Luxury living in Hickville

I know I'm a dying breed here in Hickville. I know that because I read my catalog today. It's an insert and a bankroll for the Daily Blat. It's not enough anymore to have that slick full-color one pound Tomlinson-Black~Sotheby's publication to lure more rich folks, who don't need to worry about sub-prime mortgage rates, to Sandpoint.

Now, we have to have a slick, full-color half-pound Luxury Living (which puts out calls for more advertisers for the next edition) to remind us one more time of all the fine, exclusive gated communities gobbling up the old farms, country acreages and hicks around the area. I loved the picture of the place with three homes-- including the ugliest gaudy castle ever--- somewhere off the beaten Blue Creek path in Western Montana. Price: $3,850,000.

Why do they send these catalogs to all the hicks who read the Daily Bee? Do they think we actually associate with a bunch of rich friends living somewhere else whom we're going to call and say, "Come on over, bring your millions. The starving realtors have land for sale, and we're trying to help them make a buck.

"Besides, maybe if you buy one of those million-plus monstrosities, you'll invite us for dinner some night so we can be jealous of you and your castle. We promise to clean our boots, maybe even take 'em off so's we don't leave skid marks your fine Oriental rugs."

Sorry, but it makes me sick to have continued reminders of what's happening to God's Country; this place is definitely turning into "Gawd Almighty!" Country.

I saw more signs of that yesterday while passing by the old Upper Tibbs farm, which still has a fleet of heavy equipment sitting up there in the dirt (Has it been three years now?). I guess they are building a road up there so those poor saps who thought they'd found peaceful country living in Nick's subdivision behind the dirt pile will have a faster exit when they head off for town five miles out of their way whenever trains block the crossing.

Last night Bill wanted me to see some more heavy equipment farther on down the road south of our former home. There's the most humongous water tank I've ever seen sitting near Donnie and Kim Cox's former driveway, and there's a fleet of heavy equipment parked in the recently excavated expanse that would sure make Perry Palmer jealous. On second thought, I doubt Perry Palmer cares.

We can't quite figure out what they're doing there. They started mid-week, and whatever they're doing, it's happening mighty fast. Must be the rich folks buying into the luxury airpark are faunching at the bit to get in there with their personal jets and their aviation castles. My only thought was to thank God. Thank you, God, for getting us out of there a year ago so we didn't have to watch any more desecration of what was once a pastoral, beautiful area.

I heard a wild rumor yesterday, but the problem I've noted is that the wild rumors about this area sadly do come true. The word is that someone with lots of bucks is buying up private land in the Pack River drainage, specifically Caribou Creek and Roman Nose, with hopes of establishing more skiing facilities in the Selkirks from Schweitzer to Bonners Ferry. When I repeated the rumor to a few people (actually two), they pooh poohed the possibilities. Too much Forest Service land up there, they said.

I don't know when all this stuff is gonna stop, but I do know there are some folks banking on the fact that it keeps up---'specially those folks at the Daily Blat, who are reaping the benefits of all these speculative land situations which will eventually rid this area of all the undesirable hicks who---in their own ignorant, back woods ways and with no locked gates---kept it a heckuva a lot prettier than it is now.

Eventually Gawd Almighty Country will belong to a bunch of rich someone else's, who can sit around in their castles behind their gates and impress each other with their wealth. What a pretty picture that will be!