Muchness is defined by Merriam-Webster as "the quality or state of being great in quantity, extent, or degree. — much of a muchness. : very much the same." And so it is on June 10th in Portland.

Will South Portland soon become a hotbed of Hollywood-like activity? Maine is a visual paradise—from its billboard-less highways to attractively zig-zagging coastline (which, when you stretch it to full length, measures longer than California’s). No wonder people came here to film flicks like In The Bedroom and The Cider House Rules. But moviemakers have mostly spelunked into our territory to get good film footage, then headed elsewhere to complete the project.

Spring in Maine is a fleeting pleasure. Wedged as it so often is between a just too long winter and an always spectacular summer. A blush of cherry blossoms on Brackett Street near Maine Medical Center this week reminded me to enjoy what I find today because it surely will be different tomorrow. Like the mothers of young children we see tender blossoms yield quickly to riotous foliage. We are grateful to begin again...and again.