CANTON — Town meetings in Canton are usually high-octane and rambunctious to the point of annoying. On every article, there are discussions that are liberally lathered with lengthy verbal duels that seem to run on forever — a moderator’s nightmare.

But not Thursday night’s meeting.

This meeting was something else entirely — it was as though we had all entered “The Twilight Zone” while on cruise control.

In fact, as the 38 voters sped through a 30-article warrant en route to approving a $1.35 million municipal budget, I thought for a moment that I was actually in Newry, covering one of their fast-track meetings, where hardly anyone dares to apply the Jake brakes to moderator Les Otten’s auction-chant pace.

Moderator Terry Hayes, who has helmed Canton town meetings before, was one of the first to notice.

“You guys are doing this at lightning speed,” she said about six articles from the end, looking a bit stunned.

That earned an immediate and pointedly loud shushing from town officials, who looked rather pleased, yet in shock that they had actually lived long enough to enjoy an innocuous town meeting.

“Don’t jinx it,” one of them said, provoking laughter around the sweltering room.

— Terry Karkos

Copy the Story Link