The holidays are over, the snow is falling, and the north wind is whistling around the side of the garage. Winter is officially here.

On Friday, we were about to set up the card table for the first jigsaw puzzle of the season when my cell phone buzzed, and you know who was on the other end.

“A snowplow just thundered past splashing me with mud and ice. Is there any way you can get me a cheap plane ticket to Naples or Key West? Maybe the Islands would be fun,” said the caller.

Yes, it was Ms. Pigette, the Boothbay region icon who holds up a mailbox on Route 27, just across the street from Joan Rittall’s house. She wanted to talk politics.

“Some of the Democrats are slinging around the word impeachment. What gives?” she said.

I explained it has only been seriously considered three times. The first was in the aftermath of the Civil War. Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, got in a political jam after he ruffled the feathers of the radical Republicans. He was impeached, but the Senate declined to convict him.

The second was in 1974, during the Watergate scandal, when the House voted to impeach Richard Nixon. The president resigned before a Senate trial after senior GOP senators said he was toast and would be convicted.

The third was in 1998 when President Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about a sex scandal. The Senate found him not guilty.

The last case prompted an “Oink” and a question.

“If lying about a sex scandal is the standard for impeachment, is the current president in peril?” asked La Belle Pig.

Maybe, I replied. But, think about it for a minute. Is impeachment another word for a Mulligan? Is it another word for “do-over”? Should we tear up the nation’s psyche, just because we don’t like him or what he is doing? He was elected by the voters. Don’t we owe some allegiance to them?

“But,” she snorted. “He was elected with help from the Russians, and internet trolls who attacked his opponent.”

I thought for a minute then replied. Hang on, dear friend. Lots of folks say that, but, so far, no one has proven anything. Our friends in the press make lots of noise, but you don’t impeach a president on the word of TV talkers and editorial boards. This is serious territory.

Robert Mueller is charged with investigating that allegation. The grown-ups on both sides urge the House to wait for him to complete his task. Then, and only then, it might, and I say, might, be time to talk about impeachment.

But step back for a minute, Ms. P. Practical folks say it might be too late for Congress to act.

If they started the process today, it might take months to choose the committees, hire staff, and line up witnesses before hearings even begin. Then the inquiry might take weeks to complete. Next, you would have months of wrangling through the usual legal bull associated with a big case.

By that time, we will be in the middle of the 2020 political campaign. In case you have not noticed, there is a gaggle of presidential candidates waiting for a chance to be on TV.

More than a few folks wonder if we would be better off by just letting the political process play out and letting the voters decide who should move into, or out of the White House.

About that time, another large truck found the big puddle in front of Ms. P’s post, and she let out a rant using words my Marine Corps drill instructor employed while pointing out the difference between a private’s right and left foot.

Then she calmed down and asked: “Oh, ya, what about all this stuff about the need for a wall and an invasion of aliens? Should we be afraid?”

I thought for a minute, and told her my grandfather once showed me a wooden sign ripped from a factory gate that said: “No Irish need apply.” A hundred years ago, our nation saw a big political pushback against them, the Italians and the others from Europe who flooded our shores seeking a better life. Some of them were tough customers, too. We survived those immigrants. In fact, we are them.

La Rotundo then laughed. “OK. Let's get back home for a minute. We now have a woman governor leading the Great State of Maine. What will she do? What changes can we expect?”

I told her I didn’t have a crystal ball, but she seems bright and knows her way around the State House. And for her policies, I expect she will please some folks and anger others. Just like the male governors.

And she hung up.