A Facebook group whose 21,000 members are focused on “car spotting” are suddenly obsessed with a Christmas tree on the roof of a fancy sports car.
Josh Cottone, a member of the group known as “Car Spotting In Maine,” posted: “Followed him from Maine to NH over the bridge on 95.” He attached a picture he took through his windshield of a Porsche in front of him with a Christmas tree tied to its roof.
Cottone lit a fire under fellow members wondering what his issue is – or whether he’s OCD.
Sports-car dreamers said the point of Cottone’s post was that only a fool would risk scratching his $300,000 car dragging home a Christmas tree by tying it on the roof.
But the prevailing argument seems to be from those complaining that the Porsche driver is violating a law.
And what law exactly?
Bringing “firewood” across state lines, in this case the Maine-New Hampshire border.
The governments of some states – including New Hampshire – do forbid importing certain wood to prevent introducing invasive bugs from one habitat to another.
It is illegal to bring untreated firewood into New Hampshire from another state or country.
The “Live Free Or Die” state has an exterior quarantine to protect its forests from invasive insects and diseases, such as the emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle.
Firewood-importing regulations are designed to prevent the spread of invasive insects and diseases that harm forests.
Many states have specific rules, quarantines, and advisories in place, and violations can result in confiscation and fines.
But as one (Anonymous Participant 791) poster said, this ain’t firewood, it’s a Christmas tree.
“It was likely sprayed to prevent insects since insects can kill the tree and prevent its sale,” he pointed out. “If this is about putting a tree on an expensive car, so what? It’s still just a car. The only problem I see with this post is you stalking a stranger.”
As Ashley Pellisier Chouinard of Pembroke, New Hampshire posted, “Porsches need Christmas trees too.”
The group Spotting Cars in Maine calls itself “a place where we can showcase all the cool cars, trucks, bikes and anything automotive in Maine. If it’s something that you don’t see everyday, this is the place to post it.”
