My Life's Itinerary.....So Far - Part 13

  1984 brings us to Vermont, courtesy of my employer.  Vermont is a beautiful place.  Very aptly named from the French, Vert mont, meaning green mountain.  It seems like everything is greener the moment you cross the state line.
  In preparation for the move, we had previously gone on a house hunting expedition, in the dead of winter, of course.  Many years later I learned that it is better to not buy or rent in the winter time, because in the Spring you may learn there was no lawn beneath the snow.  The realtor were a couple who were real Vermonters.  They drove us around in there not-so-new car to look at homes.  Parts of Vermont are very hilly and the roads can be icy.  That is why our hosts were explaining the benefits of 'sandpaper' snow tires while showing us the houses.  It seems that 'sandpaper' snow tires actually have a component of sand in them which aids in their gripping action on ice.  I never saw them marketed anywhere and wondered if this was a joke that the natives pulled on 'flatlanders'.  Even today, when I google the term, there is no reference to 'sandpaper snow tires'.
  We found a home on a cul de sac street (much nicer to say then 'dead end street') called Lisa Drive in Barretown, Vt.  Usually the whole area is just refered to as Barre.I thought both names were unusual.  Story has it that Lisa was the name of a daughter of the developer of the street.  There is also the city of Barre, not to be confused with Barretown.  Actually, the city of Barre is almost completely surrounded by the town of Barre.  They were named after Isaac Barré, an Irish soldier and politician.

  What was marvelous about the place was how QUIET it was!  Our previous home in Rochester, NH was near a state highway so there was a steady din in the background, but up on the hillside on a dead end street, I mean, a cul de sac, the silence was thunderous!  From the living room window you could see Camel's Hump Mountain.

  After a short time of working out of my car, my employer (Capitol Cash Register) established a small office in nearby Montpelier.  See It's A Living - Part 5.
  In 1991, I was getting a little nervous about my job security.  A couple of the guys in the company were laid off and I worried that I might get caught up in some cut-backs.  We decided to be pro-active and talked about moving to the West.  I researched the idea, and concluded that the target states to consider were Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming.  Of course that was contingent on finding employment.  A bunch of résumés were sent out, after which I flew out there to follow up.  Employment was found with Mid-Mountain Data Systems based in Boise, ID.  I was to work in their Salt Lake City, UT office. See It's A Living - Part 6. So that is where we headed.