Maine State of ________ (fill in the blank)

Maine is a great place to live - we've got our four seasons well covered, particularly now with the snow all around us. We've got terrain of all types - mountains and hills, rivers, streams, lakes, seacoast. Interesting animals - moose, deer, eagles, black bears and black flys. Vocations in business, engineering and architecture, agriculture, livestock, fishing, medical, etc. I could go on but you get the idea. We also have some issues that need to be addressed - balance the state budget, tax reduction, keeping our youth from moving out of state, road and bridge repair, health care and retirement saving, that lists is ever growing but now our state government has something more important to deal with - designating a Maine State "Treat". The candidate is... The Whoopie Pie?!?

Let's see, so far we have the following:

• Maine State berry: Wild Blueberry
• Maine State bird: Black-capped Chickadee
• Maine State cat: Maine Coon
• Maine State fish: Land-locked salmon
• Maine State flower: White Pinecone and Tassel
• Maine State fossil: Pertica Quadrifaria
• Maine State gemstone: Tourmaline
• Maine State herb: Wintergreen
• Maine State insect: European honey bee
• Maine State mammal: Moose
• Maine State beverage: Moxie
• Maine State soil: Chesuncook soil series
• Maine State song: State of Maine Song
• Maine State tree: Eastern White Pine
• Maine State vessel: Arctic exploration schooner Bowdoin
• Maine State motto: Dirigo ("I lead")

I was a little taken aback to find out we had a State soil, would that also qualify as the State mud. Some would claim that's one of our four seasons. This really can open up some possibilities...

• Maine State Comedian: Bob Marley (ours doesn't sing, and is still alive for that matter).
• Maine State Pothole: this would be a revolving honor as some get repaired and new ones develop. My candidate is presently on Route 122 in Poland, I hit it last Saturday doing 55 mph. I think I need the front end of my PT Cruiser realigned but I digress.
• Maine State joke: "you can't get there from here", spoken with the local accent. Not really intended as a joke since there's some truth to it, see next item.
• Maine State east-west highway - oh, I forgot, we haven't got one, dang we should do something about that.
• Maine State liquor: Allen's Coffee Brandy (low hanging fruit).
• Maine State casino: Hollywood Slots, well, its the only one we have but not for long.
• Maine State invasive species: I'd think that would be milfoil though a lot of folks would claim its tourists.

and my favorite - Maine State trait: a great sense of humor.