Although I realize that antique dealers generally make their summer plans well in advance, I hope there are several who leave themselves a little wiggle room in case they hear of a new show in which they would like to take part.

Such is the case for the first Antique Show and Sale sponsored by the Bar Harbor Masonic Lodge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 4, in Bar Harbor.

Earl Brechlin of Bar Harbor is the self-described “committee of one” who is organizing this new show coinciding with the Mount Desert Island Rotary Club Seafood Festival and Blueberry Pancake Breakfast which, he reports, draws thousands of visitors each year.

The daylong event includes a parade, lots of food booths and family activities, and closes with an evening of fireworks over the bay.

The Antique Show has room for 40 dealers, Brechlin said. About 30 spaces remain.

Featuring antiques from country to fine furniture, dealers will be offered 20-square-foot drive-in spaces, which includes room for a car.

The booth rental is $50. Dealers must supply their own tables and-or a canopy, and no electricity will be available.

The sale will be conducted at the Mount Desert Island YMCA parking lot, on Main Street, “which is in the same general area” as the major festival activities, Brechlin said.

“It’s so close, you could throw a clam from one to another.”

Brechlin reports the show is being promoted in antique publications throughout New England.

Considering that “Bar Harbor is a great venue,” and that the show “is on a big holiday, the town’s busiest day, really,” according to Brechlin, I can well appreciate the fact that many antique dealers would find this a worthwhile opportunity.

The fact that proceeds from the event benefit not only local residents, but all Maine residents as well, should make it even more appealing.

Brechlin told us the proceeds from the show will benefit not only Bar Harbor Masonic Lodge local charities, such as the YMCA annual fund, but donations also will be made to the statewide Drug Abuse Education Resistance program, Project D.A.R.E.

For information about the show, or how to become part of it, visit www.brechlin.com; write Antique Show, P.O. Box 750, Bar Harbor 04609; or e-mail colonel@brechlin.com.

One year ago tomorrow, Feb. 18, is a date Sherrie Nice of Melrose, Mass., will never forget.

That day, Nice left work in Boston at 5 p.m. and began the five-hour drive to Millinocket, where she planned to spend the long holiday weekend with her family.

Just north of Old Town, on an icy patch of Interstate 95, Nice was involved in a single-car accident when her car spun out of control and rolled down an embankment, totaling the car.

Nice was able to crawl out a broken window but, because she was unsure of her injuries, she chose to lie on the snowbank near her car.

“I really thought this would be the last night of my life,” she wrote.

“I would either die of shock or hypothermia, whichever came first.”

Nice believed no one could see the lights of her overturned car from the dark highway, but she was wrong.

“After what seemed like an eternity, but was no more than five minutes” someone was beside her, asking if she was all right.

“A feeling of ease came over me, knowing that I was no longer alone,” she wrote.

That man’s first name was Jeff, and he was headed north for some ice fishing, Nice learned.

“Jeff tried keeping me warm with his sleeping bag, and tried keeping me calm by talking with me,” she recalled.

He stayed with Nice until paramedics arrived to take her to the hospital but, with the trauma and shock from the accident, she failed to ask his full name.

Nice still does not know who this good Samaritan is, but she wants him to know “that the comfort and care you provided me, that night, will never be forgotten.”

Down East Community Hospital and the Center for Lifelong Learning at the University of Maine at Machias are co-sponsoring “Lifestyle Awareness Day,” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20.

As part of the observance of American Hearth Month, these organizations are offering free health screenings that include a check of your heart, cholesterol, blood pressure and more.

You can also receive a 20-minute foot reflexology treatment from registered nurse and certified reflexologist Mary Calder.

Since the entire screening program takes 30 to 40 minutes to complete, you are asked to call, in advance, leaving your name and telephone number so your call can be returned with the time of your appointment.

If you are interested in knowing more about your own health, with no cost attached, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Call 255-0495 to be counted among those who believe in taking good care of themselves.

In addition to “Lifestyle Awareness Day” screenings, four free fitness workshops will be offered at the same site at various times throughout the afternoon.

A “Children’s Day,” with gym and pool activities, is planned for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, at the Center for Lifelong Learning.

Call 255-1403 for more information on the workshops and children’s activities.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.