03/01/05 Free Choice

Ever since I moved to Vermont in 2000, I have been fascinated by the process of town meeting. Natives tell me that I will get over this. All it takes, they say, is one too many years of sitting in a hard, cramped auditorium seat for 8 hours while debating whether the school board should have 100 or 99 boxes of paperclips in the budget for next year. So far, that kind of direct debate hasn't worn thin. I love having a say in the decisions that get made in my small town. In Vermont and New Hampshire, this is the week when every town has its annual "town meeting day." Usually, one week following a town meeting, the town holds an election and you get to vote on all the issues discussed at the meeting. It's a week when democracy, free speech, and free choice are on everybody's mind. So, here's a practice in keeping with the New Hampshire spirit of "Live Free of Die."WARMUP: 400400 your choice, on your ownMAIN SET: 2000Choose your own sendoff for the entire set. Swim twice through the following:2 X 100 kick IM order, with pull buoy3 X 100 pull your choice or IM, with pull buoy (whole-stroke breaststroke is permitted)4 X 100 your choice or IM1 X 100 IM with finsWARMDOWN: 100100 EZTotal Yardage: 2500