CentralMaine Sunday

J.P. Devine: What do we do about George? — Sept. 6, 2020

Diving into George Washington's history, J.P. Devine muses about scrubbing the first president from the public domain and the costs of doing so.

J.P. Devine: Trump and the Post Office blues - Aug. 30, 2020

The recent threats to the U.S. Postal Service have cut deep and personal for J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Let me count the ways — Aug. 23, 2020

An ode by J.P. Devine to the dear mask, on how we love and die in our times.

J.P. Devine: We gotta get outta here - Aug. 16, 2020

J.P. Devine thinks of all the places he's been, and how badly he wanted to leave.

J.P. Devine: The music of summer - Aug. 9, 2020

Sports, especially baseball, isn’t just about money or breaking records. It’s about the music of the season, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine - August 2, 2020 - Olivia

J.P Devine: In COVID-19 time, DON’T TOUCH IT — July 26, 2020

As careful as a person might be during the coronavirus pandemic, getting caught without a mask or gloves can trigger a most disconcerting panic, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine: What are ya gonna do? — July 19, 2020

JP Devine has cans and cans of cream style golden sweet corn and boxes and boxes of Rice Krispies, and has no idea how he will use them all.

J.P. Devine: What did you say? - July 12, 2020

Tracing his own family's hearing difficulties, J.P. Devine is thinking about age-related problems and patching things up.

J.P. Devine: Know What I'm Saying? - July 5, 2020

JP Devine has five linen summer sport coats to get rid of, each teaming with memories.

J.P Devine: Masks for a new play - June 28, 2020

Musings on masks — both real and metaphorical — have J.P. Devine thinking about what we choose to wear during the grand production of our lives. 

J.P. Devine: The fading of Father's Day — June 21, 2020

J.P. Devine recalls how the notion of the male "breadwinner" changed for him at a young age and how women are increasingly stepping up.

J.P. Devine - June 14, 2020

J.P. Devine: Summer and a song at the drive-in — June 7, 2020

As the Maine International Film Festival prepares a move to the Skowhegan Drive-In Theater this year, J.P. Devine remembers the summer night in 1949 when he and others packed into green Chevrolet for a night at the movies.

J.P.Devine: Lower your window! — May 31, 2020

An agonizing experience at the local car wash presents J.P. Devine with life-and-death choices: roll down the car window for help or stay inside?

J.P. Devine: No summer for you? — May 24, 2020

Even though we’re told that there will be no fireworks exploding over the Kennebec this summer, fire crackers will still be heard, and children will run around the yard with sparklers, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: A Story of Decline — May 17, 2020

JP talks about his upcoming expedition to the jungle, as two men in white jackets come to pick him up.

J.P. Devine: Ghost light and other stories — May 10, 2020

JP Devine has returned to Facebook this spring, probably to keep from writing, but really to see what’s happening to my street friends. He misses them and their interesting side stories.

J.P. Devine: Just Roll With It - May 3, 2020

Thinking about the history of toilet paper, J.P. Devine muses about cleanliness and what sorts of gifts we may now give to each other.

J.P. Devine: Gimme a hug — April 26, 2020

Social distancing leaves J.P. Devine in need of a hug, crowds and companionship.

J.P. Devine: The 'Dude' abides - April 19, 2020

If you wanted relief from bad news, if you wanted comedy, well, instead you're getting The Dude, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine - April 12, 2020

J.P. Devine: #2 is on the line — April 12, 2020

The salient question this morning is not about dying eggs or munching chocolate bunnies. More importantly, it’s about “wiping,” and which can of beans did I wipe last night?

J.P.Devine: To wear or not to wear? — April 5, 2020

These days, the question of whether to wear underpants is an existential crisis, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine: View from the big inside — March 29, 2020

Be brave, readers, during this time of hunkering down, and we'll get through this, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine: Prayer? It Couldn’t Hurt. — March 22, 2020

As this evil floats around us, call the elderly, talk to God and ask what you can do for others, J.P. Devine says.

