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IN-TENTS FEELINGS

Summer camps open for business

V ER MON T’S INDE P ENDE NT V O IC E MAY 20-27, 2020 VOL.25 NO.34 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

PAGE 14

SUMMER PREVIEW

• An uncertain season for baseball in Vermont PAGE 34 • Hiking & human behavior in the summer of COVID-19 PAGE 38 • Vermont’s food trucks roll on PAGE 44

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MAY 13-20, 2020 COMPILED BY GILLIAN ENGLISH, SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY COLIN FLANDERS

SOLEMN SALUTE

Gov. Phil Scott ordered flags to fly at half-mast on May 19 in honor of Vermonters who died of the coronavirus. The tradition will continue on the 19th of each month of 2020.

BERLIN AIRLIFT

The mural

End of the Parade

Burlington City Council members on Monday delivered a clear directive about the downtown “Everyone Loves a Parade!” mural: Get rid of it. A resolution to remove or cover the controversial painting by the end of August passed by a vote of 11-1. Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) voted no. The artwork was commissioned in 2009 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of explorer Samuel de Champlain’s 1609 “discovery” of Lake Champlain. Critics say the mural is racist because it doesn’t include many people of color and doesn’t adequately depict the state’s Abenaki people, who lived in Vermont well before European settlers arrived. Activist Albert Petrarca has waged a spirited campaign against the mural for years. He’s also one of the activists who vandalized it. The city council voted in October 2018 to take down the mural by August 2022, but Monday’s measure moves up the timetable. Shannon said she doesn’t think the removal should be accelerated during a global pandemic. It will be expensive: The city previously estimated that it will cost $30,000 to remove the mural and fix damage to the underlying wall, according to Burlington City Arts executive director Doreen Kraft. “I’m not defending the mural, but I am not willing to move this up on the priority list,” Shannon said.

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WEEK IN REVIEW

In an impassioned speech, Councilor Zoraya Hightower (P-Ward 1) said that, leading up to the vote, she’d received hate mail containing racial slurs, along with notes from so-called allies who said she’d be racist if she voted against removing the mural. Most of the messages were from white people, said Hightower, who is black. That signaled to her that the issue wasn’t a priority to “marginalized folks.” “To me, it feels like we’ve doubled down with what I think, honestly, is some white privilege on removing this symbol of white guilt,” she said, challenging activists to work with people of color “on issues that are close to them.” Despite her misgivings, Hightower voted to remove the mural “because while I do not agree with the spirit of the resolution, I do agree with the heart of it,” she said. Councilors rallied around Hightower’s sentiment, saying the mural should be removed so that the city can focus on making systemic change. “I’m glad that this mural has gotten us talking about issues of racial justice in the city,” Councilor Jack Hanson (P-East District) said, noting that the fact Hightower faced racism during the debate “just highlights the need for us to do work much more deeply beyond this particular mural.” Read Courtney Lamdin’s full story on sevendaysvt.com.

Nearly 2,000 cars lined up for free food in a five-milelong queue at the airport in Berlin last Friday. More drops are scheduled this week.

MAN’S NEW BEST FRIEND?

A study by a Dartmouth College PhD candidate found that llamas have antibodies that neutralize the coronavirus. Heroes of our times.

That’s how many F-35s from Vermont flew over western New York State last week to honor health care workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

TOPFIVE

Online Now

COVER IMAGE LUKE EASTMAN • COVER DESIGN REV. DIANE SULLIVAN

FEATURES 13 Our Work Changed A poem by Alison Prine

Flatten the Curveball 17

NEWS & POLITICS 11

ARTS NEWS 26

From the Publisher

On the Edge

Camp Conundrum

COVID-19 causes camp complications

No Exchange

Vermont arts organizations face economic fallout

Springing Eternal

Foreign labor in light of the pandemic

Review: “Things Feel So Different Now” by Wylie Garcia, Soapbox Arts

Travel Local

Love Will Tear Them Apart

Can Vermont save its tourism industry?

Couch Cinema: “Normal People”

‘Now There’s Some Life’

Vermont retailers tentatively reopen

Vermont baseball faces an uncertain season

Flocking Together

Birding is big right now, and Vermont birding communities are eager to help

The Great, Masked Outdoors Hiking and human behavior in the summer of COVID-19

We have

Dog-Eared Days

Summer reads recommended by seven Vermont authors

Feels Like the First Time

Find a new job in the classifieds section on page 59 and online at sevendaysvt.com/jobs.

Local musicians recall their earliest concerts

As Things Slowly Reopen...

Be strong Vermont Let's work together and help those in need.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

Here to Stay

Savor the sunshine,

Paula Routly

P.S. Thanks to assistant arts editor Dan Bolles for curating this week’s selection of stories.

JAMES BUCK

We at Seven Days are all in favor of boating, baseball and creemees. But not everyone on the editorial team is equally enthusiastic about the annual Summer Preview Issue, in which we try to find new ways to write about those perennial topics. Summoning creative approaches can be tricky. I remember 1996’s “Interview With a Zebra Mussel” like it was yesterday… But this year is different. On Monday, the breaking news in Vermont was all about summer — in particular, where and how we’re going to make it happen. In a press conference convened by Gov. Phil Scott, state officials went through the steps Vermont’s 55 state parks are taking in response to the coronavirus pandemic and outlined best practices for safely visiting them. The briefing included detailed information about what campers will be able to buy — ice and firewood — and what they should bring: hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes. Might “disinfecting” be the hot new badge at Scout camps this summer? Courtney Lamdin checked in with the state’s summer camps, some of which still plan to open. But will parents let their children enroll? Camp Quarantine could be a tough sell, and not just for kids. Out-of-staters will have to quarantine for 14 days in Vermont before they can set up a tent here. The same goes whether they’re at Basin Harbor, Hotel Vermont, or the Woodstock Inn & Resort. Bostonians and New Yorkers who once came north for a three-day weekend are going to have to stay a while, like they did a century ago. For now, local hoteliers are only allowed to book 25 percent of their rooms — though they might have trouble finding staff to service them. Because of the pandemic and, to a lesser degree, our president, thousands of seasonal foreign workers won’t be coming to Vermont this summer. Derek Brouwer looked into the potential economic impacts of Fries and a that labor shortage in his article “No Exchange?” Michigan dog from Beansie’s On Monday, Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore made the obvious suggestion: Since out-ofSUMMER state travel is discouraged, why don’t Vermonters PREVIEW vacation right here? It’s the tourism department’s newest marketing strategy, as Kevin McCallum reports. Kayak the pristine waters of the Green River Reservoir to a remote camping spot. Sit in a rocker with a good book on the porch at Highland Lodge. Hit the 273-mile Long Trail — which, like so many other popular hiking destinations, is likely to be crowded this summer, Chelsea Edgar predicts in “The Great, Masked Outdoors.” Easier routes: reading, virtual birding and — maybe — baseball. Looking for a snack while you’re on the go? Food trucks are rolling and seemingly Want to help Seven Days and pandemic-proof. local journalism? Become a Super Reader. It’s up to us Vermonters to make the most Look for the “Give Now” buttons at the top of a bad situation. On the positive side: We’ve of sevendaysvt.com. Or send a check with got the perfect playground. your address and contact info to: SEVEN DAYS C/O SUPER READERS P.O. BOX 1164 BURLINGTON, VT 05402-1164

For more information on making a financial contribution to Seven Days, please contact Corey Grenier: VOICEMAIL: 802-865-1020, EXT. 36 EMAIL: SUPERREADERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

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POEM

Our Work Changed into the sound of paper being torn to shreds our new work commences with windows thrown open while scraps fly about we try but can’t catch them our faces muffled and concealed our work now is to translate a smile into something we can do with our gloved hands our paper shreds wilt with the first blooms of spring snowdrops collapsing back into the ground our work is to look away from the thirsty soil and up into the still bare trees before the leaves emerge you can discern which branches remain alive we look for a bird because our work is no longer to predict the weather or the bud but to see the song as it slips from a tiny throat into our new stillness — ALISON PRI NE

Alison Prine’s debut collection of poems, Steel (Cider Press Review, 2016), was named a finalist for the 2017 Vermont Book Award. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, the Virginia Quarterly Review, Five Points, Harvard Review and Prairie Schooner among others. She lives and works in Burlington. Learn more at alisonprine.com. SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

news

MORE INSIDE

POLS WANT MASKS FOR ALL PAGE 16

THE SUMMER OF IN-STATE TOURISM PAGE 17

DESPITE OK, SHOPS CAUTIOUS

HEALTH

PAGE 18

B Y DER EK B R OU WER

Club Fitness of Vermont in Rutland

Campers at the Aloha Foundation’s Horizons Day Camp paddling kayaks

Camp Conundrum COVID-19 complicates a rite of summer in Vermont

reparation for summer art camp at Teresa Davis’ studio in South Burlington has gone a little differently this year. Instead of packing the four classrooms with workstations, Davis removed about half of them and pushed the remaining tables against the wall to create more open space. Her staff pasted strips of masking tape on each tabletop to mark off six feet between campers’ seats. There are no more shared bins of markers and colored paper for campers to dig through — teachers will hand out the art supplies this year. Gone are the catch-all cubbies for lunch boxes and backpacks, replaced by designated spots for each child. This is camp in the age of the coronavirus and social distancing. “We are doing our role as the front line of dealing with kids who are going to be away from home for the very first time in two or three months,” Davis said, adding, “I feel very confident we can do camp safely.” Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has announced that both day and overnight camps can 14

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

BY C OU RT N E Y L AM D I N

open this summer if they follow strict health guidelines created by his administration. That’s a boon to the state: A 2017 study by the American Camp Association says that Vermont’s 110 day and overnight camps inject $117 million into the local economy. But this year is different. Those who run camps must decide whether they can safely meet the state health requirements and offer some semblance of the experience that kids expect, while still making enough money to justify opening. A number of northwestern Vermont organizations, including Shelburne Farms and the YWCA’s Camp Hochelaga, already have canceled this summer’s camp programs. Parents, meanwhile, are grappling with the idea of sending their children out of the home to mingle with strangers after months on lockdown. “It’s hard because the people who are running the camps are friends of ours,” said Amy Mason, a mom of three

in Weybridge. “We want these camps to exist beyond the pandemic … so, it’s not a simple decision.” Released last week, the state guidelines for day camps permit just 25 people in a room at a time. Instructors must take campers’ temperature at the beginning of each day, donning a fresh pair of gloves for each kid. A cloth facial covering is recommended for children 2 and older. Campers are required to hang out in the same 25-person group throughout the day, and large gatherings, including for meals, are forbidden. Guidance for overnight camps is forthcoming, but Vermont Camp Association president Ellen Flight already recognizes the challenges. Many of these programs, including Flight’s own — Camp Songadeewin in Salisbury — attract children from out of state, who must self-quarantine for 14 days before they can enroll. Cabins also weren’t designed with a six-foot

SUMMER PREVIEW

CAMP CONUNDRUM

» P.20

COURTESY OF SEAN MANOVILL

COURTESY OF THE ALOHA FOUNDATION

Rutland Gym Owner Takes Battle With Vermont AG Outside

The owner of Club Fitness of Vermont has moved his Rutland gym outside to sidestep a court order that his business remain closed. Sean Manovill said he wheeled cardio machines and free weights into the parking lot on Tuesday morning, arguing that a temporary restraining order handed down by a judge last week only applies to indoor activities. “I’m definitely not in contempt of court,” he said. “Absolutely not. I’m not doing anything that is wrong.” Attorney General T.J. Donovan sued Manovill last Friday following failed negotiations with the gym owner, who had opened the business in defiance of state mandates intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Just hours after the lawsuit was filed, a Rutland Superior Court judge sided with the state and prohibited Club Fitness from conducting “any in-person, indoor operations” as long as Gov. Phil Scott’s executive order remains in effect. Manovill said he planned to publish a video to Facebook later this week that would “correct all the mistakes the press has made in the last week and officials.” He did not specify those alleged errors and said that Seven Days’ reporting had been accurate. Donovan doesn’t appear keen to press the issue. In a statement, his office noted that the governor’s executive order does allow for outdoor fitness activities “under certain health and safety conditions.” A spokesperson said the office planned to send a letter to Manovill on Wednesday outlining “permissible outdoor recreation and fitness activities.” Manovill insists he isn’t trying to pick a fight with state officials or use his defiance of public health measures as a publicity stunt. But his decision to lug his equipment outside also served as an invitation of sorts to potential new clients. Nonmembers may use his “top of the line” equipment at no charge, he said, as long as they first sign a liability waiver. “I just want to make fitness free,” Manovill explained. Contact: derek@sevendaysvt.com

Community Heart & Soul is seeking a

President – Executive Director

No Exchange?

I founded Community Heart & Soul some 15 years ago and by year’s end

Summer businesses weigh foreign labor in light of pandemic

we’ll have near a hundred Heart & Soul communities across rural America. I and our staff want an experienced leader who can lead a significant expansion of Heart & Soul. Someone who understands why small cities and towns make such great places to live and raise families, to start a business in, and relocate to.

LUKE AWTRY

BY DEREK BROUWER

Community Heart & Soul involves everyone, is bottom-up, and helps towns prosper through applying their Heart & Soul to decisions about the future. Based in Burlington, Vt. area.

LYMAN ORTON, Chairman of the Board/Founder

Foreign workers aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III

he return of the Spirit of Ethan Allen’s blaring foghorn last weekend made clear that operator Mike Shea won’t let the coronavirus sink his Lake Champlain summer cruise business. Shea’s company performed logistical contortions so it could begin offering shoreline tours from Burlington on Saturday. The boat’s crew took passengers’ temperatures as they boarded, and then assembled the guests in groups of 10 to each deck to comply with state limits on social gatherings. The cruise line’s food and drink service stayed shuttered. Workers cleaned the ship’s bathrooms every 20 minutes. The May 18 opening wasn’t just a signal to would-be tourists. Shea plans to use video from the ship’s maiden 2020 voyage in a presentation intended to reassure his prospective corps of foreign workers that Vermont is still worth the trip. “I’m going to show people boarding the boat,” Shea said. “It’s not sick people walking around here. They’re healthy.” The Spirit of Ethan Allen, like many summer tourism businesses in Vermont, relies on labor from abroad. Shea counts on a mix of about 20 foreign college students using J-1 exchange visas and 14 employees who participate in the H-2B program for foreign workers. Both visas have historically offered a reliable supply of workers who will do jobs that locals won’t, either because of their seasonal nature or low wages. The pandemic has thrown both programs into

disarray, further complicating an already uncertain situation for the summer businesses that use them. “The overriding consideration is what we’ll be able to do, with respect to the coronavirus,” said Dean Spencer, codirector of Camp Killooleet in Hancock, which, like many summer camps, typically employs J-1 exchange students. “Then we’ll all have to figure out if we can do what we need to do to do that. Availability of staff is a piece of that puzzle.” J-1 workers are students who spend their summer vacation working for U.S. businesses. Nearly 400 served as camp counselors in Vermont in 2018, according to federal data, and about 1,500 more came to the state for other “summer work travel,” though that tally also includes winter workers at ski resorts. Some summer resorts and seasonal businesses, such as landscapers, also hire guest workers through the H-2B program, which provides visas for up to three years. At resorts, they work as housekeepers, custodians and kitchen help. They sometimes hop from winter to summer gigs. Vermont businesses had requested about 170 H-2B workers for the upcoming season, according to federal data. Both programs require early planning and some investment by host businesses. Since the coronavirus arrived on American shores, many of those

For how it works, go to www.communityheartandsoul.org and download our Intro Book. Then email me at info@orton.org if you can do the job. 4t-OrtonFamilyFoundation050620.indd 1

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SUMMER PREVIEW

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

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news Legislative Leaders Call on Scott to Mandate Masks in Vermont Stores

LUKE AWTRY

STATEHOUSE

Mike Shea on the Spirit of Ethan Allen III

BY PAUL H E I N TZ

The leaders of the state Senate and House on Tuesday called for Gov. Phil Scott to require Vermonters to wear face masks while shopping and engaging in other public activities. An executive order reopening retail stores on Monday mandated that employees wear face coverings, but the governor has resisted forcing customers to do the same. Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) said the edict had the “very strange consequence” of protecting the customer from the coronavirus but not the employee. Ashe suggested that if Scott refused to change course, he would ask fellow senators whether they have “the appetite to push for a mandatory policy.” The pro tem added, “It’s not ideal for the legislature to be making public health orders, effectively, but if the governor isn’t going to go there, then I think we’ve gotta at least debate the question.” In a separate interview on Tuesday, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) said she agreed that Scott should mandate the use of masks as he works to reopen the economy, calling it a “sensible” policy backed up by public health research. Johnson, however, appeared more leery of legislative intervention than Ashe, arguing that the fluidity of the public health crisis demanded a swifter response than the legislature could deliver. Scott has for weeks encouraged Vermonters to wear masks while out in public, and he has said that business owners and municipalities are free to set additional rules. The Burlington City Council on Monday voted to require masks in Queen City stores and public buildings. The governor has argued that such a policy is not necessary statewide, given Vermont’s success thus far in suppressing the virus. “I’m not sure how much lower we can go than zero,” Scott said at a press conference on Monday, referring to a recent day when no new coronavirus cases were detected. “We’ll continue to monitor the data. And I’m not arrogant about this. If we see that the data isn’t supporting what we’re doing, we’ll take action. We’ll drop the ego, drop the politics and do what’s best for Vermonters.” m Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflict-of-interest policy at sevendaysvt.com/disclosure. Contact: paul@sevendaysvt.com

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

No Exchange? « P.15 arrangements have become untenable. The U.S. has barred travel from some countries outright, while U.S. embassies everywhere stopped issuing new visas in March, indefinitely delaying the arrival of many J-1 students and out-of-country H-2B workers. Most H-2B workers who were already in the U.S. for winter jobs were laid off in March, well before summer businesses were prepared to hire them. In addition, President Donald Trump has already vowed to further restrict immigration in light of mass unemployment. Republican allies in Congress have asked him to suspend guest worker programs, arguing that they will take jobs from out-of-work Americans. Those pressures — combined with uncertainty about opening dates, operating capacity and customer demand — have prompted many Vermont businesses to abandon foreign worker programs for the summer, according to Tim Piper, president of the Vermont Inn and Bed & Breakfast Association. “Some said, ‘That’s it, we’re not going with it this year,’” Piper said. Beach Properties, owner of Basin Harbor Club lakeside resort in Vergennes, withdrew its application for 63 H-2B summer cooks, clerks, maids, bellhops and dishwashers, according to federal disclosures. In a statement, co-owner Wendy Beach said the resort would hire “exclusively

U.S. citizens for its 2020 season,” citing pandemic pressures. Foreign employees typically comprise about 20 percent of Basin Harbor’s hundreds of seasonal positions. Other businesses may want the workers but can’t get them, said lawyer Brian Sullivan, of MSK Attorneys in Burlington, who helps clients apply for H-2Bs. “There will be some tourism, and you have places that don’t have people to clean the rooms, don’t have people to wash the dishes, the kind of low-paying jobs that the local workforce typically doesn’t want,” he said. At the Spirit of Ethan Allen, Shea got creative to secure 11 of his 14 anticipated H-2B workers this month from North Macedonia, Mexico and South Africa. Before the pandemic, low unemployment rates had created fierce competition for out-of-country H-2B workers, so he partnered with winter businesses to tap the supply of guest workers already in the U.S. One of those partners was Sugarbush Resort, which, for the first time, last winter brought on six H-2B workers who had spent the summer working for Shea’s cruise line. Their winter jobs at the ski resort were cut six weeks short by the coronavirus-induced shutdown, but they lived rent-free in employee housing and received food donations until April 30, when the Spirit of Ethan Allen was able to hire them back, according to the ski resort’s vice president of human resources, Annemarie Todd. Sugarbush hopes to be

open for mountain biking, golf and events this summer but decided not to bring on its usual 18 J-1 student workers, she added. At the cruise line, foreign seasonal workers will continue to comprise about 80 percent of the workforce — if Shea can woo his J-1 visa-holding students to come. It’s not just the students who need reassurance. The sponsoring program that Shea uses to recruit J-1 workers recently sent him a survey inquiring about how he plans to house and quarantine any student participants. That inquiry may be the result of prodding by the U.S. Department of State, which sent a letter to exchange sponsors on April 29 urging them to be “particularly careful” in vetting host placements this year, “both to ensure exchange visitors’ health, safety, and welfare and to protect the Americans with whom they come in contact.” The cruise ship operator said safety wouldn’t be a problem. But if his “reassurance” video proves too convincing, Shea may only manage to create more problems for himself. When he promised jobs to 21 foreign students, he didn’t imagine that he’d be running “socially distant” tours with just 40 passengers, despite the ship’s 500-plus capacity. “If I do get them, I may have too many employees,” he said, before quickly reassuring himself. “I think some are going to drop by the wayside.” m Contact: derek@sevendaysvt.com

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Travel Local Can Vermont save its own tourism industry?

