“A Very Ida Christmas” Comes to Rollinsford

ROLLINSFORD—
Poolyle Productions presents “A Very Ida Christmas,” the “funniest holiday show in Maine. Heck, in New England!” Humorist Susan Poulin, creator of “Ida: Woman Who Runs With the Moose!” “Ida’s Havin’ a Yard Sale!” and writer of the popular Maine humor blog and podcast, Just Ask Ida at DownEast.com, spreads Ida’s good cheer as she celebrates Christmas in Mahoosuc Mills, Maine.
Ida just loves Christmas, and she has the inside scoop on everything: the Not-So-Secret Santa plan, the dos and don’ts of Holiday decorating and more! Come hear what Charlie and the boys are up to, and prepare to be dazzled by Ida’s latest craft project with her pals, the Women Who Run With the Moose. Ida is no Scrooge, though, so banish your bah-humbugs and come prepared to laugh!
Selected by Portland Magazine as one of the “Ten Most Intriguing People in Maine,” writer/performer Susan Poulin has been creating and touring her original theatrical productions since 1992. She was a featured performer in The Mirth of Venus and The Mirth Canal at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and at The Maine Festival, the Minneapolis Fringe Theater Festival and Portland, Maine’s Cassandra Project. Her work has been supported by the NH State Council on the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Humanities Council. Susan is also a popular keynote speaker, and has brought her humor and insight to presentations for groups such as Seacoast Women’s Week, the American Cancer Society (New England Division), and the Personal Historians National Conference.
Working in collaboration with artist, musician and actor, Gordon Carlisle, Susan’s critically acclaimed plays, In My Head I’m Thin, Shutting Up Peggy Lee!, Spousal Deafness…and Other Bones of Contention, Pardon My French!, Ida: Woman Who Runs With The Moose (Seacoast Media Group 1998 Spotlight on the Arts Award for Play of the Year and Best Actress), Ida’s Havin’ a Yard Sale! (SMG’s 2005 Spotlight on the Arts Award for Best Original Script and Best Actress in a Play), A Very Ida Christmas! and A Visit With Ida have broken box office records throughout the Northeast, playing in theaters and colleges. Their plays have also been used as fundraisers for a wide variety of organizations.
Susan’s latest endeavor is a motivational speech and stage performance called “The Moose in Me, The Moose in You! by Ida LeClair, Certified Maine Life Guide.”
“A Very Ida Christmas” runs for three shows only, December 17-19 at Garrison Players, Route 4, Rollinsford, NH: Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 3:00pm. Tickets are $15, $10 for students. To reserve, call 603-750-4ART or 800-838-3006, or visit www.garrisonplayers.org.
Photo caption: “A Very Ida Christmas” will be running performances from Dec. 17-19 only, at Garrison Players. (Courtesy photo)

Points in History

By Chip Schrader
Book Review Editor
“Decision Points” is former President George W. Bush memoir surrounding one of the most turbulent periods of American History. His presidency endured 9/11, two wars, and ended during an economic meltdown. As with any presidency during turbulent times, many of his decisions were questioned and criticized.
“Decision Points” is an attempt to get beyond the soundbites that satisfy the Television World’s attention span, and he details how his background, knowledge, friends and associates shaped his decisions. Rather than doing a chronological account of his presidency, he breaks the memoir up around pivotal issues he faced serving his term to allow for a clear extraction of incidents and anecdotes that lead to his decision.
While avid Bush supporters are sure to desire this read, critics will have plenty of interest in what Bush has to say. Some incidents, like his decision on stem cell research, or to go to war with Iraq will remain controversial after reading this. However, there is an opportunity for understanding why he made these decisions. Rather from shooting from the hip, as it appeared, Bush weighed every opinion regarding using stem cells.
Eventually, he decided to compromise and allow the current stem cells to be used, but after that, to allow research find another way to get these cells. As the current administration has learned, compromise only makes both sides angry.
One issue that takes up a bulk of the book, as it should, is the war in Iraq. Bush recalls the unilateral call to deal with Iraq after Afghanistan. He stated in a debate in 1999, in opposition to Gore, that nation building should not be a priority of our foreign policy. He admits that during the Afghan War, his opinion had switched upon seeing the liberated people rejoice and stand in line for their first free election. According to Bush, 80% of registered voters showed up to the poles facing threats from extremists.
While Iraq and Afghanistan were completely different situations, it’s apparent that Bush had the same vision for a free Iraq. This war began, Bush assures, after several sanctions Hussein failed to abide by, and using UN money intended to feed his people to build weapons. Whether one agrees with him or not, he lays out his thoughts, feelings, and knowledge of the issue so that skeptics can at least see it was a very difficult decision, and a great deal of reason was applied to the decision process. At the beginning of the book, Bush admits that time will tell with some of these decisions.
Decision Points is a forum where Bush uses Abe Lincoln’s advice to convince readers they’re his friends to make allies. His anecdotes are sensitive, funny, and told with colorful language at times. His writing is enjoyable, even when the reader doesn’t see eye to eye with all of his decisions. What he does achieve, though, is he paints himself as a compassionate, fiery, and caring person who spent a great deal of his time weighing the hefty consequences of his decisions. This book could well serve as a great document of our nation’s history beside the writings of Kennedy and Clinton. Recommended for righties and lefties!
Photo caption: Book cover for Decision Point by George W. Bush (Courtesy photo)

Dover Expanding Paid Parking

DOVER—
Starting in January, the City of Dover will expand paid parking onto Central Avenue and Washington Street. This decision is the result of numerous studies and extensive public deliberation. While it is recognized that a transition to paid on-street parking is a change for the community, it is also the next right step for Dover to address its parking challenges. This next phase and the entire parking program have been endorsed by the independent boards of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce and Dover Main Street Program.
Once the hurdles of behavioral change are overcome, this system will achieve its goal of keeping parking spaces open for short-term (up to 3 hour) customers and clients of downtown businesses while providing long-term parkers with convenient off-street parking that is either free or very affordable. Paid on-street parking will be enforced Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm.
The lack of downtown parking is significantly hindering economic development activities to bring larger employers and companies into our downtown. These daytime downtown tenants are the lifeblood of our downtown economy. It is our hope that this transition allows the City to manage parking more effectively and better utilize the inventory that exists. Revenues created by the program are used to further enhance the parking amenities in the City to include, better signage, increased lot maintenance, development of new facilities and broader marketing of the system.
It’s important to note that consumers will be able to pay for on street parking in as small an increment as 20 minutes. Also, the City is implementing a discounted token program where token users can take advantage of up to a 20% discount on parking fees. Lastly, the Chamber and the Main Street Program encourage downtown shops and restaurants to adopt the token program as a way to give customers an incentive to return to downtown.
Dover, like many NH municipalities, faces significant pressures on its property tax base. The parking system has, and will continue to be, a self-sufficient function that derives no operating expense from property tax revenue. The operation of the system is made up from the user fees and fines collected, much like any other city utility like sewer or water.
Reflect for a moment about the successful downtowns in our area that have a high sense of place and a serious economic vibrancy – Portsmouth, Concord, Newburyport, and Portland. All of these communities have a parking system that has a combination of paid and free on and off street parking. Dover’s transition is to a similar system. Those who are willing to walk a little further still have access to many free parking opportunities.
This article was submitted by Kirt Schuman, Executive Director of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce and Carrie Eisner, Program Director of the Dover Main Street Program.