Things to cheer about: Do you agree?

Wed, 10/20/2021 - 9:00am

We’ll get to the Red Sox. Cheering for their record-breaking third grand slam Monday night goes without saying, but cannot be said enough.

But first, back to Wiscasset: Sometimes after a vote, like last June, town officials hear from some voters who didn’t know a vote was planned. It’s always a surprise (to me), because we preview the votes, including polling times and place, and report on the topics in the normal course of covering the selectmen or other panels. So, no excuses, the Nov. 2 reminder/local ballot rundown is on our front page this week and rotating through the featured pieces atop wiscassetnewspaper.com’s home page. And if you think you know someone who might not realize Wiscasset has local questions Nov. 2, please encourage them to read it. 

What’s so cheery about voting days? That the U.S. has them, for one. That is never something to take for granted. What else is cheer-worthy? You can choose to vote absentee! So again, no excuses. Contact the town clerk’s office for details.

Cheers for state and potentially local plans to keep poet-civil rights advocate James Weldon Johnson’s memory alive in the Maine town where he died in a 1938 car-train crash. The Wiscasset memorial idea got a mixed reaction in May from some on the last selectboard and some residents who noted Johnson wasn’t local. Saturday’s event at Wiscasset Community Center (see our website) should help see where that stands and what else may happen now that a state commission is involved. Watch for coverage online and in next week’s print edition.

Now to that Red Sox cheer. At press time, Boston’s second home game in the American League Championships with the Astros was hours away, and the series stood 2-1 in Boston’s favor. If Boston breaks stride, we should still be glad for all the fun the games provided. And if you, too, are a second generation fan who grew up watching the games on ’70s television when the old theme song said to put your feet up, relax and watch the Sox, now, just having the team still around to watch, years after your father has died, is a nice connection that has little to do with runs on a scoreboard. Keep it going, Red Sox!