White Culture versus Black Culture

White Black Brown Tan ....

For all those "white" folks out there thinking they're going to lose their "culture", my one question is "What culture"?

South culture
West side NYC culture
NJ culture
NH woods culture?
Maine woods or sea culture?

What is "white" culture?

Not one of you could define any "white" culture, as the blackest person in America could not define "black" culture.

It's a fantasy.  You are a "slave" to your fantasies.

Get over it.

Your genes will get healthier the more you diversify, and get over your fears.

EM Burke
03/06/2019

It's Our Wits That Make Us Wo/Men

It's our wits that make us "wo/man", Movie Braveheart

I know that the spades..are the swords of a soldier
the clubs are the weapons of war
That's not the shape of my heart..

I have come to think there is an argument for "colonization", because a bigger stronger country could bring a smaller "drug terrorized" country back into some order. I have my own country's interests' in heart, initially, but frankly I am horrified by what is happening in these smaller countries, who are overcome by drug lords and inept central government.

If these areas are "colonized" again, they would come under the government of a country that is fundamentally ruled "by law", even as we've seen that law undercut by the current President of the United States.

This "president" will be out in 4 more years, by law, and there is still our long-standing judicial and constitutional process in everlasting process

It would be in these countries' best interests to be "colonized" because their governance is incapacitated by low income, failing farming, etc, so it has become overcome by "drug warriors".

I entirely understand why the drug companies have come into existence. I will give them the credence they actually do deserve. They are "companies", even while most call them "drug lords" or other disparaging terms.

They are "companies" of family and etc, and they have come into existence to preserve their lives and families, against the forces of others.

They actually have more power over us than the other drug companies in the United States of America, because their drugs are killing us, every day.

By coming under "colonization", they'd start to get the same rights and protections that most USAers  feel they have by "right" when they wake up in the morning. Those rights do not come without risks or forfeitures. Yes, you do have to pay property taxes, plus water and etc. fees.

Yes, most decent Americans do want to learn Spanish, French, and then, also of course Latin and Greek.  Ya gavorite pa ruskie. Je parle un peu de Francais. No hablo Espanol Please forgive.


Best regards, Elizabeth Morrill Burke
Portland, Maine

Plastics, and the Princess Eugenia

I've decided, along with Princess Eugenia, that plastics are the scourge of the Earth, and of Sea and of Life.

Princess Eugenia is actually a rather ordinary person, who happens to have, via her "birth" some special attention, so I'm just joining her band wagon.

We can go back to using glass cups, etc... so long as we espouse a less "I need it now" economy.

We actually do not need it "now".... we can get along fine so long as we prepare.

Best regards, Elizabeth M. Burke, Portland, Maine

Singing Sands Beach, Long Island: New Ownership

Dear Old and New Friends: I sold my share of Singing Sands to my brother Andrew Lewis Burke. The Island property is now owned by my older brother John Oakes Burke and my younger brother Andrew Lewis Burke. Andrew manages the finances, while John manages the yearly/daily management, so far as I can tell.

Please contact him at: andlewb62@gmail.com

Just some new photos of the cabin, property, etc: Enjoy

I am concerned about the amount of plastic (whether bottles, ties for lobster outfits, or even plasticized bait bags) that end up on the beach. I am MORE concerned about the number of plastic summer chairs that end up in the island dump. You cannot repair a plastic summer chair. You can repair a wooden chair. I urge all islanders to STOP buying plastic chairs. Best, EM Burke

Obituary: L. Morrill Burke, February 12, 2013, and what he did at Singing Sands, Long Island, ME

Some pictures of what my father built at Singing Sands Beach and also his property behind the beach.

This is the earliest known photograph of the cabin my father built at Singing Sands Beach, Shark Cove, Long Island, ME. The white door to the leftish of the image still remains. The cabin has been extensively changed over the years. The original "army" barracks windows my father put into the window openings years ago rotted and new windows have been installed. The area to the left of the white door was significantly expanded around 1986, and the wood cook stove I grew up with has been removed and replaced with a gas stove.

The beach, as it has always been, if without the flocks of the Piping Plover. I suspect that when the small red fox hit the island, they made it impossible for the Piping Plover to successfully breed in the dunes; the foxes, who often dig dens in the dunes, would have raided the ground nests.

Why a week 3/4rds off the grid is a great vacation

July and August at our summer cabin have been consistently rented for over 20 years. Due to climate change, we are now offering our place in June, which has had the best weather over all the months in the past three years. Clear blue skies; temperate weather; and freedom from boaters and visiting "tourists." Quiet and loveliness as you may have only imagined.



Our place is not for the soft-handed, nor the too-pampered. This is a place for those people who really want to feel life between their teeth. A week in this place will restore your soul. No, it is not a grand Nantucket house, with fancy shops nearby. It is not Martha's Vineyard. It is not even the fancy Maine "Blue Hill" community. It is far more special and unique. It is 11 private acres, with the largest white sand private beach in Maine, which we, the Burkes share with our community, and yet still retain a sense of privacy. But, there are no automatic hot showers. There are sun-showers. Or, you can heat up water for a private bath on the front porch, at night, under the stars, or, as far as we're concerned, right during the middle of the day. Strip down, get naked, pour hot water over yourself, and soak up the sun.

And for those who have ever wondered what it is really like to live closer to "off the grid", here is your chance, without losing a bit of sleep over things. Waking up in one of the most special places on the East Coast, and knowing one will be spending a good day, even if it is foggy and rainy.



My general experience is that during vacations, I can't really rest if I'm doing absolutely nothing, just having my needs catered to. What I really want is to be re-awakened, enlivened. Time when I can finally find out about the world I am otherwise missing, because I'm so busy working.  Sure, we want a rest, but we want a rest from those hours doing things just for money, which most of us have to do.

It is not just watching the sun rise, listening to the ocean, or taking a private dip (clothed or naked). It is not just sitting on a porch all day. Rather, it is rediscovering what it means to be alive. Not just exercising in a gym, our eyes glued to some tv screen.

Kayaking in a quiet harbor and seeing the wildlife, learning about it. It is having access to a decent home library, or washing  dishes while watching terns fishing for their supper--watching, learning, wondering. A week feeling very close to those daily tasks we have to do, one way or another. A week feeling again the meaningfulness of those daily tasks. 


And still, something to do every day, whether it is boiling water to rinse your dishes, or washing your dishes in the ocean, scrubbing the pots with sand.

Or walking... actually walking, rather than getting in a car, to buy groceries. Or walking to the library. Or just walking.... to beaches to collect sea glass, taking your Maine guide to wildlife to identify plants and seaweeds. Where exercise is related to daily necessary activities.

This is our credo: Life is better when it is connected to what is necessary. It will restore your soul. It will remind you why living can be both work and fun.