On this page you will be able to view the slideshow below of some of the graphic design work I did for the Moosehead Messenger. You can hire me to do your graphic design work at Maine Web Connection.
Boston Bruins Captivate New Fans
By Jon Hilton
BOSTON- As Zdeno Chara hoisted Lord Stanley’s cup high over his head, I am not sure that everybody watching truly understood what the Boston Bruins Victory over the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Wednesday night meant to the franchise and it’s future. The Boston Bruins are now relevant.
It is clear that up until this the Bruins were a distant fourth when it came to major sports in this town. The Red Sox are clearly number one, followed by the Patriots then the Celtics and then the Bruins. It is understandable, the Bruins hadn’t won it all since 1972, I personally was five at that time and have no memory of them winning and therefore no nostalgic connection to the storied franchise. To me, The Bruins always meant a team that would not or could not get over the hump and win it all. If they had a great regular season and finished in first place, surely a disappointing first round exit at the hands of the hated Montreal Canadians was coming. If they got a three game lead over the Flyers, your hopes would rise and then be smashed like a jack-o-lantern on Halloween. Why were we to believe that this year was any different? The Bruins are coached by a man everyone in Boston thought should be fired a month ago. Their captain carried the tag that he couldn’t win the big game or series. Their goalie could have been had by any team in the league who made the right offer. There was no rational reason to believe this team would be the one to exercise the ghosts of Bruins past, but they most definitely and emphatically did just that.
The 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Bruins have captured the imagination and hearts of several key demographics across New England and across the continent. Everyone now has their victory moment to tie to the Bruins. Twenty years from now, you will remember everything about how Tim Thomas was “the man” and they just don’t make goalies like him anymore. You will wax nostalgic about the teamwork, unselfishness and work ethic of the 2011 Stanley Cup Championship Bruins and how the teams of 2031 just don’t seem to measure up. You will remember where you were and who you were with when the Bruins finally defeated those bleeping Canucks once and for all. This will all happen because the Bruins are now relevant to a whole new realm of people.
I have heard many so-called “real” hockey fans complain that everyone is just jumping on the band wagon and real fans should be appalled, that people who have never even skated or don’t understand what this offsides business is all about, are paying attention to hockey. I say enjoy the moment, every fan started somewhere, you were once exposed to the sport, through playing it or watching it with your Dad or someway that caused you to love hockey and root for the Boston Bruins. There are a whole lot of people who have just had their first experience with hockey and now are fans. Like it or not your going to have to share your team with a lot of people who two months ago didn’t know what a puck was made of and didn’t care. Now they’ll be sitting next to you at the Garden and loving the game just as much as you. Get used to the idea because it is going to happen. Just ask any Red Sox fan.
Where exactly do the Bruins rank now in the major sports scene of Boston? That remains to be seen. I think a lot will be shown when the Cup is paraded through Boston on Saturday. This parade is on a weekend so it is safe to say the it will be attended by hundreds of thousands of people willing to show their appreciation and I expect it to be second only to the 2004 Red Sox Parade in significance and meaning. Let’s face it 86 years was a long time and none of us ever thought we would live to see that day, it was a pseudo-religious experience of biblical proportions. This one will be similar but on a slightly lower emotional level. Whatever happens it will be a spectacle worth watching and it will prove that the Boston Bruins are now a much more relevant member of the Boston sports scene. For better or worse the Bruins have won the hearts and minds of a whole new generation of sports fans.
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Beckett Near Perfect, Sox Beat Rays
ST PETERSBURG, FL – It was a night of near perfection at Tropicana Field as Boston Red Sox ace Josh Beckett mowed down the Rays in dominant fashion to lead the team to their tenth win in eleven games defeating the Rays 3-0 on Wednesday night. A Reid Brignac infield single in the third inning was the only blemish on Beckett’s pitching line. With the Bruins winning an exciting game 7 and securing the Stanley Cup for the hub, the question can be asked, was anybody watching? Hopefully they were, because this was a vintage Josh Beckett performance, and perhaps his best ever in a Red Sox uniform.
Kevin Youkilis added all of the offense the Red Sox would need hitting a three run blast off of Tampa starter Jeremy Hellickson in the seventh inning. Hellickson had matched Beckett nearly pitch for pitch through six innings. It took Beckett only 97 pitches to finish the complete game victory, he struck out 6 rays and walked none. It was pure domination.
With one out in the seventh, Dustin Pedroia hit a blast off of the right field wall for a triple, the Rays chose to intentionally walk league leading hitter Adrian Gonzalez and pitch to Youkilis. It was a fatal mistake as the Red Sox third baseman took Hellickson deep on the second pitch of his at bat. The Rays bullpen held the Sox in check the rest of the way but the damage was done, and Beckett was unhittable and dominant the rest of the way. Beckett improves his record to 6-2 on the season and Hellickson falls to 7-5.
