Craftsbury Common, VT

i spent the weekend up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, at a memorial service for my great uncle Johnny, who passed away last month. Johnny was a bit of a stranger to me, a tall looming man who i only met once or twice. nonetheless he was family, and jessamyn and i went up to Craftsbury Common to say goodbye to the last of his generation. there was family there whom i had never met, a town that reveres my family as close to royalty, and bunches of people whom i don't see often enough. honestly, i was worried about feeling out of place, a somewhat estranged relative. it was needless. showing up made one a central figure in the family, and we were welcomed with open arms.



i had the chance to see the place where my father and his close relatives spent summer, now a swanky bed & breakfast. and jessamyn and i went and explored a local library dedicated by a distant relative, which was full of old pictures of family i had never heard of, but was apparently distantly related to. it is also the only library i have ever seen with a ping-pong table in the middle of it. the ladies of the town there hung out at night and dished about politics. they had sweet, and fond, memories of my uncle Johnny.

Vermont is where i escape to when i feel the need to get out of the city. i am thrilled my sister has settled there, as it given me a green haven to withdraw to when i am tired of sirens and lights and people. she is the country mouse to my city mouse.