Every five, ten fifteen miles.

Last time I was home in Maine I was talking with my friend Mike about my zombie story. I'd just recently lost my story due to computer death. So I was talking about starting it over, and my basic ideas. The idea of course is to set it in Maine. I feel that the only place I really know well enough to write about as a real place in anything more than just a short story. It would really need to feel authentic, and I know my area in Maine like the back of my hand. Even so of the further reaching places I could describe through news casts and whatnot. BUT. Mike kind of crushed my dreams. Maine is kind of Zombie resistant. Population alone would greatly slow the escalation of chaos. "So, what, is there a Zombie every ten miles or something? Big deal. What 4 people die? 3 of them from natural causes."

Thinking about this, I began to realize that Maine would be almost zombie proof. Few people, few small clustered areas. Not to mention 2 out of every 3 people own, and are proficient with shotguns. Those of you who have lived in Maine know this well. People are tough, and don't take shit. Most people are hunters, waiting around for hours for animals that are trying to avoid them. You know those small critters that like to eat gardens and stuff, ground hogs, and the like. People camp out all day with a lawn chair, a beer, some potato chips, and shotguns just to shoot them. Imagine if the animals just came to them willingly. A zombie attack would really just be a field day. 5 or 6 people piled into the back of pick up trucks, fully armed with weapons, beer, and cigarettes just hunting. Things that can, or need to die just don't live that long.

I could fake it I guess. Chaos in Rockland Maine. Maybe 20 people would freak out, for a day or so, held up in some store, boarding the windows, only to find the next day twelve rednecks knocking on the door and all the zombies dealt with.

Maybe I'm too confident in a Mainer's ability to kill something, but I'm really having doubts about the carnage that would ensue were zombies to attack Midcoast Maine.