Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home

I sat down at midnight on August 22nd to write a few words about Duane and some of the things we did that made me smile then and still do today. Early in our friendship we would often meet at the American Legion in Rockland and play pool, we were about evenly matched, so there's no story there.  But one short lived act we did was to belly bmp as we said out loud "weebles wobble but they don't fall down".  You probably had to be there to appreciate it.  Duane joined the Rockland Elks a few years back and was frequently present in the lounge as I was.  Someone coined the nickname for when Duane and I were together and we were often called Duane Squared, or as I like to say it Dwayne Squared as we often kidded about who spelled their name "wrong".  One year Duane was involved in the Elks Owie Box Ride, and we did a couple of trial rides from Augusta to Ellsworth, avoiding highway but lasting three to four hours on a scenic ride.  Part of the first trial ride was on the Airline - Rt 9, I was leading and we were cruising a straight stretch of road that was clear as far as the eye could see.  After a few minutes of cruising, a truck crested the hill far down the road and in a minute or two blinked his lights in what we thought was a hint that we might want to let up on the throttle a bit or else meet an unwelcome surprise on the other side of the hill.  Well, the road was dry and clear, the sky was sunny and it was just too beautiful a day to slow down, so we kept up the pace.  The Marine Patrol officer waved to us as we passed each other on the Airline!  A story I almost forgot about was when Duane and I played a game of War at the legion late into the evening.  We didn't have a deck of cards, but that didn't stop us, we used drink coasters.  Today, I don't remember if a Heineken coaster trumped Coors Light or vice versa, nor do I remember who won, but we had fun!  I know everybody has their favorite memories of Duane and I just want to say thanks for letting me share a few of mine.  Duane, you have no idea how much you'll be missed by me and so many other people!  Love you man.  Dwayne Guy