I was born in New Hampshire and I’m proud of it. The state has been home to some pretty remarkable people…even quilters!

In the many years I have lived here, there has not been an earthquake, a tsunami, or a tornado. We did have a three foot high snow in March recently, and we did experience the “Flood of 2006″ which caused major devastation in parts of the state, including our own backyard.

A lot has been written about New Hampshire and its people. There will be more chapters to write, as people flock into the state because we have no sales tax, or general state income tax. The wealthy are charged interest on their investment income. The result of virtually no shared taxes is that the burden of paying for the infrastructure of the state, its roads, and its schools, falls to the property owner.

I am pretty amazed when I see how developed my old neighborhood in Manchester has become; and I am equally in awe, when I drive through Deerfield, where my parents owned a farm. New homes stand, or are being built, where there were once trees or fields. There is not a cow in sight, in that once booming, small farm community. The farm’s fields where I once rode horses now sport a luxury home with a four car garage and a surround porch.

Such is life. It changes, and not always for the best, although we usually try “to grin and bear it.” What else can one do? At the same time, we long for the “old days” because they seemed to be simpler times.

As a friend pointed out recently, and I agree, all of life is a trade off. If you have “this,” then chances are you cannot have “that.” Or, as the old timers would say, “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.”

I’m going to borrow a line from another famous quilter who lives in the neighboring state of Maine. Please visit us…and then, please go home.

It’s not that New Englanders are all unfriendly and curmudgeonly. We are just running out of space, and most of us who have been here for awhile, long for the open spaces of the past, where deer could be seen grazing in the fields, where pheasants found food by the side of the road, and where one really didn’t see very many wild animals because they had not been displaced from their natural habitat so that someone could build a condo.

Be well and happy, and whatever you do, please don’t mention what a great place New Hampshire is!

Pat

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006 at 5:02 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.