JAMES BUCK

BY KEVIN MC C ALL UM

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Champlain Marina in Colchester

ermont tourism officials would normally pull out all the stops in late May to lure visitors to the Green Mountain State. Ads featuring covered bridges, craft beer and Lake Champlain boating would pop up in the media markets and social media feeds of the 80 million people living within a few hours’ drive. But plans to entice outof-staters this summer have gone out the window. Despite the state’s relative success in containing the spread of the coronavirus and the gradual reopening of the economy, Vermont’s annual influx of summer visitors may be a trickle at best. “In no way, shape or form are we going to be back to normal in a month or two’s time,” said Jeff Lawson, vice president of tourism and marketing for the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce. “The summer is going to be a challenge for everybody across the board.” With the pandemic continuing to afflict neighboring states and Canada, Gov. Phil Scott has not lifted an order requiring visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days. So local tourism organizations are looking closer to home for summer business. “There’s generally agreement that, given everything going on, it seems necessary to point the spotlight in the state, rather than out,” said Nate

Formalarie, spokesperson for the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Agency officials hope Vermonters who have been cooped up for months will be eager to explore their own backyard this summer, with short trips, staycations, and visits to restaurants and bars when conditions allow. For tourist-dependent businesses to weather the pandemic, Vermonters who vacation will have to go local. “What we do feel certain about is that it’s going to be Vermonters who are the first ones coming back,” Formalarie said. Boating is one hard-hit sector because the U.S.-Canadian border remains closed to nonessential travel. Unless those restrictions are relaxed, the annual migration of vacationing Canadians — many on boats they keep at marinas on Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York — will be on pause. “It’s certainly going to put a big damper on boating this summer and tourism in general,” said state Sen. Dick Mazza (D-Grand Isle), who owns a general store on Malletts Bay in Colchester. Mazza estimates that Canadians make up 30 to 40 percent of the summer boating economy in the state. Businesses

SUMMER PREVIEW

TRAVEL LOCAL

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

4/17/20 1:46 PM

news

‘Now There’s Some Life’SUMMER As retailers tentatively reopen, Vermonters shop for sense of normalcy

PREVIEW

B Y C O LI N FL A N D ER S, MARG ARET GRAYSON & SALLY POL L AK

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

JAMES BUCK

any Vermont retail stores opened their doors on Monday for the first time since late March, taking their first real step toward recovery since the pandemic paralyzed the state’s economy two months ago. But while some took advantage of the opportunity, others in Vermont’s retail sector were wary of moving too fast. “We’re all in a really difficult position, where a lot of people in business are probably having to make the decision: Are we going to have to close permanently or open now? And neither choice is good,” Nicole Carey, owner of Birdfolk Collective in Winooski, told Seven Days last week. “I’m too nervous to open Monday. I just want to see how it goes for a little bit longer.” The state has issued detailed guidance aimed at keeping patrons and employees safe. Businesses must limit the number of customers inside to 25 percent of their legal capacity. Employees must wear masks, maintain social distance and complete a safety training. Some businesses have pushed the state to go further, taking issue with Gov. Phil Scott’s resistance toward requiring customers to wear facial coverings inside stores. Scott recently said he might consider the move if he finds that people aren’t following the guidelines, but he continues to advocate for an educationfirst approach. Municipalities, according to the governor, can make stricter rules if they so choose. On Monday, the Burlington City Council did just that, passing an emergency order that requires people to wear masks in shops and public buildings. Retailers have scrambled to meet the state’s guidelines, issued on May 11, the same day that Scott announced they could reopen. With just a week to prepare, many smaller businesses have found it difficult to institute the proper precautions, according to Erin Sigrist, president of the Vermont Retail & Grocers Association. “It takes a lot of planning and effort and manpower to get back to a position that they can open up,” Sigrist said. Retailers that did reopen Monday took a wide range of approaches. Some gave customers unfettered access to the store, asking only that they adhere to social distancing guidelines and consider

the locked doors at ReSOURCE, the used items store. Price was hunting for old vinyl records; Bengaff, just old stuff. The two men — both of whom are in their seventies and wore masks and tattered paperboy hats — had never met. But after agreeing to interviews with Seven Days, they spent more time talking with each other than they did a reporter, covering topics such as politics, music and food. “You can talk to strangers if you go to places like this,” Bengaff said at one point. Indeed, when Seven Days left 15 minutes later, they were still there, chatting away. C.F.

QUIET AS A CHURCH Church Street in Burlington

wearing a mask. Others, such as Garcia’s Tobacco Shop on Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, offered expanded versions of the curbside pickup method that allowed them to remain in business during Scott’s stay-at-home order. “We technically can allow, like, one or two people in if we wanted to,” said Robert Ronci, the store’s manager, as he manned a table outside, where customers could pick up items. “But we’re just taking it slow and being careful.” Seven Days reporters set out to survey several popular shopping destinations, speaking with customers, employees and business owners about the reopening plan. Here’s what we found.

BIG-BOXED IN

Mona Liguori wasn’t having much luck during her return foray into shopping. The two main stores in Williston she wanted to visit — REI and Marshalls — were both closed, meaning the errands interrupted two months ago would have to wait longer. Many other shoppers in Williston had a similar experience. Drivers pulled into parking lots, realized a store was closed and left. Those who needed a little more convincing walked up to read the tiny signs plastered to the windows or simply

TO WALK DOWN CHURCH STREET AND SEE ALL THE STORES CLOSED, IT’S JUST DEPRESSING.

NOW THERE’S SOME LIFE. AL AN F IS H

waved their hand to see if the automatic doors opened. Even some of the stores that were open provided a far different experience. Best Buy customers, for example, had to remain in their cars. Store employees — dressed in bright yellow vests and communicating with each other using radio earpieces, like a tech-focused Secret Service outfit — approached and asked what the customers needed before disappearing back into the big brick building. Several shoppers eventually left before getting their item, seemingly frustrated by the process. Liguori, however, wasn’t too concerned about running into dead ends. The only errand she had to complete was a trip to Walmart to pick up her husband’s favorite ice cream. “It is what it is,” she said, shrugging. Jim Price and Jim Bengaff had a similar reaction when they both arrived at

Alan Fish arrived at Homeport in downtown Burlington on Monday morning intending to buy a new can opener, though he mostly just wanted to see stores open. “To walk down Church Street and see all the stores closed, it’s just depressing,” the 72-year-old Burlington resident said. “Now there’s some life.” Emphasis on some: Many businesses on the Church Street Marketplace remained shuttered. And those that did open hosted a smattering of customers that would have been light even in the dead of winter. But for the few shoppers like Fish who arrived at the pedestrian mall seeking a sense of normalcy, having even a few stores open seemed to do the trick. “Psychologically, we needed an opening,” said David Call, speaking through a makeshift American flag mask as he stood outside Homeport around 10 a.m. “So we can feel like we’re human beings again and not be told [we’re] going to get a virus all the time.” Call’s sister, Rose, walked out carrying a bag of puzzles she’d just bought. “I ran out of things to do during the virus,” Rose said. “You can’t go to the store and buy this. You can’t buy that. You can’t buy anything.” “We’ve been looking forward to having an open store for a long time,” she added. As the Calls left, Homeport owner Mark Bouchette positioned himself near the entrance, where, he said, he will spend much of the next week greeting customers

C.F.

TIMES A-CHANGIN’ IN THE CAPITAL

The church bells chimed at 10 a.m. on Monday in Montpelier, as if signaling that it was time for businesses to reopen. But at State and Main streets, no one was listening. Or perhaps retailers were tuned to some inner voice and not government guidelines — issued the week before from just down the street — that said it’s OK to reopen. At the state capital’s main intersection, a bank was closed, as were a bead store, a crafts store and a pizza place. An

old bakery storefront remained vacant. A couple doors down Main Street, a children’s clothing store was shuttered. The morning bells were soon drowned out by rock and roll playing loudly from the Skinny Pancake. Inside, kitchen manager Chris Morris was preparing for Wednesday, when the crêperie will open for curbside pickup. “I think it’s what’s best for you,” Morris said of the choices made by neighboring businesses. “Ultimately, you got to do what you think is right. I want everybody to feel safe and secure.” Morris said he was hopeful there would be “some semblance of normalcy” this summer. “I like to go to shops and support them,” Morris said. “Just like they support us.” A block or so down State Street, the Book Garden bookshop was open. Owner business later this week. Bear Pond Brad Carey said he was going to “play it has offered online sales throughout the by ear this week” to see if customers are pandemic. excited to shop or “still a little nervous Many downtown shops had signs in to go out in public.” The store has a the window promoting their online and five-person customer limit and asks that curbside business along with optimistic customers wear masks. messages such as “Distance = Hope” and Claire Benedict, co-owner of nearby “Love Lives Here.” Bear Pond Books, said by phone that she Xavier Jimenez, co-owner of Buch was considering opening for in-store Spieler Records on Langdon Street, stepped T:9.625” SALLY POLLAK

and reminding them of social distancing guidelines. Bouchette said he hopes the retail stores can lay the groundwork for other businesses. “It’s not just us,” he said. “We need to do it well so that the restaurants can get open. If we don’t do a good job — if our customers are not behaving, if we’re not able to control our environment — the restaurants aren’t going to get their chance.” “It just has to work,” he added.

Xavier Jimenez of Buch Spieler Records

outside wearing a hoodie and a mask to respond to a reporter’s knock. Buch Spieler is open for subscription service, as well as curbside purchases and local delivery. Founded 48 years ago, Buch Spieler will open on Saturday for one customer at a time, Jimenez said. Each shopper must wear a mask as well as gloves, which the ‘NOW THERE’S SOME LIFE’

» P.21

THANK YOU,

NURSES

T:5.56”

Three small words that speak to our enormous gratitude and the incredible strength that has given Vermont hope in the face of this crisis. For more than a decade, the Center to Champion Nursing in America – an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – has supported nurses everywhere, and we’re not stopping now. Join us in thanking our nurses in Vermont by visiting aarp.org/coronavirus

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

5/19/20 8:12 AM

news buffer between bunks. For these reasons, both Songadeewin and its brother camp, Keewaydin, announced last week that they would be closed this season. “Camp is a communal experience,” Flight said. “If there’s any place besides school that’s not conducive to social distancing … summer camp is that place.” While some camps have canceled or are still grappling with a decision, Davis is going to give it a go: Her weeklong summer programs are the moneymakers that allow her to run her business, Davis Studio, year-round. The space restrictions will cut her typical 700-camper enrollment in half, which will shrink her already-thin margins. If Davis didn’t open, she’d have to close the studio for good. “That’s not an option,” Davis said. The state has acknowledged that both camps and childcare programs will struggle with the new guidelines, so it’s earmarked $6 million to help them purchase cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment. The cash is a worthy investment in programs that many parents depend on, said Ted Brady, Vermont’s deputy commerce secretary. “These people have hard decisions to make when it comes to, ‘Do I go to my job or do I take care of my child?’” said Brady, who helped craft the camp guidelines. Bree LeMay is one parent grateful that she has a choice. A single mom and selfemployed hair stylist in Burlington, LeMay typically sends her 9-year-old son, Niah, to a couple of weeklong camps run by Burlington City Arts or the city recreation department. Niah spends most of his summer at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington, which LeMay said will be “a lifesaver” when she can go back to work. If the club hadn’t opened — and it wasn’t clear it would until late last week — LeMay would have had to drag Niah to the salon every day. “If he was with me all day long, it would be pure torture” for him, LeMay said. Though she’s grateful, LeMay is surprised that camps are open at all during the pandemic. She’s concerned that Vermont will see an uptick in cases and wonders how camps will make social distancing work. “I’m just worried about space and numbers,” LeMay said. “Are they going to train their staff? Are they going to make the classes smaller? How do we slow the spread? It makes me nervous. I think it makes a lot of parents nervous.” Boys & Girls Club executive director Tanya Benosky is working on a plan to operate safely. She hopes to split the campers between two campuses — the club on Oak Street and the nearby Integrated Arts 20

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

COURTNEY LAMDIN

Camp Conundrum « P.14

Teresa Davis

Academy — to encourage physical distancing. She’ll also purchase large quantities of gloves, cleaning products and hand sanitizer. Some activities will be modified or canceled: Kids won’t take field trips, nor will they have the annual kids’ day in the park. The camp’s annual group photo — with all 100 campers squeezed into the frame — won’t happen this year.

IT’S NOT GONNA BE BUSINESS AS NORMAL, BUT I THINK

WE CAN STILL HAVE A GOOD SUMMER. TANYA BE NO S K Y

Enrollment is expected to stay the same if the club can run the two separate sites. “It’s not gonna be business as normal,” Benosky said, “but I think we can still have a good summer.” With detailed state guidelines in place, at least some camp operators are reconsidering their summer plans. The Aloha Foundation, a nonprofit that operates six day and overnight camps on lakes Morey and Fairlee, had announced on April 22 that all camps would be closed for the first time in its 115-year history. There was no way to ensure that 4,000 kids and counselors would be safe — especially when most campers come from out-of-state coronavirus hot spots, according to Patricia Crawford, the foundation’s director of advancement. “We just could not see how camp as we normally thought of it could happen,”

she said, adding: “It’s hard to emphasize the heartbreak that campers and families have.” But last week, with the state rules in hand, Aloha leaders began to consider whether a modified, smaller-scale day camp might be possible. “Camp directors are incredibly creative and flexible, and they’ve got a lot of grit,” Crawford said. “If anyone can pull it off and find a way to make it happen, it’s our camp directors.” Beth Allen, director of the family-run Lotus Lake Camp in Williamstown, is in the same boat. She announced in early May that camp would not open this summer, the first time since her grandparents founded the program in 1952. Now, after reviewing the state guidelines, Allen hopes she can pull together some form of camp, even if it won’t draw 160 kids. She knows it won’t be easy. Lotus Lake campers spend most of their time outside, but the camp’s indoor space is limited. Allen has applied for some state money to purchase extra cleaning supplies, gloves and thermometers, but she doesn’t know when — or whether — the cash will arrive. That makes it difficult to budget, especially when property taxes and insurance bills come due no matter what. Allen says Lotus Lake can weather one bad summer, but she worries about her campers’ well-being in the meantime. “Kids have been home for eight weeks or more at this point and pretty confined to their house,” she said. “It’s just really sad that camps are having to close.” Hinesburg mom Emily Bruce is equally discouraged. She had planned to send her 6-year-old son to now-canceled camps at Audubon Vermont and Shelburne Farms. As a virologist who is researching

COVID-19, Bruce understands why, but it doesn’t make her home life any easier. Bruce goes to work at the University of Vermont every day, while her husband telecommutes and takes care of their kindergartner and 3-year-old twins. He has to stop working to change diapers, feed the kids and help his oldest log in to online Zoom classes. Summer camp was going to give him a break. “Two parents cannot work full time without childcare at exactly the same productivity as they did before,” Bruce said, noting that parents also have to decide whether it’s safe to send their kids to camp. “There’s risks on both sides,” she added. Mason, the Weybridge mother, isn’t inclined to take the risk for her kids this summer. Her husband telecommutes, and she does volunteer work, making the decision easier. The family has adopted the mantra “just because you can doesn’t mean you should” when it comes to leaving home during the pandemic — camp included. “It’ll be really hard for us to justify something that, for our family, is more elective,” Mason said. “It’s hard to argue that camp is essential to our kids, even though we think it’s an important part of their development.” Mason was almost relieved when her daughter’s overnight camp was canceled so that she did not have to make the decision. Even if Mason trusts that camp operators will follow state guidelines, she worries other campers’ families may not take the same precautions she does. “I try to not come off as judgmental, because parents need to make personal decisions based on what’s going on for their families,” she said. “But I sort of feel like if you can opt out of things, you should.” Davis, the art camp director, hopes most parents don’t make that choice, and so far she has reason to be optimistic. A survey she circulated in early May indicated that nearly 85 percent of parents would send their kids to her camps — a more favorable response than she expected. So Davis and her staff got to work at the studio last week, measuring every inch of available space so they can enroll as many kids as possible while still ensuring their safety. Davis thinks she can pull it off, and she’ll update parents on the changes in the next few weeks. Her only hope now is to break even. “I don’t think people understand the logistical miracle that running a camp is in regular times,” she said. “Now, we just have to start completely over.” m Contact: courtney@sevendaysvt.com

‘Now There’s Some Life’ « P.19 store will provide, and will be allowed 30 minutes inside. There will be a 15-minute break between customers, Jimenez said. “There’s so many different hearts and minds coming at you,” Jimenez said of the considerations about reopening. “We’re taking a close monitor of things.” The album covers in the store window spoke volumes, even without a record spinning on the turntable: Prince’s 1999, whose title track is about partying into the apocalypse, and Men at Work’s Business as Usual (though not these days). But no record could speak a greater truth than Bob Dylan’s third album, on display in the window: The Times They Are a-Changin’. MARGARET GRAYSON

S.P.

sundresses, browsed sporting goods and wandered the makeup aisles. Posted signs declared the fitting rooms closed and advised shoppers to stay six feet apart. Todd Cornut, who wore a mask and stood near the door in a shirt that signaled he was Target security, said it was less busy than anticipated. Emma Testone, a preschool teacher who graduated from college a few years ago, had a throw pillow and a blanket tucked into her shopping cart. She said she had just moved into a new apartment in Burlington and was excited to shop for décor. “It feels like I’m doing something I’m not supposed to,” she admitted. She’d been shopping online, including on the Target website, but “it just feels nice to be in the store,” she said. Target in South Burlington

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The main doors to the University Mall in South Burlington remained locked on Monday morning, and inside, the halls were dark. The great retail reopening, it appeared, had skipped this suburban slice of Vermont. A few disappointed customers learned this the hard way when they tugged on the doors. They eventually walked back to their cars parked in the massive, nearly empty lot. Not all hope was lost. At the adjacent Target store, the company’s white bull’seye logo beckoned would-be shoppers. Since the start of the pandemic, the big-box store has been allowed to stay open and sell essential items such as groceries and cleaning supplies. The governor’s latest order allows the store to offer up all of its inventory. Every employee wore a mask, and most customers did, too, encouraged by signs at the front of the store. The messages urged shoppers to stay home if they had any coronavirus symptoms. Staff sanitized baskets and shopping carts. Around 10:30 a.m., a couple dozen customers flipped through racks of

Like Testone, Laurie Marshall and Fran Farina were more in the market for a feeling of normalcy than any particular Target ware. The two women picked out a red dress for Farina, who told a reporter that she’d been saving a lot of money since in-person shopping was prohibited two months ago. She and Marshall don’t normally shop at Target. But Marshalls and T.J.Maxx remained closed, and the two wanted to spend a little time together. They each wore masks — not out of fear for themselves but as a sign of respect for the people and workers around them. Marshall’s sister, Julie Bevins, appeared with two pairs of clearance jeans. She wasn’t sure whether they’d fit and couldn’t try them on. But Marshall knew of a trick. She draped the waistband of the jeans around Bevins’ neck, trying to get them to touch in the back. “Those will fit!” Marshall declared. Bevins didn’t seem fully convinced, but the jeans were only $7. Sold. Farina, though, put the red dress back on the rack. Her retail therapy would have to wait.

