The Vermonter
The Vermonter; that she is - the ol' beauty, clean and green, a marvelous invention. Bringin em up from New York City, Hartford, Amherst and White River Junction. All them ski folk, and Ben & Jerry; love to see em swarm in by thousands. Few cross the Chappy on the old ferry; most take eighty-nine drive'n up by land. I'd rather see em come up on the ol'Vermonter, keep'n those Saabs and BMWs off our streets. Nothin worse when tryin to move the spreader, then hear'n some european honk'n screech. Don't mind though, cream keeps rise'n; folks can't get enough of that cherry garcia. Bed and breakfast business quite enterprise'n, traffic ain't so good for the moose and de-ah. Catch em in their lights all the time, knock'n em off and thinning the herd. City folk pay no 'tention to those cross'n signs, carcasses spread from here to Concord. Wish they'd come up on the ol'Vermonter, give em a chance to unwind before they got here. Dinning car's got coffee-lata and bottled water, plenty of that dark and fancy foreign beer. Come share our humor and yankee wit, sit a spell and rest a mite. Don’t talk religion or politics; keep it friendly, but keep it light. Some of the best minds in the country, clone’n sheep and cows and things like that. Find em up at the university, started in a laboratory with a barnyard cat. You know the Carol twins: Hank and Hal, were never conceived the normal way. Are neither fraternal nor identical, Hank and Hal share the same DNA. Aunt Tess been in the home now 48 years, has out lived all of the nursing staff. No such thing as pressure from her peers, thirty years they’d been gone and past. Be’in her only next of kin, wouldn’t ya know it’s my damn luck. For if she goes, I would win; her broken down tractor and pick-up truck. |
 |
Farm ain’t worth much on the open market, wouldn’t want or need it as I can see. Needs a lot of
fix’in for the price you’d get, Buses come up from Boston now and then, rollin down highway ninety-three. Crowd gets big during the foliage season, love the change of our autumn trees. Wish they’d come up on the ol’ Vermonter, give em a chance to enjoy the view. No worry about our trooper’s radar, no fees or fines when citations due. Flatlanders seem to bother old Jake Crummin, owns the dairy farm right down the road. Just re-did the place with indoor plum’n, got a brand new bathtub and porcelain commode. Now he spends the best part of the mornin, sit’n for his relaxation and restitution. Do’in plenty of read’n and plenty of think’n, says it’s the preamble to his constitution. Marge down at the dry goods store, is now open twenty-four hours a day. Bought into a franchise called Store 24, open on weekends and every holiday. Ari, the new clerk, got a dot on his head; sell’n those damn cold slush freezens. Make’n your frozen tongue turn red, give’n your head cranial squeezens. The Italian restaurant plays Pavarotti, Mario Lanza and the Great Caruso. Gino makes the best manicotti, served fine with a red Lombrusco. Yee Gardens is open ‘til the wee hour, Buffet is nice at a reasonable price. Can get your pork either sweet or sour, chow mien or just plain pork fried rice. Come up on the Vermonter restfully, take in the scenery and enjoy the day. No need flaunt’n your money foolishly, we’ll end up with it anyway. Just the same, we try to do our best, we're just simple poor ol' countrymen. Try'n to make a livin, try'n to get some rest; Until the Vermonter brings em back again. -30- |
Each day she trickles down
the rugged 
