Maine 2016 - Day 0 - From Old England to New England

Maine 2016

6/24/16, “From Old England to New England”

Ogunquit, Maine

Just 11 days ago I was sitting in Nottingham, in England’s oldest pub, discussing Brexit with the locals.  Now, here I am in New England, and Brexit happened.  From Old England to New England, it has dominated the news coverage in every way.  A year ago, I made this trip on the heels of one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions of a generation.  “Love Wins”.  That was the talk and the hashtag all over every form of social media and news outlet 52 Fridays ago.  Today, it’s Brexit.

In spite of a collapse of global economies, it is a decision with which I am very happy.  Britain has declared its independence from a failing institution, and, having just returned from Britain, I am convinced they made the right decision for themselves.  It will likely lead to the reunification of Ireland and the secession of Scotland from the rest of Britain, but those are likely positive things to occur, as well.  Brexit has happened, and it will quite possibly represent the biggest geopolitical event since the fall of the Soviet Union.  Britain and Greece, they represented the two extreme ends of the European Union.  Britain, a donor state, Greece a state on the verge of bankruptcy being the recipient of much of those donations.  Why should Britain continue to support Greece?

That was the sentiment from Wales to Nottingham.  It is the sentiment that I share.  It is borne from nationalistic pride, which is no longer seen as a noble virtue, instead being condemned as a form of selfishness in a modern society.  Is this ideal of Civil Society that Hegel envisioned?  If so, it is something of which I want no part.  Opinions have been mixed, but I fail to see how people can condemn Britain for saying, “Britain First.”  It is this vision of “America First” that Donald Trump has been selling to the American people as his campaign, and it is a vision that I wish to embrace.

There is not much to report about a boring Day 0, and Brexit has been the overarching theme throughout the past slightly over 24 hours.  It was around 11 PM when I got home last night, after seeing a silly comedy Central Intelligence with my friend, and I was pleased to turn on the news to find Brexit was then being predicted with 80% certainty.  Within an hour, British news outlets had called it.  Brexit was happening.  I grabbed my bottle of Beefeater gin, brought back from London and lit up a Partagas, celebrating British independence.

I knew the consequences.  The markets and pound would take a nose dive.  Northern Ireland would rejoin the Republic of Ireland.  Scotland would vote for its independence so that it could rejoin the European Union.  Prime Minister David Cameron would resign.  That all happened or is being talked about happening in the near future.  It will complete redefine the geopolitical structure of the British Isles.  Meanwhile, I was texting back and forth with my friends about it.  One friend was afraid of the consequences I described.  The other friend was excited for the reasons I mentioned.  I was in the latter camp and unafraid of the consequences.

I woke up around 8 AM, quickly got ready and packed before heading to the office.  I spent almost the entire day finalizing a bid package for a new client.  I got a haircut and my traditional pre-departure lunch at Hop Won.  At 5 PM, I left so that I could have a quick Cohiba and pick up some cigars before getting on the train.  I needed to be at Hertz before they closed at 7 PM.  Meanwhile, my friend was working until 7 PM, but he would be able to make the 6:59 PM train, which got in at 7:36 PM.  It was later than if I had left work early, but it would not delay me much off my current schedule.

When I got to Hertz, they were almost out of cars, despite my reservation, and had to put me in a compact, giving me a voucher for the inconvenience.  It was 7 PM by the time I got the car.  I put everything in the car, entered the hotel into the GPS, and drove around the corner to get some bacon and coffee.  I drove back to Hertz to await my friend.  I was standing waiting for him for less than ten minutes when all was said and done.

We got on the road, and I lit up an Davidoff box-pressed Nic Toro, as the shop had been sold out of the Escurio Toros.  I put on Red, and we were on the road.  It was a familiar drive, the same drive I have taken for three years in a row now.  I-287 to I-91 to I-84 to I-90 to I-95.  We stopped at McDonald’s after the first cigar, where I got some protein with no bread.  We got back on the road and switched the music to Fearless.  I lit up a Tatuaje TAA Exclusivo, trading that for a Trump-sized Fuente somewhere in Massachusetts.

We were soon at the all-too-familiar “Welcome to Maine” sign.  We took a ceremonial picture there, and I got caught up on my messages and notifications.  20 minutes later, we were at the hotel, the Seaview Motel, where I believe I stayed with my parents during my first trip to Maine as a teenager.  We went up to the room, and I sat down outside, where I proceeded to light up an Ardor and write this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish and plan our day tomorrow.  We have a long day ahead of us.