"Ain't that awful!"

That's a line I've heard John Lunt say almost every day that I've known him.

John Lunt is a Frenchboro icon. He's a dry old Mainer, the last native islander, and one colorful character!

I wish I could imitate his accent and inflection through written word, but, no. I cannot.

That line above is his standard reply to just about everything The Big Guy says.

Like, when The Big Guy says "The reason the lobster market was so poor last fall is John caught up everything there was on the bottom and flooded the market."

And John will laugh and say, "Ain't that awful."

Or when The Big Guy says,"Ol' John's sitting here rubbing his knees. He's tryin' to get a blow on so all the Big Dogs can't get out to haul and scoop up his lobsters." (John doesn't fish in bad weather anymore.)

And John laughs, and says, "Ain't that awful!"

Or when The Big Guy says, "Ol' John, he don't go to church every week by choice, he goes to beg forgiveness for catching all the lobsters 'fore any of the other guys get a chance at 'em."

John was a highliner, back in the day.

He just laughs and says, "Ain't that awful!"

We have a whole lotta fun with John.

We go to a local fair every year, have every single year since I moved to Maine. 

Sixteen years in a row, I've gone to the Blue Hill Fair with The Big Guy. 

Now we take our kids.

In recent years, they've added a new attraction at the fair: pig racing. It's hilarious!

It's a huge hit, and draws quite a crowd. Last year they sold things to the crowd: little pig noses, flags, stuffed pig animals. 

The Big Guy bought a stuffed pig puppet.

He had me sew it onto a baseball cap. It was a baseball cap with a big pink pig head on the bill.

He gave it to John.

All that fall, the fishermen oinked at John on the VHF. 

I know this, because I have to listen to the VHF to hear the mailman's boat come in the harbor when I work the post office..

Which means, I must endure the fishermen on the VHF.

John laughs a lot. That's why we love him.

These are a few pictures from the school's Music Performance last Saturday night.

I will show you pictures of the kids tomorrow. 

This isn't about the kids.

This is about the heathens, Tammy and The Big Guy.

Tammy, mere seconds before she flipped me The Bird.

The Big Guy in the process of flipping me The Bird.(Great minds think alike??)

And all I could think was, Ain't that awful!

Bear in mind that I did absolutely nothing to warrant being flipped. (You don't have to, with these two.)

I am, of course, a perfect angel. 

Ask my Mother.

(I heard that, Tammy.)