In Vermont: A Fiddlers' Contest

The pizza-stand proprietor gets his coffeepot going, and chilled citizens begin to line up, hoping to get a grip on the morning. A camper rolls into the parking area, and within 30 seconds after it stops, four men of assorted ages have jumped out, driven two stakes into the grass and started pitching horseshoes. People drag aluminum chairs and cases of beer out of the backs of their cars and lug them over to the lawn that faces the bandstand. Encouraging smells begin to drift from the beef barbecue pit. The day's first Frisbee...