Shire Town Blues

This is a letter to the editor alas, it is too long. Mostly, this is just a letter to get certain rather unsavory things about the shire town of Vermont, out in the open.

To begin with, I don’t think a small personal history would be out of place for purposes of clarification and to show that I am not an ogre, in any way, shape or form. Far from it, in fact, most people find me gregarious, humorous, open, honest, compassionate, friendly, and kind. I will confess, however, that on occasion, I have been told that “I don’t seem to suffer fools gladly”…..whatever that means.

In any case, I’ve lived here now for almost a decade. The choice to come here was based, for the first time in my life, on “going with the flow”, rather then “fighting the current”. Yes, I am a practicing Buddhist, sometimes; surely often enough, anyway, to try and see the good in most things. Having said that; I must also say that the Goddess surely does like her little practical jokes, or perhaps I took that Buddhist tenet a bit too seriously. Only the goddess knows, and she ain’t exactly sayin’.

My first beef is that I have visited and lived in many places in the USA and have never, not once, had the difficulties in getting along with people, that I have had here in Vermont’s shire town. If that were the only problem, however, I’d just do what any sane person would do, and move on; after all, a decade is probably enough time to figure out if one is to be accepted and embraced in a place. Unfortunately, due to health and other personal reasons, that’s not possible at this time; so I thought it high time I made my observations known.

My second beef concerns an observation surrounding pricing at the local food co-op. I once had a professor/friend who told me that if I ever wanted to find out anything, “I should just follow the money”. Being a vegetarian, “bulk-foods” junkie/foodie, I mostly shop at co-ops. Imagine my dismay when, subsequent to my arrival, my overall food bill jumped by a whopping 30%.... well, it seemed more then suspicious, so…….”I followed the money”. What I found out was that the same bag of groceries here in the shire town, was 30% more then at all of the other New England Food Co-ops, including a similar sized one in Rutland. Upon asking the manager about this, and getting the response that they were working hard on this issue, by trying to obtain membership in the New England Cooperatives, thereby getting and passing on, larger discounts to the members; I didn’t actually give it another thought. Well, two years later, even after joining the Cooperative, the price of that “comparison” bag of groceries, has not only NOT gone down in price, it’s risen another 10%. Well the recession may have something to do with this, (you see how I try and give the benefit of the doubt here?)…. it’s still a bit exasperating to know that the same bag of groceries here in town, is now 40% more then it is elsewhere. So what happened to the discounts the members were supposed to see, upon joining the New England Cooperatives, anyway? My repeated requests for answers have gone unanswered by the powers that be (i.e., the manager and the board of directors at said establishment). Writing to the local newspaper with this information did me absolutely no good, either. I was told that they would not publish it. When questioned about this, they said it was inflammatory information and merely heresay……..huh? I’m going to go out on a limb here, and say that it could probably be duplicated by any reporter who had some leeway with funds and investigating……would it then qualify as news, do you thiink?

The third major beef I have with the shire town is the idea that art should be restricted sanctioned, or dismissed, in any way, shape or form. That’s right, upon asking if my house, which is an art form in it’s own right, (because of all the NOT moveable rustic yard art), could be included in the art walk; I was told that it was too far from the center of town. Well, seeing that my house is less then a mile from the center of town, and the College’s art house is on the map, “I followed the money yet again.” You probably can imagine what I found out. Yes, the college’s art house is much farther away then my house, by at least a quarter-mile, anyway. Upon posing the question to at least 6 people as to the “why” behind this, the only answer I got was: “Well, we even told Danforth Pewter that they couldn’t be in the art walk”. Danforth Pewter is even closer then I am, to the center of town, and they’ve been here for well over a decade. Imagine that.

So………that’s just a few of the things that have made my jaw literally drop during my time here……there are many, many, many others that indicate to me that there is some sort of deep-seated sense of self-entitlement endemic here in the shire town. As to what that means for my future plans, well, we already grow most of our own food as response to my second beef, and we are well on the way to just promoting our own art business. But, personally, I feel very badly for those who don’t have those resources and/or capabilities. They are all welcome to come here for free organic tea and treats, any day. Seriously. Throughout summer, I have cold Herbal Tea and an Organic Treat available to anyone who gets out this way. Free. Oh! There’s also a free raffle going on until Halloween. Blessings.

Mona Richardson
The House of Found Goods.