Black Fly Season is Over in Vermont

**Jack Moroney (RIP)** · 08-22-2006, 18:38

Snipped from the local paper:

Lawful nudity affronts some in Brattleboro

August 22, 2006

Associated Press

BRATTLEBORO — Complaints about young people who spend time in downtown naked have prompted the Selectboard to explore an anti-nudity ordinance.

Groups of young people have been congregating in a downtown parking lot and enjoying the warm summer weather without clothing, and that bothers some local residents.

"A parking lot is not a strip club. It's a parking lot," resident Theresa Toney told the Selectboard last week. She said she has seen repeated instances of naked people hanging out downtown.

"This is a problem. What about children seeing this?" Toney asked.

Vermont has no law against nudity, though some cities and towns ban it by ordinance.

News that the Selectboard had asked Town Attorney Robert Fisher to research a possible local ordinance drew a protest of sorts Friday, as five young men gathered downtown and stripped their clothes off in protest.

"There's no real valid way to justify the banning of nakedness," said one of the men, Adhi Palar, between licks on his clarinet. "Nakedness does not violate any human rights whatsoever."

With no law to enforce, Police Chief John Martin was taking a laid-back approach.

"What's the harm?" Martin asked. "It's a problem to the extent that it bothers people, but we've always had it here."

"We get calls and we check out what's going on. Even though there's often no criminal violation, we want to be sure there isn't a confrontation. Or that someone is not emotionally disturbed."

A criminal charge might result if the nudity is sexual in nature, with the purpose of "gratification or the intent of arousing oneself or another," Martin said.

Nudity has put the town in the headlines before. A group of women held "Breast Fest" in Brattleboro in the early 1990s, marching down Main Street with no clothing above the waist.

lksteve · 08-22-2006, 18:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Moroney

"There's no real valid way to justify the banning of nakedness," said one of the men, Adhi Palar, between licks on his... clarinet.

that line damn near killed me...

Gypsy · 08-22-2006, 21:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by lksteve

that line damn near killed me...

I was drinking a bottle of water and almost choked when I read that line. I guess I need to get out more, fortunately for the masses I don't live in Vermont.

x SF med · 08-23-2006, 06:50

COL Jack-
You live in an alternate reality up there in the SSRV - but, it is interesting. Do the locals know you're a Republican, and ex-military? Probably not, you haven't said that they've held drum circles on your front lawn.

**Jack Moroney (RIP)** · 08-23-2006, 12:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by x_sf_med

Do the locals know you're a Republican, and ex-military? .

Absolutely, I have expressed my ire a couple of time in the local newspapers on various subjects having to do with the flag, the draft, and the idiocy of local politics. Of course, now they require me to wear a white smock and ring a bell if I want to walk through the town

I have refused to comply with that and I wear a black baseball cap with SF emblazoned on it in white just to draw fire

x SF med · 08-23-2006, 14:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Moroney

Absolutely, I have expressed my ire a couple of time in the local newspapers on various subjects having to do with the flag, the draft, and the idiocy of local politics. Of course, now they require me to wear a white smock and ring a bell if I want to walk through the town

I have refused to comply with that and I wear a black baseball cap with SF emblazoned on it in white just to draw fire

Not the best GW/UW tactics, but you are the wolf living among the sheep - they just don't know it.

Hold it!!! Recon by DRAWING Fire - a new tactic by COL Jack. - What you need to do is get an old Socialist who could nominally pass for you to wear the SF cap while you note the shooters for later reference. Tell him it's a new team from San Francisco.....

Monsoon65 · 08-23-2006, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Moroney

Absolutely, I have expressed my ire a couple of time in the local newspapers on various subjects having to do with the flag, the draft, and the idiocy of local politics. Of course, now they require me to wear a white smock and ring a bell if I want to walk through the town

I have refused to comply with that and I wear a black baseball cap with SF emblazoned on it in white just to draw fire

I was in SF last year and made sure when I was out and about that I always wore an AFSOC t-shirt. I was just hoping to start trouble.

I went into a shop with my girlfriend and some hippy came up to me and asked if I was in the service. I said I was, and the guy grabbed my hand and thanked me for serving my country. This is the only time something like that had happened to me.

My girlfriend got a good laugh out of it.

**Jack Moroney (RIP)** · 08-23-2006, 18:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monsoon65

asked if I was in the service. I said I was, and the guy grabbed my hand and thanked me for serving my country..

As liberal as this state is, that has happened a lot to me. It does sort of take you back a step or two but it is also kind of refreshing after reading and listening to all the anti-military sentiment in this particular area.

**Jack Moroney (RIP)** · 08-23-2006, 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by x_sf_med

Not the best GW/UW tactics, ...

Funny you should mention that-when I first got here I kept so low a profile that I could stand tall under a snake's belly. I just like my annonimity. But this is typical small town Vermont where if Sadie passes gas in Ned's hay loft in the northeast corner of the town every body in town starts leaving beano for Sadie at every place she will visit the next day. And, believe me if Sadie has a routine everyone will know where she is and where she will be next hour. No one knew I was in the military and except for the DOD registration window sticker on my car I was just another bloke in the town. How'um'so'ever when the post office delivers official mail to you with your rank on it it takes only one delivery cycle before everyone knows who you are. As I could no longer hide in plain sight, I decided that if they were going to take an occassional shot anyway why not let them know what they were shooting at.

Gene Econ · 08-23-2006, 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Moroney

As liberal as this state is, that has happened a lot to me. It does sort of take you back a step or two but it is also kind of refreshing after reading and listening to all the anti-military sentiment in this particular area.

Yo Jack:

Who in their right mind would strip naked in Vermont during August? Black flies, horse flies, mosquitos. Big time in fact.

I thought you guys banned DDT years ago? Must have something damn good to keep the biting insects down in the summer there.

I used to shoot at a range about ten miles North West of Devans in the summer. As I can recall, during August I had to wear a fatigue uniform with sleeves down and a mosquito net due to the Black Flies.

Gene

**Jack Moroney (RIP)** · 08-24-2006, 04:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene Econ

Who in their right mind would strip naked in Vermont during August?

Ahh, the operable phrase here "in their right mind"

You know Vermont Gene, there are 9 months of good skiing and 2 months of bad sledding. The rest of the time it is warm enough to shed the outer garments. It is probably some ritual down there where they are making sure everyone knows who is male and who is female. Often hard to tell when everyone is bundled up

**Bill Harsey** · 08-28-2006, 18:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene Econ

Yo Jack:

Who in their right mind would strip naked in Vermont during August? Black flies, horse flies, mosquitos. Big time in fact.

I thought you guys banned DDT years ago? Must have something damn good to keep the biting insects down in the summer there.

I used to shoot at a range about ten miles North West of Devans in the summer. As I can recall, during August I had to wear a fatigue uniform with sleeves down and a mosquito net due to the Black Flies.

Gene

Must be why Adhir Palar was licking his clarinet.

x SF med · 08-29-2006, 06:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene Econ

I used to shoot at a range about ten miles North West of Devans in the summer. As I can recall, during August I had to wear a fatigue uniform with sleeves down and a mosquito net due to the Black Flies.

Gene

Gene-

The worst part about summer PT at Devens was the plethora of blackflies streaming off the Mirror Lakes - so fun to do the lake runs through clouds of gants, then clouds of biting black flies...