J.P.Devine: Monday, Monday, it's here to stay - March 15, 2020

It'll take some time for J.P. Devine to adjust to digital-only Mondays, but he's accepted it to keep a sailor on deck to keep the ship afloat.

J.P. Devine: Someone coughed, and other stories - March 8, 2020

As the coronavirus spreads, we've entered the “new normal” where all coughs, even from someone choking on a chicken bone, are reasons to flee the area, J.P. Devine says.

J.P.Devine: Politics and classroom antics at a Weekend in Vegas — March 1, 2020

Brushing aside writing only humorous pieces about things locally, J.P. Devine says he won't stop trying to be a big city conversationalist.

J.P. Devine: The time of my life - Feb. 23, 2020

Wearing his new Apple watch, J.P. Devine is like a 9-year-old who has found a new toy and wishing he could go back in time.

J.P.Devine: What we talk about now - Feb. 16, 2020

Around us now are empty chairs once filled with those who shared our talk, touched our pained hands, felt our fears and laughed with us, and we discover the memory of them gives us more to talk about, J.P. Devine says.

J.P Devine: Mr. Isgro goes to Washington - Feb. 9, 2020

Shocked at the paltry prices for breakfast, lunch and dinner, J.P. Devine suggests the next time the city's mayor should "GO before you go" when visiting the nation's capital.

J.P. Devine: 2020, a chair odyssey — Feb. 2, 2020

The sleek, gray, maybe mauve stairlift chair has arrived in the Devine household, signaling a journey into the capricious and unknown future.

J.P. Devine: Just the way you are - Jan. 26, 2020

Change is inevitable and may cause you to see things and people in a different light, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine: One night in Waco - Jan. 19, 2020

A pair of true war stories about two young Americans who served their countries in different ways on cold nights in Waco and Bastogne.

J.P. Devine: Seeking warmth in people, places - Jan. 12, 2020

Warmth doesn’t just come from oil and gas and wood, but also from people, from their food, their touch and smiles, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine: Don't scare the nuns — Jan. 5, 2020

Ringing in the New Year during the blackout days of World War II didn't stop people from making noise, including J.P. Devine's brother-in-law, who sat locked and loaded opposite a convent.

J.P Devine: Something keeps my kids coming home — Dec. 29, 2019

Children grow up and leave home in a blink of an eye, but Christmas keeps them coming to visit every year, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine: A Christmas story about acting, dying - Dec. 22, 2019

The former Hollywood actor recounts a role from the 1960's era show "Twelve O'Clock High," in which he played a fighter pilot who was shot down in a bomber and killed two days before Christmas.

J.P. Devine - December 22, 2019

Twelve O'Clock High : The Fighter Pilot . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3ZCAfKlc5E

J.P. Devine: What? Me worry? — Dec. 15, 2019

A theory about a holy star really being a meteor has J.P. Devine worrying about a large rock now hurtling toward Earth.

J.P. Devine: Pick your pic — Dec. 8, 2019

When our time to die comes, J.P. Devine wonders, will others remember you, and what photos will they see?

J.P. Devine: Hold that hug — Dec. 1, 2019

With cold and flu season here, hugs are not worth the risk, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: A list of thanks for this Thanksgiving - November 24, 2019

While darkness clouds this moment in history with children being held in detention, and racism and anti-semitism stalking the streets, a free press and eagle-eyed journalists are things to be thankful for, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine - November 17, 2019

J.P. Devine: The making of a writer - November 17, 2019

A belated Veterans Day column is more about becoming a writer, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine - November 10, 2019 Of Poetry and Pots

J.P. Devine: Of Poetry and Pots - Nov. 10, 2019

The Waterville writer wonders if his words have forked enough lightning among readers and resolves to not go gentle into the good night.

J.P. Devine - November 3, 2019

J. P. Devine: 13 minutes a reminder of breast cancer's toll — Oct. 27, 2019

For all the strides made in treatment, some 40,000 American women still die from breast cancer every year, J.P. Devine says.