Winter 2007-2008
Inside VL
A Wintry Mix
Like a lot of Vermonters, I have a love/hate relationship with winter.
I can’t stand the chilly floors in the morning, the frigid dash to the mailbox or the steering wheel that’s painful to the touch. Days that are so cold that the snow squeaks? They send chills down my spine.
So why do I live here, where it’s not unusual to see snow before Halloween and after Mother’s Day?
Because it’s not winter I dislike, it’s being cold. Add another layer or two, and the outdoors beckon once again.
When I watch snowkiters on Lake Champlain (page 50), I can still feel the rush I did as a kid when I would use a sheet for a sail to cruise across the local pond. When I snowshoe up the mountain behind my house and see Camels Hump glowing white under the full moon, or pink on a clear and frigid January dawn … it’s pure magic. And while the allure of downhill skiing has thus far escaped me (please don’t tell anyone), sledding is even more fun now that my own kids are splayed on my back.
I live here because few things in life are as perfect as a glass of wine by the woodstove, especially if there’s dark chocolate involved (page 64). Besides, “cozy” and “toasty” are words that do not compute in places like Florida or Arizona.
Our terrific new managing editor, Bill Anderson, is my polar opposite when it comes to winter passions. He’s the type of guy who will work weekends in the fall in order to grab some extra ski days in January. He says things like “skiing changed my life” and means it. He’s so enthusiastic — and verbally adept — that in just a month he’s convinced me that skiing is what’s been missing all my life.
Bill has his reasons for loving it here, and I have mine; the topic comes up surprisingly often in conversation among Vermonters. In this issue, we decided to ask some of this state’s many gifted writers to explain, in 150 words or less, why they live here (page 54). Some are natives, some moved here long ago, and some are recent arrivals. All have consciously decided to make Vermont their home. Their reasons are as varied as their writing styles, but it’s worth noting that not one of them says they live here because they like cold cars.
See you on the slopes.
Mary Hegarty Nowlan, Editor
Email: mary.nowlan@state.vt.us
