Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make up. After all, he’s just an opinionated Old Guy.

Submit your questions to Dear Old Guy here.

 Dear Readers,

With the Holidays coming I would like to suggest the gift of reading. This may appear as shameless product placement but the following website by a Maine author offers some of the most enjoyable children’s young adult and adult fiction around—annabelbooks.com

Now back to our regularly scheduled forum —O.G.

Yo! Old Guy!

I am not a native Mainer. Been here only about six years and would have got here sooner if only I’d known how amazing a place this is. I love it here. Genuinely like the independent people and your unpredictable weather. But, some things that go on here are unusual. Most are easily figured out, but there is one issue that has me baffled.
I hear appeals on the TV and radio to save money on my electric bill by changing electric companies. All I have to do is call up this number and presto! I'll have a lower bill and that makes no sense to me. The wires to my house stay the same. The meter (a smart one, ggrrr, don't get me started on that issue) stays the same, but, somehow, some way, I now get a different product for a lower cost through these same items.

Are you kidding me? I have asked several, nay, many locals, old timers and newly arrived citizens and nobody knows how this works. Please explain if you're so doggone smart.

Yours truly, Jack

Dear Jack,

So, I’m a Yo Old Guy? Pardon me, but have we met? Have we kissed? A little decorum, please!

Okay, now to answer your question. My last abode was an authentic Maine cape built sometime around 1750. Freezing cold in the winter. At one point I had a complimentary home energy audit that determined that the house had the equivalent of a gaping 24x24 inch hole in the wall. Air was leaking in from every crevice and the plaster walls had zero insulation.

Every so often salesmen would come around and try to sell me windows, at a thousand dollars a pop, that were 50 percent more efficient than the ones I had.

I would always reply with a mathematical formula. I would tell the salesman that, with my windows being only about 10 percent of my home’s problem, the improved efficiency would only be about 5 percent of my heating bill, or to put it another way, for $16,000 in new windows I could save as much as $200 a year. Hmm. The point is that some savings are not worth it.

Now, as far as the electric rate goes it’s something like this: When Maine deregulated the power industry, Central Maine Power had a choice of either supplying electricity or the lines that carry it.

No longer allowed to do both they opted to keep the poles and wires. Other companies took over the power plants supposedly fostering competition. So, while all the wires to your home remain the same, you, in theory, can save some money by selecting the electricity producer of your choice. Still with me?

Here’s where the whole thing seems ridiculous. The prices offered are so close to each other that it makes little if any difference to the average user. The winners are the big industrial and retail users, and the electric companies who for imperceptible discounts enlarge their consumer base with meaningless offers.

Now, you can bang your head against the wall trying to save a few dollars like my old man who burned more gas looking for the best gas price and then only buying a couple of gallons, or you can spend your time enjoying what little time each and every one of us has on this planet. And that concludes my economics lesson for this week! —O.G. 

Dear Old Guy,

With the holidays coming I want to warn people not to give to charity. So many of them are rip-offs and the money you donate hardly reaches the people it is supposed to help. I think every fundraising organization should have to prominently display the dollar disbursement and corporate salaries at all their fundraisers, retail sites, web pages, etc. Don’t get me going on the phone calls trying to raise money for firefighters, vets and policeman’s funds. Total scams. What do you think?

Signed, I am not a Grinch

Dear Not a Grinch,

Not only are you right, I don’t think you went into the depth that the subject of charity organizations deserves.

Here, this will make you mad: The CEO of Goodwill Industries earns more than $2.5 million a year in salary and other compensations. Want to get even angrier? Did you know that as a company Goodwill pays some of its employees as little as 22 cents an hour using a Depression-era tax loophole concerning the disabled?

It is a practice so outrageous that the National Federation of the Blind has instituted an awareness campaign against Goodwill Industries. From the NFB website:

“Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: ‘Goodwill Industries is one of the most well-known charitable organizations in the United States, but most members of the general public are unaware that Goodwill exploits people with disabilities. We are conducting informational protests to make the public aware of this practice that, although sadly still legal, is unfair, discriminatory, and immoral… We are calling upon all Americans to refuse to do business with Goodwill Industries, to refuse to make donations to the subminimum-wage exploiter, and to refuse to shop in its retail stores until it exercises true leadership and sound moral judgment by fairly compensating all of its workers with disabilities.’”

Want more? Here’s a few charities and their CEOs’ annual pay scale. Some figures include expenses and bonuses some don’t, but you’ll get the picture.