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Contact: colin@sevendaysvt.com Untitled-9 1

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

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JAMES BUCK

news

Champlain Marina in Colchester

Travel Local « P.17 such as his that rely on them may hit the doldrums this summer. Nevertheless, local boatyards have been busy since the governor’s recent executive order allowing marinas to reopen May 22. As the weather warms, workers have been racing to get boats out of winter storage and into the water. “Every day I see more and more boats out there,” Mazza said. Peter Farrell, manager of Champlain Marina on Malletts Bay, said his business may take a modest hit if Canadians don’t rent slips or buy food and fuel. But he’s seeing strong interest from local boat owners and their families because they know that, done responsibly, boating can be one of the most socially distant activities around. “That’s the safest and healthiest way to take advantage of the lake this summer,” Farrell said. Meanwhile, state officials are trying to drive home the desirability of in-state vacations. At a press conference on Monday, Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore noted that her family will be heading to Green River Reservoir State Park this year, instead of taking a long road trip like their North Carolina excursion in 2019. 22

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

The state is preparing its 55 parks for summer, but Moore warned visitors to expect fewer services and a different experience. Cabins and picnic tables won’t be available. Groups will be limited to 10, she said, and visitors will be asked to wear masks and practice social distancing.

IT’S GOING TO BE VERMONTERS

WHO ARE THE FIRST ONES COMING BACK. NATE F O R MAL AR IE

Moore nevertheless encouraged people to take part in the Venture Vermont Outdoor Challenge, an annual promotion aimed at getting people to share their experiences at state parks. The commerce agency has already refocused its web-based marketing to promote online sales by Vermont businesses and to advertise virtual events such as farm tours, a beekeeping course and baking lessons from King Arthur Flour in Norwich.

As travel and social-distancing restrictions are lifted, the agency also plans to launch a Restart Vermont campaign to encourage residents to visit parts of their home state they might have overlooked. “Maybe you’ve always wanted to get up to Lake Willoughby, but you’ve never been,” Formalarie said, referring to a scenic glacial lake in the Northeast Kingdom. The agency is seeking a marketing firm to design the campaign, which is expected to cost around $50,000. A recent request for proposals lays out in stark terms the challenge facing the state’s $2.5 billion tourism economy. “With travel restrictions, bans on meetings of any significant size, shelter-inplace orders and mandatory quarantines issued to contain the virus, the industry has been brought to a complete halt,” the request reads. “Nowhere more so than in Vermont, with job layoffs in the thousands, and revenues effectively at zero.” According to the request for proposals, state officials envision a three-stage marketing campaign that focuses first on Vermont residents, then on out-of-state visitors when lodging and other tourism businesses reopen with restrictions, and

finally on longer-term messaging for the “new normal.” Proposals are due May 29, and Formalarie said the agency plans to move quickly. Despite the bleak summer outlook, Lawson thinks Vermont is well positioned to attract visitors again. Millions of people who might not be inclined to get on an airplane can drive to Vermont. As family budgets take a hit, such shorter excursions may replace longer vacations. And Vermont’s rural nature and wide open spaces may be particularly attractive. “The state offers people the chance to get out and do activities that don’t require them to be in close proximity, or even be indoors, for that matter,” Lawson said. If that kind of tourism can make a comeback, Lawson said, the state has a real opportunity to show people spooked by the pandemic the value of a Vermont lifestyle. Some could be lured to the state permanently. “COVID-19 hasn’t just changed the way people think about travel,” he said. “It’s changed the way they think about absolutely everything.” m Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com

Love VPR? So do we! In 2019, Seven Days collaborated with Vermont Public Radio

on “Worse for Care,” a joint investigation into assisted living and residential care homes for elderly Vermonters. Together, VPR and Seven Days obtained 12,000 pages of documents detailing nearly six years of complaints and state inspections. The data revealed troubling patterns of inadequate care that led to dozens of injuries, indignities and at least five deaths. We reported our findings in numerous print and radio stories over four weeks in November and December. To help Vermonters access these public records themselves, Seven Days data editor Andrea Suozzo built the Vermont Eldercare Navigator, a searchable database of the state’s residential care homes and assisted living residences. It includes citations and complaints reported between 2014 and 2019. National Public Radio featured a segment on the series in February. Derek Brouwer’s experience covering these facilities has informed his reporting on COVID-19. Last week we learned that “Worse for Care” received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative journalism from the Radio Television Digital News Association. It was the first time that Seven Days, a newspaper, has been eligible for this broadcast award, and we’re honored to share it with VPR, which also received four additional prizes: for Excellence in Sound, News Documentary, Newscast, and Excellence in Innovation.

CONGRATS, VPR, ON THIS RECOGNITION. WE LOOK FORWARD TO FUTURE COLLABORATIONS.

THE TEAM Seven Days Editors: Matthew Roy, Candace Page Data Editor: Andrea Suozzo Reporter: Derek Brouwer Photographer: James Buck VPR Editor: Mark Davis Reporter: Emily Corwin

FIND THE SERIES, ALONG WITH THE VERMONT ELDERCARE NAVIGATOR, AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ELDERCARE.

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

5/19/20 6:47 PM

READ, POST, SHARE + COMMENT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LIFELINES

lifelines

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

OBITUARIES Dr. Thomas C. Gibson

APRIL 30, 1921-MAY 2, 2020 SHELBURNE, VT. Thomas Chometon Gibson died on Saturday, May 2, at age 99. He was born in Burnley, England, on April 30, 1921, to John and Christiane Gibson; he was the outcome of a Franco-Scottish alliance. His father met his mother in France when he was serving as a medical officer during the first World War. Tom was educated at Repton School, Clare College, Cambridge and London Hospital. He obtained a BA and MA and, in 1946, the

medical degree of MBCHB. Whilst he was a medical student, he survived multiple air raids, served in the home guard and had the unforgettable experience of participating in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. This led to a profound effect on his attitude to the human state. After internships at the

William Marquess 1954-2020 BURLINGTON, VT.

Will Marquess, longtime teacher at Saint Michael’s College, died peacefully on Monday, May 11, 2020. He was a devoted friend, beloved teacher and colleague, and loving brother and son. He tended all of his relationships with care and generosity, and brought thoughtful attention to his interactions in and outside the classroom. His friends, students and colleagues became like family to him. His wit and whimsy delighted us. He leaves no progeny but

a line of students who, he hopes, will love language as he ever did. He is survived by his mother, Jane Newton Marquess; his sister, Anne Marquess Camp, and her family; his brother Jack

London Hospital, he was drafted into the Royal Air Force, serving in the UK and Singapore as a medical specialist. Returning to the London Hospital, he did residencies in internal medicine and cardiology, later going into private practice in London. In 1957, he was offered a fellowship in cardiology at the North Carolina Memorial Hospital. He had always felt drawn to the specialty, attributing this to his birth in the house of Sir James Mackenzie, the doyen of British cardiology. Here he met his future wife, Barbara Wilmer, who was a pediatric resident at the hospital. In 1962, he moved to the University of Vermont, initially in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine and later in the Department of Medicine. Here he exemplified the role

Marquess and his family; the family of his late brother, David Reese Marquess; and his dearest friends Joel Dando and Emily Skoler. He adored them all. He expressed deep gratitude for the care he received from Dr. Caroline Slimovitch, the staff at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and the UVM Home Health Care organization. Special thanks to Dr. Farrah Khan and nurse practitioner Janet Ely, who offered him extraordinary human and medical care for 10 years. We hope it will be possible to hold a memorial this fall. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the general fund of Saint Michael’s College.

of an academic cardiologist, known for his teaching ability, patient care and research, and publishing many papers. He was notably interested in the prevention of coronary artery disease and lectured extensively in the Vermont community and elsewhere on the risk factors associated with the disorder. He was also attracted to and developed a cardiac non-invasive laboratory and spent sabbatical years at the echocardiographic laboratories of the North Carolina Memorial Hospital and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He was a past president of the Vermont Heart Association and served on numerous committees both regionally and nationally, including the editorial board of several cardiology journals. He was a fellow

of the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology and the Royal College of Physicians, the latter an honour rarely given to expatriates. Retiring in 1986, he was awarded the title of emeritus professor by the University of Vermont. Professor Gibson was, above all, a man of principle, a caring physician, and a good friend and trusted adviser to many. His interests were eclectic, including travel, reading, art, music, cryptic crosswords, sailing, golf and the correct use of the English language, the latter a rather futile pursuit. He was predeceased by his wife, Barbara, who was his dearly beloved partner in life for 51 years and the mother of his five children: Andrew and wife Sarah, Paul and wife Allison, Clare and husband Bradley, and twin daughters

Caroline and Penelope. His only sister, Anna, is deceased. Relatives survive in Canada, France and the United Kingdom. Last but not least, he and his wife had six grandchildren, who were an important part of their later life. His interment will take place in Shelburne at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are in the care of Stephen C. Gregory and Son of Shelburne. In conclusion, Tom would like to thank those people both medical and nonmedical who helped him to survive the vicissitudes of old age. Like his wife, he was concerned for those who had difficulty in affording health care and would appreciate contributions in his name to the Community Health Center at 617 Riverside Ave., Burlington, VT 05401.

IN MEMORIAM Marian Santos APRIL 11, 1945DECEMBER 10, 2019

The Celebration of Life for Marian Santos originally scheduled for Saturday, May 30, 2020, at the University of Vermont Alumni House in Burlington has been postponed until further notice. This celebration will be rescheduled once it is safe to gather together, and an announcement will be made at that time. Her family looks forward to being able to celebrate her life with all those who knew and loved her.

Mark your family’s milestones in lifelines. sevendaysvt.com/lifelines 24

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

Burlington Resource and Recovery Center (RRC) 802.755.7239 If you’re a Veteran and you need help accessing your VA services, reach out to the RRC. Mental Health, Substance Use, and the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs A VIRTUAL TOWN HALL MEETING

Thursday, May 21, 12-1 pm burlingtonvt.gov/resources

Am I eligible for VA services? How do I access VA services? What VA services are available at the Burlington Lakeside Clinic?

WELCOME

Mayor Miro Weinberger MODERATOR

Anthony Jackson-Miller Mental Health Resource Lead, RRC

PANELISTS

Joshua Gerasimof, MA

Certified Veteran Peer Support Specialist, White River Junction VA Medical Center

Laura Gibson, PhD

Associate Chief of Mental Health, White River Junction VA Medical Center Director of Mental Health Services, Burlington Lakeside VA Clinic

Jonathan Schwartz, MD

Staff Psychiatrist, White River Junction VA Medical Center

Meghan Snitkin, LICSW

Homeless Program Coordinator and Former Suicide Prevention Coordinator White River Junction VA Medical Center

The RRC is here to help in response to COVID-19 Volunteer services

Unemployment, small business, food, housing, childcare, and property tax information

recovery@burlingtonvt.gov Untitled-33 1

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arts news ARTS

COURTESY OF ERIN ALEXIS RANDOLPH

On the Edge Vermont arts organizations face economic fallout B Y MA R GA R ET GRAYSON

or months it’s been apparent that the pandemic will have a huge financial impact on Vermont’s arts and culture landscape; most organizations have shut their doors and canceled in-person events and exhibitions for the foreseeable future. But the scale of that devastation has been difficult to estimate — until May 7, when the VERMONT ARTS COUNCIL and VERMONT HUMANITIES reported on the 130-plus museums, performing arts venues, libraries and other cultural centers that have applied for support from the state’s COVID-19 Cultural Relief Grant Program. In their applications, those organizations are projecting at least $26.7 million in losses through the end of the year. The VAC and Vermont Humanities are jointly tasked with administering funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts allocated through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Vermont’s portion of that money is 26

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

about $700,000 — about 3 percent of what will likely be lost. While all grantees said they were grateful for the help and the speed with which the grants were distributed, the money — between $5,000 and $10,000 per organization — likely won’t go far. “I can say with confidence, as the chair of the VERMONT CREATIVE NETWORK, unless there’s a significant step up from philanthropy and the creative sector, that you’re going to see lots of your community arts organizations struggle to get through this,” said JODY FRIED, executive director of CATAMOUNT ARTS in St. Johnsbury. Catamount Arts doesn’t have an endowment or a large cash reserve, Fried said. In fact, the organization is carrying a mortgage from the renovation of the historic building it occupies. When Catamount Arts closed its doors in March, it laid off 12 of its 18 employees. Fried said he’s applied for 13 grants so far on behalf of the organization and received two, including money from the Cultural Relief program.

“It’s important, and I’m thankful that we received it, but we have a long way to go,” he said. “There are very few options to deal with the financial reality.” Of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed by Congress in late March, $150 million was allotted to the arts and humanities. The NEH reports that, nationwide, the creative sector generates $878 billion annually. In Vermont, that sector accounts for 9 percent of all jobs, according to the arts council. The Cultural Relief grants are unrestricted general operating grants available to nonprofits based on their size. The application will remain open until May 31. The program doesn’t help for-profit businesses, including many galleries and venues such as VERMONT COMEDY CLUB in Burlington. “It’s hard. Not going to lie about that,” said NATALIE MILLER, who co-owns VCC with her husband, NATHAN HARTSWICK. Miller has found that many grant programs, not just

the Cultural Relief grants, support only nonprofits. “We are an art-focused business,” she said. “It would be one thing if we were profiting a million dollars a year. But we’re struggling, because we don’t have the reserve of a Live Nation or one of those giant [events companies]. It’s frustrating, though I understand why those parameters were set up.” VCC received a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the Small Business Association, though Miller said she isn’t sure the venue will meet the requirements to have the entire loan forgiven. She and Hartswick are also applying for a loan through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. “We opened less than five years ago, and we renovated an entire space, so we still have plenty of debt associated with that,” Miller said. “I don’t love the idea of taking on more debt. But this is our livelihood, and we really feel like we’re important to the community.”

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She and Hartswick have received indi- who work in the performing arts and the vidual artist grants because, in normal dramatic arts going to need in the next times, their entire income derives from year or so?” the club. Along with many of their usual A Cultural Relief grant has bought the performers, they’ve been offering live Off Center a few months, but decisions comedy shows four days a week online about the future will have to be made and are working to find ways to monetize when that money runs out. their virtual offerings. In Woodstock, executive director The comedians are unfazed by not ALITA WILSON has laid out three potential having a physical space, however; they budget scenarios for PENTANGLE ARTS, the presented comedy shows for years in town’s largest public space, housing venues around Burlington before settling a movie theater and community arts into their permanent home on Main center. One scenario involves laying Street. But the overhead costs on that off herself, Pentangle’s only full-time building are significant, and Hartswick employee. said they’re in talks with their landlord, About a quarter of the center’s budget Redstone, “to figure out if there’s a way comes from the town, and Wilson will we can move forward together.” be able to access that money in July. But “As improvisers, we’re trying to see she’s a little worried about the future of an opportunity in this,” Miller said. “We those funds. didn’t have a home before. We feel really “That money, if we were to go confident that Vermont Comedy Club completely dark, would help us get will return, in one form or another.” through,” she said. “My fear, with the For some performing arts groups, the town being completely strapped, is what decision to hold on to a physical space happens next year, next town meeting?” will need to be made soon. LAURA ROALD, Wilson isn’t currently fundraising the volunteer board president of OFF for private donations. She doesn’t feel CENTER FOR THE DRAMATIC ARTS in Burlington, like it’s the right time, as many potential posted a survey on the nonprofit’s website donors are focused on immediate relief asking performers whether they’d be for people who are suffering. interested in using Off Center’s black-box The money for philanthropy isn’t necessarily there theater (which occupies a rented space in anyway. Fried, at CataBurlington) in coming mount Arts, spends a months and would be lot of time talking to able to pay for it. The donors; due to the other option, she said, stock market and busiwould be to “mothball” nesses changing their the organization’s operations, he said, equipment, wait out people generally have the pandemic and less to give right now. return in a new space Fried spoke to the when gatherings are importance of small permitted again. arts organizations “The real problem to Vermont’s rural ALITA WILSON is the uncertainty,” economy. Vermonters Roald said. “We just who attend a show in a don’t know what’s coming. The things we small town typically spend an additional don’t know are what are terrifying and $25, on average, at local businesses, frustrating.” he said. For out-of-state visitors, that With no paid staff, Off Center has number doubles. always been in “survival mode,” Roald “This is the long-term vitality of our said — but that allows some flexibility. rural communities, and very much at the Even if the group needs to temporarily heart of that are your local arts organipack up its belongings, such as lighting zations and cultural institutions,” Fried equipment and seating, no one will lose said. “If there’s an existential threat to a job. And if it can manage to stay open, this sector, the ripple effects of that, Off Center can run efficiently on about economically, are huge.” m $1,600 a month, Roald said, adding that rent relief from the building’s landlord Contact: margaret@sevendaysvt.com would help significantly. “This [space] is the resource that we INFO have struggled to put together, and we Learn more at vermontartscouncil.org, have worked very hard to put together. vermonthumanities.org, catamountarts.org, And it’s not nothing,” Roald said. “But vermontcomedyclub.com, offcentervt.com how is it useful? What are the artists and pentanglearts.org.

