Dan Tuohy / NHPR New Hampshire lawmakers sat in their cars on a cold January day and listened to the first legislative session of the year - by tuning into a radio frequency. Even their vehicles were socially distanced, each separated by a parking space, in Wednesday’s "drive-in" style meeting of the New Hampshire House in a UNH parking lot intended to mitigate the risks of COVID-19. Newly-elected House Speaker Sherman Packard, with a gavel from his father, which he says was a gift from former New Hampshire Sen. Styles Bridges. Credit Dan Tuohy / NHPR While social-distancing is a familiar enough practice in 2021, reminders of the day’s singular strangeness were not hard to come by: As the session began, a long freight train rolled by on tracks parallel to the parking lot. Microphones were brought to car windows for questions and debate, and voting was conducted via wireless devices that proved to be a bit temperamental. Some lawmakers had to hold theirs out their windows or step outside to have their votes recorded.