5 August 2007 - Rutland, VT

Here in the Green Mountains…

Our last morning in Massachusetts was cool, the morning sun rising to dry the dampness from the night’s rain. We balanced our books, debriefed with Jim, packed our gear, and played with Aili, the beautiful Gordon Setter who lives with our hosts. By 10 AM, we were ready to go. After a stop at the local bakery to pick up some fabulous mushroom croissants for our drive, we hit I-91 North toward Vermont.

Waves of nostalgia roll over me, the further North I travel. It’s difficult to put my finger on exactly what it is that triggers it. There’s just something about the whole package - the architectures, the layouts, the trees, the signs, the smells, the rolling hills, the accents - there’s something here that says “home.” And I’m ready to be home…

We drove the interstate north along the Connecticut, the cut west toward Rutland, to the little town of Pittsfield and the home of our next hosts, Annabelle and Robert. Upon our arrival, Robert picked us a salad from their garden for our lunch, and we sat in the yard, under blue skies and green leaves, and began to connect. After lunch we rested a bit in the beautiful old barn in which we’re staying, caught up on our lives, and readied ourselves for the evening’s screening.

Fifty-two people came out to see What a Way to Go at the UU Church in Rutland. More than had been anticipated. Annabelle had done a great job of pulling together a projector, screen, and sound system for the event, so it looked and sounded great. It was a bit warm and stuffy, but open doors soon cooled things off.

Fourteen of us stayed for the dialogue afterwards. The UU in Rutland has these fabulous movable pews, so it was easy to circle up the wagons and create a non-hierarchical structure for our conversation. Those who stayed were warm and appreciative. Many of them knew each other, and had worked together before on various issues. There was sadness and anger in the room, but there was power and possibility there as well. Something happens for us when we face the world situation together, when we stare the beast down, when we allow ourselves to look right at the possibility of extinction: we find that it does not undo us to do so, and that, once spoken out loud, there is a relief and a peace available to us that was not available before.

It was a Sunday night, with work in the morning for many, so we closed the circle and headed out before it got too late. One woman said she’d pass our schedule along to Bill McKibben (Deep Economy) and Jim Merkel (Radical Simplicity), both of whom live in Vermont, and both of whom might want to attend a coming screening. That’s the advantage of doing four screenings in VT and NH: word of mouth has time to work.

Back home, we fell exhausted into bed. The next day would bring a screening in Keene, NH, our ninth event in ten days. And after that, a much-needed break!

As freeacre says, Love to us All…

Tim