Senator Bernie Sanders has been making appearances throughout Newmarket since U.S. President Joe Biden was sworn into office last Wednesday.
He was on Main Street, at the Newmarket Public Library and was spotted with Newmarket council in posting on Facebook and Twitter.
The imaginations of millions of people around the globe were captured not by celebrity music performances or even the much praised poetry reading by Amanda Gorman at the inauguration. It was the sight of the senator sitting in his chair clad in a facemask and knitted mittens, the very picture of quiet resignation.
The image became the biggest meme on the internet, with users all over the world pasting Sanders and his mittens into other photos. Users in Newmarket have been no exception.
"It was a very human moment of just a person, sitting there, with his mask and mittens on. For me, that's what captured my imagination," said Vickie Sparks, who posted a photo of Sanders sitting outside her Main Street business, Good Vibes on Main.
"It such a real and human moment that we have all gravitated toward it."
If the photos are to be believed, the good senator has spent his time in Newmarket getting a massage, doing a radio interview, going to the library, and posing for a picture with the town council. He was even spotted communing with wildlife on the Tom Taylor Trail at night.
When Sanders' image in his chair was first captured, many commentators interpreted it as the avowedly socialist Sanders being unenthusiastic about seeing the more moderate Biden becoming president.
But Sparks doesn't see it that way at all.
"He's always a bit grouchy, and it was cold. That's the thing about photography; you capture a single moment out of context. Maybe he didn't like Jennifer Lopez's music, I don't know," she said.
Whatever he was really feeling, the moment was funny, and a global meme was born.
"I think people are looking for some levity, and you can never tell what will go viral."