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arts news

REVIEW

“Before We Put Our Hearts Away”

Springing Eternal

despite the depressed color valuations of the online platform. Garcia does not tie herself to botanical specificity. These are simply voluptuous blossoms that fill the entire canvas (it’s easy to imagine them quite large). Their rigor lies in the artist’s fierce yet meditative attentiveness to the act of painting. Garcia has a background in fabric art; locals may remember her extraordinary yearlong “The Dress That Makes the Woman” project in 2010 and 2011. That led organically to the large-scale paintings she’s been working on since she received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant in 2019. Those works explore layer on layer of patterns, translating the vocabulary of textiles to paint, and manifest increasingly sophisticated brushwork. Garcia began experimenting with the smaller floral works in December and started pursuing them in earnest after she moved from her larger (but colder) studio in Burlington’s South End to tighter quarters at home. When the pandemic arrived, during the long transition from winter to spring, the artist was “thinking about the feeling of looking at flowers,” she said. Pre-pandemic, Garcia noted, she had felt overwhelmed by environmental and social justice issues. So it was good to “focus on something warm and comforting, something we can all embrace. “The flowers kind of saved me,” she continued. “They went from being fun to being kind of a safe space.” She thinks of them as an “active resistance” to the pandemic. The titles of artworks are often inconsequential to understanding the content. Here, though, Garcia’s inventiveness with words is evocative and obliquely sassy: “When We Come Together We Will Fit Like Matched Wallpaper and It Will Feel Like Old Times”; “Streamers for Your Birthday Which Is Going to Be Everyday From Here on Out”; “Floating in a Sea of Green Spinning Slowly in a Universe of Stardust.” Other works have more succinct names, such as “Sunset Apocalypse.” IMAGES COURTESY OF SOAPBOX ARTS

“Things Feel So Different Now” by Wylie Garcia, Soapbox Arts B Y PAMEL A PO LSTO N

t goes without saying that viewing art online is not like seeing it in person. On a screen, the art appears flat, the color is almost certainly not true, and detail and depth can be suppressed. Without being told, we have no sense of the scale of the artworks. The virtual experience cannot evoke the visceral reactions elicited by looking at art in a gallery or, for that matter, in our own home. These drawbacks compromise viewing and decidedly

“Pajama Corsage”

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

challenge the task of critiquing. Yet the availability of artwork online — which thousands of museums and galleries around the world have facilitated — also democratizes the opportunity, and that’s a good thing. We need only to be directed where to look. Locally, I would recommend the website of Burlington’s SOAPBOX ARTS, where new floral paintings by Charlotte artist WYLIE GARCIA are on view. Soapbox’s proprietor, PATRICIA TRAFTON, has chosen to release the paintings in one smallish batch at a time over the indeterminate length of the exhibition. As Vermont slowly emerges from pandemic restrictions, and galleries are allowed to open, we may soon be able to see all of Garcia’s paintings at once. Meantime, a selection of very small works, most four by six inches, is on view, and for sale at the affordable-formany price of $200. “We’re doing all we can to encourage continued art collecting while folks’ financial situations may be less than ideal,” Trafton writes in an email. And, yes, the gallery does curbside pickup and shipping. “Things Feel So Different Now” is the timely title of Garcia’s show. It’s an understatement to say the pieces are just what a quarantined person needs to look at. Though small, they are mighty — wild and vibrant and assertive,

“When We Come Together We Will Fit Like Matched Wallpaper and It Will Feel Like Old Times”

“A lot of titles for this show came out of immediate need,” Garcia said. Example: “Pajama Corsage.” “Some get a little more emotional, [reflecting] the ups and downs in life.” As we remain suspended in the uncertainty of a pandemic, Garcia’s paintings feel as right as spring itself. Contact: pamela@sevendaysvt.com

INFO “Things Feel So Different Now,” paintings by Wylie Garcia, through June 27 or later at Soapbox Arts in Burlington. soapboxarts.com

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Love Will Tear Them Apart Streaming video review: “Normal People” B Y M AR GO T HA R R I SON

here do we find entertainment these days? On our laptops and in our living rooms. The streaming options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. So, in this weekly feature, I review a movie or series that might otherwise be easy to overlook.

THE SERIES: “Normal People” (Season 1, 12 episodes, 2020) WHERE TO SEE IT: Hulu THE DEAL: Based on the best-selling 2018 novel by Sally Rooney, “Normal People” follows the evolving relationship between Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal), who grew up in the same town in Ireland’s County Sligo. We meet them as high schoolers: Both are intellectual achievers, but Connell is a beloved athlete and Marianne a pariah. Social class separates them, too: Connell’s mom (Sarah Greene) cleans the mansion where Marianne’s mom (Aislín McGuckin) presides. For all their differences — and frequent misunderstandings and breakups — the two are drawn inexorably

together. As in the novel, the series follows them to Trinity College Dublin, where their positions initially flip. The sophisticated Marianne fits in easily with her moneyed fellow students, while Connell feels like a shy, bumbling hick. As their university years pass, and the two pair up with other people and experiment, they just can’t seem to leave each other alone for long. WILL YOU LIKE IT? Six hours of TV dedicated to two mercurial young people’s on-again-offagain romance? If you’ve read Rooney’s book, you already know whether this is for you. Directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Room) and Hettie Macdonald, “Normal People” has the same strengths and weaknesses as its source. It’s painfully true to life, it’s moving, and it gives microscopic attention to emotional shifts that not everyone will find worthy of such scrutiny. If you do, though, the rawness of the feelings expressed by the two talented lead actors could sometimes take your breath away. So could Rooney’s insights

into the ways people hurt each other — and themselves — without meaning to. The series features unusually explicit sex scenes, but they don’t feel exploitative. More honest than swoony, they’re another way to explore the characters’ interior landscapes. While “Normal People” is no Nicholas Sparks flick, it does have a stylistic romanticism the book lacks. Working with minimal plot elements, the filmmakers fill in the cracks with atmospheric visuals and a lushly wistful soundtrack featuring Imogen Heap, Elliott Smith, Nerina Pallot’s cover of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and many more. If it’s possible to create gritty realism in the style of a blissed-out music video, this is it.

THE STORY’S INTIMACY AND TRUTH

ARE HARD TO SHAKE.

Much like the novel, the series pulled me in from the first scene, only to leave me a little exhausted and inattentive by the end. But the story’s intimacy and truth are hard to shake. For all their intellectual pretensions, Marianne and Connell really are “normal people,” having experiences that countless awkward, sensitive young people have had before them. Their very ordinariness gives their story its wrenching poignancy.

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• The Souvenir (free with Amazon Prime Video, rentable elsewhere): Joanna Hogg’s elliptical 2019 drama about a film student’s ill-fated romance is set in the 1980s but resembles “Normal People” in capturing the tremulous, volatile quality of young people’s emotions and the loneliness of living away from home for the first time. • Me Without You (free on Kanopy, rentable elsewhere): If “Normal People” gives romance the emo-music-video treatment, this 2001 British film does the same for a friendship, following two women (Michelle Williams and Anna Friel) from their tween years into adulthood. I defy anyone who grew up in the 1970s or ’80s not to get a little misty over this one. • “Dublin Murders” (on Starz): Want more of those misty Irish greens and grays and simmering class tensions? Perhaps with a main course of murder? Element Pictures, which produced “Normal People,” also made this 2019 adaptation of Tana French’s mystery novels In the Woods and The Likeness. While condensing the two books’ finely woven plots into one sort-of plot was not a good idea (to put it mildly), the show has many pleasures. Chief among them is star Sarah Greene, who’s just as likable as hardnosed detective Cassie Maddox as she is as Connell’s scrappy single mom. Contact: margot@sevendaysvt.com SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

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HACKIE

A VERMONT CABBIE’S REAR VIEW BY JERNIGAN PONTIAC

The Kindness of Strangers

y mission was simple and straightforward: Move Sonata Gustafson from her temporary home at a Shelburne Road motel to her new temporary quarters — a trailer located at the North Beach Campground. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right? When I pulled up to the motel for the pickup, I saw that it might be anything but. The ground-level door to Sonata’s room was open, and I could see two people, a woman and a man, moving around the space. They appeared to be methodically stuffing Sonata’s, well, stuff into clear plastic laundry bags. Parked nearby was a Shelburne Police cruiser. No lights were flashing; the vehicle was just sitting there. Deducing that this was going to take a while, I cut the engine. A police officer ambled up to my open window. “How’s it going?” he asked. He seemed friendly and relaxed to a degree that was slightly disconcerting. “Oh, things are good, all considered,” I replied. “I’m scheduled to pick up Sonata Gustafson. Is there a problem?” “No, you’re fine. I’m just here as a precautionary measure, you could say. Hey, how’s the taxi business these days?” “As lousy as you could imagine. No restaurants, no bars, barely any airport runs — that doesn’t leave much. I’m lucky to be getting some calls like this from the social service agencies.” I could tell the officer wanted to keep this chat going, but just then, the woman emerged from the room carting a loaded bag. “Hi, I’m Michelle,” she introduced herself. “I’m helping out Sonata’s caseworker with this. Sorry for the delay, but you know how it goes.”

“No problem, Michelle. Where is Sonata?” “Oh, she’s still in the room, lying on the bed. She twisted her ankle, so she can’t participate much with the packing. The guy in there is Evan, her friend. Can you take him with her over to the campground? He’s been helping her out.” “Sure, that will be fine,” I replied. “Let me open the back so we can load in her belongings.” I left it to Evan and Michelle, two thirtyish-year-olds, to carry the bags. Though I still can hoist some cargo when necessary,

The whole nine yards, I thought as I took in the story. In my experience, some severely traumatized people can grow catatonic. Others, like Sonata, fall at the opposite end of the spectrum: They feel the need to share the painful details of their lives with anyone willing to listen. I was willing to listen; it was the least I could do. While she spoke, Evan kept his arm around her in a comforting gesture of support. He was a scruffy but good-looking man with sandy-brown hair, a lanky frame and an easygoing demeanor.

I WAS WILLING TO LISTEN; IT WAS THE LEAST I COULD DO.

I’ve reached the ripe old age when I’m happy to defer to younger and stronger stevedores when they’re up for the task. Eventually, Sonata appeared at the door to her room — a tall and visibly beleaguered young woman. From her brave and trembling smile, I intuited that this person’s tribulations long preceded the onset of the pandemic. Evan helped her hobble to the taxi, and the two of them settled into the back seats. Michelle appeared at the open sliding door, and the two women exchanged a few words. She then thanked me again for my patience, and I closed the door behind her via the dashboard control. Firing up the engine, I announced, “We’re outta here.” As we pulled out, Sonata immediately, with no prompting, began to download her life story. It began with her single mom in Rome, N.Y., and spun downhill from there: unwanted teenage pregnancies, drug abuse and a series of abusive boyfriends.

After Sonata had her say, Evan asked, “Hey, do you know if they’ll let me stay over with Sonata at the campground?” “Jeez, I really don’t know,” I replied. “My guess would be no, but we can find out when we get there. So, what brings you to Burlington, Evan? Or are you a local?” “No, I’m just passing through. For years, I’ve been following the Dead legacy bands on tour, but that’s all ground to a stop with this friggin’ virus.” “Do you ever work, like, a conventional job when you’re not touring?” “Oh, yeah,” he replied. “I make stone walls. I learned this back when I was living in Boulder — you know, Colorado. Rich folks there pay big bucks for a stone fence when you know how to do it right. And this guy I learned from, he was, like, a master craftsman.” In the rearview mirror, I could see Sonata nuzzling Evan’s shoulder. “You got

to stay with me, baby,” she said. “You know I need your help.” It scared me just how alone and vulnerable Sonata was in this world. I got the sense that, like Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire, she had always depended on the kindness of strangers. She will be safe with Evan was the thought that popped into my head. Despite her history of abuse at the hands of men, I had the distinct feeling that he was a genuinely caring person and not scheming to use and abuse her. Plus, Michelle had sort of vouched for him, and that carried some weight. I then had this thought: What, if anything, would I have done if I felt otherwise about Evan’s intentions? That remains an interesting hypothetical question. When we arrived at the campground, the gate was locked. Michelle had given me a number to call should this exigency arise, and I got through to the contact person. He told me they were just finishing up a staff meeting and I could unload Sonata’s bags by the gate. Pivoting to face the back seat, I relayed the news. “So, the guy told me we can unload your belongings right here, and they’ll be out shortly to take you to your trailer. Then you can ask about Evan.” Sonata’s distress was palpable. “What if they don’t let you stay with me?” she said to Evan. “Don’t you worry,” he replied, giving her a gentle squeeze. “We’ll figure something out.” m All these stories are true, though names and locations may be altered to protect privacy.

INFO Hackie is a twice-monthly column. To reach Jernigan, email hackie@sevendaysvt.com.

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Hot Stuff

Seven items for spending summer days outdoors, and where to buy them locally

he coronavirus pandemic has produced plenty of uncertainty, but one thing is for sure: Summer is coming. Though the season this year will look a little different, the sunshine, warmth and relaxed restrictions may offer some relief to those who’ve been feeling cooped up. As Vermonters get ready to spend the green season in the great outdoors, they can look to local retailers to meet their summertime needs. Local business owners are eager to help — and grateful for the ongoing community support. “I continue to be amazed [by] how big of fans our customers have been and continue to be,” wrote Andy Kingston, owner of the Alpine Shop in South Burlington, in an email to Seven Days on May 13. “Unfortunately, huge expenses like our monthly rent, loan and vendor payments do not just go away, so we are anxious to get the store reopened next week.” Gov. Phil Scott allowed nonessential businesses to reopen starting May 18, so in many cases, customers again may browse in person. Individual businesses are taking cautionary measures, such as asking customers to wear masks, rearranging displays to accommodate social distancing and offering shopping by appointment. The Alpine Shop, for example, has added hand-sanitizing stations and removed many of the racks that display its clothing and outdoor equipment to make more room for browsing. Bob Shannon, owner of the Fly Rod Shop in Stowe, says his store is also equipped with sanitizing stations, and he even bought 8,000 disposable gloves for customer use. Shoppers in both stores are encouraged to wear masks. When gathering your gear for picnicking, fishing, birding or simply taking in the rays, do check in with individual stores before heading over, since their plans — like virtually everything else in the coronavirus era — are subject to change. If you don’t see your favorite retailers here, seek them out. This list is by no means comprehensive. To check the status of many Burlington-area sellers, visit shoptheregister.com to browse the Register, Seven Days’ new digital guide to shopping locally online. 32

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

SUMMER PREVIEW

PATAGONIA ULTRALIGHT BIRDS OF THE NORTHEAST BLACK HOLE MINI HIP PACK BY STAN TEKIELA

VINTAGE CAT EYE SUNGLASSES

HOW TO BUY: Order from alpineshopvt.com for curbside pickup, or shop in person. Contact the shop for hours and guidelines.

style, whether you’re at the beach, chilling in your backyard or posing for a selfie. Choose from black, white or tortoise frames. Constantly losing your shades? Snag one of the shop’s old-school sunglasses chains.

When all you need for an outing are your keys, wallet and phone, why bother with a large backpack or tote? The Patagonia Hip Pack is just the right size for bringing only the essentials. Made to be worn around the hips or diagonally across the body, the lightweight pack provides a hands-free way to bring your things wherever you go. It’s available in the eye-catching color combo pictured here called Patchwork Red, or in the more muted Smolder Blue. Find it at South Burlington outdoor gear and clothing store the Alpine Shop.

ALSO TRY: Crossbody Dakine Jive Handbag

from Skirack in Burlington (skirack.com).

The sights and sounds of birds can spice up any season. Sold by Hardwick’s Galaxy Bookshop and other Green Mountain State booksellers, Birds of the Northeast will get you up to speed on the region’s winged wonders. This pocket-size spiralbound booklet serves as a quick reference for identifying the av i a n s p e c i e s you’ll find flitting around your yard, campground or hiking trail this summer. Field guide author Stan Tekiela’s 22-page publication is divided into sections by color, so you can easily find the feathered friend you seek. Order from galaxybookshop. com or call 472-5533 for shipping, curbside pickup or to schedule an in-person shopping appointment. HOW TO BUY:

Bird-watching binoculars from REI in Williston (rei.com). ALSO TRY:

GREEN MOUNTAIN TICK REPELLENT

According to the Vermont Department of Health, 14 different tick species have been identified in the state, and five of them are known to bite humans and transmit disease. For a natural defense against these pesky and potentially dangerous insects, outdoor adventurers can spray on some Green Mountain Tick Repellent. Produced in Dorset as an alternative to chemical-based products, Green Mountain Tick Repellent’s main active ingredients are all-natural rose geranium, lemongrass and cedarwood essential oils. Does it work? “Ten days into the spray and I’m tick-free,” noted one happy customer online. HOW TO BUY: Visit gmtick.com for shipping

and a list of retailers throughout the state. Kiss My Face Organics Mineral Face & Body Sunscreen from Splash Naturals in Montpelier (splashnaturals.com). ALSO TRY:

Stand out while protecting your peepers from those UV rays with Vintage Cat Eye Sunglasses from Stella Mae, a clothing, footwear and accessories boutique in Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace. The retro-inspired shape equals instant

Order at stella-mae.com for shipping, curbside pickup or free Burlington-area delivery. In-person shopping is available during limited hours and private events. Contact the shop for details. HOW TO BUY:

Felted Eyeglass Sleeve from SLATE in Burlington (slatehome.co). ALSO TRY:

REDINGTON CLASSIC TROUT FLY ROD

“The wait is finally over!” reads a recent update on the Fly Rod Shop’s website announcing the start of trout season. For Vermonters hooked on fly-fishing, this Stowe retailer is a hot spot for stocking up on gear — from rods and reels to boots and bags — and for booking guided trips and tours. Anglers seeking a dynamic rod might look to the Redington Classic Trout fly rod, designed to perform in diverse settings, including spring creeks and big rivers. Visit flyrodshop.com for curbside pickup and free shipping on orders more than $50, or shop in person. HOW TO BUY:

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SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

5/4/20 7:53 AM

From Little League to the Lake Monsters, Vermont baseball faces an uncertain season

SUMMER

B Y D A N BOL L ES

PREVIEW

Baseball field at Calahan Park in Burlington

n his 1982 novel Shoeless Joe, W.P. Kinsella wrote, “America has been erased like a blackboard, only to be rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked time while America has rolled by like a procession of steamrollers.” A version of that line, resonantly delivered by James Earl Jones, is one of the more moving moments in Field of Dreams, the 1989 movie based on Kinsella’s book. As those metaphorical steamrollers have ground to a halt in the face of the pandemic, America is again experiencing one of Kinsella’s erasures — to be followed, with any luck, by a rebuilding. But it’s anyone’s guess whether baseball will once again mark time, as it has through American triumphs and tragedies for 150 years. A proposal to begin an 82-game Major League Baseball season in July has been gaining momentum, which is giving some fans hope that America’s pastime might resume in some form this summer on the national level. Less clear is how the game might fare locally. High school and college baseball and softball seasons were wiped out in March. In April, the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League canceled its 2020 season. Also 34

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

in April, the American Legion Department of Vermont called off its season for just the fourth year in nearly a century. The last year American Legion teams didn’t play in the Green Mountains was 1945, the end of a three-year hiatus during World War II. While there are about 2 billion reasons why the Major League will push hard to play this summer, significant financial incentives for baseball in Vermont are all but nonexistent. Local teams attempting to play will do so — pardon the high cheese — solely for the love of the game. The lone exception is the Vermont Lake Monsters. The Class-A short-season Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Major Leagues’ Oakland A’s, the Lake Monsters are the only professional baseball team in Vermont. The team’s prospects for a 2020 season are even less certain than those of its parent club in California, in part because Minor League teams get their players from their Major League affiliates. So until the Major League decides what to do, the entire Minor League — some 162 teams — is in a holding pattern. “It’s not a decision that we can make on our own, nor can we make it as a league,” said Lake Monsters vice president Kyle Bostwick. He maintained that

the organization will be ready for play by the usual start of its season in mid-June, should its league, the New York-Penn League, be allowed to proceed on schedule. But he added, “It’s a decision that has to be driven by Major League Baseball, so we are in a full-on waiting game.”

