By Judy Reiss
As you can imagine I was disappointed with the election for President. However, although I was disappointed, I do believe in the American system of government and whoever is elected President it is my President and as/an American citizen I will support whoever was elected. Now don’t misunderstand me, I will support him as our President, but I don’t have to like him and it is my right as a citizen to say whatever I want! I also would hope that he would do the same. And what is the same expected by the President of the United States? Well, it is to use language appropriate to his position!

Well, here we are for the next four years with a President who has never been a politician before but a celebrity! And he was elected by the electoral college and not the popular vote. And I don’t believe it ha ever happened before in our history! But he is ours and it is our responsibility to see that he gets the help that he needs. Probably not from you or me but from our elected officials.

I don’t know about you but I sure am glad that I live in Vermont. Whether you voted in the last Vermont election or not, we now have a Governor who appears to me to be at the very least, honest. I have voted democratic ever since I voted for Eisenhower and I did so in this election. Not that I was thrilled with the democratic candidate but because either one was alright to me! And although I knew much more than I wanted to know about the two national candidates, much of which was lies put out by the Russians, I knew very little about the Vermonters. And what I did know didn’t sway me either way. I don’t blame the candidates for this lack of information but myself. I spent the entire summer and most of the fall trying to remember how to behave like a teenager, or at least a middle-ager! And it took most of my energy! And, when the election came about I knew I couldn’t go too wrong!

All the awful advertisements about the candidates from New Hampshire and New York set my teeth right on edge and I knew if I lived in either state I probably wouldn’t vote at all. I really do think each candidate went way over the edge. They demonized each other. And what makes it worse, I don’t think I actually know who finally did win in either state.

OK now we have an honest guy. So, let‘s get together and support him as best we can. He not only deserves it so do we!

When I first started my day care center, I decided that it was a good idea to discuss with the children returnable bottles. So we did and we also decided to go to Montpelier and see the Statehouse and the Governor. So, in we all went, about 18 of us and those little devils walked all across the State House lawn and picked up all the bottles and cans they found there. And when we got inside they insisted we go upstairs into what was the Governor’s office. And Governor Davis was very gracious and invited us all in. And my most outgoing boy was 4-year-old John Sherman and he dumped all his dirty refuse on the Governor’s desk and said “I found all these bottles and cans on your front lawn sir.” And have to give him credit, Governor Davis smiled and thanked him for being so neat. And the other kids also gave him a petition that they had written and signed. Please note, it was then that the bottle bill went into law! And what I want you to remember wasn’t so much that he signed that bill into law but that he welcomed 18 4- and 5-year-olds into his pristine office and said not a word about their muddy and wet boots! Now he was a governor of and for the people! And truthfully, I don’t remember if he was Republican or a Democrat.

For those of us who live in Vermont, we can’t do anything about Washington but we can support and help our governor here. And not many states can say that. So keep your eyes open and watch TV, listen to the radio and read the paper and you will be surprised how often and how much you can help our very own Governor!

Publisher’s note: Starting on Feb. 1, Reiss’s Pieces will only run in the first issue of The WORLD each month. Judy wanted everyone to know she’s still with us. We will also be adding new columnists in the coming months that we hope you enjoy as much as Judy’s column. If you’re interested in writing a regular column or if you have any recommendations, feel free to send an email to editor@vt-world.com.