Overheard at the Kennebunkport Post Office June 14, 2010
OVERHEARD AT THE KENNEBUNKPORT POST OFFICE
June 14, 2010
Al: Hey, Jesse, were you at Town Meeting?
Jesse: Of course. Were you?
Al: Yes, and it looked like half the town and a good portion of the summer people were there too. Did you get one of those papers with a yes box and a no box?
Jesse: Yes.
Al: Did you get a lime green voter card?
Jesse: Yes.
Al: Did you get a t-shirt ?
Jesse: Well yes, Al, didn’t you?
Al: No. Didn’t they have enough t-shirts for everybody?
Jesse: Well the town didn’t give away the t-shirts, Al.
Al: Is that so? I did wonder if those people wearing the white t-shirts were snow-birds back late from Florida who forgot to change into their Maine clothes when they got home.
Jesse: For heavens sake Al, didn’t you figure out who they were?
Al: I told you, I guessed they were just snow birds back from Florida. People from Maine don’t take off their flannel until after Fourth of July. Then I saw Stan was wearing a t-shirt and he never leaves Maine. What was the point of the t-shirts?
Jesse: Well the people wearing the t-shirts wanted the voters to spend the money to hire our town lawyer so we don’t lose the beach.
Al: How could we lose the beach? It’s in the same place it ever has been isn’t it?
Jesse: Well some people are taking it.
Al: I’d like to see them try. Where would they take it? It has to stay where it is, doesn’t it?
Jesse: I mean some people act like they own it.
Al: Now, Jesse, don’t the people who live in the houses on the beach own down to the low water mark?
Jesse: Well, that may be the way it is now but we’re going to change that.
Al: How will you change the law?
Jesse: We’ll get the judges and maybe the Supreme Court to say it isn’t so.
Al: Aren’t they the ones who said that the ownership goes to the low water mark in the first place?
Jesse: Yes, but they really didn’t mean it. Actually Al, they can’t wait to change their minds and we believe they will change the law for us.
Al: By “we” and “us” I suppose you mean the people in the t-shirts?
Jesse: We actually call ourselves the S-O-B’s.
Al: Can’t you think of a nicer name than that to call yourselves? And you are going to go ask the judges to give you something that belongs to someone else, with a name like that?
Jesse: We think it’s kind of cute. But anyway, we got the Town to do it, go to the judges I mean.
Al: So how did you vote Jesse?
Jesse: Oh, I voted to spend the money. How did you vote, Al?
Al: Well, to be honest Jesse, I voted to spend the money, too. You see, I looked around that room and I could see what the problem was. Some people had a green card but no t-shirt. And some people had a t-shirt or a button but no green card. Some people had both of those and the paper with the yes and no box. Saddest of all, some people had none of those things. A great understanding came over me, Jesse. I realized that the town is in real financial trouble because there wasn’t enough of everything to go around. So I voted to spend all the money. I just hope that in one year’s time the town can print the t-shirts, photocopy the papers with the yes and no box and make up more buttons. Next year when we come to town meeting I just hope we can all get the same stuff.
