Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Dateline Woodstock:

Following the arrival of Fall and the first few frosty nights here in Woodstock, the maple trees high up on the mountain have taken on a rosy blush and the tour busses have begun to pile up by the side of the road leading to MISys World Headquarters. You know the tourists have arrived because very few locals do their shopping on Main Street wearing those festive tags that read "Hello. My name is ..." Woodchucks (the people who call Woodstock home) appreciate the economic benefit the tourists bring to our town, but every year at this time we have to shift our lifestyles considerably to accommodate them. Forget visiting the Post Office, the Woodstock Bank, the Woodstock Apothecary, the Woodstock Book Store, the Woodstock Mercantile, or any other establishment in the downtown area after 9 in the morning. Until 5pm or so, you'd best not try to drive through Woodstock because apparently the best place to watch the glow of maple trees up on Woodstock Mountain is from the middle of the crosswalk on Main Street. "Isn't that a sight, Marge..." is often heard as a line of traffic backs up just east to the crossing. In just a few short weeks, the leaves will be down, the tour busses will have returned to the Big City with their loads, and Woodchucks will be able to settle in for a few weeks of solitude before the first snows up on Woodstock Mountain lure the tour busses full of excited skiers back to our town.

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