A couple of months after I started working part-time as a grocery stocker at the Middlebury Natural Foods Cooperative, a co-worker mentioned that she had recently seen actor Jennifer Lawrence in the store. Intrigued (and perhaps seeking verification), I asked my boss if she had seen Ms. Lawrence in the store, and she said she hadn't—and furthermore doubted our co-worker's story. "However," she added, "Jennifer's father-in-law, James Maroney, lives just down the highway and he comes in here all the time. I'll introduce you next time I see him."
An hour later, I was stocking some shelves when my boss, accompanied by some tall old dude, approached me. "Rick, I'd like you to meet James Maroney," she said. Then, to Mr. Maroney, she said, "Rick recently moved here from Oregon, where he and his wife had a small organic farm."
As Mr. Maroney stuck his big hand out to shake mine, he said, "Why did you move to Vermont? Did you make a wrong turn? Did you get lost?"
Laughing, I replied, "No, we moved here mostly because of climate change. We got tired of all the smoke and ash and heat every summer."
"Well, welcome to Vermont," he replied. And from there, the conversation turned to organic farming (Maroney used to run the state's largest organic dairy); Vermont's future as a self-sufficient organic food producer ("It'll never happen," Maroney told me, "because the growing season is too short, the soil isn't right, and there isn't enough political will or economic support"); the strain of running a farm and never getting a break; and Maroney's bed and breakfast ("It's not making money," he revealed).
During the course of our 10-minute conversation there in the Co-op's "dinner aisle," I had the good sense not to ask him the main thing I was curious about: how was it to have Jennifer Lawrence as a daughter-in-law? Nor did I mention that Ms. Lawrence's son and mine share the same name (Cy), nor that she and my wife share a birthday. Nor did I tell him that my wife is an author whose first novel, Marcea of the Dust, would make an excellent movie, and would he mind if I mailed him a copy to pass on to Jennifer?
Of course, the fact that I thought about doing all those things may reveal something about how good my sense actually is.
Despite my Herculean restraint, Mr. Maroney has yet to engage with me in further conversation, although he did smile at me broadly the last time I saw him. So I guess we're still best buds.
But I have yet to see Ms. Lawrence in the store. Which is probably a good thing, since I'd probably say something stupid like, "My son and yours share the same name and my wife's birthday is the same as yours and may I send you my wife's novel so you can turn it into a movie?"
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| Jennifer Lawrence (James Maroney's daughter-in-law) |
