Back in the early years before TV all of the information we had about the weather came from the radio, the weekly paper, or the all knowing almanac. The weatherman we listened to, once we had electricity installed in the house (and bought a radio from the Sears and Roebucks catalog) was a whiz.

  I remember the first weather forecast I ever heard from this genius of meteorology. He said, “Aayah, it’s either gonna storm or clear up." Dr. W. W. Williams was explaining to us one night just how smart these weather people were getting. He was saying,    “People from Maine that want to drive to California (not one person in the room could imagine why anyone in his right mind would want to do that) can listen to the weatherman on the radio and know what the weather will be in every state between here and there. And with the roads in some of the states being made from tar instead of old gravel roads, it is a nice, smooth, comfortable ride.

Our weatherman is so good he can predict what the weather will be a whole week from now. If you listen to him every night you’ll know if it’s going to be hot or cold, if you should go hunting or fishing or stay at home, or if it’s going to rain or snow.”

   “Shucks,” Clarence broke in, “my brother Charlie can tell when it’s going to rain or snow by the corn on his little toe.” The head of every person in the room, except Dr. Williams, nodded up and down in agreement. They all knew that to be a fact. “The weather man knows all about the tides,” the doctor continued after the rowdy crowd quieted down some. He knows the position of all the planets and stars and he can even tell you what causes the northern lights to be so bright at certain times of the year. I don’t know if you know it or not but he can save you some money. I remember a lot of times some of you have planted your gardens too soon in the spring and lost some of your seed due to late freezing. It doesn’t have to happen again. Just listen to the weatherman. He’s so good he can tell you when the fog will lift and that will make it easier to see and pull your lobster traps. He knows when the moon will be full or on the wane and when the temperature will rise or fall. He’s brilliant.”

   Everyone in South Lubec knew there was one person in town the good doctor didn’t like and that was Mrs. Alice Townsend. Mrs. Townsend had visited Dr. Williams and after being treated, and cured, had refused to pay her bill of two dollars. What Dr. Williams didn’t know was that his hero, the weatherman, was Mrs. Townsend’s second cousin, twice or three removed. It didn’t take long for someone to bring this little known fact to the doctor’s attention and once the doctor was convinced of the relationship he fell silent. “What do you think of your weatherman now?” Mr. Coran asked verbally prodding the doctor a little. The doctor thought for a long time and finally answered, “I still think he’s ninety eight per-cent correct,” and after a short hesitation added, “about six per-cent of the time.” Looking back at my youth I don’t remember ever thinking too much about the weather or the seasons. 

As I recall now though, we did have four seasons. Fall was an easy season for me to remember because all the leaves turned to beautiful colors and grandma always got out her Sears and Roebuck catalog and ordered long underwear for my grandfather, my brother, and me. Then she sent off an order to L.L.Bean for a pair of lumberjack boots for my grandfather. My brother got the boots passed down from my grandfather and I got the ones passed down from him. It could have been worse, though. I don't know what I would have worn if my brother had been a girl.

Winter as a youth in Maine was wonderful in a lot of ways and in some ways it was awful. When you had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night you had two choices. Either walk outside to the outhouse at thirty or more degrees below zero and in three or more feet of snow, or use the "thunder jug" under the bed.

If you were potently odoriferous the walk in the cold was usually the better choice Spring was the look forward season. The ice and snow would leave for awhile and the earth would come to life with new plants. Everyone prepared the ground for their gardens and mended all the lobster traps that needed mending.

The main thing I looked forward to in spring was summer vacation When you grow older memories have a funny way of disappearing. The four seasons are pretty well divided into an equal number of days, yet when I look back now it seems to me summer came on the forth of July and then we had fall.