I Made the Move! – Sandy Pierre

Date of move: May 18, 2005

I joined the FSP back in February 2002, as a "glass eater", one of those zany people who committed to any of the ten states then under consideration. Alaska was my first choice, but sadly, very few Porcupines were with me on that.

I made my first exploratory trip to New Hampshire over Thanksgiving weekend 2003. My introduction to the Free State was less than glorious. I underestimated how hard it would be to find an open restaurant on Thanksgiving Day, and wound up "feasting" on Dunkin' Donuts, salted nuts and Slim Jims. It was too late in the season to see pretty foliage, and too early to see snow; I just saw a lot of rain and leafless trees. Despite the fact that it wasn't exactly love at first sight, I couldn't wait to make the move. However, family, work and school obligations held me back. It wasn't until early 2005 that I announced that I'd be moving "after the thaw".

After analyzing my various relocation options, I finally decided to just take what fit in my car (a Subaru Outback), and leave everything else behind in storage in California. I settled on a plan to drive fairly directly and quickly across the U.S., but to do a bit of sightseeing along the way.

My original plan had been to leave California on May 17, shrieking "Hasta La Vista, Baby!!" in the general direction of Excremento (the state capitol). Sadly, it didn't work out that way. My STUFF (see George Carlin, Theory of:) seemed to multiply as I packed, so that while the stacks of boxes increased, the quantity of unpacked STUFF remained static. Has a physicist ever studied this phenomenon in depth? I see Nobel Prize potential here. I delayed my departure by a day.

May 18, Judgment Day, dawned dark and very rainy. I took the last load of STUFF to my storage shed in driving rain, getting the interior of my car quite damp. I said teary and painful farewells to family and friends. The power went out, and I had to finish loading my car and walking up and down the stairs in darkness. I finally finished loading my car and waved goodbye to Oakland, California. Death or Glory! Free State or Bust!! Live Free Or Die!!!

Emotional state for first 30 minutes: kept repeating "Oh God" over and over like a mantra. Emotional state for rest of the day: erratic. There was laughter, there were tears, there were moments of blinding panic. There were moments of telling myself to get a grip and remember that I had been waiting for this day for a long time. There was a moment of telling myself this might well be the biggest thing I ever did, and it would make a great story, and damn I'm cool. That was a good moment; I liked that moment.

I've been here two months now, and I can honestly say that I love it. It's beautiful, people are friendly, traffic is like a pleasant dream, the architecture is amazing, there's no sales tax. I can walk the streets at night and not feel afraid for my life. I've met lots of other FSP participants, who are an amazingly affable, upbeat and politically active bunch. FSP meetings are well-attended, and everyone participates. Someone throws a BBQ almost every week. There are protests, petitions, people running for office (and winning!), Porcupines helping each other to move and care for sick friends, networking, schmoozing... and a lot of beer. If you want to fight for liberty, and be surrounded by others who do so as well, New Hampshire is definitely the place to be! Hope to see you here soon.

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