After a delightfully inspiring week together in his hometown, I invited Kyle to share his take on his place in Vermont.
For me, there are countless reasons why I
love my hometown. The difficulty lies in distinguishing the most important, the
ones that best evoke the image of Norwich Vermont that I have created. Through the
rustic, small town memories of my childhood; the crisp fall days of playing
"ball"; the lazy, swimming summer days; and the waxing and waning of
seasons, the memories pile one on top of another like pancakes until you have a
stack miles high. Here is my attempt to find my "favorite" pancakes
(banana chocolate chip and blueberry are the clear winners).
The blueberry pancake: Upon returning to
Norwich for the first time after living for a year in Argentina, I was struck
by the quiet and stillness of the place. So few cars on the roads, open expanse
of forests, the quiet rustling of fallen leaves on the cold November earth.
November is probably the bleakest time of year to visit Vermont, the days are
short, the bright-colored leaves have long since faded and fallen, there is
bitter cold but little snow.
I like to think of this time of year
as the "intermission" between Fall and Winter.
Yet even at this time of year there is a
stark beauty that spreads over all feeling like a blanket, warming the soul. Perhaps
part of it is the sun, maintaining a purple twilight, beams of light
dancing through blue openings in the clouds, moving swiftly through the fresh
autumn air.
One is driven to move "slower" in
this environment. The frenetic pace of city life has thankfully not yet been
adopted and I find the slower pace allows for a greater stillness of mind,
clarity of thought, and sureness of action. When dipping in to a maple soaked
bite of blueberry pancake, one can slow down and savor the melding of flavors.
The way the syrup blends and complements the blueberry, or how both soak
deliciously into the pancake batter. Sometimes it can be such a relief to just
disconnect for a while, slow down and enjoy every angle of the present
experience, which too often seems forgotten in a world of time management and
capitalist efficiency.
That's the blueberry, now for the banana
chocolate chip!
I love the fact that I can go to work at
the daycare that I once attended when I was just a tiny tot, and how I now work
alongside some of the same teachers who once watched me grow up.
I love how my town still has only one
general store, and their motto is "if we don't have it, you don't need
it."
I look forward to returning to the winter
hiking in three feet of snow, knowing you're the first and only person on the
trail because no other human tracks precede you (sometimes one gets a moose,
but not often).
Most of all though is the deep sense of
community one feels for the town, the people, friends, family, even people
you've never seen before. This strong community connection could be due to an
abiding Vermont culture, one that lives on in the "local" demeanor,
the architecture, and the traditions, new and old, that continue to build
lasting memories year after year.
I've never found pancakes anywhere else in
the world that can quite measure up to a hearty, thick, dinner-plate sized
maple soaked buttermilk and blueberry pancake (please excuse the excessive
adjectives) that one is greeted with at any local breakfast establishment here
in Vermont or New Hampshire. Much of what one finds in this wonderful region is
unique, just like the pancakes, and it is in these unique cultural experiences
that these lasting memories are created, and it is why I am constantly drawn
back to Vermont.
If home is truly one's anchor in the world,
then Vermont is my anchor. It is the foundation I return to time and again to
find balance, to reconnect with my memories and find peace in the deep pool of
experiences that I've built as a "Vermonter."
You can read more from Kyle on his blog here.
