Brendan Smith’s weekly column takes a tongue-in cheek view on anything and everything that has to do with New Hampshire, The Country and the world.
Brendan moved to New Hampshire from Long Island, New York in 1985.
His first ten years were spent learning to adjust to life here in Central New Hampshire, the last seventeen have been spent writing about his adventures and misadventures for the Weirs Times as a “Flatlander” – From “Raking The Roof” to “A Day At The Dump” and everything in between. In 1997 after being a contributor to the Weirs Times for many years, Brendan came to work for the Weirs Times and is now the editor.
Among his “Flatlander” accomplishments: he started the group F.A.T.S.O. (Flatlanders Adjusting to Solitary Oblivion) a winter support group for new transplants; he has run for Governor of New Hampshire under The Flatlander Ticket and has entertained groups and organizations around the state with his speaking.
Brendan is the author of “The Flatlander Chronicles”, “Best Of A F.O.O.L. In New Hampshire” and “I Only Did It For The Socks Stories & Thoughts On Aging.” All three books are available at BrendanTSmith.com.
Brendan lives in Laconia with his wife, Kimberly.
2023 Predictions
A FOOL in New Hampshire this week offers his predictions for what he thinks is coming in 2023 from a new form of currency to Tom Brady’s next gig. Always fun!
A Fair Question
It happens every October, the inevitable question. “Are you going to the Sandwich Fair?”
I was first asked the question in October of 1985. I had only moved here from New York the month before. I didn’t know what the Sandwich Fair was back then, but assumed, due to the nature of its name, that there must be a lot of sandwiches.
A Few Things
It’s not always easy to come up with ideas for this column every week…
This is an in-between week..
So, now that my deadline is here, I have no choice but to share these random thoughts with you.
Bad Poetry
I Turned On The News
To See What Was What
I Heard People Telling Me
Who Was Good And Who’s Not
There Were Less Drug Commercials
Which At First Made Me Pleased
But Now Too Many Messages
About Which Politician Was A Sleaze
Serious Business
I have decided that it would be a good idea to try and find out how our system of government works here in New Hampshire since I have never really understood it. It would be a definite plus for me to know how to conduct myself as Governor and work with our four hundred state representatives and twenty-four senators (see, you learned something already) when it came down to getting things done.
My 2022 Platform
As the only candidate running under The Flatlander Party, Brendan been using this precious time to not only watch cat videos on social media, but also to come up with some issues and solutions to them that will resonate with voters.
Taking The Pledge?
Brendan, #flatlanderforGovernor, is annoyed by what he calls an old, useless, political game. It seems that one of his political opponents is insisting that every other candidate sign some sort of silly pledge about something or another.
Asking For Help
Brendan is once again running for Governor of NH representing the Flatlander Party .. but he can only get elected if people write his name on the designated “write in” line. It will take a lot of time and effort, but he’s confident he can persuade folks to do it. We shall see!
Helpful Writing Tips
A friend of mine recently commended me for being able to come up with a new column every week. He claimed that he would never be able to do it.I disagree.You see, writing a weekly (sometimes weakly) column is not as hard as it might appear. All it takes is an understanding of a simple […]
Pandemic Tax Tips
Every once in a while, I like to use my column space to benefit the public good. To back away from some of the satire and to bring forth real information to help readers like you.So, as I have done around this time over the years, I’d like to let you in on a few […]
Checking Out The Models
When I was a young boy I enjoyed looking at models. Often they were on the pages of magazines I wasn’t supposed to be looking at in the first place. It didn’t matter if the models were American or European, they all were fine with me, but I certainly couldn’t let anyone except my closest […]
Go Team!
There has been a lot of attention over the past few years about the names of certain sports teams on both a local and national level.These team names are considered by some to be derogatory reflections of a particular group’s heritage.Unlike those who are against these names being used, I am not going to mention […]
F.A.T.S.O. Diversity?
As if this year hasn’t been tough enough on F.A.T.S.O. to already; now we have to deal with this.F.A.T.S.O. of course, stands for Flatlanders Adjusting To Solitary Oblivion, a support group to help new transplants to New Hampshire adjust to their first few winters here.January is usually a very robust time for F.A.T.S.O. In a […]
Reason To Believe
I still believe in Santa Claus.At the same time, I’m not entirely sure that he really exists.Still, I am of the mind that I shouldn’t dismiss anything as false unless it is absolutely proven to me that something is or isn’t.It has never been proven to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that Santa […]
Games For Christmas
The world has changed a lot over the past decade or so, making it even harder to find the right Christmas gift for certain people.The hardest people to buy for over the years has certainly been the “politically correct” crowd, which grows more demanding every year.What do you get for the discriminating Cancel Culture lover […]
Christmas Movies
Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it is really time to get into the true Christmas spirit.What better way to really get into the mood then with some classic Christmas movies?Of course, things are a little different this year than in the past due to the virus and the peaceful riots and all the […]
What’s In A Name?
Living here in Central New Hampshire for thirty-five years after moving here from Long Island, New York, there are still some things I haven’t gotten completely used to yet.No, I’m not talking about bean hole beans.It is the pronunciation of some of the towns, cities, lakes and roadways.As one travels around the Granite State, there […]
Of Legal Age
I am now officially sixty-five, the legal age to be crotchety and cranky if I choose without having to face repercussions.But there has been talk that the legal age may soon be moved up.There are many who are outraged about this.But I am not one of them.I have a great responsibility as a world-renowned columnist […]
Feeling A Little Aggressive
This weekend I turn sixty-five.As a teenager, I never thought I would ever be “that old”. I was convinced I was chosen by a higher power to never age while everyone else did.At almost forty years of age when my hair began to disappear, I started to think that maybe that was not the case. […]
Looking Forward To The End
I write this column a couple of days before the big election.I am looking forward to all of this craziness to be over.Over the past week my worry has increased tenfold and I am hoping that once this election is said and done, that I will be feeling a bit more at ease.The fear has […]