Vermont Travel Notes

"How to Survive the Recession - A Vermont Perspective" by Bob Stannard:

A fun read by Manchester Vermont resident Bob Stannard made up from some newspaper columns he wrote in recent years ago plus new material especially for this book. Bob figured he could help his country in this time of trial and tribulation by explaining how Vermonters get up every morning (well, most mornings), pull on their boots, and go about the task of wrestling with the bear (i.e., living).

Bob sketches the characters (and I mean that in every sense of the word) he has met and events he has witnessed or instigated, and uses these vignettes to show how Vermonters deal with the challenges and rewards of life.

The book in written in a conversational voice thankfully lacking in pretense. If you stopped by Bob's house, sat down with him in front of his fireplace and asked him what it's like to live in Vermont, this book would be his response. It's a very easy and quick read.

For the most part he does not stray too far into being preachy. He often just presents people and events and then lets you draw the conclusion. For instance, he enthusiastically veers into talking about playing serious blues harmonica ("harp") with the likes of B.B. King. He relates the stories King tells of losing a profitable gig to another blues performer and how his early manager cheated him. Yet King remains non bitter, even grateful for the experience and cherishes what these men did for him rather than what they did to him. That's how to live a full and happy life.

The book available directly from the author: Bob Stannard

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

One of the most surprising things about moving to Vermont was discovering the number of artists, writers, actors, musicians, and other artistic people who live here. They are literally everywhere. Vermont is smaller than tiny (teeny?) but it's brimming with talented folks.

One of the best known is author Archer Mayor , a resident of Townsend, a beautiful village in southern VT. His crime stories have been best sellers for about two decades. Mayor's 19th novel, The Catch, has just been published by St. Martin's Press. Like all his Detective Joe Gunther (the main character) stories, this one also takes place in Vermont but it soon moves to Maine where Joe is in pursuit of two "evil doers" as George Bush would say.

Mayor himself probably would not make a very good character for a novel because he would not be believable - too much of an over achiever! He has been a "scholarly editor, a researcher for TIME-LIFE Books, a political advance-man, a theater photographer, a newspaper writer/editor, a lab technician for Paris-Match Magazine in Paris, France, and a medical illustrator . . . He is also a death investigator for Vermont’s Chief Medical Examiner, a deputy for the Windham County Sheriff’s Department, and has 25 years experience as a volunteer firefighter and EMT."

Unfortunately there is not much more information about his background except that he grew up in the US, Canada, and France but that just piqued my curiosity even more. It would be interesting to see more details about his family, early life, education, and details about his work experiences.

If you would like to meet him in person, he has a busy calendar of personal appearances this month and next throughout New England and New York. You can see the schedule here. .

On his website is a series of short videos, one of which I found particularly interesting: why he chose to live in Vermont.

Another video I suggest you watch is a humorous story involving doughnuts that took place while he was working as a police officer.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn