tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022Wed, 07 May 2008 22:02:20 +0000http://www.bodett.com/blog/index.htmnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)Blogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-584114595564883660Wed, 07 May 2008 21:22:00 +00002008-05-07T18:02:20.554-04:00If you happen to have read the "Quote Me" piece, which has been featured on the homepage of this site for a shamelessly long time, you are aware of my conundrum concerning the misattribution of inspirational quotations. Thanks to fearless reader, Bill Osmet, the mysterious Allan K Chalmers has come in from the cold. Check out the link. He was a quite an accomplished scholar and a mentor to Drhttp://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/05/free-at-last-free-at-last.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-6626665158528159744Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:15:00 +00002008-04-19T11:33:44.692-04:00 With cheerful colors finally appearing along the Vermont roadsides it is officially spring. Kubota orange, John Deere green and the the dusty rose of the occasional aging Ford or Massey Ferguson dot the hillsides with the promise of summer. We dragged all the attachments out of the barn yesterday and I took inventory of the broken and missing parts I needed to get everything to work. Lynch http://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/04/spring-colors-and-sounds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-1828227348113324554Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:32:00 +00002008-04-11T11:03:28.214-04:00According to CNN and other authorities, I am trapped inside of a national nightmare. I'm at O'Hare airport in Chicago in the midst of the airline meltdown, which according to CNN and other authorities, has created a refugee camp of surly passengers desperate to go somewhere, anywhere. I keep looking around for the horror so that I can bear witness to this headline catastrophe. I am in the B http://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/04/witness-to-catastrophe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-9090343056557286322Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:15:00 +00002008-03-28T12:05:40.453-04:00 The myth of the Easter Bunny endures one more season in southeastern Vermont. Like the Big Foot hoaxes in the West, large rabbits that poop chocolate and joy are a well-documented phenom in the Green Mountains. This picture depicts what it might have looked like had the Shackelton Expedition been a family outing. With another 6 inches of snow falling as I write, signs of spring http://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/03/big-foot-bunny-droppings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-2465373694409442929Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:24:00 +00002008-03-22T12:15:27.151-04:00As a Long Lapsed Catholic, LLC, Easter is a celebration filled with guilt, non-resolved resentment, and fear that my non-observance of the past 35 years has condemned by soul to eternal damnation. If this celebration took place in a darker time of year we would all be swinging by the neck from church rafters. But, it's springtime and we somehow muddle through these emotions by participating inhttp://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/03/easter-llc.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-7203871441048134063Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:42:00 +00002008-03-19T14:04:26.694-04:00I discovered only yesterday that my website has been down since the 12th. It seems my domain name had expired without reason or warning. Who knew these things had a shelf life? In any case, the situation has been resolved and I have purchased the rights to this silly business for the next 20 years. That should cover it. Sorry for the trouble. Believe me, you didn't miss a thing.http://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/03/missing-inaction.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-4386228559244796696Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:01:00 +00002008-03-04T22:25:45.925-05:00With 100% of the ballots tallied, the brownies eaten, and the collapsible voting booths collapsed and stuffed back in the janitor's closet at the elementary school, this blog is prepared to call the open 3 year seat on the Dummerston, Vermont Selectboard for former road foreman, Wayne Emery, who is also the farmer who hays my field. Today was Town Meeting Day across Vermont and marks the http://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/03/election-results.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-7880369401936317453Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:24:00 +00002008-02-15T16:41:51.806-05:00I have a strained relationship with this blog. I created it as a way to have an immediate avenue to vent my spleen, wax poetic about my kids, or update you on exciting or self-deprecating developments in my life and career. That's all worked fine for the most part and would work even better if I had more bile to cleanse, if I was more comfortable talking about my children on the internet, orhttp://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/02/why-good-life-sucks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-3645079304524576216Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:59:00 +00002008-01-30T12:06:56.745-05:00I have lived in nutty places most of my life and still do. Actually, I live just outside of a nutty place -- Brattleboro, Vermont -- perhaps you've heard about it. They've been all over the news because of the recent successful petition drive to vote at Town Meeting on March 4th for the following resolution: Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against http://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/01/fringe-benefits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-4699657999167100215Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:41:00 +00002008-01-11T21:06:43.423-05:00Last week Thursday we had a foot of powdery new snow on top of another foot of base blowing around the hilltop with temperatures in the single digits. When it is zero degrees -- absolutely nada degrees -- and blowing thirty in Vermont, I still cannot force myself to utter the phrase, "Boy, it's cold." People I know in Fairbanks, Alaska dust off their golf clubs when the temps rise above zero.http://www.bodett.com/blog/2008/01/january-thaw.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-7693314342366599190Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:30:00 +00002007-12-30T13:28:22.742-05:00 I apologize for leaving this blog with such a dark sentiment for the Christmas holiday, such as what was expressed in my entry of December 21st. Now that I've had my medications adjusted it is clear I was suffering from some sort of seasonal depression disorder. Like so many people I often forget this is a time of sharing and joy and gratitude for the embrace of family. Even if the http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/12/elusive-joy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-4152358029674124082Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:16:00 +00002008-01-16T12:18:45.583-05:00Parents take note: It is illegal and wrong to bind your children with blue painter's tape and throw them through the back door into a snowbank. I thought this through at some length and came to that inevitable conclusion. It will be no mystery to you how the subject came up in the first place if you have or have ever had small children in your house in the days preceding Christmas. Theirhttp://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/12/short-days-short-tempers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-328448653171415972Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:37:00 +00002007-12-14T22:41:44.638-05:00I am writing this on my flight home from Chicago. If you’re reading it, then it means I made it. I have my doubts today. There is no evidence this is my final destiny except that also on board this flight, sitting four rows in front of me, is the legendary former Chicago Bears head coach, Mike Ditka. This is the second time I’ve run into Da Coach on this run. The first time I had the http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/12/nfl-legend-others-dead.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-8513528179434367992Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:09:00 +00002007-11-23T09:45:16.371-05:00 It's that time of year again: That time when television and radio hosts and various commentators and bloggers throughout the land can begin their submissions with the tired old phrase, It's that time of year again. Shopping is a skill not evenly distributed among us. While in Paris we wondered if they might sell little tin reproductions of some significant local landmark like, say, the http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/11/black-thursday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-5688462970834087712Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:46:00 +00002007-11-16T07:32:39.095-05:00 Rita and I are in Paris for the week. I came over for Accor, the French lodging conglomerate which owns Motel 6, and we decided to take a few days to ourselves. Our two boys are at home with Nana and Papa so we decided the best way to take full-advantage of being alone in Paris is to sleep. It's a great place to sleep, but if we're going to do that we might as well be in Des Moines. http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/11/tourist-points-out-obvious.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-6017361446352739155Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:41:00 +00002007-11-04T18:59:17.156-05:00Blogging about your blog is the lowest form of blogging and like water to a puddle that's where I settle. Looking back at my archive I see a lot of it. It's like painters talking about their brushes, furniture makers showing off their tools, or musicians debating guitar strings: Common and necessary discussions among craftsmen, but seldom very interesting to anyone but themselves. That's http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/11/blogrolling-contest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-1433323674076632448Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:14:00 +00002007-10-22T10:35:50.489-04:00 Every time I appear on Wait-Wait I get an additional seven to ten thousand visitors to this site for a day or two. Most of you check out the blog because 1) You think you might actually get some fresh and/or inside information about something. This almost never happens unless you consider my personal tractor activities something. 2) You really don't have time to read the longer and more http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/10/blog-on-fire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-4555784898942779788Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:48:00 +00002007-09-17T20:58:37.333-04:00 This is a picture of wild turkeys in our field. I don't know what you call a group of turkeys. A flock? Herd? Gaggle? Google? Anyway, it's a bunch. Amazing critters, these turkeys. I can understand why Ben Franklin wanted it to be the national symbol. They wander around like cows until you move toward them then they melt away into the woods and you'll be hard pressed to ever see http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/09/september-days.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-1814788123119964516Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:46:00 +00002007-08-10T11:14:47.452-04:00 I was reading this week about a sporting event in Texas called The Redneck Games, which included heats in the mudhole belly-flop and mattress chuck. Vemont rednecks, commonly referred to as "Vermonters", have our sport too. Getting tractors stuck deep in the woods is chief among the summer competitions. The idea is to find a place in the forest most inaccessible to any piece of equipment http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/08/tractor-games.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-6491585183822487021Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:53:00 +00002007-07-26T10:15:20.591-04:00I'm sitting in Bradley International airport theoretically on my way to Chicago, which is surrounded by violent thunderstorms. Air traffic is backed up all the way to Portugal and as I enjoy my suspiciously fresh-like banana nut-like muffin, I contemplate the meaning of it all. The TSA is especially stern and attentive today due to the discovery this week that terrorist market testers have http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/07/stuck-inside-of-hartford-with-chicago.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-2895901617433149244Fri, 29 Jun 2007 21:28:00 +00002007-06-29T17:47:57.588-04:00It's been awhile between posts, but I have a good excuse. I've been back in Alaska with the family enjoying life at the top of the world again. This is the first time in over 30 years I've been in Alaska without owning anything here. I realized very quickly that if you don't own anything you don't have anything to take care of. Buddhists figured this out a long time ago and that's why theyhttp://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/06/top-of-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-775206188851486764Fri, 01 Jun 2007 16:48:00 +00002007-06-01T23:41:35.736-04:00 In a flush of contentment last week I bought a tee-shirt that said "Life is Good" across the chest under a graphic of a spruce tree. When I got it home and took a closer look I saw that the phrase "Life is Good" has become a registered trademark of the shirt maker. This discovery took about half of my good mood away. How dare they trademark my hackneyed private sentiments! But, trademarkedhttp://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/06/life-is-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-4899024171910376999Sun, 13 May 2007 13:01:00 +00002007-05-13T09:14:03.579-04:00If this day were any more gorgeous our souls would swell to the bursting point, leaving a mess of the New England urban and village scene. Compounding the danger today is the deeply felt gratitude and admiration we have for our mothers and the mothers of our children. My wife Rita is a marvel of maternal instinct and energy. She senses issues going on in our boys that I wouldn't detect untilhttp://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/05/mothers-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-4464066839665002344Thu, 03 May 2007 19:01:00 +00002007-05-07T08:05:24.071-04:00In the interests of derivative humor and to counter the realities of my daily family life where I am surrounded by Mexicans, half-Mexicans and Guatemalans who never Ask A Middle-Aged White Guy anything -- here is your chance. May 3, 2007 Dear MAWG, I travel often for my business and see a lot of MAWGs at airports. I have one question, why are you guys all so cranky? Estuardo in Dallas Dearhttp://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/05/ask-mawg-in-interests-of-derivative.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19729022.post-825866820894971978Sat, 21 Apr 2007 13:04:00 +00002007-04-21T09:35:06.125-04:00Yesterday was the most beautiful day of the year across New England and the best day too. Not only did we bake and purr in 70 degree temperatures under sunny skies. Not only did we see the orange breasted robins of spring take off their flannel long-johns. Not only did we watch a crescent moon hung in a pin-point sky. Not only did the Red Sox come from behind and beat the Yankees at http://www.bodett.com/blog/2007/04/best-day-ever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Bodett)