NEW HAMPSHIRE: Hedgehogs, Dirty Jokes, and Tiaras

So, we had a great time in New Hampshire, although it was nothing like I was led to believe it would be. At risk of embarrassing our hosts, Eric and Paulette, and our mutual friend, Matt Cheney, here are some photos. I couldn't get some of them to rotate and there are entirely too many of hedgehogs, but so it goes...This was around the Dartmouth area, in Lebannon, New Hampshire.

The Photo Album

The Slide Show

Thanks to Matt, I managed to pick up both People of Paper and The 13 and 1/2 Lives of Bluebear. Thanks to Eric, I picked up some first edition Nabokov. Woo-hoo!

New Year's Eve, Eric and Paulette took us and several other friends down to the local pub. It was wonderful for Ann and me--it was snowing in big, thick flakes and the town green was just beautiful. We hadn't seen snow for a decade.



Later, Ann, Eric, Matt, and I went outside to smoke cigars about ninety minutes before midnight. The pub was great, but pretty loud and we couldn't hear ourselves think. A (drunk--but we all were) carpenter named Rick came up to us, we offered him a cigar, and soon we were being treated to some filthy but hilarious jokes and some choice comments about people from Vermont. A medical intern joined us with some additional jokes. (At one point, Ann had to go inside. She held out her hand and said, "I enjoyed meeting you." Rick's jaw dropped and he said, a look of genuine bemusement on his face, "You did?" as he shook her hand.)



Later, a guy decided to hitchhike by lying out in the middle of the road--and damned if it didn't work! Later still, as my body began to shut down from the cold, a stretch limo pulled up and out careened about a half-dozen women in flimsy dresses, some in heels, all of them totally smashed or stoned out of their minds. With the kind of single-minded focus you usually only see in salmon swimming up-stream, they flailed their way to the pub, slipping and sliding in their inappropriate footwear.

We took that as our cue to go back inside, especially since I couldn't feel my hands anymore.



We had a great time in New Hampshire, and I also managed to conduct a bit of business with Eric (responsible for many of the City of Saints illos) and Paulette (a jeweler), both of whom will be contributing to the Shriek limited edition. (More on that later.)

Even better, we got to hang out with hedgehogs and turtles. Even better than that, you couldn't ask for better company than Matt, Eric, and Paulette. Not to mention, great beer. And, oh, did I mention hedgepigs?



Jeff