The art of emailin' corporate.

Good Monday to you dear Bowdoinhammer,

Is everyone’s power back? With any luck, that’s the last power outage, ever (that would be nice, right?).

We know it’s easy to be frustrated with the utility companies right now, but please remember, the workers that climb the poles and clear the trees are there to help you. They don’t have a say as to how the company they work for is run. Save your beef for a strongly worded email to the company and spare that worker (who probably hasn’t seen their family in days).

If you think that complaining to a companies Customer Care Department is a waste of time, you would be right. Try sending an email to the tippy-top. With enough elbow grease on the ol’ Google machine, you might find the following email addresses:

• CMP: [email protected] (Joseph Purington, President)

• Comcast (Xfinity): [email protected] (Amy Lynch, President, NE Div.)

• Consolidated (Fidium): [email protected] (Bob Udell, CEO)

• LCI: [email protected] (Shirley Manning, President/Owner)

PRO TIP: Remember to be cordial in your correspondence. It’s easy to delete an email from someone who sounds like a lunatic. Don’t be a “frequent flyer”, either. Corporate escalations tend to get dealt with quickly, but that doesn’t mean that you should go straight to that option every time you have an issue.

If complaining to corporate doesn’t work, you can always file a complaint with the Maine Office of the Public Advocate, too.

Here are the highlights for this week…

1. No school on Monday for MSAD 75 students because of the eclipse.

2. Not Your Mother’s Garden Club is meeting on Wednesday. Pickleball is BACK as well, but it’s off again next week because of Spring Vacation.

3. The American Red Cross wants a bunch of your blood on Thursday.

4. There’s an opening reception for Ruthanne Harrison’s new mixed media work titled “paper. cotton. linen. silk” at the Merrymeeting Arts Center gallery on Friday night.

5. Bowdoinham Rowing is having a community supper on Saturday night to show off their rowing muscles (probably).

6. Merrymeeting Arts Center is throwing another open mic on Sunday night. The last one was pretty rad, you should go to this one.

There’s more info about these and other events below.

Something strange is going to happen today and we don’t want you to be too worried. It only happens every once in a while, and it doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice any goats or anything. It’s called a solar eclipse, and NASA is aware of it. Whatever you do, don’t call Melody at the Country Store and yell at her about it. She didn’t cause it.

(If you don’t understand that last part, don’t worry. It means you don’t waste a lot of time on the Facebooks.)

Here are all the details for the events happening this week…

MONDAY, APRIL 8TH

• No School for MSAD 75 Students.

• Age Friendly Committee Meeting in the Kendall Room of the John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.) 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM.

• Pickleball in the Bowdoinham Community School gymnasium (23 Cemetery Rd.) 3:45 PM to 5:45 PM. This event is open to Pickleballers of any age and ability. New to Pickleball and want to learn? Stop by and check it out!

• Open Pottery Studio at the Merrymeeting Arts Center Studio (9 Main St.) 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. $10 Suggested donation. The maximum capacity is 10 pottery enthusiasts.

TUESDAY, APRIL 9TH

• Storytime for Preschoolers and their Grown-ups with Miss Kate at the Bowdoinham Public Library (13a School St.) 10:00 AM.

• Recycling Drop-off at the Public Works Facility (121 Pond Rd.) NOON - 6:00 PM.

• Merryreading Book Store OPEN at Merrymeeting Hall (Basement entrance around back, 27 Main St.) 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM.

• Select Board Meeting & Workshop in the Kendall Room at the John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.) 5:00 PM. Town Hall Streams link.

• Merrymeeting Dance Alinement at Merrymeeting Hall (27 Main St.) 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM. FMI: call George Oliver (207) 666-3589.

• Comprehensive Planning Committee Meeting in the Graduates Room at the John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.) 6:00 PM. Zoom Link, Meeting ID: 846 9063 3764, Passcode: 645078

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10TH

• Bridge players can enjoy weekly game play at the Bowdoinham Fire Station (57 Post Rd.) 9:30 AM - NOON. FMI: Judy Gray, 666-3025. The group welcomes all players. Current players range from high scoring duplicate players to seniors who played in college and newbies who have taken a class.

• Not Your Mother’s Garden Club meeting at Merrymeeting Hall (27 Main St.) 1:00 PM.

• In-person shopping for ALL Bowdoin and Bowdoinham residents at the Bowdoinham Food Pantry (9 Main St.) 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

• Silver Striders Walking Club in the Bowdoinham Community School gymnasium (23 Cemetery Rd.) 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM. Please be sure to bring clean shoes to wear when inside the school!

