It's spelled V-e-r-m-o-n-t.  It's the 14th state -- the first one after the original 13 colonies.  It's right next to New Hampshire and it's similarly shaped.  But people don't seem to know we exist.  The other night as Emily and I were watching some election-related news coverage, we heard a pundit refer to the March 4th primaries in "Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and the other states." 

In tonight's Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton said, "I want to help the people of this country get the chances they deserve to have. And I will do whatever I can here in Ohio, in Texas, Rhode Island, in the states to come making that case."

What are we, chopped liver?  We have 15 delegates!  There are only four contests for the Democrats on March 4th.  Nobody seems to have any trouble remembering the other three.

It reminds me of the theme from Gilligan's Island.  At the end of the opening credits as the lyrics listed the characters on the island, the song we all remember would go, "With Gilligan, the Skipper too, the millionaire and his wife, the movie star, the professor and Mary Ann...."  But remember when the show was still black and white?  It had a slightly different version of the song.  Originally, the song was sung, "...the movie star, and the rest!"  The rest?  The professor and Mary Ann were "the rest?" 

That's us up here in Vermont.  Texas and Ohio are the Skipper and Gilligan.  Vermont is the state that's not worth taking up theme song time with.  But remember, Vermont is also the state that can charge radio batteries using coconut shells and sea water AND is the state most people want to marry.  So there.