CentralMaine Sunday

J.P. Devine: Mickey was the first kill — October 28, 2018

It didn’t get any easier as the transmigration of now five souls has been halted by a diabolical instrument of death designed to rid a domicile of mice, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Dream a little dream with me — October 21, 2018

Having inside knowledge of what it takes to be an emotional 9-year-old, J.P. Devine muses over the “more” that 45 may be wanting.

J.P. Devine: The Ladies of Last Days Lane: October 14, 2018

A great idea for six women in the twilight of theirs lives is stuff of movie wonder, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine: Anniversary waltz - a play in one act — October 7, 2018

Always good to put your best foot forward when meeting a person from your girlfriend’s home town, especially when you’re on a bus in costume, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Washington's game of groans — September 30, 2018

It’s time for the bevy of patriarchal ancients in Washington who have chosen to follow their leader to move over and make way for the women who seek their seats, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Does Kavanaugh have a dog? — September 23, 2018

The questions asked the nominee for the Supreme Court covered the salient points, but what about the personal questions, like does he have a dog, does he wear boxers or briefs? says J.P. Devine.

J.P Devine: Is there a doctor in the house? —  September 16, 2018

An injury incurred while washing and rinsing a wine glass leads to revelations about the state of medical practice — and who’s doing the practicing, says J.P. Devine.

J.P.Devine: Look what you've gone and done, Gov. LePage - Sept. 9, 2018

The governor’s decision to add his name to a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that would allow workers to be fired based on their gender identity or sexual orientation is an outrage, says J. P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: What just happened - September 2, 2018

When the news of the week included yet another scandal involving priests, this time in Pennsylvania, it had repercussions in Waterville in his own home, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: POTUS is pouting over his parade: —August 26, 2018

Being emotionally 9 years old when you’re the president can get you — and the whole world — in trouble, but wanting a big, Ben Hur-type parade then becomes understandable, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Tattoos on women, they're everywhere - August 19, 2018

Once the province of sailors, pirates and professional wrestlers, body art adds a layer of expression to modern women demanding control of their bodies and appearance, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Say goodbye to plastic straws - August 12, 2018

While sharing a cherry vanilla phosphate using paper straws was once romantic, plastic straws have become anathema since one was found poking up the nose of a sea turtle, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Take two, they're small — August 5, 2018

The Boston Globe just reported that the Necco Candy factory in Revere, Massachusetts — the maker of Necco wafers, Clark Bars, Mary Janes, and candy buttons — just went belly up.

J.P. Devine - July 29, 2018

To put 34 years as residents of Waterville in perspective, J.P. Devine talks about how he and She came back East in 1984.

J.P. Devine: Perdido en America — July 22, 2018

The story of a migrant child’s days in detention reminds us that a child separated from his or her mother never forgets, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Where are you from? — July 15, 2018

Like a cool blast on a hot day, J.P. Devine remembers a name from the past. He has to go slow to remember all the details, but this is how it all played out.

J.P. Devine: Dealing with flies in the summer heat — July 8, 2018

Instead of a messy death, entrapment between screen and window is the preferred method J.P. employs, despite what his youngest daughter says.

J.P. Devine — Found and lost: A memory — July 1, 2018

Separated by time and distance and a lack of fingertip tech to search the universe, J.P. Devine rediscovers a friend online, a fellow corner boy from Hollywood days.

Wake up! It's June!

It's summer, isn't it? Summer is holy in Maine. Los Angeles has it year-round, and they have no respect for it. Here it's holy. Celebrate it. Break out the Hawaiian shirts, shorts and white sneakers. It's watermelon and lemonade time. And I want to hear some wedding bells. Yes, wedding bells. It's June!

J.P. Devine: Dining al fresco courts disaster - June 17, 2018

After all, who knows when you’re going to catch a wind-blown napkin covered with mustard in the face, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine - Love, not for sale - June 10, 2018

While all manner of good sense argues to banish tokens of a bygone era to storage, some things linger through time, like a well-struck chord on piano strings, and demand the effort to possess them, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine - What's your sign? - June 3, 2018

What message did the stars, the planets, the sun and moon have for Howard Schulz, the CEO of Starbucks, on May 29 when his stores closed so his employees could have a lesson on racial bias, asks the astrology-addicted J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Is that you, Zoe? - May 27, 2018

The cleaners at restaurants seem to have less time to chat with customers and tend to their chores like quiet ghosts until opportunity beckons, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: First Impressions - May 20, 2018

Meeting your significant other’s relatives while in character from a play you’re appearing in can lead to some interesting reactions, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: The ticks take over - May 12, 2018

Enemy country now, loaded with ticks, not to mention legions of mosquitoes, surrendered now to nocturnal denizens, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: We need a new battlecry - May 6, 2018

With no deployment of Maine guardsmen to the southern border and 45 set to visit Korea for a bite of kimchee, J.P. Devine says he is deeply disappointed that we’re left to defend the border alone.