YOU CAN’T CALL SOMEONE

OUT FROM SIX FEET. J UL E S F IS H E L MA N

But another dark cloud is threatening rain on Centennial Field. In October, a proposal surfaced regarding a restructuring of the Minor League system that would eliminate 42 teams. Early reports included the Lake Monsters among those franchises. That proposal, which drew the ire of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other legislators, was tabled over the winter. But recently, the Major and Minor leagues have resumed negotiations over contraction as both scramble to address the pandemic’s severe financial fallout. “We have been told that there is not a confirmed list,” Bostwick said of whether the Lake Monsters might be eliminated.

“So we can’t say that we’re on it, nor can we say that we’re not on it. Nor do we know what that means.” He added, “There’s a lot of uncertainty between 2020 and 2021 and, unfortunately, we don’t know the answers to any of it.” Bostwick and the Lake Monsters aren’t the only ones searching for answers. Local players, coaches and administrators at every level of the game, from tee ball to senior leagues, are awaiting word from the state about whether they can get back on the field. If and when they do, it’s not certain what the games will look like or what safety precautions will be in place. “We’re all handling the same ball,” said lawyer and local baseball historian Tom Simon. “It’s not like anyone is wiping it down.” Simon is a member of the Burlington Cardinals of the Vermont Senior Baseball League, a statewide men’s league for players age 35 and up. Last week, a handful of Cardinals, including former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee, 73, held an informal, socially distanced batting practice. (The Cardinals’ catcher, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, was not in attendance.) “I suppose there’s some level of risk in that,” Simon admitted of practicing. “But

PHOTOS : LUKE AWTRY

Flatten the Curveball

VERMONT is that any different than going to Price Chopper?” In some ways, baseball is the rare team sport uniquely suited to the age of social distancing. Outfielders patrol wide expanses of grass. Ninety-foot basepaths allow for infielders to coexist peacefully. Ten people could maintain proper distance in the 60 feet, six inches between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. The dimensions are smaller for adult softball and for Little League Baseball and Softball, but the gist is the same. “We’ve got plenty of space out there,” Dan French said.

“The nature of an out is making contact on a tag,” agreed fellow Center City board member and coach Cayenne MacHarg. Center City, like other area Little Leagues, has been receiving guidance from its district administrator, Chris Brosseau. He oversees District 1, which includes 13 leagues from Colchester to Mount Abraham. Among the new regulations is the requirement that only two players be allowed in the dugout at one time. Remaining players are required to stay six feet apart from each other outside the dugout. “And no high fives,” Brosseau said.

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Untitled-38 1

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

5/19/20 12:30 PM

“I like hearing footsteps in the house and having the outside light on when I come home.”

GOOD CITIZEN CORONAVIRUS

Challenge! Looking for something educational — and fun — to do with your kids at home? This new Challenge, open to all K-12 students, will focus on timely topics that will help us all get through the next few months:

History

How people got through difficulties in the past

News Literacy

How to tell good info from bad, especially online

Community

Helping others get through the pandemic

HOME SHARE Bringing Vermonters together to share homes

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The winner will receive a $25 gift card to Phoenix Books!

VIEW ACTIVITIES AT

GOODCITIZENVT.COM With support from:

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

2V-GoodCitizen042920.indd 1

PRESENTS...

STUDENT SENIOR

SPOTLIGHT Want to give your senior student a special shout out? Share your message with us and we’ll mention them live on the radio.

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS: Visit one of the Facebook pages for these stations

• Record your message and upload the video to our page.

Evslin Family Foundation

5/16/20 10:10 AM

HONOR YOUR SENIOR ON-AIR!

HOW IT WORKS

• We’ll be posting a few new activities each week at goodcitizenvt.com. All of them can be completed at home! We’ll choose a variety of different types of tasks each week; there will be something for everyone, regardless of age. • Do one activity or do them all! Everyone age 18 or under who submits an activity will be entered to win a weekly prize. We’ll raffle it off — and share the best work we receive — during a weekly video broadcast/virtual meeting. • The prize drawings take place on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Watch the Facebook Live broadcast via the Kids VT Facebook page.

863-5625 HomeShareVermont.org

4/28/20 3:14 PM

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• Listen to our stations to hear your senior salute.

4/14/20 12:48 PM

Flocking Together

Birding is big right now, and Vermont birding communities are eager to help B Y M ARG A RET G RAYSON

rish O’Kane couldn’t see the eastern phoebe — not even close, given that the bird in question was in Connecticut and she was in Burlington. But she could hear it through the speakers of a student who had taken his laptop outside during one of O’Kane’s Zoom classes at the University of Vermont. The experienced birder immediately recognized the birdsong. Oh, my God, I can hear the birds in this kid’s yard in Connecticut right now, O’Kane recalled thinking. The lecturer at UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources has long incorporated birding into her teaching. Since 2016, she’s taught UVM students to become birding mentors to local elementary schoolers in a class called Birding to Change the World. The coronavirus pandemic sent UVM students home. But when O’Kane recognized the eastern phoebe’s song hundreds of miles away, she realized she could still help students go birding, even though they were scattered across the country. Birding appears to be on the rise across the U.S. during the pandemic, as Americans spend more time at home and search for new hobbies. According to the National Audubon Society, downloads of its Bird Guide app in March 2020 were nearly double the number of downloads in March 2019, and users are opening and spending time on the app more than they were a year ago.

Bridget Butler, a Vermont naturalist who calls herself the Bird Diva, put it this way: “You get stuck in your house, and you’re looking out the window, and there’s stuff going on out there.” Birding enthusiasts and educators see an opportunity to get more people than ever interested in and educated about birds. They find themselves in the unusual position of reaching people through all kinds of virtual platforms while preaching a message that involves turning off the screens and getting outside. Maybe you’re bored of your usual walks around the neighborhood. Maybe you’ve stared out your window long enough to start recognizing the fluttery friends who frequent your yard. Maybe your brain is fried from screentime, and your mental health is fried from stress. There are plenty of Vermonters out there happy to convince you that birding could be the answer.

O’Kane started out testing her virtual birding theory on a small scale. She guided a student who called her from Pennsylvania on a virtual birding excursion, joined by the student’s parents. Together, they identified 13 species. “I don’t even have a smartphone,” O’Kane said. “I’m not anti-technology, but I use it sparingly.” In 2019, O’Kane and UVM associate professor Brendan Fisher organized a birding unit for his Introduction to Environmental Studies class. In the spring semester, with the class moved online, O’Kane hoped to find a virtual birding mentor for each of Fisher’s more than 200 students. She reached out to the National Audubon Society, where Heather Starck, the vice president for grassroots capacity building, put out a nationwide call. Within a week, every student was matched with a mentor who was knowledgeable about the birds in their area. Students called or video-chatted with their mentors during a birding outing or sent photos to the mentor afterward for help identifying the birds. “Birding is really a gateway into connection with nature,” Fisher said. More than that, though, he sees it as a way to connect with other humans, even during isolation. “Part of it was really about creating a social interaction between, probably, a 60-year-old birder and an 18-year-old kid who happen to live in the same state,” he said. Students in O’Kane’s Birding to Change the World class didn’t have a chance to develop relationships with the elementary schoolers they usually teach, so instead, O’Kane had more experienced students serve as virtual mentors to their classmates. “For almost every single student, the birds became central not just to the class, but to surviving the semester,” O’Kane said. Izzy Mize, a Birding to Change the World student, said she hadn’t really appreciated birding until taking ornithology classes at UVM. “I remember my grandparents birded a lot. And I never really thought it was interesting … But I’m really glad that younger people are starting to get into it. I feel like it’s really good for mental health,” Mize said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad. You still get the benefit from being outside. I almost look at it as some sort of meditation. You’re letting your brain relax.”

Butler, the Bird Diva, teaches birding workshops and does outreach related to birds and bird conservation. She started experimenting with online classes this winter, she said, unwittingly preparing herself for the virtual shift that came with the pandemic. Though teaching online has had its challenges, Butler said, her online classes have sold out. While Vermonters were under the stricter version of the stay-athome order, she said, “my inbox was just bombarded with questions and people wanting to learn more.” Butler advocates for what she calls “slow birding,” which places less emphasis on trying to see as many birds as possible and more on returning to the same place and getting to know the birds that frequent it. “Through my work, I’ve tried to change that [competitiveness] and make birding more accessible,” Butler said. “I think what’s happened through this pandemic is, it’s really shown the depth of what you can notice right outside your door, no matter where you are.” Butler recommends that locals join the Vermont Birding Facebook group, where more than 2,000 members share photos of their latest bird sightings. “Vermont birders are so much cooler than birders elsewhere,” Butler said. “They’re just much more laid-back.” To help them identify birds, novices can download two free apps: the Merlin Bird ID by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Bird Guide. Want to explore bird habitats outside your neighborhood, but don’t know where to start? Just check out ebird.org, where birders log their most recent sightings, including the locations. Both the National Audubon Society and its Vermont chapter are offering virtual events to help birders connect, including a virtual version of the annual Birdathon that lasts through May 25. But the very easiest birding resource is the birds themselves. This time of year, you might see red-winged blackbirds flashing their scarlet feathers in the brush, ring-billed gulls gathering along the Lake Champlain waterfront, European starlings on every street corner and the ubiquitous springtime American robin. The birds are everywhere. All you have to do is look.

SUMMER PREVIEW

Contact: margaret@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more about the virtual Birdathon at vt.audubon.org and the Bird Diva at birddiva.com. SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

The Great, Masked Outdoors Hiking and human behavior in the summer of COVID-19 B Y CH E L SEA ED GAR

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

In New Hampshire, the Appalachian Mountain Club closed all its huts in the White Mountains for the summer, citing concerns about excessive crowding. Earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service

her KEEN boot, “or I could teach someone a goddamn lesson about paying attention.” Elwert struggles with what she perceives as the oblivious consumption of nature by — she’s not shy about naming culprits — the Instagram generation, the people who use the outdoors as a backdrop to evince their coolness. Lately, a pandemicinduced surge in hikers has compounded her frustration, and she fears that their uncontrolled presence will ruin the summer for everyone. “People are so ravenous to be out on the trails right now,” Elwert said. “And when they post photos of themselves standing triumphantly on a summit, other people see it and think it looks authoritative — like, ‘Hey, the mountain is open!’” Her concerns aren’t unfounded: Across the country, the restless quarantined masses have been swarming green spaces, prompting officials and conservation groups to impose restrictions in the interest of human and environmental health.

in Vermont closed backcountry campsites throughout the Green Mountain National Forest, a 400,000-acre swath of land, to preempt a run on the wilderness and reduce the risk of transmission in

MATT MIGNANELLI

he Jerusalem Trail in Starksboro ascends from a dirt road, climbing for 2.4 miles through hardwood forest and an expanse of maples, connected by a cat’s cradle of sap lines, until it intersects with the Long Trail two miles north of the summit of Mount Ellen. A wooden post announcing the trailhead bears a laminated sign that reads, “TRAIL CLOSED.” Cecilia Elwert, 67, is one of the Green Mountain Club’s roughly 1,000 volunteers. She has been maintaining the Jerusalem Trail — digging drainage channels, clearing fallen branches, lopping unruly boughs — for more than a decade. Her work has gotten off to an unusually late start; typically, she might begin in mid-April, when the snow has mostly melted at lower elevations. But this spring, the GMC asked its volunteers to keep off the trails until Gov. Phil Scott amended the stay-at-home order to allow outdoor crews to return to work. On a chilly Thursday morning in midMay, Elwert had resolved to investigate the blowdown situation on the ridge. She parked her Subaru Outback along the shoulder of the dirt road with the “GMC Volunteer” sign clearly visible in her windshield, hoping to disabuse would-be hikers of the notion that the trail was open to the public. Elwert carried a long-handled rake and a 20-pound backpack filled with various sharp implements for pruning and sawing; I followed at a six-foot distance, schlepping her garden hoe. As we made our way up the trail, Elwert paused every 10 or 15 yards to clear debris from water bars, man-made earthen gutters that carry runoff away from the trail. “I get to come out here and play Army Corps of Engineers,” she told me, her blue eyes crinkling in a smile concealed beneath her face mask. “It’s fucking great.” In one of the canals, she found a forked, six-inch-long twig that had collected a novel-thick sheath of dead leaves between its prongs. “Can you believe it? Water made this!” she marveled. Occasionally, Elwert came upon a stone in the middle of the path and nudged it with her foot to see if it was loose. “I could move that,” she mused at one point, jiggling a bowling-ball-size rock beneath

structures too remote to be consistently sanitized. The Long Trail closed in late March in accordance with public health recommendations, even though the trail was already nominally “closed” for mud season. But Keegan Tierney, director of field programs for the Green Mountain Club, acknowledges that enforcing trail closures is a logistical impossibility. Over the past few weekends, he said, some hiking spots along the Long Trail — particularly the Burrows Trail in Huntington, one of the shorter routes to the summit of Camel’s Hump — have experienced the same number of visitors as peak foliage season. (A solar message board on the road to the Burrows Trail parking lot, flashing the words “Trail Closed,” has not had the intended effect.) Since the beginning of May, GMC volunteers like Elwert have been preparing the 272-mile Long Trail, as well as the 166 miles of side trails under the GMC’s stewardship, for their official reopening on Memorial Day weekend. However, Tierney said that Long Trail facilities, including shelters and composting toilets, would likely remain closed for several more weeks, largely because of the challenge of ensuring proper sanitization in the backcountry. Overnight tenting will still be permitted, provided that campers respect ecologically sensitive areas and social-distancing etiquette, and the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is advising hikers to wear cloth masks whenever other people are present — a small price to pay for public health. “We’re worried about staff and volunteer health, particularly for people who work near popular summits and backcountry ponds,” said Tierney. “We don’t want hikers to cluster at those sites.” In a normal spring, the GMC hires a seasonal crew of about 40 staffers. Most of them are in their twenties, noted Tierney, with the nomadish résumés of people who organize their lives around being outside. When they’re not clearing trails and patrolling ridgelines, the crew shares a bunkhouse in Waterbury Center, where sickness could easily spread: “If one person got sick, everyone would get sick,” he said. This year, Tierney plans to employ just 10 staffers. They’ll target the most popular trails and summits — including Mount Mansfield and Camel’s Hump, both of which receive more than 50,000 visitors each summer — and Stratton Pond in southern Vermont, the largest body of water on the Long Trail. But he emphasized that the trail crew doesn’t have the capacity to act as social-distancing police. “We’re going to focus on educating people about being responsible

and considerate of other hikers, and maybe ask them to avoid taking a two-hour lunch break on the summit so that other people can enjoy it,” Tierney said. People should treat this summer as an opportunity to expand their hiking repertoires, he added: “If the Burrows Trail parking lot is full, you can drive a short distance and be at the Beane Trail, or go to the Jerusalem Trail in Starksboro.” Pandemic-related hiring freezes have also stalled the reopening of the state’s campgrounds, which were closed to overnight visitors by the same order that shuttered hotels, inns and Airbnbs. (The parks have remained open for day use.) When Scott cleared hospitality businesses to resume operations, starting on May 22, state parks began accepting campground reservations for June 15 or later. But that date, as it turned out, was too optimistic. Campgrounds require a significant amount of preparation — in a normal season, the labor of some 400 temporary employees — to accommodate visitors. Until last week, Michael Snyder,

swimming, eating and hanging out at their campsites. “We’re trying to figure out how we can limit campground density, how we can sanitize cabins and sites between families, and how we do all of that while making sure that visitors from out of state have TUESDAY - Trent's Bread self-quarantined for 14 days,” Snyder said. THURSDAY - Maggie T's Artisan Breads “There’s no scenario in which we don’t SATURDAY - Red House Sweets operate at a loss.” That prediction presents a rather 8 SO. MAIN STREET depressing irony: If Vermont’s summer ST. ALBANS looks anything like this spring, parks and 524-3769 trails will be teeming with people, some Curbside pick-up available of whom might have contributed to the state’s dwindling coffers in exchange for RAILC IT Y M ARK E T V T.CO M the privilege of recreating on public lands. Snyder estimates that, each year, Vermont’s state campgrounds take in12v-RailCityMarket052020.indd 1 5/18/20 6:28 PM $7 million in direct park sales — reservation fees, firewood and travel-size tubes of toothpaste from the commissary. Overnight campers, half of whom come from outside Vermont, spend roughly $90 million at local businesses in the surrounding areas. But given the pandemic’s impact on restaurants and retail — not to mention the unemployment rate, currently at its highest since the Great Depression — it’s unclear how much disposable income people will have to spend this summer, or where they’ll actually be able to spend it. In other words, the economic power of the state’s outdoor recreation infrastructure might We are open for in-store and not be so multiplicative this year. Elwert, the GMC volunteer, thinks that curbside business! all these uncertain roads ultimately lead We have a full selection of us back to nature. “Hiking is free,” she vegetables, herbs, annuals, said. “And people don’t think of nature as perennials, soil, amendments, and a place where you can transmit disease.” tools for your garden! In a pandemic world, the woods feel like the last pure place, a respite from the 802-453-5382 sensory sameness of life under quaran2638 Ethan Allen Hwy tine. But in Vermont, the general public’s New Haven, VT 05472 experience of nature as a pristine refuge greenhavengardensandnursery.com is, in fact, the product of massive amounts of human labor — labor that often goes unseen, even in normal times. Now, out of an abundance of caution, Elwert has been avoiding the trails on the weekends, when she would be more likely to encounter large groups of people. Sometimes, she said, she leaves little traces of her handiwork behind — 5/18/20 9:48 AM an overturned rock, a cleanly sawed-off8V-greenhaven052020 1 tree limb — as a signal to passersby that someone else cleared the way for them.

SUMMER PREVIEW

PEOPLE DON’T THINK OF NATURE AS A PLACE

WHERE YOU CAN TRANSMIT DISEASE. C E C IL IA E LW E R T

commissioner of the state Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, couldn’t hire any seasonal workers, and the opening date had to be postponed, forcing the state to issue some $320,000 in reservation refund vouchers. Snyder and his staff are now working to get campgrounds up and running by June 26. “There’s an enormous amount of infrastructure that has to get opened up every year,” said Snyder. “And in the time of a pandemic, we have to completely change the way we do things.” His department recently applied for a $2 million loan from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to subsidize the cost of hand sanitizer and protective gear for employees. This season, Snyder said, cabins and cottages will remain closed, but lean-tos, RV hookups and tent sites will be available, sans picnic tables. Campgrounds won’t offer any bike or boat rentals, and snack bars and gift shops will stay dark. As a precaution, the state is advising people to wear masks around the park, except when

FRESH BREAD 3 days a week!

Happy

Gardening!

Contact: chelsea@sevendaysvt.com

INFO For the latest trail and campground information, visit greenmountainclub.org, vtstateparks.com and fpr.vermont.gov.

