Stories | Ghost of Midnight

Vulcan salute, hitchhiking and good neighbors

Posted on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

From the Bolton FPF in #VT…

I posted here last fall, seeking occasional rides north or south. I radically reduced my carbon footprint in October, when I stopped driving. Some very nice folks and good neighbors have responded. Thank you! I often take the CCTA Link Express that stops at the Richmond Park & Ride. It’s only $2.00 between Richmond and Burlington, including Wifi! I bet many of you can’t drive it for less.

When I am unable to arrange transportation, I resort to that time-honored tradition many of us practiced at some point in our lives, hitchhiking. Most people today, however, are understandably cautious about picking up strangers, or simply don’t, as a rule. Naturally, I’m thankful to those who stop. You’ve been a very diverse and interesting group! Now I hope to become less of a stranger and more of a neighbor to those I’ve yet to meet.

I’m posting on Front Porch Forum to let more of you know that, should you encounter me, a somewhat overweight, grey-haired, baseball capped, clean shaven middle-aged man wearing glasses and usually hauling a camera bag, I would greatly appreciate a lift. I’m a human services professional, a photographer, and a computer consultant. I enjoy meeting people, and I’m told I have a decent sense of humor. The bottom line is, I’m a no-risk passenger.

When I’m bound for Richmond or beyond, I am usually seen along Rt 2 between the I-89 overpasses and Joiner Lane, where it is safe for all of us. Homeward bound, you might see me a little ways south of the Richmond Park & Ride, between the southbound I-89 ramp and the Mobil. I may also be in Richmond, or Jonesville, near the post office. If my needs don’t match up to your trip, no problem! Just give me a wave and I’ll know we might meet another time. Give me a Vulcan live-long-and-prosper salute, and I’ll know you saw this note on FPF!

Thanks for your consideration, neighbors!

Location, location, location… how do you sell your #VT house?

Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

How do you pitch your house when selling it? Many listings include a bit about the surrounding community. I just came across this ad for a house for sale in Huntington, VT…

Gorgeous setting close to hiking in a great community with a large Front Porch Forum presence.

That’s true! FPF has more than 730 members in Huntington, out of 760 total households in town, and they’ve shared nearly 7,000 postings among neighbors over the past few years. The good people of Huntington really know how to put FPF to great use, connecting neighbors and building community.

unofficial green-up was simple and quick to organize #VT

Posted on Monday, May 2, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

Erin Kranichfeld wrote a great piece for Sunday’s #BTV Free Press. She opens with…

I’m not a Green Up Day organizer, and I never have been. And this year, there was no way: I had a previous engagement and just couldn’t do it.

But about two weeks ago, when the snow started melting in my neighborhood — around Hyde Street — I noticed a lot of really nasty trash everywhere. I decided to do something about it. I posted an appeal on Front Porch Forum and instantly got responses from about 10 people.

I didn’t have a plan; I didn’t have maps. I went out to the drug store and bought garbage bags and some latex gloves. About 12 people showed up that Saturday at the Hyde Street triangle. In three or four hours we covered streets between North Willard Avenue and Rose Street; along North Winooski Avenue down to Pearl Street.

We filled 24 big garbage bags with trash.

That’s great! Good for her and her neighbors. She also wrote…

Our unofficial green-up was such an easy thing to do; something I just decided at the spur of the moment. Obviously, it wasn’t something I could do on my own. But it was simple and quick to organize.

We hear this feedback again and again from people who use Front Porch Forum to pull people together — whether it’s for politics, helping someone in need, organizing a block party, getting potholes filled, or cleaning up the neighborhood — getting neighbors informed and organized is much easier once FPF arrives and is embraced.

Flooding brings out the best in #VT neighbors

Posted on Sunday, May 1, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

Dear Neighbors: My husband and I had to evacuate our home on the lake shore yesterday (Friday) morning, not a simple matter with me in a wheelchair. We woke up to water that was 20 inches deep on the road and our plumbing stopped working. Our truck, already on high ground up the road, could not get to us, so my husband called the owner of the local hardware store for help… what a wonderful man! He came with terrific two men and, along with our neighbor (another wonderful man), they set up ramps to get me and my chair out onto our rolling aluminum dock. Then, they rolled me and the dock up the road to neighbors on dry land and set up ramps again. I rolled off onto the neighbors’ driveway. Thank goodness no one had a camera! And, thank goodness we live in such a wonderful town, where neighbors watch out for one another.

Lakeside communities in Vermont are struggling now… recording-breaking lake levels, flooding, pounding waves… awful. The note above appeared on the South Hero Front Porch Forum today. It provides evidence of how neighbors rally during crisis to help each other.

Albert the Wanderer back home in #BTV #VT

Posted on Friday, April 22, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

This afternoon Albert the cat appeared back at our door. We’re very happy to have him home and we’re very appreciative of all of the people who provided tips and support–we’re very fortunate to live in such a neighborhood. Moreover, we feel very fortunate to have Front Porch Forum as a resource to turn to in these kinds of situations. I had put up several signs around the neighborhood, but the net result of that seemed to be zero–FPF is where it is at for getting out this kind of news. Be sure to support FPF during their next fund drive! [Which is now!]

