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I wasn’t going to write a blog entry about the new Simpsons movie opening in Springfield VT in a couple of weeks because it’s already received enough publicity and I did not think it applied to most people traveling to Vermont.

However, I’ve received inquiries about where Springfield VT is located and had some discussions about how it was chosen.

I did not think Vermont’s Springfield would win the competition. Shows what I know. But I’m in good company. The producers of the movie did not think Vermont would win either and therefore did not invite the town to participate in the competition. What a bunch of Homers.

I know I have some overseas readers so, for them, here’s the story. The Simpsons animated television show had been on the air in the US for 100 years (rounded down to a more accurate 18 years), or at least as long as television itself it seems. The Simpson family live in a town called Springfield. There is a new movie about the Simpsons to be released and the producers wanted to get publicity by having towns named Springfield compete for the honor of hosting the movie premier. Or something like that.

According to USA Today’s resident grammarian, Springfield VT beat “out” 13 other towns with the same name as the show’s fictional city. (Attention deficit sidebar: I don’t know what ever happened to simply “beat” - it seems to have been killed “off” a couple of decades ago about when items on the computer were printed “out” in “portrait,” formerly know as vertical, or “landscape,” formerly know as horizontal. I don’t know how computer science majors managed to get into college when they scored -50 on their English SAT’s. I blame the parents . . . people like Homer and Marge. Everyone else but me thinks they are fictional.)

Back on track: you can read the story on the the USA Today website about how Springfield VT was overlooked when the invitations were sent (”out”) but then made a video with a local Homer lookalike chasing a donut through the town that cinched the win. Plus, Springfield VT has a nearby nuclear power facility. No, really, they do!

Here is the answer to the questions I have received:

1. Yes, there is a Springfield VT.

2. Yes, you can find it on a map. Here.

3. About an hour and a half south of our inn and two hours from Boston.

3. (a) Yes, NORTH of Boston.

3. (b) And to the guy in Illinois who called and anyone else like him:

Yes, I’m sure.

No, not exactly an hour and a half . . .

(c) 2007 Jeff Connor except the Simpson illustration
Grunberg Haus

Typical Springfield VT residents according to
Matt Groening who no doubt owns the rights to this
illustration and has a fleet of lawyers to prove it,
so please don’t forward this to him.

grunberghaus.com