Say you saw it in...

sevendaysvt.com SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

Dog-Eared Days Summer reads recommended by seven Vermont authors BY K R IS TE N R AVIN

or lovers of the written word, is summer really complete without a stack of must-read books to devour by pools, at picnic tables or in the warm evening air amid a symphony of crickets and cicadas? Under normal circumstances (whatever that means in an ever-changing world), we might call a pile of page-turners “beach reads.” Since the threat of COVID-19 has rendered long days on crowded waterfronts less appealing, and in some cases illegal, we’re reimagining the summer reading list for the more isolated back porch. We requested reading recommendations from seven Vermont authors who represent a range of genres. Scribes such as poet Rebecca Starks, journalist and political nonfiction writer Garrett M. Graff, and novelist Susan Z. Ritz shared a delightfully motley assortment of titles for fans of graphic novels, feminist fiction, YA fantasy and beyond. Beach reads tend to be breezy, but these back-porch reads are better described as bold. Some are escapist, such as Samantha Irby’s laughyour-ass-off essay collection We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. Others might hit close to home during the coronavirus era, such as Eleanor Davis’ graphic novel The Hard Tomorrow. Check your local bookstore for availability of these titles; you can also support independent stores by ordering at bookshop.org. Burlington-area booksellers appear in the Register, Seven Days’ digital guide to shopping locally online, at shoptheregister.com.

The Hard Tomorrow Eleanor Davis, Drawn & Quarterly, 152 pages. $24.95.

In April, the Los Angeles Times awarded Athens, Ga., cartoonist and illustrator Eleanor Davis its 2019 Book Prize in the Graphic Novel/Comics category for The Hard Tomorrow. Set in the not-sodistant future, the book follows activist Hannah and her husband, “stay-athome pothead” Johnny, as they try to conceive a baby, build a house and prepare for the future. Meanwhile, a tenuous democracy and looming war breed uncertainty. “It feels super personal while also offering a chilling and clear-eyed snapshot of this fraught political moment,” said Hartland cartoonist and author James Sturm, who recommended the book. He also encouraged readers to try Persephone’s Garden by Glynnis Fawkes (Secret Acres, 2019). “Glynnis has a wry sense of humor, and her deft observations of life’s small joys and great sorrows are exquisitely poignant.” 40

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

SUMMER PREVIEW

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love Dani Shapiro, Knopf, 272 pages. $24.95.

When a fun-spirited genealogy test reveals that Dani Shapiro’s dad is not her biological father, her perception of herself and her family is upended. The 2019 memoir Inheritance, picked by Montpelier novelist Susan Z. Ritz, walks readers through Shapiro’s journey of reimagining her identity. As Ritz observed, “The book goes to the core of how flimsy our life narratives can be when they are based on lies and deception.” Can’t get enough of Shapiro? The author also hosts two podcasts: “Family Secrets” and “The Way We Live Now.” In the latter, she looks at how everyday people are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. For poetry pundits, Ritz endorses The Best Poems of Jane Kenyon (Graywolf Press, 2020). “Jane was a keen observer of New England’s special beauty. The poems, selected by her husband, Donald Hall, are both intimate and incisive — mystical meditations perfect for a summer evening of contemplation on the porch.”

In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine Rachel Lance, Dutton, 368 pages. $28.

According to her bio, first-time author Rachel Lance is “especially fascinated by the trauma patterns from blast and ballistic events.” A scholar specializing in injury biomechanics, Lance channeled that fascination into her 2020 nonfiction page turner In the Waves. Burlington-based journalist and political writer Garrett M. Graff is a fan. In the book, Lance dives into the disappearance of the H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat, as well as the mechanics behind phenomena such as explosions, gunshots and asphyxiation. “It’s filled with some wonderful characters, accessible science and some smart life lessons,” Graff raved. Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller (Simon & Schuster, 2020) is another of Graff ’s picks. “The way Miller winds the story around to a mind-blowing and world-altering conclusion is masterful.”

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life Samantha Irby, Vintage Books, 288 pages. $15.95.

Kalamazoo, Mich.-based writer Samantha Irby is all about those LOLs. She’s flexed her comedy chops as a writer for the Hulu show “Shrill” and in essay collections such as Meaty (2013) and Wow, No Thank You (2020), both from Vintage Books. Between those two books, in 2017, Irby gifted fans with We Are Never Meeting in Real Life Life,, for which Underhill fiction writer Nino Cipri vouches wholeheartedly. The book’s 20 essays delve into what Cipri calls “the vagaries of adulting” in a “crude, hilarious and deeply relatable” voice. “Your neighbors will wonder why you’re laughing to yourself, and you might be too embarrassed to tell them it’s because of an essay about incontinence,” Cipri said, “but Irby’s brand of curmudgeonly humor is perfect company for a summer of social distance.” Cipri is also a fan of Sarah Pinsker’s A Song for a New Day (Berkley, 2019). ““Song follows a musician and a corporate lackey as they both create meaningful art and music in a shut-down, alienated world and showcases Pinsker’s brilliance, empathy and experience as a former touring musician,” Cipri said.

The Illness Lesson Clare Beams, Doubleday, 288 pages. $26.95 hardcover; $25.51 paperback.

In a review of The Illness Lesson, the Washington Post compared Clare Beams to Shirley Jackson and Margaret Atwood — high praise, indeed. The story of the 2020 novel, recommended by literary thriller author Miciah Bay Gault, plays out in 19th-century New England, where students at a progressive school for girls have mysteriously fallen ill. Protagonist Caroline Hood, who runs the school with her father, fears for the pupils as the men in charge make questionable choices in their efforts to manage the situation. Gault noted: “The Illness Lesson is many things: a historical novel that alludes to Little Women’s Louisa May Alcott and her transcendentalist father, Amos Bronson Alcott; a speculative wonder with exquisitely crafted sentences painting both landscape and unraveling constitutions in delicate, startling prose; and a scathing commentary on the ways in which women’s desires are governed.” Speaking of Jackson, Montpelier resident Gault is also a fan of her gothic horror novel The Haunting of Hill House (Viking Press, 1959). “Every sentence is a work of art, and if you’ve seen the Netflix series, just know that the book is even better. Plus, Shirley Jackson wrote Hill House while living in North Bennington … so it’s a Vermont-ish kind of book.”

The Reader

The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, & Issa

Traci Chee, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books, 464 pages. $19.99 hardcover; $10.99 paperback.

Robert Hass, the Ecco Press, 352 pages. $26 hardcover; $17 paperback.

“For those, like me, who find it hard to sustain concentration right now but feel the healing power of small moments of focus, I recommend The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, & Issa,” Richmond poet Rebecca Starks said. The 1995 collection includes approximately 100 haiku from three masters of the 17-syllable verse form that originated in Japan. The works are rendered by American poet Hass in what Starks describes as “pithy, resonant translations.” Starks also suggested Olga Tokarczuk’s Nobel Prize-winning novel Flights (Riverhead Books, 2018). “What begins as a humorous, intriguing patchwork of reflection, invention and interrupted storytelling picks up speed, and then lifts off, following a kind of Bernoulli’s principle of narrative.”

Imagine you’re raised on survival skills in an illiterate society, and the key to finding your kidnapped aunt and caregiver is a rectangular object filled with mysterious markings (also known as a book). This is the situation facing Sefia, the main character in the first installment in Traci Chee’s YA fantasy trilogy, published in 2016. “It’s not a lighthearted tale,” YA writer Laura Williams McCaffrey warned. “Characters grapple with what it means to recover from a brutal past and craft a more loving future.” There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. “Though the series might be a little violent for some,” the Montpelier writer said, “don’t many of us need stories in which people find hope when hope is hard to find?” Williams McCaffrey also suggested The Brilliant Death by fellow Vermonter Amy Rose Capetta (Viking, 2018), calling the YA novel “an adventure fantasy story, a coming-of-age story and a gender-fluid love story. The world is gorgeous and exactly what readers might need if they long for grapevines and trellises, mosaics and labyrinthine passageways.”

Calling All Dog Paw-rents!

Contact: kravin@sevendaysvt.com

PRESENTED BY:

Enter our photo contest! The Humane Society of Chittenden County is looking for your best dog photos in their 1st Annual Candid Canines Contest! Submit your photo of Fido with a $30 donation and the community will vote for their favorites ($1 donation per vote).

The Candid Canine with the most votes will earn the coveted “People’s Choice” award and have their photo prominently displayed in the June 10th issue of Seven Days! HSCC staff will also award the esteemed “Staff Pick” to one deserving doggo which will be showcased in the magazine. BONUS PRIZE! Both winners will be featured in a segment on Local 22 & Local 44! All donations support pets & people in need. This online contest has already kicked off and the deadline for entries & voting is June 1st.

To vote or enter your Candid Canine, please visit gogophotocontest.com/hscccandidcaninescontest

Humane

Society

Sponsored by:

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List your property here for 2 weeks for only $45! Contact Katie, 865-1020, ext. 10, fsbo@sevendaysvt.com.

R T A E O S D O F O H O O R A T W G I D E R R E L O N P I L L E I E F T E

FOR SALE BY OWNER

A R A M

[CONTINUED]

G E T A

fsb

BONUS CROSSWORD ANSWER

59 MAY 20-27, 2020

MAY 20-27, 2020

ATTENTION RECRUITERS: POST YOUR JOBS AT: PRINT DEADLINE: FOR RATES & INFO:

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POST-A-JOB NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X21, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM SafeArt Co-Director We are looking for a visionary trauma-informed practitioner to lead creative expression programs, guide organizational development, and facilitate youth groups.

FT Staff Accountant

Finance Associate

Aqua ViTea in Middlebury is hiring! Apply at careers@aquavitea.com

Part Time

Visit safeart.org/now-hiring.

https://bit.ly/2yyGXrW

Apply by 6/5/20.

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Is currently seeking:

RETAIL TRAINER LEAD

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5/19/20 11:00 AM

Exciting Training Opportunity! 100% 100% EMPLOYEE-OWNED EMPLOYEE-OWNED

Our purpose is to provide exceptional customer service while improving our customers’ lives and our community. If you share this purpose, become part of our Certified B Corporation, and join in our vision to be a force for positive change for our customers, communities, and employees!

Join Join the the team team at at Gardener’s Gardener’s Supply! Supply!

We We have have immediate immediate openings openings in in our our Call Call Center! Center! We We are are looking looking for for part-time part-time and and full-time, full-time, seasonal seasonal SALES SALES & & SERVICE SERVICE SPECIALISTS SPECIALISTS to to provide provide exceptional exceptional customer customer service service to to our our customers customers over over the the phone phone at at our our Call Center located in Burlington, VT. Call Center located in Burlington, VT. We We offer: offer: •• Very Very flexible flexible scheduling scheduling •• Competitive Competitive pay pay •• Huge Huge discount discount on on product product •• Amazing Amazing culture culture and and the the best best co-workers co-workers •• Positions thru the month Positions thru the month of of June June

Two+ years of training design and facilitation experience is needed, with a four-year college degree or equivalent in work experience. To best serve our retail teams, retail banking experience is ideal. Experience with Learning Management Systems and course design programs like Articulate 360 (specifically Storyline and Rise) is preferable. Candidates must be comfortable working independently, with the ability to maintain confidentiality and privacy! This position may be performed remotely if the candidate is located within our service areas of New Hampshire,Vermont, and Maine. Occasional travel to our corporate office in Lebanon, N.H. and our Operations Center in White River Junction,Vt. will be required.

Through Through gardening, gardening, our our customers customers control control their their access access to safe and affordable food, and grow food to share to safe and affordable food, and grow food to share with with their their neighbors. neighbors. At At Gardener’s Gardener’s Supply, Supply, we we are are committed committed to to doing doing everything everything we we can can to to help help our our

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We are looking for a Retail Trainer Lead who will work with our Talent Management team to provide outstanding customer service to our customers and team members. This position is responsible for designing and facilitating MascomaBank.com effective learning courses for our retail department staff. Our new team member will collaborate with retail leadership, staff, and departments that support the retail function in sales and service to ensure expected learning outcomes and objectives are met. The Retail Trainer Lead will be asked to use various methods of learning delivery to optimize efficiency, learning retention, and transfer. It is important for this individual to be open-minded and creative with training solutions while keeping customer experience at the forefront and staying within the limits of regulatory compliance. They should also have a strong knowledge of training methodologies.

We We are are 100% 100% employee-owned employee-owned and and aa Certified Certified B B Corporation. Please go to our careers page at Corporation. Please go to our careers page at www.gardeners.com/careers www.gardeners.com/careers and and apply apply online! online!

Mascoma Bank is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, veteran status, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Apply online: www.mascomabank.com/careers To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact careers@mascomabank.com.

Mascoma Bank provides contemporary benefits, competitive salaries, and opportunities for professional growth and development. Join the Mascoma Bank Team; always striving to exceed our personal best and surpass our customers’ expectations! Mascoma Bank is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/D/V.

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5/18/20 4:052:26 PM PM 5/18/20

MascomaBank.com 5/18/20 3:46 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

MAY 20-27, 2020

• Competitive pay • Huge discount on product • Own shares of the company • Amazing culture and the best co-workers

Our manufacturing facility in Georgia, VT is growing! We are looking for full-time, seasonal and year-round

PRODUCTION/WAREHOUSE WORKERS to manufacture our high-quality garden-related products.

Join the team at Gardener’s Supply! Through gardening, our customers control their access to safe and affordable food, and grow food to share with their neighbors. At Gardener’s Supply, we are committed to doing everything we can to help our customers keep gardening, but we need your help. 104A Arrowhead Industrial Park, Building 110, Georgia, VT Please go to our careers page at gardeners.com/careers and apply online!

Service Technician

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Immediate full-time opening in Northern Vermont for a Field Service Technician M-F. This position is responsible for all daily activities related to the actual repair of window and door products in customer homes. Utilize trade skills to execute repairs and provide project documentation to main office while demonstrating excellent customer service. Travel is required throughout all of Vermont with the focus primarily in Northern Vermont area. Vehicle and tools are provided.

The Converse Home, an assisted living community located in downtown Burlington, is hiring 2 Full Time positions in our dining department.

Full Time Resident Dining Lead (Supervisor)

We have been proactive in implementing the necessary safety measures for COVID-19 and are currently practicing social distancing, cleaning protocols, wearing face masks and following pre-screening guidelines with customers before our visits. Technicians are also provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for added safety.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: • Responsible & accountable for troubleshooting & repairing windows and doors in the customer home • Must be able to work independently and have strong attention to detail • Must have some construction knowledge, mechanical abilities, and basic mathematical skills • Accurately receive and transport product from warehouse to customer location • Coordinate on site with homeowner to meet their expectations while staying within the warranty policy and maintaining daily schedule • Use construction skills to properly install and adjust products for seamless operation and aesthetics • Accurately describe any issues and repairs during the service and communicate that properly to the main office to initiate corrective actions • Maintain product, vehicles, tools and job site in a neat, orderly and safe manner. Maintain a professional appearance at all times. Must have a strong desire to “go the extra mile” to satisfy customers’ desires. Must work within established safety practices and policies. Able to navigate using maps and directions and must have proficient computer skills.

We are hiring a Resident Dining Lead, full time benefited position. Come work with NECI trained chefs and provide and oversee an outstanding level of service to our residents. We are looking for someone with at least two years’ front of house food service experience encompassing staff supervision and training. You will lead the Resident Dining Assistants (servers) during the meal period. This person should be willing to work a flexible schedule. No late nights. 35-40 hours per week. The AM shifts are generally 6:30am2:30pm and PM shifts 11:00am-7:30pm. This position is strictly an hourly position with no tips. Starting wage is $16/ hr and more for well qualified individuals. $1/hr weekend and evening shift differential.

Full Time Resident Dining Assistant (Server) We are hiring a Resident Dining Assistant, full time benefited position. We are looking for someone with prior front of house food server experience. Come be a part of the team providing outstanding service to our residents. This person should be willing to work a flexible schedule. No late nights. 35-40 hours a week. The AM shifts are generally 6:30am2:30pm and PM shifts 11:00am-7:30pm. This position is strictly and hourly position with no tips. Starting wage is $14/ hr. $1/hr weekend and evening shift differential. Roles and Responsibilities will adjust when we are once again able to have our residents join us in the dining room.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: High level of physical activity includes lifting & moving of extremely heavy items. Climbing ladders, scaffolding, working on roofs & decks while simultaneously using power tools and manipulating product.

Send resumes to: HUMANRESOURCES@pellasales.com.

A clean background check is required for both positions. Please send your resume and cover letter to kellie@conversehome.com or apply directly at conversehome.com under “Career Opportunities”

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NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

GREEN MOUNTAIN TECHNOLOGY & CAREER CENTER is seeking candidates for its Business Administration program. Desired skills and responsibilities of the Business Instructor include the following:

• Business, Hospitality, or Tourism experience. • Desire to teach high school students career and college readiness skills. • Passion to integrate academic, technical and employability skills into a program. • A proven ability to collaborate and build strong relationships with community partners. Qualiﬁed candidates will also demonstrate the ability to build strong and supportive relationships with students, and the capacity to create positive and inclusive cultures and environments for all learners.

CULINARY PROGRAM INSTRUCTOR

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE WORKER

• Bachelor Degree (minimum) in Business or a related ﬁeld.

61 MAY 20-27, 2020

Sign On Bonus - Up to $2,000 with a starting salary of $14 an hour.

Responsible for the cleaning of all areas of the facility with the exception of the OR. Must know how to handle cleaning issues or know the appropriate resources available to solve the specific problem.

LEARN MORE & APPLY: uvmmed.hn/sevendays

Vermont Works for Women seeks a Culinary Instructor to lead a basic culinary employment-training program for women incarcerated at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility. In addition to instruction of culinary skills, this person will work collaboratively with regular kitchen production at the facility.

Green Mountain Technology & Career Center (GMTCC) is To see the full job an accredited, cutting edge career and technical education description and details on 5/11/20 12:53 PM center, where eligible students in 10th, 11th and 12th grades 4t-UVMMedCenter051320.indd 1 how to apply, visit are prepared for college and career through the acquisition vtworksforwomen.org/ of real-world skills, practical knowledge, hands-on expe2020 GlobalFoundries Technician Program about/employment. riences, mentoring, and networking. In addition to earning Take classes while working full-time and save up to $57,000 in If reasonable requirements for high school graduation, students have the college expenses while enjoying up to $18.50/hr! opportunity to earn free college credits and may achieve an accommodation is needed industry certiﬁcation in their ﬁeld. We are looking for high school graduates who are 18 years or older** to hire into to apply, please contact us:

2020 GlobalFoundries Technician Program

this competitive program. should demonstrate technical Take classes while Candidates working full-time and save up to aptitude, $57,000and have achieved high scholastic and community accomplishments.

in college expenses while enjoying **18 years old by 08/16/2020 up to $18.50/hr!

SEND RESUMES TO: EREMMERS@GMTCC.NET

info@vtworksforwomen.org or 802-655-8900 x111.

