By Nate Jones
Staff Writer
The first time I met Danie Connolly she thought I was a model.
“You’re perfect!” she shouted at me, then glanced slyly at photographer Liam Crotty – who was busy setting up a background for the photo reproducing Norman Rockwell’s “Game Called Because of Rain” painting  – before rushing off somewhere out of sight.
It was a warm and sunny day at Portland’s Hadlock Field, and I wasn’t there to pose in any photo, but rather to take some of my own to accompany an article I was writing about Crotty and Connolly’s ongoing efforts to reproduce Rockwell’s famous paintings in preparation for a three-day tribute to the artist in August.
Connolly reappeared as Crotty and I discussed the summer rain clouds gathering behind his backdrop, making the scene look even more like the Rockwell painting.
She had a large picture book of Rockwell’s works in hand, opened to an image of his “100 Years of Baseball” painting. She was determined to convince me to pose for the photo even after Crotty introduced me as a reporter, not a model.
“Tell me he isn’t just right,” she said, pointing at a redheaded figure in the painting. “You have to do it!”
I was too caught up in meeting Portland Sea Dogs players and getting names and taking photos which would go on to be published in the next editions of the Kennebunk Post, Scarborough Leader and South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry newspapers, to consider the suggestion seriously. After a few hours work I had all the photos I needed, so I thanked Crotty and listened to Connolly’s final pitch to get me in front of the camera before heading on to my next assignment.
“Miss Teen Maine is going to be the pitcher,” she said. “Do you know Michelle Smith?”
I was actually somewhat familiar with the 16-year-old model from Scarborough, as she had agreed to be interviewed for an article that ran in the Leader and the Sentry that same week. I met her at her home in Scarborough that afternoon and her reaction was similar to Connolly’s.
“Come on, it will be fun!” Smith said, encouraging me to agree to the shoot.
The same day the article on the Hadlock Field photo shoot and Smith’s interview went to press. Crotty, Smith and I met Connolly at her home in Kennebunk, determined to use Smith’s height, Connolly’s creativity and my complexion to create Crotty’s “169th Year of Baseball – Miss Teen Maine, Intl.” photo for the Rockwell exhibit.
After 30 minutes of dressing, tucking, stuffing, tying, taping, pinning, coloring and lots of laughing, Smith and I took our places and tried not to smirk at each other as Connolly and Crotty went to work. I was clearly the amateur in the room: Smith quickly put on her Miss Teen Maine charm, Crotty settled behind his camera with the comfort of a professional and Connolly gracefully directed the entire scene.
Smith swung her leg in the air – assuming a pitcher’s stance – and I tucked a soggy cigar into my lip for an hour before Crotty was satisfied.
“Told you it would be fun,” Smith said as she pulled tape from her sleeves, hair and face.
I was tired, hot and itchy, but elated. Circumstance, scheduling and open-minded editors gave me the ultimate chance to go “above and beyond” in my assignment. As an objective newspaper reporter, I may not be able to speak out at municipal meetings or include adjectives in stories covering local events, but when it comes to the Norman Rockwell exhibit in August, I’m not just covering it – I’m a part of it.
“What happened to you?” my wife asked when I arrived home smelling like a cigar and an unwashed suit with long strands of fake hair streaming from my head and lots of makeup on my face and hands.
“Call my agent,” I joked.