Moonlight in Vermont

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon in Montreal. For this, we decided to go to Vermont. With just a two hour drive (165km) the Green Mountain state is a popular excursion for Montrealers and vice versa. It's a great place to kick back and let the gentle flow of life pass you by. Ben and Jerry's, Stowe and Church St. are some of the many attractions. No, we never took in a Vermont Expos game.

Some observations struck me about the bird seed state. First among them, the bilingual sign for the Vermont Tourist office after passing customs. Good luck getting this in Quebec. Vermont, incidentally, was named by early French explorers who called the state Verts Montagne (Green Mountain) - Hence, Ver-Mont. Heaven forbid the thin-skinned Quebec government respect the Americans.

Next, does anybody in Vermont own a suit? Better yet, anything other than sandals or winter boots? If Texas is considered too right wing for some, Vermont leans way, way to the left.

The state is home to one Howard Dean. I used to watch him on 'The Editors' which was a very good show about North American affairs moderated by NBC correspondent the Canadian-born Keith Morrison on PBS. Dean announced on that show he would run for the Presidency, which surprised me at the time. I didn't think he had a chance in hell. To his credit he made the Democrats move their asses a little. Then, he let out that growl and the Dems pinned their hope on a loser - John Kerry and that dingbat freak wife of his. They didn't do the 69 in the Kerry household; they did the 57!

Another thought came to me and that was do any conservatives exist in Vermont? This is a place, as far as I can tell and I'm probably wrong, whose political compass revolves around Bernie Sanders (to whom a giant bronze statue has been erected that is seen as far back as St.Albans) and Bill Lee.

It was a remarkably magnificent day on Church St. we ate at one of the restaurants as the attire challenged people passed us by. There were a few lesbian couples holding hands. It was all so 'progressive'.

Then I wondered, while we in the West head the complete other way in our secularism (less so in the U.S.), barbarians are at the gates of Western civilization knocking and entering and they are not so understanding and tolerant of a tiny gem like Vermont.

Islam and Vermont are as diametrically opposed in every possible way as the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are - or as I am with Quebec politics. Vermonters, in a hypothetical scenario, would be in for a major shock if they were to ever be demographically over run by Muslim society. Just ask France and other parts of Europe who are on their knees incapable of solving a major powder keg that will one day possibly explode. That is why you need states like Texas in the union.

Personally, I plan to head back for some cross-country skiing in the winter. Nothing like moonlighting in Vermont in the snow.