Saturday, August 06, 2005

Take me to your bookstore

I do love my local community in Vermont but people here just do not read. The local used book store is at the whim of local tastses . Few people here have heard of Ronald Radosh or Richard Poe. I took the plunge and ventured to tghe local book store in Burlington.

I am amazed at the subtle variation on my familiar store. There were about six rows of books on New Age religion and a tiny section on Islam . I did find Robert Spencers book there and purchased it but no Bat Yeor or Fred Isaac. I found loads of Conservative books for under six dollars. I did find Radoshs new book and Sowels latest.

Scooter and I ventured into the local county fair. The wrestlers were smaller then me
and I wanted to enter the scooter in the tractor pull. There was a parade of John Deere tractors from the fifties , The locals tried to get me to milk a cow but there are just somethings this NYC resident will not do. No matter what the locals say I will never get used to the smell of dung.

The locals picked up quickly that I was a NYC resident. Scooter tells me it is the confident walk and not wearing a hat. Inevitably the coversation turned to 9-11 and a local man back from Iraq wanted to talk about 9-11 and we conversed and about thirty or so people just listened . I thanked him for the great job and we did talk about Iraq. Do not believe all the negativity in the press.

Vermont is a wonderful place but I miss the Strand Bookstore and the libraries. The only thing I do not miss is the Union Square Crowd. They talk about Vermont as a liberal utopia but do not know a thing about this state. Bernie Sanders , Ben and Jerry and Howard Dean are transplants. They are hardly typical of the exchanges I have had with the locals. The locals are not as far left as the insane transplants I described. Vermont is more then Burlington and people should venture into the smaller towns spend cash and listen.

First of all Bernie Sanders is popular because he brings back pork and is in touch with his constituents. His constituents really do not pay attention to the insane talk as long as local matters (pork) are dealt with. In reality he says less insane bs then Charles Rangel, Barney Frank or John Conyers. Part of being a Rep is serving his constituents and he excells in that role. Remember most politics are local and liberals like Daschle and Gore forgot the first rule of Washington. Remember who sent you to DC and your local community is far more important then pleasing eggheads on college faculty and special interest groups.

4 comments:

Always On Watch said...

Six rows of books on New Age religion? I can't handle that!

Actually, your description of the county fair makes me want to go to one. But, like you, I'll skip milking any cows. Getting that milk out and into the bucket is not as easy as it looks. I never liked milking nor mastered the skill, though all of my ancestors did.

I guess that the smell of manure is something that one adjusts to. I notice it when I enter the farm country of the Shenandoah Valley, but after a while I don't notice it so much.

Mix dung with soil, let it "ferment," and you'll have the best potting soil in the world. I've saved many a transplanted shrub with it, but I wear a mask and gloves.

PS: My father couldn't afford a Deere tractor. We had a 1949 Farmall. Had to start it with a crank. The good old days! I remember a time when we had tractor crossings in Fairfax County, and it wasn't so long ago, in the 1960's.

beakerkin said...

Always on the Watch

There were plenty of Farmall tractors at the fair. A few people wanted to see me drive a tractor but I declined. Quite a few have tried to get me on a horse but I am what I am. I did drive a pickup
truck but that is as far as I go.

bum said...

interesting post but i have an awkward question to ask you. are there any minorities (latinoes, asians, blacks, etc) in vermont? i know it sounds stupid but i am curious to know.

Unknown said...

strand really does have most everything. go to their website www.strandbooks.com to order stuff.

how's scooter doing?