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12:53am December 10, 2014
This is why I didn’t go out and activate my new debit card (name change) today. It rained all morning, then it froze and got so slippery that even some Real Vermonters were slipping and falling, and that’s saying something. And then it snowed, and it’s still snowing. For those who don’t know… Definitions vary, but the most common one I hear is that to be an Old Vermonter or Real Vermonter (which mean the same thing) you, your parents, and your grandparents all have to have been born and raised here. Often the really old Vermont families will have French-sounding last names or look French. Being a Real Vermonter whose family has lived here since colonial settler times (because I don’t hear anyone calling Abenaki Old Vermonters, even though they’re the oldest Vermonters around) can give you social status, but it doesn’t necessarily give you money. In fact, most of the Real Vermonters I know are poor or working-class or somewhere in between. Everyone who is not a Real Vermonter is called a Flatlander. No matter where you came from. It doesn’t matter that I’m originally from the side of a redwood-covered mountain, I’m a Flatlander. You can be from the Sierras, the Rockies, the Alps, the Himalayas – still a Flatlander. Although… I used to not give much respect to some of the mountains around here. I called them hills. But then it was explained to me they’re small because they’re so ancient that they’ve been worn down to mostly hilly-looking things over the eons (or whatever the time scale is – it’s long, these are apparently some of the oldest mountains around). So I’m no longer a mountain snob. I live in Burlington, which is where most Flatlanders in Vermont live. That’s because it’s a college and university town, many times over. The joke goes, “The cool thing about Burlington is that it’s so close to Vermont!” Of course Real Vermonters get a lot of crap when they go to UVM. I have a staff person who went there, and there were for of them crammed into a dorm room meant for one or two people. The very first thing they did when they got together and talked, was determine that every single one was an Old Vermonter. This happened to a lot of Old Vermonters because they were paying the cheapest tuition (in state) so if there were problems with crowding in the dorms, which there always was, it was Vermonters who got the worst of it. Some Old Vermonters really resent Flatlanders. Often justified, especially in regard to back-to-the-land types making it harder for the old farming families in many ways, despite Vermont being a state that has done its utmost to preserve family farming. But I’ve only rarely encountered that resentment. Amused tolerance is generally the worst you’ll get if you treat people right. As in “hehehe you Flatlanders do things so strangely”. But there are Vermonters who’d rather the Flatlanders go away. And that can create tension. There’s also a surprisingly active secession movement promoted by Vermonters and Flatlanders alike. Vermont never really wanted to be part of the USA, and that sentiment never fully died. And that is way more than I intended to say about Vermont, just based on a photo of snow at night. I really do love Vermont despite its flaws, which are many. (But you could say that about anyplace.) It’s beautiful, I live right next to one of the biggest lakes I’ve ever seen, the rural mountainous areas do remind me somewhat of parts of the Coast Range, though I can’t explain why. People help each other here. I once was walking home unsteadily on crutches right after a blizzard, and the street looked empty. My grocery bag split in two. Suddenly out of nowhere four people came from four different directions to help me. And when I bought my rocking chair, I had carried/dragged it halfway home when a woman insisted on helping me, which I did not decline because myasthenia and carrying heavy objects aren’t a good mix. There’s an attitude around here I really like. And it’s not universal but it’s common. Which is, “I may hate your guts, but if your car is buried after a blizzard I’ll bring some people by and we’ll help shovel it out.” I think such attitudes are more common in both small isolated towns, and places that have at least somewhat extreme climates. It’s a survival thing. I’ve had people online get really condescending with me when I describe such values, “Nobody would do that unless they were being paid or something”, “you’re describing a utopia”, etc. But I see out every day right here right now. Vermont has some serious problems, but it’s also got some qualities that amaze me as someone who grew up in the south Bay Area, where people talk progressive but act selfish as often as not. Here, people can be sort of gruff in a way others might read as selfish, but those same people will be there instantly if they see someone in trouble. Anyway I don’t care what anyone says, I love Vermont, both the Burlington area and the “real” (read: rural) parts of Vermont (my dad referred to the rural areas as “the cool part of Vermont”… It’s funny when people see photos of him they sometimes assume he’s an Old Vermonter… Something he always took as a high compliment).