The game was played in a crisp two hours and twenty minutes. It felt like they wanted to get the victory and clear the stage for the historic Bruins victory that was occurring at the same time in Vancouver. The Red Sox will complete their 9 game road trip tonight in Tampa Bay when Clay Buchholtz takes on Tampa Bay’s tough lefty David Price in the rubber game of the three game series. Boston is 7-1 so far on the trip and maintain a 1 1/2 game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East.
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What You Will Find on Mainely Entertaining
I have put the video from the home page here, so that you can get some explanation about it. I wanted someone who visits this site for the first time to get an idea of what I have put on this site, quickly and hopefully enjoyably. So I put some images from the posts here with a little music. The song is called “The High Road” by Broken Bells.
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Lloyd Pickett, Jr.
By Jon Hilton
I have been blessed to have had a relationship with all of my grandparents and six of my great-grandparents. This article is about my Mother’s Father, Lloyd Pickett, Jr., or Grandpa to all of his grandchildren. Today he is on my mind and I can’t help thinking about all of the good things he did for me in my life. I wanted to let him know that he was appreciated and will be missed for what he did and who he was. Here’s to Grandpa Pickett, Lloyd Pickett, Jr.
When we were growing up, every summer for a week or two our parents let us go stay with Grammie and Grandpa, and for most of that time they lived in New Gloucester, Maine. Staying at their place was awesome for a kid. My Grandfather trained and raced horses for a living. These were Standard Bred Horses and this was harness racing. That means they used a cart. I always have had a fascination with the horses and the races. Grandpa could tell me, “We gotta get up at 6 and you are going to shovel horse crap for three hours.” , and I would have had trouble sleeping because I was so excited. My brothers and I followed him around and soaked in the atmosphere and the lifestyle that my grandparents lived. What ever Grandpa liked, we liked. What ever Grandpa did, we did. Some of my best memories of him were when we would jog the horses. We would get to take turns riding on the jog cart with him and we would follow the circular track listening to the rhythmic clip-clop, clip-clop of the horses hooves. Grandpa would often hum and sing along to the beat of the horses hooves as we moved around the track. I can’t remember the tune, but I can remember the song, and feel the sound in my memory.
I also loved race day. When a horse was racing, we would get to go to Scarborough Downs and watch. I didn’t know anything about gambling then, but I really loved being at the track. My brothers and I would get to race around and watch the horses and make bets with each other. We would wait for Grandpa to bring his horse out to warm up and watch him roll around the track, and yell and wave at him, even though Grammie always told us, he wasn’t supposed to wave back. Then if he won we would get to go into the winner’s circle and get out picture taken. It was awesome. Then on the way home, if we were good, we would usually stop at McDonald’s, and what kid didn’t like that? I remember this mostly because Grandpa always called shakes, frapes, I never really understood why. Also to this day, if I go to McDonalds and eat inside, I have to sit where I can see my vehicle, because Grandpa always did this to make sure nobody was messing with the horses. I don’t have any horses but I still follow this practice to the letter.
At Grammie’s insistance, probably to get us out of her hair for a little while, we would also play a lot while we were there. We went fishing in the river behind their place, we played baseball, whiffle ball, rode bikes and we even had races of our own around the track. It was about a half a mile, I am often in awe of the things we did for fun, today it would be punishment for kids to participate in activities like that but we really did love it. Grandpa used to be a great baseball player back in the old days,(he told us this), so when we were throwing the ball around, he would come out and play catch with us. He never used a glove…..I always liked that.
Inevitably the time would slip by, and soon my parents would return to collect us so that we could continue on our summer at home. I always loved those times and the memories of them are stored away to be recalled with a smile and a warm feeling, when I think of my Grandfather and what he meant to me as a boy growing up in Maine.
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I can be stubborn. Grandpa has been stubborn his whole life. He always refused to let anyone tell him what to do at any time. When he wanted to do something, he did it. As I write this it sounds a lot more like me than I thought. The past few years, as his health has been failing, he has been clinging to life with an iron grip, you have to envy. He underwent cancer surgery, when the doctors told him it would kill him. He had a pace-maker put in, even though the doctors said it probably would kill him. He has been trying to cling to every second of life that he can. My Grandmother Pickett, was just the opposite, when she felt it was her time to go, she said good-bye to her children and peacefully passed on. Grammie knew it was her time and really seemed to be at peace with it. Grandpa is not going that way, he is not going anywhere without a fight. I admire that in him, and even though I know that eventually he will lose that battle, every time he fights back it is a testament to the toughness inherent in our collective heritage.
