Greetings Again From Vermont

[Wrote this this morning about 9:30am, but Blogger was down.]

Safe and sound up here in Burlington VT as my visit to Dean Headquarters begins to grow longer and longer ... VT has serious snow which started yesterday Saturday, around 10:00am, as Mike O'Neill, a Dean guy and I were
watching out the window. Actually I'm happy to report on an early Saturday morning the place wasn't packed and Mike and I almost needed to break-in to get in. We were the early birds, and made it in before
the snow started.

But then it just came down non-stop. At noon, a bunch of folks rolled in just about the time I was ready to
take a break and go for a walk in the snow. It was a fine walk one way, but a stinging snow blowing in your face walk back the other direction. Still it's beautiful stuff -- an inch or two or three of it.

But the stuff won't STOP! I peeked out my hotel room window at different times last night when the
scrapping and clunking metal blades of the snowplows went by. Under a tall light in the parking lot, there was a slightly orange glowing triangle of snow showering down, the cars getting more and more covered, like camels in a sandstorm, heads buried, legs folded beneath them, getting slowly blanketed, just trying to wait it out.

At dawn (still dark) the parking lot was still a snow factory, snow relentlessly pouring like it had all night. For all the snowplows' hard day's night of work, it didn't seem to have made much of a dent.

No room service, as this is a simple hotel (and very cozy and the staff are very very nice btw). I had a meal of vending machine delicacies for supper last night -- two slim jim small salami sticks, trail mix with blue and red M&M's, two bags of big Amish pretzels, 3 cups of Twinings English Breakfast I always stash in my suitcase. Like bathtub gin, I brewed my tea from very hot tub water out of the big tap.

I was starving this morning and the complimentary breakfast was much appreciated.

Rumor has it there's a party this afternoon at Dean HQ which I may attend, now that I'm stuck here. I had originally planned to return to Boston today, but that is certainly NOT in the cards.

Stay safe and warm if you're in a cold climate ... more soon.