Ghost of Midnight

Best of FPF: Ballots, Sharpies, and Snowstorms

Town Clerks have been keeping their communities up-to-date on information needed for the upcoming election. The Middlesex Town Clerk posted this in their local Forum last week and we thought it was well worth a share:

“Hello, all – We’re fewer than two weeks away from the November 5th General Election and have already received over 550 ballots. Yay! Just a few very important reminders as we head toward the final stretch…

– If you are planning to vote in person on Tuesday, November 5th, please for the LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY SAVE YOUR BALLOTS! Bring them to the polls!

– Voting at home? Please don’t use Sharpies. Sharpies bleed through the ballots and the tabulator won’t accept them. (Yes, your vote will still count. It will just need to be hand-counted. See above.)

– Voting in person will take place Tuesday, November 5th. It will be friendly and safe. Promise. All voters welcome. There will be candy and stickers. Please don’t bring dogs. (Guess we’re not THAT welcoming.) Leave your guns in the car. (New Vermont state law.)

Okay, that’s my screed for the day. You can look forward to more nagging as we get closer to Election Day. Yippee. Be grateful you’re not one of my kids. Not for nothing have they moved to the opposite ends of the world.

Friends, please try to stay sane and positive. Remember, we’re a community of people just trying to do our best. Our solutions to the current problems might not be the same; they may be radically different. But at the end of the day – we’re neighbors who help each other out in floods and snowstorms regardless of our political leanings. We’re all in this together…”

Best of FPF: Masked Pear Thiefs

Caitlin posted a crime report to their North Hero Forum. “I write to you feeling a combination of rage and violation – we’re pretty sure someone stole all but three of our pears!”

Neighbors weighed in and then came an update. We thought it was well worth a share:

“Several kind neighbors have written to let us know that apparently raccoons are capable of such a thorough fruit heist! I never would have guessed, but many people have said they’ve experienced similar vanishing fruits without a trace, and later learned it was raccoons, including people with more hidden fruit trees or arbors. Additionally, folks have offered to give us their pears or raise money for a pear basket for us. I have been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of spirit of this community, and my faith in humanity (and an increased suspicion of raccoons) has been restored. I feel slightly silly that perhaps I filed a police report against a band of raccoons, but am laughing at the fact that maybe the burglars wore masks.”

Best of FPF: Election Night Square Dance

Erik is inviting Townshend neighbors to come together on election night. We thought it was well worth a share:

“When I feel like I’m being pulled into the eddy of dark fates that swirl around our current election season, my escape comes when I can remember the broader stream that this rock-strewn vortex is only a small part of…

So here’s a little idea. Given the intensity of whatever will be on, and after, November 5th, I’d like your help to remember the wide wide river that carries us. And when I cast my ballot, I’d like nothing more than to step out of the voting booth and into a dance. Think of it as a gesture to organize the kindnesses we all know to be here – where under one roof we can both disagree and attest that, in spite of our differences, we’ll still show up to feed and swing each other.

So will you join me? For a square dance? Election night? Work is already underway. Sally Newton and the Turkey Mountain Window Smashers will be there to keep us in step.

Vote. Bring a dish. Bring a neighbor (especially the one with a different sign in the front yard), bring your civic spirits, battered and beautiful as we are, and prepare to promenade.

I hope you will.”

Best of FPF: Pirate Treasure

Annie posted in their Bristol Forum, “Does anyone have coins or dollars hanging around from world travels that are taking up space & no longer needed? I am collecting some for a ‘Pirate’s Treasure Hunt’ for a little girl’s 7th birthday party.”

In typical FPF fashion, Annie’s neighbors delivered. They followed up to celebrate the Pirate Booty that ensued. We thought it was well worth a share:

“Thank you to everyone who shared their no-longer-needed coins & currencies from travels & collections! This treasure trove will have at least 36 countries represented. What a fun trip around the world – from Australia to Zimbabwe and from the Faroe Islands to Fiji! Burma to Belgium and Ghana to Turkey. There are yak, dolphins, beavers, and elephants. Famous buildings include the pyramids of Egypt and a Vietnamese factory featuring its economic value. The art on each coin is truly inspiring. Some treasures date back to the 1930s, offering bits of history from countries that no longer create their own coins, or no longer even exist!

For the little girl turning 7, this is likely going to be a marvel of fun and educational potential.
Again, YAY for our FPF and everyone jumping into sharing from your travels.”

(And in case you’re interested, Annie’s collection is now complete, but maybe your own global coins would be appreciated by another Pirate enthusiast in your town!)

Best of FPF: Library Love

Meg, in Huntington, shared an enthusiastic appreciation for their town library. We thought it was well worth a share:

“Looking ahead at my October calendar, I’m awed by how many events I’ll be attending right down the road at the Huntington Public Library!! I can’t thank Stacey and Anne enough for welcoming and seeking out events and activities – many of which are super family friendly – that strive to speak to all of us here in Huntington.

Public meeting, LEGO club, senior coffee, environmental talks – and coming up in the next weeks: the Bess O’Brien film “Just Getting By” on Wednesday – with the filmmaker!! First Friday – with the food truck, craft vendors, and the opening of the “Passage to Wonderland” art show, (maybe a PIE bake sale, too?). Then, on Sunday, is our former county forester and consultant to our local town forest creators, Ethan Tapper’s book launch (and signing! It’s a fabulous read!)