As time has gone by, and I have been wrapped up in the happenings of my own life, I am regretful that I didn’t see Grandpa more over the past few years. It always seemed that circumstance or distance was in the way. When we lived relatively near each other, I was too busy to find the time to visit. The one thing that I have learned is that I was never that busy.
********** Lloyd Pickett, Jr. Passed away on May 30th, 2011 at approximately 7:55 PM at the Hospice House in Auburn, Maine. Rest In Peace Grandpa.
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Cub Scouts Visit
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New Moosehead Lake Region Welcome Center
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Greenville, Maine in The Winter
A video I made in Greenville, Maine around January 1st. Why? Well it’s Greenville during the winter, not a lot else to do. It got a lot worse before spring finally came, but by then I was long gone.
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Michael Scott, All Good Things Must Come To An End
By Jon Hilton
As I watched the final episode of the office featuring Steve Carell, I was shocked at how much I am going to miss this character. I have been a huge fan of the Office for quite awhile, but have always found the Michael Scott character uncomfortable to watch, he touches a side of you that you usually would never touch. He often says and does things that make you uncomfortable, and still make you laugh because he is a caricature of the typical boss. There are a million great quotes from Dunder Mifflin’s ex-fearless leader, which I will include below.
My favorite Michael Scott moments, 1. organizing his own birthday party at the skating rink and making everybody go even though Kevin possibly has cancer. 2. Survivorman- heading out into the wild woods of Scranton to brave the elements, Michael cuts his pantlegs off to make a hat? and then as it gets a little cooler tapes his pants back together to get warm. He manages to stay out in the wild for approx. 2 hours before he makes it back for Creed’s birthday party. 3. Any meeting led by Michael Scott in the conference room. Especially when
they feature pictures. “Why did you use the picture of Tom Hanks in Big again.” Discrimination, homophobia, obesity, ageism, drug addiction, have all been tackled by Michael Scott over the years. Having sat through countless meaningless meetings, I can appreciate what he brings to the table.
Look below to read, “Somehow I Manage” , written by Michael Scott to be completed by Darryle, please enjoy the inner workings of the greatest managerial mind of our time.
Somehow I Manage By Michael Gary Scott
Chapter One: Introduction
There are all types of managers: financial managers, McDonald’s managers, Britney Spears’ manager, paper company managers, moms, baseball managers… the list goes on. Not all those people are naturally good at their jobs. Some have to work really hard at it. Others write books about it. I’m Michael Scott and this is my manual, “Somehow I Manage.” If you follow my guidelines, soon you’ll be the world’s second best manager (Sorry, I’ll always be #1. I have a mug that proves it.)
Chapter Two: Gum
Everybody likes the guy who offers them a stick of gum.
Chapter Three: Think Simple
That last chapter seemed skimpy, huh? That’s where you’re wrong pal. It was simple. And simple is good. Getting people on your side is as easy as offering them some gum. *Don’t ever give your employees Tic Tacs though, that will make you seem like a grandma.
Gum Guy is nice, laid-back and cool. He’s the type of manager who people want to hang out with after work and tell their life stories to. And you should tell them your whole life story too! That will make everyone close and happy, and happy families get more stuff done together than enemies do. Just look at Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie – they could be making awesome father/daughter movies, but instead they hate each other and barely talk. Such a missed opportunity.
Chapter Four: Equality
Treat people like equals and always make them feel good about themselves. It will pay off. For example, my ex-friend Packer once implied that my employee Phyllis wasn’t hot.
I couldn’t have that kind of negativity floating around. So I hugged Phyllis and told her I was worried about getting a boner. It made her feel wonderful. Later on that day she made two big sales. Another time I kissed a gay accountant during a meeting to show how accepting I was of his sexual orientation. He was going to quit before that, but guess what? It’s been five years since that kiss, and he’s still here.
Chapter Five: Entertain
“For some trips, high-speed rail will be faster than flying. Without the pat down.”
Who said it? Cosby? Tosh.0? Nope. Obama! Even the President tells jokes. That just goes to show how important comedy is. As a leader, people expect you to entertain them. Some managers might find this difficult because they’re busy doing other things like paperwork or employee reviews. Delegate all that boring stuff to other people so you have more time to entertain. Comedy should always take precedence over everything else because it makes people cheerful, and when they’re cheerful they work better. Someone once told me comedy is where the mind goes to tickle itself, and that couldn’t be truer. Make sure your employees’ minds are getting tickled on a daily basis. They’ll be so grateful, and so will you.
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The Maine Steiners
