to new emojis, may add 
to the language of modern hieroglyphs in late 2018. While they mull this weighty matter, may we propose a few more Maine emojis for 2019?
Surely the most majestic member of the deer family (and Maine’s official state animal) should be part of a cartoon menagerie that already includes a gecko, a gorilla, and two camels (one hump and two). Just one request: make it stand taller than that freak chipmunk that currently towers over everything else.
If a straw-sipping sissy like the mosquito can make it onto the list of 2018 candidates, why not the real monster of the North Woods — the serrated-jawed blackfly? Text it to the one who bugs you most.
Did you know Mainers’ healthy habits have made Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy our state’s best-selling spirit? As Allen’s explains, brandy has historically been enjoyed “not only for its taste, but for its medicinal purposes, so it makes sense that fishermen would be drawn to it.” We’ll text to that.
This inspirational message requires no words of explanation. Send it to a friend who’s got it — you know, someone who’s distinctively different. —Virginia M. Wright