J.P. Devine: Procedures with Loretta - April 29, 2018

A natural fear of hospitals, a wary eye toward contracting infection on visits, a liking for leftover hospital food? Despite these, J.P. Devine says that his procedure will be like popping into Starbucks for a latte.

J.P. Devine - Back to Saint Boniface - April 22, 2018

How an Irishman came to indulge in a German dish despite an aversion to mixing with the Germans of South St. Louis, says J.P. Devine

J.P.Devine - What will Sean do? April 15, 2018

What’s going to happen to all those people who are losing their jobs at the White House, J.P. Devine wonders.

J.P. Devine: The Last Dog - April 8, 2018

The daughters say to get another dog, says J.P. Devine, but that entails much more than just going to the rescue pound and picking one out. How do you choose which one? 

J.P. Devine: Easter Diaries - April 1, 2018

J.P. Devine shares memorable moments of Easters past, from vomiting and illness to traditional dinners and life partners.

J.P. Devine: I've become the prince of paranoia - March 25, 2018

News of the invasive ‘personality models’ on Facebook prompts thoughts of abandoning the social addiction, J.P. Devine says.

J.P. Devine: She Does my Taxes Like a Lawyer for the Mob - March 18, 2018

Though She is as secretive as a mob bookkeeper and has handwriting so small that reading grocery lists is tough, J.P. Devine has to admit — even if he doesn’t want to — that She is good at managing accounts.

J.P. Devine: Nuns with Guns - March 11, 2018

Imagine the nuns of your childhood, their flowing habits, their individual quirks, the clicking beads, the .38 double action-revolver up their sleeves, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Patron Saints and Whoopie Pies - March 4, 2018

With a reminder that it’s Lent and you have to give something up, J.P. Devine reviews a litany of patron saints and the peculiar potency of religious jewelry.

J.P. Devine: Shaking the Blues Away - February 25, 2018

Here's a list of television shows and movies to avoid if you want a restful evening, and heartwarming films you can download for comedic protection, from yours truly, J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: The Grand Old Desk - February 18, 2018

Does a desk define a man? What does the desk in the Oval Office say about the man behind it, and what curiosities does it hold that a desk from years ago did for me? asks J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Lurking in the Basement with the Morlocks -February 11, 2018

When J.P. Devine was a boy, basements were called cellars, and they were dark, dank places where things were kept and forgotten.

J.P. Devine: What was that? An earthquake? — February 2, 2018

It’s enough to upset a breakfast of Cap’n Crunch, or a deep sleep, or a call to duty — but in Maine? J.P. Devine asks.

J.P. Devine: H2N3 — It's out there and it's coming for you — January 28, 2018

It’s everywhere and all it takes is a touch of a hand from a smiling clerk or a sweet innocent to catch — yes, that’s right — the flu, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: I'm Cold Now, But I've Been Colder - January 21, 2018

In a train yard near Lake Michigan, waiting for a bus in Manhattan, on guard duty in Texas, but never cold and afraid like the other day at 5 in the morning, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Two election colluders from Russia - January 14, 2018

Agent Mishka, who sounds a lot like J.P. Devine, talks with a fellow colluder in Hollywood about how well he’s settled in to his niche in Waterville.

J.P. Devine: Just the two of us - January 7, 2018

After the bustle and warmth of six happy people on Christmas, quiet and cold descend during the wait for the phone call from those safely home to the two of us, just the two of us, says J.P. Devine.

J.P. Devine: Something happened that changed the world — December 24, 2017

As sure as the 9-year-old angel with cardboard wings who lives inside him, J.P. Devine says that he believes something happened 2,000 years ago that changed the world.

J.P. Devine: Heaven Comes to Hallowell - Dec. 17, 2017

In a dream only J.P. could have, Jimmy Stewart gives him the lowdown on the location of his acting troupe's next set.

J.P. Devine: Ms. Kramer and Jack — a love story - Dec. 10, 2017

J.P. Devine: The stranger on the cold streets of Boston — Dec. 3, 2017

You just never know who you might bump into from far away and impossibly long ago.

JP Devine - Our 57th Christmas tree and other stories - Nov. 25, 2017

Loving April with lights in her hair in Cleveland and a memorable first night in a New York apartment lead up to promises to a Bloomingdale's associate and the necessity to move a chair for a Christmas tree, writes J.P. Devine.