• Pickleball in the Bowdoinham Community School gymnasium (23 Cemetery Rd.) 4:30 PM - 8:00 PM. This is open to adults of any age and ability. The group has friendly games with mixed levels of competition. New to Pickleball and want to learn? Stop by and check it out!

• Solid Waste Committee Meeting in the Kendall Room of the John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.) 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM.

• Housing Sub-Committee Meeting in the Kendall Room of the John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.) 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. Zoom Link. Meeting ID: 820 8519 4296, Passcode: 776154.

• Open Pottery Studio at the Merrymeeting Arts Center Studio (9 Main St.) 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. $10 Suggested donation. The maximum capacity is 10 pottery enthusiasts.

• Mid-Week Bible Study and Prayer Gathering at the Second Baptist Church (1 Church St.) 6:30 PM.

• Friends of Merrymeeting Bay present "Conservation Challenges for Bald Eagles" featuring Chris DeSorbo, Director of Raptor Program, Senior Research Biologist, Biodiversity Research Institute. Starts at 7:00 PM. FMI: call (207) 666-3372 or email [email protected].

THURSDAY, APRIL 11TH

• Trash Pick-up Day. Pick-up times vary. Trash tags are $3 each and can be purchased at the Town Office and The Bowdoinham Country Store.

• Recycling Drop-off at the Public Works Facility (121 Pond Rd.) 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

• Cribbage hosted by Age Friendly Bowdoinham at the John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.) 9:30 AM - NOON.

• Age-Friendly Monthly Luncheon at the Bowdoinham Fire Station (57 Post Rd.) 11:30 AM.

• American Red Cross Blood Drive at the Mason Village Lodge 26 (13 Main St.) NOON - 4:30 PM.

• Merryreading Book Store OPEN at Merrymeeting Hall (Basement entrance around back, 27 Main St.) 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM.

• Cemetery Advisory Committee Meeting in the Kendall Room of the John C. Coombs Municipal Building (13 School St.) 4:00 PM.

• MSAD 75 School Board Meeting in the Forum at Mt. Ararat High School (68 Eagles Way, Topsham) 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12TH

• No School for MSAD 75 Students.

• Acrylic Pour 101 with Linda Murray at the Merrymeeting Arts Center Studio (9 Main St.) 9:30 AM - NOON. Session 2 of 6. Pre-registration required, $120.

• OPENING RECEPTION: paper. cotton. linen. silk, new mixed media work by Ruthanne Harrison at Merrymeeting Arts Center Gallery (9 Main St.) 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM.

SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH

• The Bowdoinham FREE Gift Shop is open at the Bowdoinham Recycling Barn (243 Post Rd.) 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

• Recycling Drop-off at the Public Works Facility (121 Pond Rd.) 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

• Open Pottery Studio at the Merrymeeting Arts Center Studio (9 Main St.) 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. $10 Suggested donation. The maximum capacity is 10 pottery enthusiasts.

• Merryreading Book Store OPEN at Merrymeeting Hall (Basement entrance around back, 27 Main St.) 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

• paper. cotton. linen. silk, new mixed media work by Ruthanne Harrison at Merrymeeting Arts Center Gallery (9 Main St.) 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM.

• Bowdoinham Rowing Meeting & Community Supper at Merrymeeting Hall (27 Main St.) 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. This is a free supper open to the community. Donations are gladly accepted and appreciated!

SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH

• Bowdoinham Second Baptist (1 Church St.) Sunday Service 10:00 AM.

• Bowdoinham Church of the Nazarene (7 school St.) Sunday School 10:00 AM, Service 11:00 AM.

• Bowdoinham Recreation Open Gym for Adults and High-schoolers in the Bowdoinham Community School gymnasium (23 Cemetery Rd.) 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. FREE for Bowdoinham residents. Get your sweat on and have fun with other Bowdoinhammers!

• Community Swim at the LeRoy Greason Pool (35 Watson Dr., Brunswick) 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM. Free to residents of Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Harpswell, and Topsham. Pre-registration required.

Some events may be canceled or changed without notice. Check out Bowdoinhammer.com for an up-to-date list of events.

That’s it from us this week. We’ll see you next Monday.

Until then, be nice to yourself and someone else too.

Love

Rodney & Tessa

❤️ 

P.S. Another thing that works with those corporate emails is compliments. If you had an extraordinary interaction with one of those line workers or service technicians, fire off a compliment to their corporate overlord. It might make their day.