About the worst we get is storms like the Patriot's Day Nor' Easter which coincidentally did more damage than any hurricane that has ever hit Maine.

At least Maine has friendly people. I lived in Massachusetts almost all my life and if you said "Hi." to a stranger on the street you would get dirty looks. In Maine almost everyone seems friendly. The crime is relatively low. Although there is places in Portland I wouldn't go without an armed escort even in the day time but that's true with any city.

So, the more I look at things the better and better Maine looks all the time. So like anything...where you live is what you make out of it. As bad as I make Maine out to be it's 1000 times better than where I was in Massachusetts.

[mainewannabe]

I'm glad I said that about there being cool people in Texas. LOL !!!

Bob, I see you measured the snake ... how long?? We grew up just like that ... every now and then having to kill a snake because we weren't sure or WERE SURE. I never did like that. I have too soft a heart. Too much a love for the 'chain of command' of life. Sad when you have to take something out of the equation.

You know I'm not originally from Florida but I DO love Florida and true Floridians. I have always displayed respect towards them and tried to appreciate whatever they have to offer, show or desire.
This bunch that's running the place now are from all over the country, though.
I'd be lying if I didn't say that most of them are from NY, Jerz, OH or PA. It's pretty obvious. There are some from texas but they mainly run in and out ... they don't stick around to 'show us how to do it.' LOL !!

Well, geez, if I hadn't read what molly said I would not have gone to look for this and if I'd stumbled on it I would have been caught off guard.

Thanks for sharing. Brought back some memories.

Originally Posted by BobTex

Alright, I can't sit here and read all this fluff and not add some balance for Pete's sake (Like that?)!

I obviously live in Texas and I love Texas and true Texans (see the handle?). I also love Maine and I lived there and might again if I can convince myself and my lovely wife!

I know a lot of this is anecdotal but so are some of the stories I've read here in this thread. I grew up in the sticks in Texas I've run the Piney Woods of East Texas (a lot of the time barefooted) and the coastal marshes huinting,fishing, and shrimping (sometimes wading in the same water as BIG alligators). I haven't nor has anyone in my family ever been bitten by a spider , I've never seen one in my house(s) much less in my bed. I don't have a bug problem unless I leave the doors open at night with the lights on. I have seen scorpions and had a grandfather stung inside our old house one night (35 years ago). I've known one person bitten by a black widow and one other bitten by a brown recluse (certified in our Emergency Dept.).

I would be willing to bet more people are killed hitting moose in cars than by all the snakebites in the US (I worked the ICU at EMMC). Do we have poisonous snakes ... you bet ... have I had close encounters of the snake kind? ... dozens if not hundreds ... have I ever been bitten? ... not even close! Why? Because I have sense enough to be aware of my surroundings and teach my kids to do so too! I have a hard time believing that many/any poisonous snakes live in surburban areas as I have done some "city living" and never heard of any of that.



I know how to handle snakes! They respond well to the Dirty Harry Treatment!

Now as for Texas, it like Maine or ANYWHERE, short of Heaven itself, has its good points as well as bad. I noticed everyone of those posting bad points about Texas failed to post anything positive(without being sarcastic) ... probably just some character flaw or something!

No one said Texas, by its lonesome, has like the 8th largest economy in the world. I think I've mentioned that just 75 miles south of me Valero Refining is investing $3billion on an addition to one of the local refineries. The workers in these refineries routinely make $100K/year +, many without a college degree. Jobs are so plentiful that the local ferries servicing Galveston Island can't find / hire deckhands for $50K/year (state jobs/great benefits). That same $50k goes much further here in Texas because of a much lower cost of living. Now, granted, July, August, and parts of June and September are miserable due to unrelenting heat and humidity. The flip side is December, January, And February (our "coldest" time of the year) I can spend the whole day out with just a couple of layers or less ... comfortably! Our winters here are roughly comparable to April in Downeast Maine. I live in a forested part of Texas whose timber industry dwarfs anything in the Pinetree State.

I could go on and on countering points and making points but that would be useless most likely.

Maine is obviously beautiful, moreso than any other state east of the Mississippi River IMHO. I love Maine and will be in her grips again at the end of September, drinking in the gifts she has to offer for a whole week. (Yep, another fishing trip with my great friend from Levant). And maybe, just maybe, if the cards fall right I'll be blessed to be able to move back to Maine (I'm a bit partial to the Bangor area but I like the Belgrade region too)! On that note I need to close. Y'all have a good one!

[mainewannabe]

Bob, you DO have a beautiful family !! It will be good to have you in Maine.

All the cool people !! QUICK !!! GET TO MAINE !!!

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

Yes, snakes are a real hazzard here. It makes us cut our grass especially short and frequently, to keep the kids safe in the yard. And the spiders are just everywhere in the house and out. I hate it! I'm constantly checking bed sheets before anyone climbs in. My aunt was bitten in her bed by a scorpion a few years ago and my sister had the brown recluse bite her in bed. I guess they like those toasty, closed in places. Or maybe our laundry soap just smells good!

how bout lizards down there??

[Elcarim]

Actually, my little nature girl (don't know WHERE she gets that from! ) collects them on a daily basis - lizards and doodle bugs! She's always bringing some "new pet" in to show me! And OMG the frogs she drags up!!