Arrived Tonight in Burlington, Vermont
My book-signing in Northampton, MA, is on Wednesday, so I took this opportunity to venture up north to Vermont for a couple of days. I think I’ve had this romantic fascination with VT for a very long time now. My family vacationed here several times when I was a little kid, but I haven’t been back since I was about 12 or 13. I love the season of Fall, the changing leaves and all that, and VT is, like, the world-wide Olympic level champion place to experience Fall, bar none. I probably don’t need to describe what the mountains and forests all look like, aglow with those burning, almost fluorescent reds, the brilliant yellows, the flaming oranges, set against a crystal blue VT sky. You’ve seen the postcards and photo-books of VT; you know what it looks like. But let me just say, when you see it live and in person, it’s practically a spiritual experience. I happen to be here as the foliage is just reaching its peak colors. Wow! Magnificent. It’s not just the Fall colors that draw me here, though. It’s the whole package of this gorgeous state. The open, unspoiled spaces, the progressive attitude of many who live here, the abundance of earth-friendly businesses like 7th Generation, the fact that my great artistic influence Norman Rockwell lived here and loved it for an important chunk of his life. The dairy cows, the red barns, the maple syrup. Oh, yeah, and this was the first state in America to legalize civil unions for gay people! I’ve heard Burlington is the crown jewel; an amazing, progressive, beautiful small city. I don’t know anyone who lives here, so I’m on my own to explore this place. Tomorrow, though, as it’s now nightfall and it’s been a long day of travelling.
