1969

Rovena Sanglass motorcycle.

Tossa de Mar, Spain

Near the Cap d'Or Hotel where I stayed for a month.

Hotel Cap d'Or

What a beautiful spot!

I met many people from all over Europe while staying here.

Festival of Corpus Christi, Tossa de Mar, Spain, 1969

The Corpus Christi is a celebration of the Catholic Church meant for the veneration 

of the Eucharist. It is a movable feast of the liturgical calendar, that  takes place on 

the following Thursday of the eighth Pentecost. This medieval fiesta has a marked 

ostentatious character, closer to pagan celebrations than to any religious one.

This character is made evident in Tossa with the flower mats, as an exaltation of the 

vegetation of the month of May.

Corpus Christi is celebrated every year in Tossa on the actual date (and not on the 

following Sunday as other villages do).  The town center streets are adorned with 

flower mats and altars, and in the afternoon there is the mass and the procession, 

that will move along the adorned streets. (Tossa de Mar Tourist Office)

John worked here in his youth.

-back when the biggest day on Wall Street was thirty million shares in a day-

Built in 1930, 71 story, 927 feet tall.

Tallest building in the world for a month (beat out by Chrysler Bldg.).

Now called The Trump Building.

A fire-base somewhere in Vietnam, I-Corp ~ 1968

John (in beret) playing guitar and singing. Tom Cronon on piano, Mr. C-4, Cornel Yates, singing lead. Fisher DeZavalos, bass guitar, Bill Hutchinson on drums.

Some Boat Stuff

I used to run Herring Carriers: F/V Western Star could carry one-hundred tons of herring ~ Amaretto could carry about forty tons.

Amaretto (built 1917) in Boothbay Harbor.

In the 70's, I lived on the Fannie W. (formerly Red Witch).

Fannie W. (built 1906) in the pound cove on Green's Island, Vinalhaven. See my laundry hanging out to dry.

Stephanie and I lived aboard the Windermere (built 1914) for three years.

S/V Windermere ~ 78 Gross Tons

While we spent the winter in Portland at DiMillo's Marina, John worked on the Tugboat, Elliot Winslow.  At that time the Winslow tugs put Navy ships in and out of the giant floating drydock in Portland harbor. We also berthed oil tankers in South Portland and up through the "Million Dollar Bridge." We also helped launch Navy ships at Bath Iron Works.

Sometimes John went yachting. Red and I could make a sunny day seem dark and stormy.

John and Red sailing out of Camden in winter. Ben Magro photo.
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 One winter I worked on boats like this.

We unloaded crude oil from boats like this...

(68 foot draft)...

130 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, to boats like this...

(34 foot draft)

...that were small enough to get to refineries in Texas and Louisiana. 

Yes I had a Merry Christmas offshore as we'd spend a month rocking and rolling; just waiting for the next supertanker to arrive.

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The M/V INEZ ANDREAS Northbound Mississippi River Near Portage Des Sioux Missouri.

For best results, open video to full screen for full effect.

John worked the Mississippi River for several winters on the M/V Inez Andreas, M/V Sally 

Archer, and the M/V Joyce Hale. Deep snow in St. Louis, T-shirt hot in New Orleans one week later.

M/V Sally Archer and the M/V Joyce Hale

"We traveled up and down the river between St. Louis and New Orleans, 'empties' up-river, and grain, corn and animal feed, down-river." When faced-up to 49 barges, this vessel 

becomes 1365' long by 245' beam. A kick-ass job, to say the least.  

Lyman-Morse at Wayfarer Marine Trophy for First Overall Vintage and Classic - photo credit: Steve Moore

Trophy built by John when he worked as a subcontractor at Wayfarer Marine, many years ago.

"I love mahogany."

Four Stories Deep

is available at 

Vinalhaven Library

Archipelago ~ The Island Institute Store

and

Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shops

Back Cover Blurb

Hourglass: Drina is a young boat captain whose current goal in life is to find a man to be her soulmate. Some of the folks she meets on this adventure are quite interested in Drina's companionship.

Unfortunately, Drina is attacked by petty-criminal modern-day pirates. She and her new friends pursue the pathetic pirates with the intent of extracting revenge. Drina's father taught her that revenge is infantile.

Tom Shine: Ben Barton is chased off the mainland by a gang of local mobsters. While hiding on a remote island, Ben befriends Tom Shine. Ben and Tom join forces to deal with Dr. Z, a Swiss scientist who believes that if you feed humans to lobsters, then eat the lobsters, you will be able to regenerate lost limbs. Best not to stray near the lobster pound.

My Sister's Tea Room is about two sweet young sisters who take up residence on an island near the island where they grew up. Sick about the fiery murder of their parents by a rival fisherman fifteen years prior, they seek revenge on the entire population by opening a tea room. Speed kills, and that's what's in the tea ~ Methamphetamine. “I’d like another cup please.”

Dogtooth Violet is a clam digger who is graced with wild energy, copious naivete, innocent beauty, and native intelligence. She does, however, have a chip on her shoulder and she resents and distrusts anyone who has money or an education.

In order to buy drugs, Dogtooth’s mean, rotten, older sister decides to abandon her two teenage children and sell the family homestead out from under them. Dogtooth does everything she can to save the homestead. And she falls in love with someone from a different social class ~ mud over matter.

The Author lives on the coast of Maine and has worked in the lobster and herring industries, including tending a lobster pound on an island. He and his wife Stephanie lived on a boat in Maine for three years ~ year-round.

Hello my local artist friends. Here is a book that you will find interesting. Several of my artist friends have enjoyed reading it. The setting for this novella is based on Rockland, which most local readers will quickly realize. This is a work of fiction.

wild and beautiful painter

Lilly

The art world is full of sharks as Scott Hill tries to navigate its 

dark waters while fostering a deep love 

for the wild and beautiful Lilly.

Lilly appears to be an active full time artist. It turns out that she is truly a wonderful artist. Her engaging watercolors capture daily life in a small seaside town in New England. 

Lilly's lifestyle, on the other hand, is dictated by self-destructive actions beyond her control. This is not uncommon.

Lilly gradually falls in love with her aspiring-artist neighbor, Scott, who does his best to help Lilly succeed in the local art world and life-in-general.  

Maybe I'm Scott Hill ~ or maybe you are. Try as we may, some things are utterly out of our control.

See this book on Amazon