Posted on 07/17/2004 1:54:27 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter
Paul Bremer says the thought of his new home in Chester, Vermont is what got him through his 14 months in Iraq.
"I love it. I've always liked Vermont. What's nice is the contrast. It's green and you don't see a lot of green in Iraq. It's pretty brown and dusty."
Bremer and his wife bought their home here a year ago, just two weeks before he was called to Iraq.
He was the United States' top representative there, in charge of setting up the new government and rebuilding the country.
His post ended on June 28th, when the U.S. returned power to the Iraqis and he moved to Vermont.
"It was a big change, I can tell you. It was an exciting year."
Bremer says his mission has had a lot more success than many people give it credit for, including 18,000 reconstruction projects -- painting schools and building orphanages -- and replacing an oppressive dictator with a new government.
"It's an exceptionally able group of people that most Iraqis think is the most competent government they've had in a half century and we did that. It didn't just happen. It took a lot of work."
With that work now behind him, Bremer is settling into a new life in small-town Vermont.
Shopping on Main Street.
Quiet chats in the gazebo.
Flowers blooming in the Stone Village.
"So far nobody's shooting at me and that makes a big difference."
Chester may look a little different, with secret service agents milling around, but locals here say the town won't change.
Bremer still has secret service officers in his shadow, but he's a world away from the war zone.
"It's very relaxing to look out, see all the green, even if it's raining. It's a nice contrast. It's much calmer and the people are nice here. They've been very welcoming."
And he hopes people in Iraq will know a home as peaceful as his.
Bremer will split his time between Chester and his home outside Washington, D.C.
He says he loves Vermont in the summer, fall and winter, but will spend springtime in Washington instead of mud season in Vermont.
I wonder how long he will have Secret Service protection?
Notice he moves to a state with a very low percentage indeed of immigrants. Let the hoi polloi deal with all those nasties, particularly those from the Near East who may want to harm us.
That's why land investment in areas like Vermont and New Hampshire has such a high potential return: it's like America was in the 1950s. Now that is bliss.
P.S. I'll wager Akiva has never been to Burlington?
Or, ...
Grafton for dinner and drinks at The Old Tavern, or
Manchester for the shopping, ...
Vermont ... the gem of New England!!!
Welcome home, Mr. Bremer.
Our family has a house in Chester! What a coincidence.
Or Winooski Little Saigon.
You oldtime Vermontahs kill me. The entire Burlington-Winooski area is probably smaller than one Colorado front range subdivision but to hear an old Vermonter talk it's "rampant crime and urban sprawl."
The truth about Vermont is that we have to cut grass and hog brush 24/7 just to maintain a human habitation and a clear path down the road here. Isn't that right, Thirty?
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