Boys and Girls Club of America paid $1,850,000

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children paid $1,200,000

Boy Scouts of America paid $1,501,984

American Red Cross paid $651,957 (Relatively cheap, right?)

Now wait, do these folks have to earn that much? How about the fact that the CEO of the Salvation Army earns just $13,000, plus gets a modest home to live in? I guess that begs the question, why aren’t the charitable foundations able to hire well off retirees? I am sure there are lots of competent millionaire CEOs who would like to spend their sunset years giving something back to society. What? There aren’t?

So the next time you wish to give, look at the charities close to home. Look to your neighbors, the elderly, local food programs, places run by volunteers who do good from the heart (like a certain woman in Rockland, Lisa, who runs the soup kitchen), and don’t feel bad the next time you buy gas at a convenience store and the clerk asks if you want to donate a dollar to whatever the charity du jour is. Just tell them what I tell them, I don’t give to charities without knowing exactly where the money is going. Lastly, never ever, absolutely don’t ever give to a cause that solicits over the telephone.—O.G.

For some interesting reading on the subject of charities begin here—

 tampabay.com/americas-worst-charities

 huffingtonpost.com/john-hrabe/the-worst-corporation-in-_b_1876905

 forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/07/30/does-goodwill-industries-exploit-disabled-workers

Dear Old Guy’s Movie Suggestions for the Holidays

Dear loyal readers, it’s time for my favorite holiday movie picks. It’s an esoteric list derived from the fact that by mid-December you will have had your fill of singing elves, hoofed talking mammals with antlers, and giving and giving and giving. I say it’s OK to be a little selfish this time of year. So for those of you wishing to take a break from all the joyous mayhem here’s a list of ten movies that I strongly recommend you find. I’m a luddite so I don’t know if they are on that Blue-ray thing, video tape or Netflix. I suspect some of them are available at the library in 16mm format. So that said, warm up some popcorn, turn out the lights, put up your feet and flip on the projector…

Vision On Glum Street

A delightful comedy about disadvantaged children growing up in the ghettos.

Directed by Mark Sanger and introducing Bo Laroo. 103 minutes.

The Gas Station Wore Blue

The story of a retired Los Angelis cop turned gas station owner is beautifully handled by director Pat Jablowsky. The script, originally produced as a television pilot translates perfectly in this remake for the silver screen. The film plays with several selected shorts. 53 minutes.

The Tasking

Based on Michael Fisher’s book by the same name, The Taskling is the horrifying story of a young boy forced into slave labor by a cruel stepfather. The boy develops super natural powers. Filmed entirely in Maine, the locations provide an extraordinary backdrop for this terrifying tale. Director Peter Herring. 6 hours 27 minutes.

Benjamin of Philidelphia

Considered one of the best Indie films of all time, this historical comedy covers the exploits of Benjamin Franklin in France up until the birth of his 10th illegitimate child. Director Bradley Beckworth. 89 minutes. 

The Second Cross

An American scientist in Germany just before the Second World War battles Nazi propaganda by trying to prove the authenticity of a crucifix worn by John the Baptist.

Directed by Antoni Bernado. 118 minutes.

Final Broadcast

A San Francisco D.J. stays on the air during the California earthquake of ’67 until the station is finally destroyed. Based on the true story of radio personality Stevie Bronk. Directed by Gil Salinger. 159 minutes.

Walzing Matilda

Laso Rivera’s poignant documentary covering the attempts of the Australian government to conscript young male Aborigines into the armed services during the Gulf conflict. 92 minutes. Filmed entirely in black and white.

For One And All

The third hilarious comedy by the team of Rosco and Almar. A time warp caused by sunspots on the Arizona Freeway send the two into 14th-Century France. Riot and laughter ensue. Written and directed by Almar Posner. 112 minutes.

Paid Dues

A woman in a small town is taken advantage of by a priest during confession. The delicacy of Bermaldi’s direction makes this a tender and memorable comedy. Actress Nina Marie as the young woman. Italian with subtitles. Directed by Antonia Bermaldi. 103 minutes.

Yesterday Was Better Than The Day Before

This tender film, set in wartime France, examines the life of woman who becomes the village outcast after she adopts a German Shepherd puppy abandoned by retreating Nazi forces. This is director Jean-Paul Lucrat’s first musical feature and his exploration of the intimacies of pet-human relationships in a decaying society is unparalleled. Bring your tissues for the scene where the dog is shaved. 143 minutes.