Can't get there from here

Album mocked Maine ways

By Jerry Harkavy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Maine— Some of the classic lines that define Maine humor emerged 50 years ago, on a record made by two Yale University students in a dormitory room.

Uttered in exaggerated Down East accents, the exchanges between Marshall Dodge and Robert Bryan on the “Bert and I” album inspired generations of storytellers both in-state and beyond, including the likes of Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegone fame.

Some of Dodge and Bryan’s bone-dry punch lines remain familiar even today.


Summer tourist to Mainer: “Which way to Millinocket?” After considering and then rejecting a few possible routes, the native concludes, “Come to think of it, you can’t get there from here.”

Then there’s the day 85-year-old Arnold Bunker “from Bailey Island way” appears in court. Asked if he’d lived there all his life, he replies: “Not yet.”

Maine’s Islandport Press has marked the 50th anniversary of “Bert and I” by putting out a CD that features 34 stories compiled from Dodge and Bryan’s four albums, a concert appearance by Dodge and a public television special.

Though neither was from Maine, Dodge and Bryan were familiar with the state and its people and had a keen ear for dialect, along with a knack for low-tech sound effects. Their first recording, made in their dorm room at Yale University, featured a wastebasket as an echo chamber.

They made 50 copies for friends and family members, then pressed 50 more.

Dodge died in 1982 in a hit-and-run crash while bicycling in Hawaii.

Bryan, a divinity student who went on to be ordained as an Episcopal priest, is a bush pilot, at 77, with the Quebec Labrador Foundation, a nonprofit he founded nearly 50 years ago.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20081111/NEWS/811110501

Okay, this one is a little off-topic...

But I had to share...

Fake cop pulls gun after stopping federal agent

Police say a 21-year-old Portland man used a blue portable strobe light to pull over a car on Forest Avenue, then pulled a shotgun when approached by the off-duty federal agent he had stopped.

Andrew J. Chaisson faces charges of impersonating an officer and criminal threatening with a gun following the 11 p.m. incident Monday.

The federal agent told police a man in a black 2007 Chevrolet pickup activated a blue strobe light and pulled him over on Outer Forest Avenue.

The truck then backed into a driveway, squealing its tires. The agent became suspicious and was approaching the truck on foot, when the driver threatened him with a shotgun, police said.

The suspect fled in the truck but the agent got the license plate number, a vanity plate "ACE HI."

Police went to Chaisson's home where he was arrested and a shotgun was confiscated, police said.

Police said they have no similar reports of someone impersonating an officer.
Police say that unmarked cars are used for traffic enforcement but typically have multiple blue lights built into the car's grill and have laptop computers and radar visible in the cab. Officers are in uniform.

Police say motorists being pulled over by an unmarked car should stop in a well-lit, well-traveled area if possible and may call 911 to confirm that a bona fide officer is stopping them. If the officer is not in uniform, the motorist should ask that a uniformed officer also respond.

Please go to the article for a picture and comments which, of course, are priceless...

I know...I know...

I'm a terrible blogger...Sorry!

Here is a "recent" email (is July considered recent?):

How about Maine villages…….

Yahoo village is a group of houses in Poland. There are numerous vehicles without hoods, many appliances on the lawns and deer hanging from different trees throughout the neighborhood. People often seen with Budweiser, Marlboros and fat @ss in a glass.

Bog Hoot refers to all of Mechanic Falls. The local snowmobile club goes by the name of “The Bog Hooters”.

Submitted by T. from Lewiston by the sea - Biddeford

Words, words, words...

Keep them coming!

These are from Chris in Jefferson, ME:

‘bout

Adv., About: “That theyah fellah jus’ ‘bout got stove up.” Also see “ ’magine”


Cussed

Pronunciation \kuss–ed\
Adj., Cursed or obstinate. – “That dang deeyah run right’out front of the cah, and I jus’ ‘bout nailed the cussed thing.”
Also cantankerous.


Friggin’

Adj., Used to add a great deal of emphasis. “that powah fellah thumped himself with that theyah hammah pretty friggin’ hahd.” To which one could reply “Friggin’ ‘magine!” (see ‘magine)

Friggin’ skiddah: (see skidder) A terminology often used to describe a stout, or sometimes poorly thought of large woman.


‘magine

v., Imagine: Used as an affirmative agreement, or an affirmation to someone’s statement. “D’you see the size of that theyah lobstah?”, “friggin’ ’magine.”

“ ‘bout ‘magine” is used to agree with hypothetical ponderings, “I bet that cah was doin’ a buck twenty easy!” (Translated: I assume that you agree with me that the automobile that passed us previously on the highway was traveling at a velocity that I could easily assume was in excess of 120 mph.) “’bout magine!” (Translated: I can only imagine that the statement you just made is an accurate guesstimation given the circumstances surrounding the situation.”

More thoughts on Allen's Coffee Brandy...

Mmm...I love coffee!!

From Graham:

Allen's Coffee Brandy

aka: 'fat ass in a glass,' 'Champagne of Maine,' 'gorilla milk,' In northern and central Maine, Allen's is jokingly referred to as ''the flower of the tundra.''

'Liquid Leg Spreader'
Scale ingredients to servings
4 oz Allen's® coffee brandy
4 oz whole milk
Stir ingredients together in a highball glass half-filled with ice cubes, and serve.

Coffee is extremely popular throughout New England. People in Maine love coffee and products with a genuine, pronounced coffee flavor. Allen’s probably has the truest coffee taste. Coffee liqueurs and some other coffee flavored brandies tend to be sweet, Allen’s focuses on the coffee flavor not additional sweetness. Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy uses a natural extract from Brazilian coffee beans.

People in Maine have found that Allen’s CFB makes the perfect sombrero. Sombreros were first made with coffee brandy, sombreros made with coffee liqueurs came later. Consumers may also consider Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy to be a great value as opposed to imported coffee liqueurs.

Allen’s CFB is proud to be the number one spirit in Maine. Allen’s CFB appreciates having some of the most loyal customers in the world. Allen’s CFB customers span generations and the product has crossed all regions of the state from fishing villages to downtown Portland.

More emails...

Thanks to all that keep emailing me!

I'll get to a glossary update at some point! (:

L.

New word:
innerestin - pretty intersting (from J. - 12th generation Mainah!)

New websites:
http://www.wickedgoodmaine.com/
http://maineliving.blogspot.com/

And a great email:

I'd love to add anothah definishun for "spider" or "spidah" -- Lobstah.

Also, the "green front" was the local likker stoah, from the green paint on the front. Coahss, that 'twas befoah Hannafohd and Shaw-uz stahted sellin' the stuff.

Seriously, I used to have to teach my Mainer students (7th-8th graders in Oakland) how to talk Yankee. I'd have spelling lessons and grammar lessons on the board, because they were actually losing the dialect. One of the rules of spelling was that if a syllable ended with "r" it should be replaced with "h." Almost always wohked. Oh, and any one syllable wohd could be pronounced in either 1, 2 or 3 syllables, as in "good", "goo-ahd" or "goo-wad-ah"

Now that I'm retired and living in Kentucky, I find myself saying "you-all" much of the time, though when people, especially women, say "Y'all have a naahce day, hun" I still find myself responding with "A-yuh."

Mike D. Formerly of Oakland/Waterville, now in Parksville, KY

Go Pats!

Not specifically relating to Maine (taken on Rt. 1 by Logan) but had to share...

L.