WeOverview: are looking for high school graduates who are 18 years or Program Program Cost: Free this - No Cost Upon Successful Completion (Tuition/Books) older** to hire into competitive program. Candidates should Course Content: technical Electrical/Mechanical demonstrate aptitude, and have achieved high scholastic 5v-GreenMountainTechnology&CareerCenter052020.indd 1 5/15/20 2:21 PM Course Cadence: 1 VTC Based Course & 1 GF Internal Course per Semester 3v-VTWorksforWomen051320.indd 1 accomplishments. Total Course Work: 9and VTCcommunity Based Courses & 9 GF Internal Based Courses **18 years old by Certificate 08/16/2020upon Completion Completion: 3+ Years with Program College Credits: ~34 Credits of 67 Credits for 2 YR AS Degree Join the senior leadership team of passionate Starting Level: LevelPROGRAM 1 Mechanic: UpOVERVIEW to $18.50/hr days; up to $20.81/hr nights Career Opportunity: Level 2 Mechanic: Up to $21.50/hr days; up to $24.08/hr nights innovators at the Committee on Temporary Shelter . Level 3 Technician: Up to $26/hr days; up to $29/hr nights (COTS), a nonprofit nationally recognized as a model Program Cost Upon Successful Completion (Tuition/ Future Growth:Cost: Free Level -4No Technician: Requires AS Degree Books) for our successful program outcomes. COTS provides prevention Utilize Tuition Reimbursement Program

DO WHAT MATTERS.

resources, emergency shelter, support services, and housing for those without homes or at risk of becoming homeless.

Course Content: This competitive process Electrical/Mechanical includes an extensive screening process, interviews, pre-testing & Statistics) Courseand Cadence: 1 (Quantitative VTC BasedReasoning,Algebra, Course & 1 GF Internal Course per Semester

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING & SOCIAL SERVICES COTS seeks a Director of Programming & Social Services to lead a dynamic team of program coordinators who oversee our homeless prevention, rapid re-housing, transitional housing, and shelter services. This position is responsible for activities, operations and evaluation of our programs, including grant compliance. The Director also effectively collaborates with community partners. Reporting to the Executive Director, this position is a critical and integral part of the leadership team. Master’s Degree in Social Work or related field required, as well as a minimum of 5 years of experience supervising social service staff and programs. Demonstrated leadership in program development also required. This is a full time position with benefits. Critical thinkers, resourceful problem solvers, and results-focused leaders are encouraged to apply. Please submit your resume, cover letter, and salary requirements to jobs@cotsonline.org to receive best consideration. EOE

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Requirements: H.S. Diploma w/ Demonstrated Technical Aptitude Total Course Work: 9 VTC Based Courses & 9 GF Internal Based Job Responsibility: First Call Maintenance & Preventative Maintenance Courses Starting Salary: Up to $18.50/hr days; Up to $20.81/hr nights Completion: 3+ 19004234 Years with Program Certiﬁcate upon Completion Job Requisition:

College Credits: ~34responsibilities, Credits ofrequired 67 Credits for or 2 how YRtoAS Degree For more information about qualifications, apply contact: melinda.antonucci@globalfoundries.com or Call/Text 802-999-9970 Starting Level: Level 1 Mechanic: Up to $18.50/hr days; up to or apply on our website: $20.81/hr nights www.globalfoundries.com/about-us/careers Completion of the program offers you multiple opportunities for career and salary growth!

This competitive process includes an extensive screening process, interviews, and pre-testing (Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, & Statistics)

Requirements: H.S. Diploma w/ Demonstrated Technical Aptitude Job Responsibility: First Call Maintenance & Preventative Maintenance Starting Salary: Up to $18.50/hr days; Up to $20.81/hr nights Job Requisition: 19004234 For more information about responsibilities, required qualifications, or how to apply contact: melinda.antonucci@globalfoundries.com or call/text 802-999-9970 Apply on our website: www.globalfoundries.com/about-us/careers

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5/11/20 11:08 AM

FINANCE MANAGER

The Spruce Peak Arts Financial Manager has primary responsibility for the accounting operations of the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center including entering invoices, making journal entries, generating checks, projecting cash flow, reconciling bank and general ledger accounts, reporting sales tax, producing month-end and year-end reports, coordinating year-end review and 990 preparation with CPA firm, and assisting the Executive Director with budget development. This position is part-time, 16 to 20 hours/week, year-round. Working remotely is possible 50-75% of the time depending on the candidate. To apply please submit cover letter, resume, and 3 references to Hope Sullivan, Executive Director, at hsullivan@sprucepeakarts.org. No phone calls please.

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5/15/20 1:35 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

MAY 20-27, 2020

PART TIME RN OR LPN

HOUSEKEEPER Full-Time Vermont’s premier continuing Care Retirement Community seeks a member to join our housekeeping team. Housekeepers work collaboratively to support residents who live independently as well as those who live in residential care. Housekeepers are critical to the well-being of residents and the quality of the Wake Robin environment. Candidates must have housekeeping and/or industrial cleaning or industrial laundry experience. Wake Robin offers an excellent compensation and benefits package and an opportunity to build strong relationships with staff and residents in a dynamic community setting. Interested candidates can send their resumes to hr@wakerobin.com or fill out an application at wakerobin.com/employment.

Craftsbury Community Care Center is seeking an enthusiastic, caring, resident centered RN or LPN to work 2 days a week, which includes some on call. Duties include but are not limited to: Evaluate and monitor residents’ health and wellness on a day to day basis. Monitor direct care staff’s medication set up and administration. Supervise transcription, mailing, filing and implementation of physicians’ orders. Experience in elder care preferred. We offer flexible scheduling and a collaborative working environment. If interested in joining our team, email your letter of interest and resume to gharrisccc@myfairpoint.net or, for, inquiries call 802-586-2414 and ask for Gwyn or Kim.

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE A dedicated, creative, team player with a strong work ethic is sought to serve as the Director of Finance for the Rutland City Public Schools, a K-12 District in Central Vermont serving 2,000+ students and a staff of 500, with an annual budget of $59 million.

Responsibilities include financial planning and budgeting, debt services, capital fund and grants management, compensation 4t-WakeRobin042920.indd 1 4/28/20 4t-CraftsburyCommunityCareCenter052020.indd 10:56 AM 1 5/18/20 6:44 PM and benefits administration, collective bargaining negotiations, construction and Working Hands.Working Minds. facilities planning, insurance The Housing Trust of Rutland and risk management, legal County (HTRC) is seeking a foodapplications service, pension COLLEGE IS HIRING! in higher education for environmental stewardship,controls, invites dynamic and experienced Sterling College, the leading voiceSTERLING fund management, legislative leader to guide this respected Join a dedicated group of colleagues working hard to provide an enriching and public communications. organization to its next level of growth and development. experience to students at a small liberal arts college in the Northeast HTRC’s mission is to transform buildings into quality Candidates from both the Kingdom of Vermont. Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vermont’s aﬀordable housing and more, and to develop relationships public and private sectors are higher education leader in ecological thinking and action, is looking for to cultivate communities that thrive. Primary responsibilities invited to apply. Rutland, VT talented professionals to fill these full-time positions. will include providing oversight of day-to-day operations offers a high quality lifestyle, for $45 million in real estate assets, a $1.3 million annual ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF VIDEO & AUDIO PRODUCTION affordable housing, a rural budget, and a staﬀ of 16, as well as working with a AND PODCAST SPECIALIST environment, and proximity to committed Board of Directors to develop the strategic The Associate Director of Video & Audio Production and Podcast world class skiing and outdoor direction for the organization. Specialist reports to the Dean and Associate Dean of Professional Studies activities.

Wake Robin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Sterling College

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

for a

Marketing Coordinator

Sterling College, a college of environmental stewardship in Craftsbury Common, Vermont invites applications for the position of a Marketing CoordinaThe Executive Director position encompasses a wide variety and will work with the Director of Video & Audio Production to design The Marketing Coordinator supports Sterling’s recruitment effort and of duties related to real tor. estate development, community individual courses and determine video production needs and strategies. Minimum Qualifications: relations, strategic planning, financial management The Associate Director will also work with course developers to design Bachelor's Degree in Business thegeneration. OfficeTheof Admission to courses reach itsstages enrollment goals of both degree and cerand fundraising and revenue Director individual in the early of the development of EcoGather, Management, Accounting will be expected to ensure the financial strength of the a three-year fully-funded online course platform and network. or Finance (MBA desired) tificate organization, position the organizationstudents for appropriate by driving relevant users to the Sterling website using organic and significant experience in DIRECTOR OF VIDEO & AUDIO PRODUCTION growth, and seek opportunities to strengthen impact. a financial capacity. School brandMultiple years of progressive, senior level management search, paid search, andThe social media outlets with Sterling’s Director of Video & Audio Production reportsconsistent to the Dean finance experience preferred. experience required; nonprofit experience preferred. The and Associate Dean of Professional Studies and is responsible for successful candidate willing have excellent interpersonal, the development of video and audio production strategies for the and mission in order to increase conversions on the college’s website. The Compensation is attractive management, and analytical skills, experience working with Professional Studies department. The Director will also work with and commensurate with an active board of directors, as well as the ability to manage developers to design individual courses in the early stages of the Marketing Coordinatorcourse reports to the Director of Marketing. experience. Candidates and prioritize competing needs in a complex organization. development of EcoGather, a three-year fully-funded online course Interested candidates should submit materials via email to executivesearch@housingrutland.org. Only electronic submissions will be considered. Please provide a cover letter, including salary requirements, a current resume, a work-related writing sample, and three references with contact information. Only complete applications will be considered. Applications will be accepted until June 12th, 2020, although candidates are strongly encouraged to submit material as soon as possible.

platform and network.

should submit a letter of interest/personal statement, an updated resume, and three current written references, to be received no later than June 5, 2020.

MANAGER FOR For a full description ofOPERATIONS the position, please visit www.sterlingcollege.edu/jobs. THE OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES The Operations Manager of Professional Studies reports to the Dean and Associate Dean of Professional Studies and is responsible for the administrative needs of the Professional Studies department and serving as the first-stop tech support role for students and instructors enrolled in online courses in the early stages of the development of EcoGather, a three-year fully-funded online course platform and network.

The College is seeking applicants with a unique eye for photography, a workCandidatesto shouldconceive, apply ing knowledge of both WordPress and social media, ability directly online to: www.schoolspring.com shoot, edit, and cut short movies in iMovie or Adobe Premier, and strong Housing Trust of Rutland County is an Equal Opportunity job ID #3280168 For complete position descriptions & application instructions, visit: and Aﬃrmative Action Employer and actively seeks a skills. Applications (including a cover letter, résumé, diverse pool of written candidates for communication this position. sterlingcollege.edu/more/employment and the names and contact information of three references) must be sent via e-mail to klavin@sterlingcollege.edu.

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The Vermont Electric Power Company has an opening for a MANAGER, TELECOMMUNICATIONS.

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Commercial Roofers & Laborers

Please see the Careers section on our website, velco.com, for more information.

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WANTED:

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DRIVE FOR

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

WORK REMOTELY with youth at the Northlands Job Corps Center in Vergennes, VT. Work one or two, 7-8 hour shifts each week (your choice). $50.00/hour. Please contact Dan W. Hauben ASAP for more information. Thank you! 714-552-6697 omnimed1@verizon.net 2v-OmniMed050620.indd 1

Town of Charlotte Town Planner

$150/DAY TO START Job security and room to grow. Driving experience preferred but not essential. Must be 21 and have good driving record. Email name and number to Vermontfedexdriver@ gmail.com

The Town of Charlotte is accepting applications for a Town Planner. The primary responsibilities of this position are to provide staff support to the Planning Commission for reviewing development applications and updating the Town Plan and Land Use Regulations. The position works both independently and with 2v-FedEx052020.indd town volunteer boards, and has a high level of public interaction. A job description can be viewed at charlottevt.org. See right-hand sidebar. This is a permanent position approved for 40 hours, paid hourly. Compensation is in accordance with the Town of Charlotte Salary Administration Policy. The starting wage rate is between $19.74 and $22.34, based on qualifications and experience. Generous health, dental, vision and retirement benefits are offered. Noted for its beauty, Charlotte is on the southern border of Chittenden County, and it also borders Lake Champlain. The Town values its rural qualities while it also seeks to foster smart growth. To apply, please send a resumé and cover letter to Dean Bloch, Town Administrator at dean@townofcharlotte.com. Questions can be sent to the same address, or please call 425-3071 ext. 5. The deadline for submitting an application is May 22, 2020.

LISTING COORDINATOR Nancy Jenkins Real Estate is looking for someone with strong customer service skills and someone who would like to work on a dynamic team. Ideal candidate would excel at multitasking, taking direction but also feel comfortable taking a project and running with it. The listing coordinator needs to be able to work in a fast-paced environment. Please email your resume and cover letter to info@nancyjenkins.com.

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nicole@designsignsvt.com

PROGRAM SPECIALIST

6/24/19 1t-DesignSigns052020.indd 6:28 PM 1

5/15/20 2:54 PM

We are seeking a Program Specialist for the Direct Loan Origination Department.

Starting pay is $18.51/hr and includes a defined benefit/ pension plan; holiday, vacation & sick leave; medical, dental & vision insurance; basic life/AD&D insurance, college tuition reimbursement; and others. Schedule: Monday-Thursday, 10:00am-9:00pm For full job description go to our website, www.credithuman.com. OR please contact: careers@credithuman.com Lance Boardman, MH Direct Operations & Systems Manager, Office: (877) 475-6852 x 2604.

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New, local, scam-free jobs posted every day!

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SIGN MAKER: Fabrication, painting, installation, graphic design. CNC router and previous sign making knowledge a plus. Benefits include: Paid holidays, paid time off, health insurance and a fun working atmosphere.

The Program Specialist manages the on-boarding of applicants from across the nation who are seeking ﬁnancing for manufactured homes.

Routes available immediately.

5/5/20 1:06 PM

Equal Opportunity Employer

Year round, full time positions. Good wages & benefits. $16.50 per hour minimum; Pay negotiable with experience. EOE/M/F/VET/Disability Employer Apply in person at: A.C. Hathorne Co. 252 Avenue C Williston, VT 802-862-6473

63 MAY 20-27, 2020

2/15/19 11:15 AM

SHARED LIVING PROVIDER Howard Center is seeking a Shared Living Provider to provide full-time support to a loving 75 year-old woman with a mild intellectual disability who enjoys socializing, good food, and watching TV. The ideal provider will be calm, professional, and comfortable with providing some basic personal care; won’t have young children or active pets at home; and will be okay with regular smoking outdoors. A wheelchair accessible home is required. Previous experience working with adults with disabilities is preferred. Compensation includes a tax-free stipend of $28,500 per year, a generous respite budget, and room and board payments. To apply or request more information, contact Patrick Fraser at 802-871-2902 or patfraser@howardcenter.org.

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5/15/20 2:42 PM

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FRAN KRAUSE

Have a deep, dark fear of your own? Submit it to cartoonist Fran Krause at deep-dark-fears.tumblr.com, and you may see your neurosis illustrated in these pages.

SEVEN DAYS MAY 20-27, 2020

CALCOKU & SUDOKU (P.56) CROSSWORDS (P.53, 56) RYAN RIDDLE

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W�� T�� A�� C��, V�� T�� O�� F��! We have been listening to WDEV for as long as we can remember, and we wanted to say thank you for always being there and putting on a great show that is informative and entertaining. We listen every day, and always have the radio going in the car and at home. We rely on you to keep us up to speed on the news, and for companionship as well. We love listening to the great music, especially when it comes with an interesting anecdote or fact, as it helps us learn more about our favorite artists. We also love the careful attention and commitment you give to local and international news coverage. It's so comforting to hear a familiar friendly voice talk about issues that matter to us. Your passion never wavers, and it's clear to all who listen that you truly care about the great service you are providing our community. We remember Tropical Storm Irene, and cannot thank you enough for all you did for us then, and continue to do for us now. During these times of great uncertainty, one thing is never in doubt, and that is our local WDEV family always being there for us. We're here for you too. We're listening, and we love you. Thank You, Evelyn & Zach

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HARRY BLISS

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY REAL MAY 21-27 rigid thinking.” To be vital, he says, our perception of truth must be constantly evolving and never stagnant. “Truth is a way of looking at self and World,” Fatunmbi declares. “It is a state of being rather than an act of knowing.” Many Westerners find this hard to understand because they regard truth as a “fixed set of rules or dogma” or as a body of “objective facts.” But here’s the good news: Right now, you Cancerians are especially receptive to Fatunmbi’s alternative understanding of truth — and likely to thrive by adopting it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Novelist and war cor-

TAURUS APRIL 20-MAY 20

To generate an ounce of pure cocaine, you must collect 52 pounds of raw coca leaf and work hard to transform it. But please don’t do that. Fate won’t be on your side if you do. However, I will suggest that you consider undertaking a metaphorically comparable process — by gathering a sizable amount of raw material or basic stuff that will be necessary to produce the small treasure or precious resource that you require.

GEMINI

(May 21-June 20): “The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for,” writes author Barbara Kingsolver. “And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” According to my analysis of the astrological omens, that is exactly the work you should be doing right now, Gemini. Everything good that can and should happen for you in the coming months depends on you defining what you hope for, and then doing whatever’s necessary to live inside that hope.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The periodic ar-

rivals of “natural disruption” in our everyday routines has a divine purpose, writes Yoruba priest Awó Falokun Fatunmbi. It is “to shake consciousness loose from complacency and

respondent Martha Gellhorn departed this life in 1998, but she articulated a message that’s important for you to hear right now. She wrote, “People often say, with pride, ‘I’m not interested in politics.’ They might as well say, ‘I’m not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future or any future.’” Gelhorn added, “If we mean to keep control over our world and lives, we must be interested in politics.” In my opinion, her advice is always applicable to all of us, but it’s especially crucial for you to meditate on right now. You’ll be wise to upgrade your interest and involvement in the big cultural and political developments that are impacting your personal destiny.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): According to author and teacher Marianne Williamson, “Ego says, ‘Once everything falls into place, I’ll feel peace.’ Spirit says, ‘Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place.’” I think the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to take Williamson’s advice seriously, Virgo. How? By giving control of your life to Spirit as you find your peace. In saying this, I’m not implying that Ego is bad or wrong. In fact, I think Ego is a crucial asset for you, and I’m hoping that in recent months you have been lifting your Ego to a higher, finer state of confidence and competence than ever before. But right now I think you should authorize Spirit to run the show for a while. If you do, it will bless you with good surprises. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Snatching the eternal out of the desperately fleeting is the great magic trick of human existence.” Playwright Tennessee Williams said that, and

now I’m conveying his insight to you — just in time for you to dramatically embody it. According to my astrological analysis, you now have more power than usual to accomplish this magic trick: to create something permanent in the midst of the transitory, to make an indelible mark on a process that has previously been characterized by restless permutations, to initiate a bold move that you will forever remember and be remembered for.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the course of his 73 years on the planet, Scorpio author Paul Valéry (1871-1945) wrote more than 20 books. But between the ages of 25 and 45, he passed through a phase he called the “great silence.” During that time, he quit writing and published nothing. Afterward, he returned to his life’s work and was nominated 12 times for a Nobel Prize. Although your own version of a great silence is less extreme than his, I’m happy to announce that you will emerge from it sooner than you imagine. SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I’m sad that my two favorite 19th-century poets were unfamiliar with each other’s poetry. Walt Whitman was 11 years older than Emily Dickinson but didn’t know her work. Dickinson had heard of Whitman but didn’t read his stuff. Their styles were indeed very different: hers intimate, elliptical, psychologically acute; his expansive, gregarious, earthy. But they were alike in being the most innovative American poets of their time and equally transgressive in their disregard for standard poetic forms. If there were such a thing as time travel, I’d send one of you Sagittarians back to set up a meeting between them. Acts of innovative blending and creative unifying will be your specialties in the coming weeks.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The fictional

character Sherlock Holmes (born January 6, and thus a Capricorn) is a brilliant logician and acute observer who has astonishing crimesolving skills. On the other hand, according to his friend Dr. Watson, he “knows next to nothing” about “contemporary literature, philosophy, and politics.” So he’s not a well-rounded person. He’s smart in some ways, dumb in others. Most of us fit that description. We are both

brilliant and ignorant, talented and inept, interesting and boring. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to hone and cultivate the less mature aspects of your own nature. I bet you’ll reap rich rewards by doing so.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “People be-

come like what they love,” observed theologian St. Catherine of Siena. That’ll be an interesting truth for you to meditate on in the coming weeks. I suspect you will attract experiences that are clear reflections of the kind of love you have cultivated and expressed for quite some time. You’ll be blessed in ways similar to the ways you have blessed. You’ll be challenged to face questions about love that you have not been dealing with. And here’s a promise for the future: You’ll have the opportunity to refine and deepen your approach to love so as to transform yourself into more of the person you’d like to become.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Humanity is a mystery,” wrote author Fyodor Dostoevsky. “The mystery needs to be unraveled, and if you spend your whole life unraveling it, you haven’t wasted your time. I am studying that mystery because I want to be a complete human being.” I love this tender perspective on the preciousness of the Great Riddle we’re all immersed in. It’s especially useful and apropos for you to adopt right now, Pisces, because you are undergoing an unusually deep and intense communion with the mystery. As you marinate, you shouldn’t measure your success and good fortune by how much new understanding you have attained but rather by how much reverence and gratitude you feel and how stirring your questions are. ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Excellence does not require perfection,” wrote Aries author Henry James. Now I’m conveying this brilliant counsel to you — just in time for the season when it will make good sense to strive for shining excellence without getting bogged down in a debilitating quest for perfection. Have fun recommitting yourself to doing the best you can, Aries, even as you refuse to be tempted by the unprofitable lure of absolute purity and juvenile forms of idealism.

