I’ve been a participant and signer since 2005, and in 2009 my now wife Jaime and I moved from just over the border in Massachusetts. When I say “just over the border,” I mean 1/8 of a mile, and that’s where I grew up. Sure, I went to school in Massachusetts, college and worked there, but New Hampshire and its low taxes and booming economy was always the goal. I grew up watching the businesses on the Mass side falter and shutter while just over the border the sleepy Seabrook community grew into the big box boulevard and all the jobs with it. When we decided to finally make the plunge, I leaped farther than just 1/8 of a mile, I roamed up to Exit 20 on 93. We found a place in Tilton, the gateway to the Lakes Region. Jaime was still working in Methuen, Mass and I was still working in Seabrook, at least for a month before the economic crisis hit home and my company shut down.
I was out of work for about a year, and there was next to nothing for liberty folks up here for support. We felt so alone, even being only an hour from our homes. We wanted to make sure no other liberty family would ever feel so alone when they moved here. Along with early movers Glen Aldrich, Michael Sylvia and the late Firecracker Joe Roux, we founded the Lakes Region Porcupines as a regional get together club. We added ourselves to the MVP & Concord Porcupines rotation of monthly meetings.
When Jaime found work in Concord and I found work in Laconia, things started to come around for us. It was time to start giving back. Glen Aldrich and I went to work showing that we are more than just invaders, we are Granite Staters. We began doing blood drives, then we moved into doing a Toy Drive that has served many, many families in the Lakes Region, and has given us a name that is quite positive to the natives. Two years ago, we started the LRP Beach Day, where we could have an affordable barbecue and fundraiser for Center Harbor Food Pantry. One could say we spent a good deal of free time showing ourselves as the good neighbors we are.
Last year, Jaime gave birth to our first child, Osiris, and at the same time had great difficulty returning to work after the pregnancy. Eventually she was let go and we found ourselves on the needy end of the spectrum again. Fellow Free Staters came to our aid and ran a chip-in for us, allowing us to pay ahead a few bills and for my wife to purchase the building blocks for her new agorist business, where she can work from home and provide a service to others for a fair price. It has allowed us to move from treading water into a place where we are looking forward in a positive way. Jaime and I are expecting our second child in November, and we plan on instilling the values of community, service, and liberty in our children so that they too can grow to help others on their path to individual freedom.