Chimneys

There's nothing special about Maine chimneys, alas. However, there is clearly something special about Mainers who walk roofs to look at chimneys. (That's at least what I think this fellow is doing, unless the Owls Head Ballet is holding special try-outs.) There's a certain insouciance, even deviltry, about the way danger is assumed to be more of a nuisance than an enemy.

I can guess that Maine chimneys get a work-out greater than those in most states. Almost every house these days seems to have a stove burning wood or pellets or even coal. Lumberjacks and chimney sweeps must be happy, if ever they can be in such jobs. Oil and gas are clean; wood and coal are dirty. This doesn't quite fit the Gore formula, but then one assumes his mission has a slightly broader scope than wood stoves in parlors.

Danger does lurk, even for Mainers. A house down on Ash Point had a chimney fire last weekend. Both Owls Head and Rockland fire departments responded. There was danger, but no damage, apparently, according to the news reports. It must have been an insouciant fire.