10/2/08 Price of gas is falling

This morning I got up early to get to the dentist by 8:30. He's replacing the old silver fillings in two of my teeth that have started to go bad. On the way to the dentist, I noticed that the price of gas at the local Irving station was $3.49 a gallon. On the way back from the dentist, I was too focused on the Novocain that was wearing off and I didn't notice the price of gas. A little after 2:00, I drove by the Irving station on my way to Dixfield to teach the graduate course. The price of gas at the same Irving station was now down to $3.48 a gallon. After the graduate course, I stayed for the ribbon cutting ceremony and it was nearly 8:00pm when I drove by the same Irving station on my way home for the evening. Now the price of gas was $3.47 a gallon. I wonder if it will continue to fall.

10/2/08 Ribbon Cutting at Dirigo Elementary School

Today was the first official day of the graduate course in Dixfield. I was supposed to take photos for my "Autumn album" but instead, I stayed at the school after the class was dismissed in order to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new school building. It's a beautiful building. In this photo, Dr. Tom is speaking. He's the superintendent of schools for this district. He's a great person to work with (I've been working with him directly and indirectly on the two graduate courses I've taught here) and is a great community builder. What came through most in this ceremony that was intended to be a thank you event for everyone involved in creating this school (builders, contractors, teachers, community members . . . everyone) was the great sense of community that abounds in this area, especially under Dr. Tom's leadership.