A trail tale from Hinesburg.
This morning the traffic was so heavy into Town Hall, the police were out directing traffic. A nice idea, particularly to allow people to cross the usually mind-numbingly busy Rte. 116, but it caused a ripple effect: Traffic backed up all the way past the Hinesburg School on the south side and all the way past the police station to the north, about a half mile on either side. Worse still, Silver Street was backed up trying to merge onto Rte. 116. This event, alarming as it is to those rushing to work (many trying to bypass U.S. 7), was far more distressing to the school bus drivers who had to wait. And wait. And wait. To the point that school was delayed because so many kids hadn't arrived.
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Inside the hall, the mood was festive, the crowd steady and polite and the polls jittery as all get out. Where in the world did they find such cheap things? There were no screens and so it seemed a much more open and community affair. Donuts and coffee in the corner collected quite a crowd of neighbors who shared jokes and jabs about this and that. A community good morning, really.
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Outside the polls were a host of cold-handed political supporters including the two candidates for the state house seat (on opposite sides, of course); supporters/workers for Welch, Tarrant and Rainville and a man clad in bow tie and black Lincolnesque top hat who identified himself only as a "Billionaire for Bush" though his get-up belied any wealthy tailoring. Tongue in cheek perhaps or does, in fact, Hinesburg have a billionaire?
The Rainville operative beckoned this writer and boldly, and as it turns out incorrectly, predicted victory for his woman, as it were. He had that teeth grinding, bloodshot look of a man who's had too little sleep. God bless his effort. He also complained about an upstanding Hinesburg ciitzen who marched, undisturbed, into the polling booth with a bright blue Welch button on her lapel. "Tell me," the Rainville operative asked, "Did they make her take off that Welch button?"
The target of that question was taken aback. "No. I don't know. I don't think so...." The operative gladly filled the air: "It's not like it's something for a lawsuit, I was just wondering. You know they should have told her to remove it..."
Ahh, the important issues of the day.
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In the evening, red brake lights headed south filled Rte 116 almost from the CVU light, as traffic was again stopped for people to get safely to town hall. I wonder if there were any donuts left.
gg