In fact, there’s an unwritten rule: if the event took place outside state borders, you will never truly be a Vermonter, even if you’ve lived here for 45 years, are registered to vote, and own a pick-up truck with a snowplow blade.

The issue of birth tends to crop up annually at town election time, when thunderous letters to the newspaper point out who’s a native, who’s a foreigner, and who, therefore, deserves a seat on the town council. We all know what foreigners are like. They move up here from New Jersey and start complaining about the state of the roads.

Like everywhere else, though, Vermont is changing. We’re all on the move: sample any population these days and almost everybody