This is why I didn’t go out and activate my new debit card (name change) today. It rained all morning, then it froze and got so slippery that even some Real Vermonters were slipping and falling, and that’s saying something. And then it snowed, and it’s still snowing.

For those who don’t know… Definitions vary, but the most common one I hear is that to be an Old Vermonter or Real Vermonter (which mean the same thing) you, your parents, and your grandparents all have to have been born and raised here. Often the really old Vermont families will have French-sounding last names or look French. Being a Real Vermonter whose family has lived here since colonial settler times (because I don’t hear anyone calling Abenaki Old Vermonters, even though they’re the oldest Vermonters around) can give you social status, but it doesn’t necessarily give you money. In fact, most of the Real Vermonters I know are poor or working-class or somewhere in between.

Everyone who is not a Real Vermonter is called a Flatlander. No matter where you came from. It doesn’t matter that I’m originally from the side of a redwood-covered mountain, I’m a Flatlander. You can be from the Sierras, the Rockies, the Alps, the Himalayas – still a Flatlander. Although… I used to not give much respect to some of the mountains around here. I called them hills. But then it was explained to me they’re small because they’re so ancient that they’ve been worn down to mostly hilly-looking things over the eons (or whatever the time scale is – it’s long, these are apparently some of the oldest mountains around). So I’m no longer a mountain snob.

I live in Burlington, which is where most Flatlanders in Vermont live. That’s because it’s a college and university town, many times over. The joke goes, “The cool thing about Burlington is that it’s so close to Vermont!”

Of course Real Vermonters get a lot of crap when they go to UVM. I have a staff person who went there, and there were for of them crammed into a dorm room meant for one or two people. The very first thing they did when they got together and talked, was determine that every single one was an Old Vermonter. This happened to a lot of Old Vermonters because they were paying the cheapest tuition (in state) so if there were problems with crowding in the dorms, which there always was, it was Vermonters who got the worst of it.

Some Old Vermonters really resent Flatlanders. Often justified, especially in regard to back-to-the-land types making it harder for the old farming families in many ways, despite Vermont being a state that has done its utmost to preserve family farming. But I’ve only rarely encountered that resentment. Amused tolerance is generally the worst you’ll get if you treat people right. As in “hehehe you Flatlanders do things so strangely”. But there are Vermonters who’d rather the Flatlanders go away. And that can create tension. There’s also a surprisingly active secession movement promoted by Vermonters and Flatlanders alike. Vermont never really wanted to be part of the USA, and that sentiment never fully died.

And that is way more than I intended to say about Vermont, just based on a photo of snow at night. I really do love Vermont despite its flaws, which are many. (But you could say that about anyplace.) It’s beautiful, I live right next to one of the biggest lakes I’ve ever seen, the rural mountainous areas do remind me somewhat of parts of the Coast Range, though I can’t explain why.

People help each other here. I once was walking home unsteadily on crutches right after a blizzard, and the street looked empty. My grocery bag split in two. Suddenly out of nowhere four people came from four different directions to help me. And when I bought my rocking chair, I had carried/dragged it halfway home when a woman insisted on helping me, which I did not decline because myasthenia and carrying heavy objects aren’t a good mix.

There’s an attitude around here I really like. And it’s not universal but it’s common. Which is, “I may hate your guts, but if your car is buried after a blizzard I’ll bring some people by and we’ll help shovel it out.” I think such attitudes are more common in both small isolated towns, and places that have at least somewhat extreme climates. It’s a survival thing. I’ve had people online get really condescending with me when I describe such values, “Nobody would do that unless they were being paid or something”, “you’re describing a utopia”, etc. But I see out every day right here right now. Vermont has some serious problems, but it’s also got some qualities that amaze me as someone who grew up in the south Bay Area, where people talk progressive but act selfish as often as not. Here, people can be sort of gruff in a way others might read as selfish, but those same people will be there instantly if they see someone in trouble.

Anyway I don’t care what anyone says, I love Vermont, both the Burlington area and the “real” (read: rural) parts of Vermont (my dad referred to the rural areas as “the cool part of Vermont”… It’s funny when people see photos of him they sometimes assume he’s an Old Vermonter… Something he always took as a high compliment).

Notes:
  1. vulturechow said: I love this. Getting to read about Place is one of my favorite things. Thank you for sharing.
  2. withasmoothroundstone posted this