The Wronged Princess of Doomsickle Pond--a cautionary tale

Once upon a time in a kingdom not so very far away there was a brilliant and beautiful princess who lived in a castle on a Pond. The castle had been the fortress of the princess' mother but was bequeathed to the princess when the mother decided to move to Florida.

The castle was always brimming over with laughter and joy because the princess, in addition to being brilliant and beautiful, was lots of fun--everyone that she met became her friend and wanted to share in the magical joy twinkling through the princess and the castle. Lurking among the many friends who shared the joy of the princess' love were two nefarious souls who would bring silence to the princess' joy for a time, but I'm getting ahead of my tale.

A year before the princess was to be married to the local boy who won her heart, she traveled to a distant land on a Fulbright grant. Also on the journey was a woman close to the same age as the princess and with whom she shared many common interests including planned weddings the following summer--just weeks apart. We'll just call the new friend the other woman. The princess and the other woman became fast friends and upon returning from their journey, they shared many an occasion in each others' company and in the company of their respective betrotheds.

The following summer the princess and the local boy had a beautiful wedding on the shores of the Pond. The Music Man played his guitar and the scribe pronounced the vows. As the cake was cut, a moose walked majestically through the reception area--"an omen" was the whisper that went through the crowd as the cameras clicked. An omen, indeed.

Just a few weeks later, the vows were broken, the local boy was in the arms of the other woman and the princess' heart was broken.

But that's not the end of the tale.

The local boy did not stop at breaking the princess' heart--he thought that the castle should be his. While still in the enthralls of the other woman, he made many attempts to claim the castle and all that the princess had possessed before she ever was his bride.

As time went by and the local boy kept hurling his poison arrows and sending Trojan horses, something happened to the princess. She remained brilliant and beautiful but as her heart mended, her strength increased. She became strong enough to withstand the poison arrows and to foresee the Trojan horses. Her sparkling joy still lit up a room but it held a more lasting light.

Finally, the scribe helped the princess undo what had been done and without a doubt, she will live happily ever after.

Trek Across Maine

Today is the first day of the 2008 Trek Across Maine--Sunday River to the Sea.

The trek started today at Sunday River Ski Resort and ends on Sunday in Belfast, Maine on the coast. By 8:30 this morning the riders were starting to pass our house.

There are over 2000 bicyclists making the trek and raising money for the American Lung Association of Maine.

Mike and Weatherboy are representing the River Valley Blogger Community. Good luck, guys!

When I lived in Iowa, there was a ride called RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Race Across Iowa) sponsored by the Des Moines Register newspaper. I wonder if other state's have similar events? If you know about a bike trip in or across your state or province, be sure and comment.

A work day with a twist

Today I had to stay home and work on a brief and needed peace and quiet in order to get it done, so C went hiking and brought back beautiful pictures of trillium.

The hike inspired him to do something he had been thinking about for awhile--so welcome to the community of River Valley Bloggers, Charlie!

Looking at the list, I realize that I am the only one who does not work in the school system AND that with the addition of Charlie to the community--Katie and the Music Man may be under some pressure to join us in order to provide symmetry.

Yellow Car!

I'm driving today to Pennsylvania to spend the night with Ethan and then we are driving down together to Washington, DC for Sara's graduation. The rest of the family is flying in at various times but we will all be in the front row at 10:00 on Sunday.

After the last picture has been snapped, Molly and Sara will pack their dorm rooms into my car and we'll drive back to Maine.

We've done this drive many times since Sara's freshman year and it was nice to add Molly to the mix when she started college last Fall.

As we drive, we play a game called "Yellow Car". I think Sara made it up, but maybe it's a game normal people play, too. It involves shouting "YELLOW CAR" any time we see one--it offers various opportunities to argue about the different shades of yellow and whether a car might actually be green or orange--it also offers the opportunity to argue about whether a yellow Hummer or cadilac should be worth extra points (yes). Obviously, utility vehicles, school buses and taxi cabs don't count. There are more yellow cars than there used to be, so the game isn't quite as much fun but I'm sure we'll play it one last time as we drive back from graduation. Maybe Molly and I will come up with a new game for our future drives.

Here's a link to an article in the local paper about Sara's opportunity to give the student commencement speech.

So, Rach just a warning, I will be adding to the yawning silence of the River Valley Blogging Community for a few days. But a P.S., to the River Valley Blogging Community--the teenager has a school commitment and can't go with us so he will be home alone--if you drive by and the house is rockin', people hanging out of the windows, cars parked on my flower beds--well you get the picture--stop in and do the "It takes a village" thing. Thanks!