Good news from Burlington’s Old North End today! Welcome home Albert the Wanderer.

What are you, underneath it all?

Posted on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

“I see FPF as a place where every day we demonstrate our commonalities & our willingness to get along together & even help each other – regardless of what sort sort of shitheads we might be underneath it all.”

A lovely sentiment from a Front Porch Forum member in Middlesex, Vermont.

Connected Citizens – New Report

Posted on Friday, April 8, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

From Mayur Patel at the Knight Foundation this week…

Arthur Goyette knows the value of good neighbors. While his wife Betty was battling cancer, they brought countless meals to the Goyette home. When the neighbors learned that Betty had always wanted to ride in a convertible, they surprised the family with a loaned Chrysler Sebring. The couple drove down the block with the top down, surrounded by people waving and taking pictures.

Arthur marvels that he might never have met these people f it weren’t for the Front Porch Forum, an online network of neighbors.

The forum is a great example of how digital media and technology are changing how we connect to information and each other. The way we engage in public dialogue, coordinate, solve problems—all of it is shifting.

Networks themselves are as old as humanity, used by activists from Mahatma Ghandi to the Tea Party to impact society. Today, though, technology is enabling networks to emerge in new ways.

So Knight Foundation and Monitor Institute set out to look at the impact on communities, and ask, what do these emerging networks mean for community change? And, how can funders leverage them for good?

The result is our new report, Connected Citizens: The Power, Peril and Potential of Networks. Through more than 70 examples, we found networked communities pushing for open government, banding together to care for the elderly, enlisting volunteer coders to make online aid maps for earthquake ravaged Haiti, and more.

The report is a compelling read… lots of excellent examples and points. A couple snapshots…

How to start local theater company in 5 minutes

Posted on Friday, April 8, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

Another local success story brewing in #Bristol, #VT, where Front Porch Forum opened shop several months ago. Justin Bouvier posted a compelling item two days ago on FPF that opened with…

As many of you know, I travel to Middlebury frequently to partake in the theatrical scene there, as Bristol’s is less then thriving. Over the past 5 years or so, there are an increasing number of 5-Town residents that are traveling with me, and it got me thinking, that perhaps Bristol needs a theater company…

He went on to ask for 24 founding members, plus donors at $500 a pop. Today he posted again…

I wanted to take an opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the 11 incredible individuals that have pledged money for a new theater company, here in Bristol. It is individuals like these that are helping to make a dream come true, not just for me, but for our entire community. In the 2 days since my last post, I have received 48 emails from members of our community, stating congratulations, begging to help, volunteering time and energy, etc… and again, I cannot thank you enough. I guess it was one of those, “Right place, right time” kind of ideas… I am working feverishly on setting up bank accounts, establishing a non-profit status, etc…

A great response to a compelling ask. Justin was able to reach about 40% of his neighbors in this small Vermont town via FPF. Congratulations Justin on a fantastic start. People do wonderful things for their community when the tools are within easy reach.

A special thanks to e-Vermont for bringing FPF to Bristol! Other Vermont towns interested in launching Front Porch Forum should contact us.

#VT version of Beijing’s Democracy Wall?

Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

From a first-time FPF supporting member in Essex Junction today…

I genuinely appreciate your efforts in providing this platform. At a time when so much media are dominated by very large very powerful interests, Front Porch Forum provides a very useful citizen-based platform.

In 1979, I was part of the first semi-official American delegation to the People’s Republic of China after we normalized relations. I was inspired by seeing thousands of Chinese standing 5-6 rows deep to read the message and grievances posted on Beijing’s Democracy Wall. Perhaps that was an early Chinese version of Front Porch Forum.

The kind words and the contribution are much appreciated.

Local collective memoir via FPF in #VT towns

Posted on Monday, March 21, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

From the Bent Northrop Memorial Library in Fairfield, VT today on Front Porch Forum…

The Hale Street Gang exhibit will arrive in Fairfield early June. This exhibit features work and portraits of twelve senior citizens who gather once a week to read aloud from their memoirs-in-progress. Their clubhouse is the Greater Randolph Senior Center, an elderly mansion in a neighborhood south of the railroad tracks. Together they weave a “collective memoir” of life in twentieth-century America, with the village of Randolph, Vermont as its nexus.

The Library, Fairfield Center School and the Community Center in East Fairfield aim to bring a Fairfield component to this exhibit. Our hope is that the seniors, seventh graders, and community members will respond to a variety of prompts on Front Porch Forum. Community members are encouraged to respond to a weekly prompt – there are only three, so pay close attention! Your response can be short and sweet or long and thought provoking! There is not right or wrong answer – we just want you to reflect on living in Fairfield. Watch for next week’s first prompt and respond to the forum as a whole or to the library as an individual! Let’s work on creating a “collective memoir” of life in Fairfield!

I look forward to reading submissions!

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Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more

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