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The Legend of Route 88<\/strong><\/p>\n Why all of this about May Fogg in 2020\u2014can\u2019t we just let her slip back into history?<\/p>\n The indefatigable May Fogg is the inspiration for Lena, the precocious seven-year-old who is the main character in Snowy Owl & the Seven Sailors<\/em>, a new children\u2019s book published this month by Mile Zero Press.<\/p>\n In the 1980s and early 1990s, my wife, Dr. Nancy Sargent, the Falmouth dentist, and I were privileged to know May Fogg. In fact, May once invited us to her house for tea!<\/p>\n Pouring the Extraordinary<\/strong><\/p>\n When we met May in her cottage in the waterfront community of Wildwood, off U.S. 88 in Cumberland, the first of my astonishments was that she had a standing light in her living room. No big deal there. Except the shaft of her six-foot standing lamp was a repurposed narwhal tusk. She showed us a fox fur parka that she would later donate to the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin, along with a treasure trove of other arctic items, photos, and documents.<\/p>\n The Connection<\/strong><\/p>\n She was a patient of Nancy\u2019s and a retired headmaster of a private school in Massachusetts. She was MacMillan\u2019s niece in real life.\u00a0 <\/span>In Snowy Owl & the Seven Sailors<\/em>, Lena is, too. Sometimes seems like the only grownup in the story. That\u2019s May, through and through.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll never forget May telling us that she was on several of her uncle\u2019s famous Arctic expeditions aboard the Bowdoin<\/em>, and not just as a passenger. She was a trusted member of the crew. \u201cI often was assigned to the helm.\u201d<\/p>\n Lena, the fictional character who carries her spirit, is thoughtful, exacting, like May. The occasion for Lena\u2019s story in Snowy Owl & the Seven Sailors<\/em> is Lena\u2019s rescue of a wounded Snowy Owl who missed the migration north to the Arctic. Her eureka moment: take him north to the Arctic to rejoin his family!<\/p>\n Meet Arcturus<\/strong><\/p>\n This really happened for a Snowy Owl. His name was Arcturus, and the wounded bird\u2014shot by a hunter\u2014was brought home to Labrador aboard the Bowdoin<\/em> during the summer of 1934. The crew fell in love with him. Here\u2019s a sneak peek: \u201cInspired by a true adventure. Seven Arctic explorers, one Snowy Owl\u2014what else could possibly go wrong? Join Arcturus and his pals Lena, Captain Donald MacMillan, and a crew of friendly research sailors aboard the lovely Schooner Bowdoin<\/em> in 1934. The wounded snowy owl gets a lift from Portland, Maine, to his Arctic homeland. On the way, everyone learns something new in this children\u2019s story inspired by a true adventure.<\/p>\n Which you were, May. A true adventure. You are the reason for the words \u201csmartly tied\u201d in this passage from the book. Because you wouldn\u2019t have done it any other way.<\/p>\n \u201cSlippers slipped on<\/p>\n And robe smartly tied,<\/p>\n Lena sails out the door<\/p>\n And kneels by his side.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Arcturus, the owl<\/p>\n Who is named for a star!<\/p>\n Not just any star<\/p>\n But the brightest by far.\u201d<\/p>\n
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