I must say the whole political arena exhausted me to the point of being a major distraction. Every time I wanted to write, it became part of the topic. I am done with it.
                     Everywhere I travel, I have my camera. Usually during a storm, I would go to the ocean and witness the rage of the sea. It is one of my favorite places to be during a storm. Since I live near Sebago Lake, my destination is there now during a storm. Most of my earliest memories of Sebago Lake included preparation for the trip, which took a good part of the early morning. We all jumped in the car and traveled across rural roads, on a trip which seemed to last forever. We always carried a cooler full of drinks, chips and food to grill. The hour long ride seemed so long because we were all in great anticipation of our day at the lake. I used to like to swim to the bottom and look for mica and other rocks. I noticed many of the rocks in the area had garnet and feldspar. My Uncle was a rock hound and turned me onto that hobby. We never had a boat and just enjoyed the lake by the shoreline. My mother could relax as all four of us swam, not worrying about a tide pulling us out. We would only come out for a picnic lunch which was torture because we had to wait almost an hour to go back into the water. We did not argue with our mom. We also camped there once that I recall. 
                     Living down by Sebago Lake Village [intersection of 114/35], not much has changed in forty-five years, I think. It is run down and could use some beautification. Sebago Lake Village is the gateway to the lakes region. Sebago Lake is alive all winter with fishing derby’s, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. Last year at this time, I counted about fifty ice shacks at the area near the fishing dock and boat ramp down by the Village. 
                    We seldom got to the lake when we were young as we were closer to the ocean. Going to Sebago Lake was always a big treat. I would say that I live in a nice area, not far from North Conway or Laconia and only 17 miles from Portland. Every morning I have a canvas in front of me on my trip to town. I see sunsets and sunrises and every kind of sky imaginable. Wildlife is everywhere and I have truly come to appreciate nature all around me. The commute is tricky at times but I never hit traffic because living up here, I learned the back road shortcuts very fast. Here is hoping that we all have a good, healthy and prosperous year.