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READY FOR SOME FUN I like to hook others up at times. Maybe it is my time to enjoy life and reach out a bit! I love to laugh. VTSPORTGO, 60, seeking: M LIVE AND LOVE Very easygoing but protective of self and family. I like open-minded individuals who are willing to try new adventures. I love to be outside all seasons. Hiking all year. Love the water and kayaking. Fishing is fun, as well, and I don’t mind if I’m not catching. Just moved to Burlington and looking to meet new friends. Sudokull, 67, seeking: M, l CREATIVE, FUNNY, GREAT FRIEND Just looking to meet new friends. I am honest and creative and funny. Enjoy cooking, dancing, hiking, music and museums. Looking for friendship and a fun someone to explore this life with. Artiste, 67, seeking: M LUCKY IN LOVE AND NICARAGUA I loved being married. Sadly, he died young. I own gorgeous land in Nicaragua and want a partner to develop it with me as an artist/ surfer retreat (as soon as we get rid of the small problem of a dictator killing his own people). A perfect life is Vermont in summer and Nica in winter, but only with a terrific man. You? W, 72, seeking: M, l MOUNTAINS, SUNSHINE, COFFEE, CONNECTION I am a fit, caring, down-to-earth person looking to share adventures. I hope to have honest and interesting conversations and maybe learn something in the process. I am also innately curious and will want to learn all about you. I have no interest in small talk — I’m looking for authenticity. I’m happy to chat and would like to meet in person. lovemountains, 55, seeking: M, l ARE YOU SEARCHING, TOO? Seeking kind, adventurous 60ish man who likes camping, fishing, walks, sunsets and Maine. I would like a partner who can surprise me with “Let’s go...” and off we go. I’m a true Vermont gal who needs adventure. Let’s have fun. BoredCat, 57, seeking: M, l CENTERED, SENSUAL, TALL AND FIT If I could spend a day with any two men, they would be Freddie Mercury and Leonard Cohen. Sunday morning in bed — really hot black coffee, the paper and music. If you are a Trump voter, smoker or narcissist, we won’t hit it off. If you love books, movies and my two favorite men listed above, we probably will. Zenda889, 66, seeking: M, l ENJOY LIFE TO THE FULLEST I enjoy gardening, animals and reading, and I split my own wood (electric splitter). I love cooking and contra dancing, and I have a new hobby: shape note singing. countrygirl1, 77, seeking: M, l

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OPEN-MINDED, WITTY AND CHARMING Bisexual male looking for a couple to play with. Would be more interested in a longish-term relationship. Want to get with fun, open people and explore everything in a comfortable and fun environment. I enjoy the look, feel, smell and responsiveness of the human body. If you are looking for a switch-hitter to complete the set, ping me. nnuunn, 45, seeking: Cp, l

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LAID-BACK, CHILL, 420-FRIENDLY Looking to meet new people and explore Vermont. When quarantine ends, where to go? 802K420, 32, seeking: W, l

TRANS WOMEN seeking... IS THERE ANY HOPE? I’ve been a closeted trans ever since childhood, but just six months into transition now, at 64. So many regrets. Life has not been kind. Wondering if there’s anyone out there who can love me for who I am, and let me love them for who they are. I’m legally female now, and never going back. Are you interested? LaydeeBird, 64, seeking: M, l SUBMISSIVE SEEKING... Looking to expand my experiences. I am open to many different scenes and roles. tina1966, 54, seeking: W, TW, Q, NC, NBP, Cp, Gp GENEROUS, OPEN, EASYGOING Warm, giving trans female with an abundance of yum to share (and already sharing it with lovers) seeks ecstatic connection for playtimes, connections, copulations, exploration and generally wonderful occasional times together. Clear communication, a willingness to venture into the whole self of you is wanted. Possibilities are wide-ranging: three, four, explorations, dreaming up an adventure are on the list! DoubleUp, 63, seeking: Cp, l

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PRICE CHOPPER/WALGREENS, HINESBURG RD. You: pretty brunette braids and an even more beautiful soul. Me: sitting in my Jeep in the parking lot. You made my day, week — oh hell! — my 2020 just by your simple act of kindness the other day. Thank you for taking the brief moment you took to tell me I was beautiful! I’m still smiling over it. You rock! When: Thursday, May 14, 2020. Where: Price Chopper parking lot in front of Walgreens. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915051 RICHMOND MARKET THIRD TRIP IN We were at Richmond Market and crossed paths a few times. I had to go back twice — the third time for beer for my little sister. You parked two away from me and mentioned it when I came out. I grabbed some cans from Stone Corral instead. Let’s go for a hike or a mountain bike ride. When: Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Where: Richmond Market. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915050 MATTY Matty, I met you last summer while I was walking with my son on Rose Street. Are you still interested? I am single now and would love to see your big smile again. When: Saturday, June 1, 2019. Where: Rose Street. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915049 MISSING MY TWINFLAME Fiery perfection in a dreamscape reality. / A passion unmatched in this world. / Our souls still dance to the song our hearts sing, even though our humanness has briefly shut the party down Footloose-style. / Bodies, man. / Please don’t throw the Jack of Hearts away. / He is you. / My soul burns for yours, and I know yours for mine. / Let’s heal together. When: Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Where: the astral plane. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915048

HOLD HANDS... You left ... My heart is broken. Best, what happened?! I’m so sorry. No closure. It hurts. I thought that This Must Be the Place. Now I don’t get you, or a job, or a place to live, or a chance. I hope that you love yourself. I’ll never forget you — the Waffles to my Applesauce. Please come back. —Fresh. When: Monday, March 19, 2018. Where: Higher Ground. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915046 EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES You were by the river skipping stones and cursing Disney damsels. I counted one, two, three ... eight cats! I must know more. Fortune favors the bold? When: Sunday, May 3, 2020. Where: Winooski. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915045 W4W LOVE YOUR SHAVED HEAD You were far away from me, but it felt like you were close. I last saw you in a peach fur trench coat. I was the Chubby Muffin in a black jumpsuit. You always hold my attention, but I want you to hold more. Even if you don’t write me back, I hope you hang this ad on your fridge. When: Friday, April 24, 2020. Where: on Hood Street in Winooski. You: Gender non-conformist. Me: Woman. #915044 FORD MAN, CUMBIES IN RICHMOND Your truck was dead and blocking me in. You had long beautiful hair and the kindest eyes. The two dogs in the front seat were adorable, and you being able to fix your truck in two seconds flat was almost better. You melted my heart. I hope I run into you again soon. When: Sunday, May 3, 2020. Where: Richmond, Vt. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915043 RE: AMOR A hint, please. So many injured hearts out there. When: Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Where: central Vermont. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915034

RUNNER WITH DOG To the runner I met today: I am an animal painter. You asked me if I was going to skateboard down Camel’s Hump. I would like to meet you again sometime. When: Saturday, May 2, 2020. Where: Battery Park. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915042

RE: AMOR You will never know how much I’ve missed you and how much I want to hold you in my arms. If you really miss me, you know how to find me to let me know. When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: in the night sky. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915032

BIKE PATH ROLLERBLADERS This is a letter of appreciation for all the bike path rollerbladers. Thank you for keeping it funky and adding zest to the lakefront experience. I’m particularly talking about the mustard-yellow sweater wearer who glanced back and then nonchalantly spit as I passed you under the old train tracks with my silly bike horn around 5:30 on Saturday, headed south. When: Saturday, May 2, 2020. Where: bike path, Burlington. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915041

RE: CO-OP CUTIE I’d love to meet up sometime! You looked so sexy in your green overalls and Darn Tough socks with sandals. I see you are a Bernie Sanders supporter with your Feel the Bern shirt. I’d love to feel the burn. Maybe we can stare into each other’s eyes from six feet away... No Rona. When: Monday, April 13, 2020. Where: Hunger Mountain Co-op. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915030

‘OH, YOU GOTTA LOVE IT’ Some nights I wish I could go back in life. Not to change it, just to feel a couple things twice. 28 at midnight; wonder what’s next for me? Longevity. Wonder how long to check for me? Probably forever if I stay in my zone. We speak on this generation but can’t change it alone. When: Friday, May 1, 2015. Where: in the city. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915040 RE: AMOR Sad to know there’s others out there with crushed hearts. Probably a stretch on my part to hope the one who once briefly owned my heart but then went silent could still have feelings. (I still think about her every day.) She’s a raven-haired beauty with a wolf spirit. When: Sunday, April 19, 2020. Where: in the night sky. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915036

Dear Reverend,

Being solo in quarantine has made me realize I want to get back into the dating game. I want to restart my dating apps, but is anybody actually dating right now? How do you meet people when you’re not supposed to meet up with them?

Hannah Solo (FEMALE, 27)

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK Grim-visaged war hath smooth’d his wrinkled front; / And now, instead of mounting barbed steeds / To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, / He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber / To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. When: Thursday, September 24, 2015. Where: Calahan. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915025

RE: AMOR Your post could apply to so many with squeezed hearts. Can you give a hint that only this person would know? When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: central Vermont. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915035 DO YOU KNOW I just love when I’m with you. Yeah, this thing is on 10. We used to be friends, girl, and even back then you would look at me with no hesitation, and you’d tell me, “Baby, it’s yours. Nobody else’s.” That’s for sure. When: Monday, October 22, 2018. Where: 9 a.m. in Dallas. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915033

TRADER JOE’S CHECKOUT LINE I should’ve written this weeks ago. I noticed you on a Saturday morning. I think you’re vegan! We checked out in the lines next to each other. I left just before you. If you see this, I’d love to get coffee once we can leave our houses. When: Saturday, March 7, 2020. Where: Trader Joe’s. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915022



Since you can’t meet people the oldfashioned way at a bar, club or social event, business has been booming for pretty much all the dating apps out there. It’s almost as though they were created with a pandemic in mind. Before you hop back into the dating pool, if you’ve got some time on your hands, use it to freshen up your online profiles and photos. I know … you’ve got the dreaded quarantine hair. You don’t need to take new pictures if you’re not feeling it, but if you haven’t updated your photos in a while, just pick some more recent ones where you don’t look like

you’ve been holed up in a bunker for the past couple months. Even though you can’t go cruising the bars right now, you can still find meaningful interaction from the comfort of your own home. Message people, talk on the phone and maybe have a first face-toface conversation via Zoom (wear a hat if you must). Not being able to physically meet also saves you from going on a bunch of lame dates. You can get to know the person better virtually and take

BLOND BOY IN BLACK TRUCK I noticed you smiling at me in front of the Radio Bean. I waved goodbye as we parted ways; you waved back. We met again on Shelburne Road. I was held back at a stoplight but managed to catch up. You were behind me until the turn for Vergennes. This is the curly-headed brunette in the black Crosstrek. When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: Burlington. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915021 TRUE LOVE REIGNS Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York; / And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house / In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. / Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; / Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; / Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, / Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. When: Sunday, March 24, 2019. Where: Queen City. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915020

BEAUTIFUL BIRD-WATCHER You were on the Burlington bike path with a black coat, binoculars, sweet smile and eyes like a tiger. I was the runner with the black pants and blue shirt. You pointed out the red-winged black bird and told me that was a sign of spring. Look me up, lover, and I’ll fly away with U. When: Saturday, March 28, 2020. Where: Burlington waterfront bike path. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915024

Ask REVEREND Dear Hannah Solo, Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

GOODBYE TO ALL THAT Thank you for closing the door behind me and sealing the door where conditional love lives. Can’t own your own stuff; your memory, faulty. It’s not love to demand someone be other than who they are just to please you. Call me by my name you never would. Things you had been “holding on to for some time” are released. Goodbye. When: Wednesday, April 8, 2020. Where: overlooking the Intervale. You: Man. Me: Man. #915027

SPOTTED AT VERMONT LIQUIDATION STORE You were buying king-size pillows and asked me to go before you. You left the store for your SUV and saw me and then showed me a car accident that happened to your car recently. Let’s talk soon. When: Friday, March 27, 2020. Where: liquidation store, Williston. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915023

HELLO HAPPINESS I’m getting your emails, but it’s not letting me respond. Dennis. When: Monday, March 23, 2020. Where: profiles. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915019 FRIDAY, SOBBING AT CITY MARKET I nearly walked into you as you left the co-op. You were almost blind with tears, sobbing as you walked. I wish I had asked you what was wrong. Small comfort, but it is the least I can do to hope you see this and know that one stranger that day cared about you and carried your pain with them. When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: downtown City Market. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915018 AMOR I try to ignore my feelings for you, but I find myself not able to control them anymore. I love you, and I miss you! When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: in the night sky. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915017

time to decide whether meeting in the flesh is worth the risk. If you decide it is, pick an activity that allows six feet of social distancing. Go on a walk by the waterfront. Arrange to have a picnic in a park. Meet up for a cocktail in someone’s backyard. Take a little hike. Get a creemee. Any outdoor activity at a safe distance would do the trick. Extra-big bonus to pandemic dating: You don’t have to wonder who’s going to make the first move or what “base” you’re going to get to, because all the bases are closed for the time being. When and how you want to go about opening that spigot is entirely up to you. Good luck and God bless,

The Reverend

What’s your problem?

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I’m a 61-y/o woman. Aquarian INFJ Reiki master looking to be part of or create a spiritual, artistic, self-sufficient community further south. Seeks kind, open-minded, gentle kindred spirits, lightworkers, starseeds to explore life’s mysteries and help each other. Cat lovers very welcome! #L1406 I’m a GWM seeking GWM. Into everything except anal. Many interests including railroading and astrology. #L1405 Dirty old man seeks dirty old lady. Watching dirty movies. Dirty in bed. Dirty minded. Love kissing and oral. Alone and single. Age/race, no problem. #1404 I’m a 38-y/o male seeking a 30to 40-y/o female. I’m looking for love before I turn 40 years. Could you be the one? I’m into poetry, music, trying new food and drink, deep conversation, and walks by the lake. I hope you’ll give me the chance to be your man. #1410 I’m a 58-y/o SWM seeking female 50 to 60 years old for companionship and fun! I enjoy hiking, biking, skiing, art and photography, good food and drink. Ideal F would be intelligent, compassionate, able to communicate. #L1409 59-y/o submissive GM. Looking for someone to enjoy times with. #L1403

I’m a 31-y/o woman seeking a fun and energetic 31- to 38y/o man. I’m seeking a Godbelieving, Christian faith-based man. I don’t drink or smoke. I like to go dancing, listen to music, travel. #L1408 I’m a 59-y/o male seeking a male or female age 40 to 80 who is a nudist. Want company in the woods in northern Vermont. #L1407 Spring has sprung. Looking for guys to enjoy the change of season. I’m fun and intelligent, with varied interests. I like everything; mostly sub, but not always. No text/email. I want to talk with you. Central Vermont. Bears are a plus. #L1400

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I’m a 79-y/o retired teacher seeking a mature lady who can help operate a guesthouse together and enjoys gardening, nature walks and traveling. Nonsmoker. #L1402 GWM in late 60s, very friendly, honest, caring and understanding. I’m retired, home alone, and it is very lonesome. It’s been a long winter. Looking for a friend who can help me out once in a while. I don’t look or act my age at all. I have been recouping from surgery. I can tell you more later if you write. Should have a car. Live in central Vermont. #L1398

Internet-Free Dating!

Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness letters. DETAILS BELOW. I’m a 58-y/o woman seeking a mature 30- to 45-y/o male who likes a no-nonsense, worldly life “off the grid” and outside the lower 48. Fast and furious or slow and easy. Nothing in between. Only honest, fun-loving, industrious and adventurous men need apply. #L1401 A lady in jeans / prefers meat to beans / in the fall of life / not anyone’s wife / locally organic / not into panic / cooks on fire / Computer’s on a wire / well trained in art / a generous heart / spiritually deep / easy to keep. I’m a W, 52, seeking M. #L1399 I am divorced of 34 years. I am 5’11 and 230 pounds. I am a very positive person, happy, thoughtful. Like good conversation and caring, honest people. I like the outdoors. I work and would enjoy good company. #L1397 I’m a 37-y/o man seeking a man. Pretty low-key guy. Good-looking for my age. Want to find the man who will complete me. Hope to hear from you! #L1394

Looking for a fun friend. Me: woman 60 years young. Active, adventurous, creative, fit, friendly, flexible, fun, generous, improvisational, independent, outdoorsy, silly, smart, stubborn. You: man, 45 to 60 years young. Charming, educated, fit, flexible, funny, generous, independent, kind, outdoorsy and happy. #L1396 I’m a 47-y/o male seeking a woman 33 to 47. I am looking for a long-term relationship leading to marriage. I’m a gentleman, honest, loyal, looking for one woman to spend my life with. #L1395 I’m a W seeking a M. I’d like to meet a happy man who focuses on the good things in the world and shares my interest in nature, animals, music, star/UFO gazing and possibly future tiny house living. #L1393 I’m a 56-y/o male seeking a male same age or older. I am a fella who likes interesting people. I like to think it could enhance life and make it more fun. #L1391

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