Dear Editor:

This is a family tragedy that could have happened anywhere in Maine. Unfortunately, this travesty unfolded in Boothbay Harbor. It is a story about long-time Mainers losing their home and the area they identified with and participated in for many years. It is about my brother, who has worked extremely hard as a lobsterman --- working his fingers to the bone to pay a mortgage to keep our 85-year-old mother in her home. This is a home she has lived in for 60 years. But, unfortunately, a mortgage company and a team of high-paid lawyers have taken over.

My brother attempted valiantly to honor dad’s request to take care of her. My brother had asked realtors, lawyers and friends, to help him work on a financial payback plan. He asked some long-time neighbors and even called and emailed news stations but was never contacted back.

He has been working long hours every day to get enough money to allow her to stay in the home she loves. He has taken it upon himself to honor our dead father’s wishes who died of lung cancer in 1999.

I do not understand the lack of empathy or compassion for someone 85 years old whose only wish is to stay in her house until she passes on. Is that so much to ask? How can anyone put someone this age out on the street during a pandemic? Do senior citizens in Maine have any rights at all, or should they be kicked to the curb and die, as Ebenezer Scrooge proclaimed, “decrease the surplus population.”

I am saddened that society has become greedy and unfeeling towards my brother and mother, who tried to do the right thing. However, he can be assured that he did the honorable thing for such a long time. He is a good, honest, and giving person.

I am sending him kudos for and love for all he has done, and I want him to know that he has gone above and beyond. But, unfortunately, this situation is an American tragedy because of the suffering, destruction, and stress that will result in an unhappy ending for my mom and our family.

Love, your sister.

Lorna Durfee

Boothbay Harbor