Editor:
I’ve been coming to Idyllwild since the mid ’70s and learned a little along the way, having lived here full-time since 2010. And recently, I’ve been seeing some very disturbing trends.
Our mountain community is being invaded by snow visitors, many of whom seem to think that public urination and defecation are perfectly acceptable, and snow was meant to receive litter (if you break a $10 sled then just leave it behind, no one will care).
The Federal Aviation Administration has deemed our town too peaceful, so they’ve decided to fly every jet in the country directly over us.
Arsonists have united and concluded our forest is entirely too pristine and, consequently, they’re intent on burning us down.
Good grief. And as if that weren’t enough, vacation rental agencies are making inroads toward finishing us all off by renting homes to cidiots (city idiots). Case in point: My son and his family just came up for a weekend in the snow, and Saturday afternoon, with fresh snow falling, a two-wheel-drive, ill-equipped SUV came literally flying into my driveway completely out of control, only moments after we had unloaded my two grandchildren, totaling both my son’s 2016 truck, as well as their 2017 SUV. Both vehicles had to be towed away with car parts and glass strewn throughout.
Thank God no one was killed. So is it just me or are cidiots of all flavors overrunning our mountain village?
And a bigger question perhaps, if you my neighbors and friends have witnessed these same phenomena, is there anything we can do to reverse these troubling trends?
Do you think we can “build a wall” or declare a “no fly zone?” Maybe we should all just leave and give it back to the animals.
Am I just a dreamer or is it possible that we can educate ourselves to be more aware, more thoughtful, more forward thinking and respectful of our surroundings? Can we care about leaving a place better after we leave then when we arrived? I certainly do hope so.
Mark Dean
Pine Cove
