There are hopeful moments and even hours. Of hope.
There are always plans being made, soups being stewed, bread being baked. We have lived this way for EVER and we know that the groundhog can come out or not on February 2nd. Those weeks inevitably turns into sixteen weeks. We know because we KNOW. We are New Englanders living East of the Great Lakes with an Easterly breeze that passes those Great Lakes and hits us like a slap on the face. We know that three or four times a winter a Nor’easter will inevitably hit us and last 48 hours.
We stock up.
We hunker down.
And we wait out the storms.
We dig out from under and we go back to work.Ask any New Englander— what if the power goes out? We will laugh and say that we are all stocked up. We got it covered.
We have flashlights, candles, lanterns.We know how to melt snow. We know how to pour stored up water into toilet tanks. Hell, we’ll pee outside if we have to, dig a hole, bury the poop.
New Englanders are tough because this climate makes us tough. We don’t suffer fools because we wouldn’t survive BEING fools..
Life here isn’t about enjoyment or living any kind of luxury, It’s about one simple thing and do not let anyone tell you anything different. It’s about survival. People can die here of exposure, even in 50 degree weather in June in the mountains in rain storms. Folks perish of dehydration in the summers or getting lost in the thick and luscious forests during deer or hiking season. They die of exposure skiing off trail (and alone) in winter.They ride snow machines across frozen lakes, hit thin ice and go away with the fishes.
We not only understand the weather, we expect it. We count on it. Being a New Englander doesn’t even beg the question of “ what if?”—we have that covered. We live every single day as if the next
disaster is about to happen. Not one of us doesn’t have Plans B and C burned into our consciousness.
We all know that Hell in the form of a high wind storm, a flood, a nor’easter or high crazy humidity with afternoon electrical storms are imminent! You can’t fool us. Nothing surprises us. Fifty degrees on New Years Eve? We’ve seen it. Freak snowstorm in June? We’ve been there shoveling our steps,
knowing our phones aren’t going to work for days. Knowing we have enough provisions to last us months.
I recall one summer in the late 1980s when it rained every single day for like 4 weeks! I remember because I was an outdoor educator at a nearby college and hiked, camped, rock climbed and canoed in that shit.
So why do we love Vermont so much? Why do we call it home, even if we weren’t born here and maybe only spent summers here or better yet A summer? Maybe it’s the mountains, river valleys, lakes, upland highlands and winters. There is nothing in the world like sitting on the dock on a quiet lake early in the morning. Nothing more beautiful than heavy snow blanketing evergreen trees weighing down the branches. Late summer electrical storms lighting up the sky. Walking through a pine forest and hearing a crystal clear babbling brook just off to the left. The autumn leaves are arguably the best thing you will see in New England. We are famous for covered bridges, cheddar cheese, maple syrup, smart wool socks, turtle fur hats, ski resorts, as many greens as there are in Ireland. Lovely mountains that remind Austrians of their homeland.
And we wait out the storms.
We dig out from under and we go back to work.Ask any New Englander— what if the power goes out? We will laugh and say that we are all stocked up. We got it covered.
We have flashlights, candles, lanterns.We know how to melt snow. We know how to pour stored up water into toilet tanks. Hell, we’ll pee outside if we have to, dig a hole, bury the poop.
New Englanders are tough because this climate makes us tough. We don’t suffer fools because we wouldn’t survive BEING fools..
Life here isn’t about enjoyment or living any kind of luxury, It’s about one simple thing and do not let anyone tell you anything different. It’s about survival. People can die here of exposure, even in 50 degree weather in June in the mountains in rain storms. Folks perish of dehydration in the summers or getting lost in the thick and luscious forests during deer or hiking season. They die of exposure skiing off trail (and alone) in winter.They ride snow machines across frozen lakes, hit thin ice and go away with the fishes.
We not only understand the weather, we expect it. We count on it. Being a New Englander doesn’t even beg the question of “ what if?”—we have that covered. We live every single day as if the next
disaster is about to happen. Not one of us doesn’t have Plans B and C burned into our consciousness.
We all know that Hell in the form of a high wind storm, a flood, a nor’easter or high crazy humidity with afternoon electrical storms are imminent! You can’t fool us. Nothing surprises us. Fifty degrees on New Years Eve? We’ve seen it. Freak snowstorm in June? We’ve been there shoveling our steps,
knowing our phones aren’t going to work for days. Knowing we have enough provisions to last us months.
I recall one summer in the late 1980s when it rained every single day for like 4 weeks! I remember because I was an outdoor educator at a nearby college and hiked, camped, rock climbed and canoed in that shit.
So why do we love Vermont so much? Why do we call it home, even if we weren’t born here and maybe only spent summers here or better yet A summer? Maybe it’s the mountains, river valleys, lakes, upland highlands and winters. There is nothing in the world like sitting on the dock on a quiet lake early in the morning. Nothing more beautiful than heavy snow blanketing evergreen trees weighing down the branches. Late summer electrical storms lighting up the sky. Walking through a pine forest and hearing a crystal clear babbling brook just off to the left. The autumn leaves are arguably the best thing you will see in New England. We are famous for covered bridges, cheddar cheese, maple syrup, smart wool socks, turtle fur hats, ski resorts, as many greens as there are in Ireland. Lovely mountains that remind Austrians of their homeland.
And we are famous for our politics and policies— the rights of all people, legalizing pot, same gender marriage, physician assisted suicide. We are small yet mighty. We are a brave little state, and who wouldn’t want to call such a place home? And our winters are long and harsh. And we are strong and mighty. This is one brave little state!
