Home was where his heart stayed

Most of us have chosen to live in central Maine, not for prosperity’s sake, but for the sake of promise.

We’ve chosen a quality of life over, well, a different quality of life, so to speak. Just 23 years old, Ira Goldfrank made the kind of decision most of us would have had a very difficult time making.

Goldfrank, of Belgrade, could have had an annual salary approaching triple figures. He could have handpicked his assignments, assured himself of highly-regarded stature and never need to worry about anything -- at least professionally -- again.

But he still wouldn’t have had it all. After two tours in Iraq with the United States Marine Corps, Goldfrank was ready to return to his roots.

“’No, no, no,’ I told them,” Goldfrank said of his decision to leave a military career behind so he could return to Maine. “I was getting out, because I missed Maine and snowboarding, fly-fishing, hiking, mountain biking. I just wasn't exposed to it there.

“I kept watching (outdoors) videos, finding them (online) and watching them so I wouldn't forget what it was like living here.”

Goldfrank’s been back a year and has what so many of us who were born here take for granted -- a connection to the outdoors. It’s part of his life, hardwired into his DNA the way it is for a lot of us.

“That's hard to say, what I missed most,” Goldfrank said. “My passion, I love wintertime -- being up on the moutains snowboarding and snowshoeing. But it’s between snowboarding and fly-fishing, those are the things I missed most.... It’s 50-50 for me.

“When I was over in Iraq, I’d buy movies online — just ridiculous stuff, anything about snowboarding or fly-fishing. I did it just so I would force myself not to get caught up in money or in the work.

“It really takes over your life. That’s fine for some people — a lot of people weren’t exposed to the outdoors. They grew up in the inner city, and that’s what they know. I got out and I don’t have a high-paying job, but that’s OK.

“That’s not what makes me happy.”

Read more about Ira Goldfrank and his decision to return home in the Kennebec Journal.