Jay Gaulard

A Personal Blog

What is Class?

Have you ever wondered what it is that some people seem to have or display that others obviously don’t? The thing that makes some people cool, calm, and collected. The thing that separates some people from the chaff. The slobs. Those who don’t care. The people who seem to have given up or who have never tried to begin with. It’s called class and it’s what I’d like to write about in this post. It’s what’s so shamefully missing so often from today’s society and it’s something I wish, in the worst way, would return.

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‘Tis Albert Camus, Existentialism, & Bubkes

I’m reading a book right now that’s titled, ‘Tis. It’s written by an Irish author named Frank McCourt. I’m not sure why I’m finding myself reading so many books authored by the Irish as of late, but interestingly, I am. First it was Maeve Binchy’s Quentins and then it was Sharon Owens’ The Tavern on Maple Street and now it’s ‘Tis. Funny how that happens. I think it’s because I’ve been visiting the free book giveaway in Farmington at the end of each month. A non-profit in town offers hundreds of books at no cost to the public and I end up taking a few home each time. Books with interesting titles that just happen to be of the Irish persuasion, not that the Irish need to be persuaded one way or the other.

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Kvothe Plays for the Eolian

Two of my favorite books are The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, written by Patrick Rothfuss. Both books are beautifully written and if I was forced to keep only two on my shelf, it’d be these two. By the way, if you’ve ever been interested in what Patrick Rothfuss’ favorite fantasy books are (that he’s enjoyed reading, himself), please visit my post on the topic. Yes, this is something I’ve looked into. I’m always curious about what other fantasy genre aficionados have found themselves toiling with. Some of his list I agree with, some I don’t. I have a feeling he listed a few books in there that are so common that it would be strange not to include them. Yet, I doubt he’s even read them. But alas, I may be wrong.

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What’s Maine Like in March?

If I had to describe the month of March in Maine by using just two words, the words would be light and mud. There are no other words that describe the month so succinctly. The sun sits much higher in the sky than it did during the months of December, January, and February and the snow and ice truly begin to melt in earnest.

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The Day I Quit Boy Scouts

I’m not in the above photo. It’s a random picture I found somewhere on the internet to represent scouting as a whole. It seems to have been captured somewhere in Eastern Europe or someplace like that, but nonetheless, I found it interesting.

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People Who Post About Politics On Facebook

“You know something? I wasn’t aware of that. You really changed my mind,” said no one ever after reading a political post their friend shared on Facebook. Have you ever heard of the old saying, “He’s just preaching to the choir”? It means that someone is speaking for or against something to people who already agree with that person’s opinions.

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What’s Maine Like in February?

February is a rough month in Maine. While December can be autumn-like if we’re lucky and while January can be light on the snow at times, February is winter. Downright winter. And for most years, it’s when the greatest quantity of snow falls. Week after week. In snows during February.

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Riding at the Watershed

I was talking to a friend the other day when he mentioned how nostalgic certain scents could be. As he said this, I thought of campfires, cologne, coffee, and apple pie. I asked what he was referring to. He replied, “The smell of a 2-stroke engine just started up. There’s nothing like it!” I was forced to agree. If you’ve ever ridden dirt bikes or ATVs (otherwise known as trikes and quads) in the 80s and 90s, you’re most certainly familiar with their very distinct type of smoke. The only other exhaust that holds anywhere near the aforementioned nostalgia is the smell of a diesel truck warming up on a cold winter’s morning. I’d have to say though, dirt bikes and quads – nothing brings me back quite like the smell of their exhaust. Why? Because it once led to so much more than just a bike idling in a driveway. It always led to adventure and a day’s worth of gloriously good times.

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I Miss College

By the time I completed my tenure at Westchester Community College, I knew I wanted to become a professor. Of what? I had no idea. But I knew I wanted to teach. Today I think I would’ve been a superb professor of two disciplines; basic algebra and composition and literature. Algebra because it took me multiple attempts to finally get it, but once I did, I morphed into an algebraic champion with a knack for explaining its concepts to others – and composition and literature because I think I’d be a quizzical inspiration for young or interested writers. By the time I had graduated from graduate school at Binghamton University, I had already submitted my resume to one of my early professors at the aforementioned community college (Dr. John Christesen). He would pass it on to the college president (Dr. Joseph Hankin) for review. That entire endeavor, for some reason or another, never worked out. I’m not sure if there were any teaching positions available. Probably not. I really can’t remember.

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Bald Eagles & Narnia

This is a quick post about an adventure of sorts Laura and I experienced just last week. We ran into town during a snowfall and on the way back to our home, visited a local hemlock forest as well as spotted some bald eagles perched alongside a field. What was initially a somewhat boring chore-filled day somehow transformed itself into isolated moments about which to write. This is why it’s always important to bring along a camera, wherever you’re off to. If I didn’t have my camera with me during this short trip, I surely would have regretted it.

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