Editor:

   Last June I attended the Maine Military Museums tasteful and graceful kickoff event at the Crow Art Gallery in South Portland. Your coverage of the event was in whole very supportive.

   Being a military widow, I proudly attended this past Saturdays opening ceremonies at the museum’s new home in Mill Creek Park. With splendid weather flags fluttered, color guards marched, our anthem played and Gov. Baldacci solemnly presented medals to 15 deserving soldiers from several U.S., wars.

   Sadly, the last public speaker left me upset and embarrassed for the honorees and their families. While telling several off color jokes, the speaker rambled on at length of how hard he had worked on the museum project. With the fumbling tact of a snake oil salesmen he made a very unprofessional appeal for money. Finally this scruffy speaker crudely told how for months he and other workers had often urinated on the trees outside the building because the restrooms had not yet been installed.

    Not the right time, not the right place, and certainly not the right spokesman for our heros!

Peggy Dexter

Westbrook