This is all just a couple miles from my home. Love, love, love the library!! What’s next??! Can’t wait to find out!”

***

What’s happening at YOUR local library? Check out your community calendar to see what’s there! https://frontporchforum.com/calendar. Better yet, stop by to explore.

Best of FPF: Keeping Neighbors in Mind for the Winter Ahead

National Good Neighbor Day is this weekend and this message jumped out as a shining example. Kyle posted this offer in his Worcester Forum and we thought it was well worth a share:

“Everyday reality isn’t the same experience for each of us, and I don’t believe we can have a healthy happy community if all of us are not having, at the minimum, our basic needs met.

I’m offering this; let me know if you, or someone you know, don’t have the resources to stay warm this winter. (It’s lining up to be a real good one from the sounds of it.)

If you can’t swing it for whatever reason, I will bring dry hardwood to your house in Worcester. For those that are able-bodied with trucks and trailers, there is plenty of free slab wood to come cut up and haul away. Please consider your neighbors and acquaintances when you read this.

Anonymity, no judgment, no advertisement. Stay warm, Worcester.”

***
Please note, this posting was an offer just to Kyle’s neighbors in Worcester.
If you need wood or want to volunteer, check out: https://fpr.vermont.gov/vermont-wood-banks.
If you are in need of fuel assistance, please visit: https://dcf.vermont.gov/benefits/fuel

Best of FPF: “Perfect Days” Cassette Collection

A few weeks back, Andrea posted in their St. Johnsbury Area Forum about a new purchase that inspired a nostalgia-motivated desire to collect cassette tapes. And, her neighbors delivered! We thought it was well worth a share:

“I recently acquired a new (to me) vehicle, and to my delight, it came with a cassette player! If you’ve seen the movie “Perfect Days” (I hope you watch it- it’s lovely), the main character drives a vintage work van every morning and listens to a beloved collection of cassette tapes. These are excellent, and I thought, how fun would it be to assemble my own beloved collection? So any Gen X folks with a stash of cassettes in your attic, if you have some special music that you would be interested in sharing with me, please reach out!

For inspiration, here are some of the artists Hirayama listens to in his van in the movie:
Otis Redding
Lou Reed
Patti Smith
The Kinks
The Velvet Underground
The Rolling Stones
Van Morrison

In keeping with my request to Gen X friends, I would also be interested in Pearl Jam, Nirvana, or anything else 80s/90s and delicious you’d like to send my way…”

And, we love a follow up message at Front Porch Forum. Andrea delivered!

“I wanted to post an update on my cassette tape request.

Thanks to all of you generous folks out there, I now have in my possession nearly 300 cassettes! I need to organize them a bit, but it’s been such a joy to start making my way through this rich collection of music!

A few highlights so far:
Lou Reed’s New York album
Leonard Cohen – (I’m a bit obsessed with the song One of Us Cannot Be Wrong)
Emmylou Harris
Front Range’s Back to Red River album (featuring Bob Amos!)
Rolling Stone’s Voodoo Lounge album
Tracy Chapman
Trad folk music from the British Isles.
A number of Beatles and Bob Dylan albums and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface.

I truly, sincerely appreciate all of you that went through your closets and attics and thoughtfully put together collections of music important to you, and chose to share them with me. It’s been a profound education. I’m excited to start listening to the mix tapes too! Here’s to reviving cassettes.”

Best of FPF: Are You OK? Do you need any help?

Phyl, in Jericho, was struck by this story of a Shelburne motorcyclist stranded in Jericho. So, they re-posted it in their Jericho Forum. We thought it was well worth (yet another) share:

“Yesterday morning, just south of Jericho on Skunk Hollow Rd, my motorcycle broke down. During the nearly two and a half hours I had to wait for assistance to arrive I am not exaggerating when I say that at least 30 people stopped to check if I was okay and/or offer assistance, including two neighbors who came out of their homes to talk to me and offer me food & drink.

I realize the chances of any of the folks who offered assistance actually seeing this post are slim, yet I nonetheless wanted to publicly share my gratitude. In any otherwise crappy situation, it was heartening and fortifying to know that we still live in the type of society where so many people will stop to check in and offer assistance to a person in need.

Thank you, neighbors.”

Best of FPF: Hello, Aloe

Aloe (aka Paul) posted this from their new, albeit shady, spot in Monkton. We thought it was well worth a share:

“My name is Aloe. I’m a 5-year-old aloe plant, propagated from my mother, Big Mama Aloe. I’ve been living happily in Burlington for several years, but recently my owners moved to Monkton, and they don’t have good lighting in their new home. So I need to move out and find someone to take me in and feel a tender place in your heart for me. Someone with good lighting and a kind heart would be nice. I am very quiet, a good listener, and don’t take up too much space. I even come with my own pot and have a bag of succulent soil. I look forward to meeting you, my new best friend!
Sincerely,
Aloe T. Plant, Esq.”

Well, it didn’t take long before Janet welcomed Aloe (and Paul) to Monkton with this response:

“I saw on Front Porch Forum that you are seeking sunnier digs. I’d be honored to have you join our humble abode and promise to care for you as we do for all our flora family. You’d be joining spider plants, a sansevereia, a monstera, a phalaenopsis orchid, succulents, herbs, a rex begonia, and a dracaena. You’d be our first aloe plant, but with lots of other adopted greenery to hang-out with.”