After four major snowstorms in four weeks, the sun peeked out from behind a cloud on Saturday, so I thought I might see how, and if, Ms. Pigette survived the winter.

Parking on the side of Route 27, just across the street from Joan Rittall’s house, Ms. P was still holding up her mailbox. As usual, she was mad as hell and started right in on me.

“You think those kids marching in Washington, D.C. and around the nation are honked off?”

“They should spend the winter holding up a mailbox while snow plow drivers try to bury me in ice. The drivers always wave and I wave back, but they wave with their whole hands. I don’t,” she said with a snort.

Sometimes it is hard to understand what she is saying, as her snout is covered with a frozen wool scarf soaked with mud and road guck. After peeling some of it from around her face, I asked her what she thought of last weekend’s gun control protests.

“Marching and protesting is part of our American DNA. Do you think the Boston Tea Party was all about tea?” she said.

Then she turned to the protesters.

“You have high school kids, their parents, and supporters reacting to the recent mass shootings by seeking tougher gun laws. The MeToo movement is made up of women who are tired of being harassed, mistreated and are just plain fed up because men won’t listen to what they are saying. Believe me, every woman has experienced some sort of maltreatment.

“Finally, some black folks are fed up with being harassed in their own neighborhoods. For years, they have complained, but without solid evidence, officials were reluctant to discipline officers. That all changed with the smartphone camera.

“The bottom line, you old news dog, is that there are lots of folks who are just plain cheesed off.”

“Well, Ms. Pigette,” I asked, “Will it change anything?”

She paused for a moment, shook the ice off her left ear and smiled. “We’ll see.”

“Wait a minute,” I argued. "Thousands are marching, they are on TV, pleading for change. Don’t you think all this fuss and feathers will lead to change?”

She waited until a large truck carrying steel to Washburn & Doughty’s shipyard skirted a nearby puddle and continued.

“Raising Cain is the first step. The big question is: Will they follow through.”

I asked her what that meant and she launched into a short civics lesson. “We do not live in a democracy. We live in a democratic republic. We vote for candidates who represent us in the houses of power. If you don’t like what a politician stands for, you can vote him/her out.

“But, does the general public care about government and politics? How many of these marchers even know the name of their town selectmen, state legislator or congressman? What does he/she stand for? How many of these marchers are even registered to vote? How many of them bothered to vote in the 2016 election cycle?”

I couldn’t answer her, and she continued.

“Former President Barack Obama once said elections have consequences. He was right.

“Think about it for a moment. The current occupant of the White House campaigned on doing things in a different manner. He talked about imposing tariffs, pulling out of the Paris Climate deal, cutting the size of government, claimed climate change was a Chinese hoax and pledged to appoint anti-abortion/conservative judges.”

“Were you surprised when he did just that? Did you think he was going to turn into another Obama?” she added.

She looked down her snout at me and talked about the huge woman’s rally which took place the day after the inauguration in Washington, D.C. She wondered if some marchers had boycotted the election because they thought Bernie Sanders got a raw deal from the Democratic party?

“Maybe, just maybe, this time there will be change if the marching students paid attention in civics class.”

Ms. Pigette then cited the recent example of the Scarborough High School superintendent who blocked the senior class from registering voters on school grounds. She said it was because of parental complaints. Sure it was. The seniors wanted to recall the school board and fire the superintendent who forced their beloved principal out.

“These kids paid attention in civics class. Will others do the same,” asked a now serious Ms. P.

“Last weekend’s high school marchers picked a fight with a heavyweight champion, a committed group of Second Amendment supporters and the giant NRA campaign war chest backed up by a cadre that loves to play hardball politics. They usually win their battles.

“If last weekend’s marchers can follow up, they might just change American politics. If not, it will be same old, same old.”