I have lived in Salt Lake City for TWO years now. As you can see already, I have bought a house, so it can't be so bad, right? The preconceptions people have about Utah is amazing. So here are some of the myths and maybe not so mythical truths about the big SLC.
1) Everyone one is a polygamist. Okay, not true folks. I have only met ONE polygamist family personally and they are the most organized and most loving family I have ever met. Now there has been lots of talk about polygamy in the news lately due to the shenanigans in Texas, but I have a pretty strong opinion about this. These are basic civil rights that we are denying people. My personal opinion (and you are free to disagree) is that marriage is a legal institution. So we are denying these people the basic rights that we allow others to have. (Oh and don't get me started on gay marriage....when are people going to learn?) Yes, polygamy can be bad, but so can "a marriage is between one man and one woman". I will have to admit though my feminist side burns through on this subject for two reasons though. A) Utah did not grant women the right to vote until 1957, because the politicians were afraid that women would vot against the right to be a polygamist. B) When have you ever seen a plural family with multiple husbands? Tit for tat people!
2) No one knows how to drive in Utah. False, but true! In my own defense, I am a decent driver. I pay attention, I don't try and do three things at once while I am driving. I have made my share of stupid mistakes which luckily have been minor or rectified just in time. I am willing to put myself out on a limb here and say that Utah drivers SUCK! They might as well make blinkers a luxury option on new cars sold here because they don't use them anyways. Also, Utah leads the nation in the number of ROAD RAGE DEATHS. Can you imagine grandma driving away from church humming Come, Come, ye Saints and deciding to take a side swipe at an oncoming car for not fulling stopping at the stop sign. Vigilante grannies...seriously...this is true!
3) Conservatives rule the joint. Well, you would think this would be true, and possibly in it's own way it does. BUT guess what ladies and gentlemen? SLC has a DEMOCRATIC as mayor! Now I hear you asking yourself, "Yeah, but would he pass as a democrat back east?" Hell yeah he would! He has established a city registry for domestic partners so that they can extend benefits to their significant others and have access to retirement earnings. He's bringing the downtown area back to life for the people with a state of the art, Broadway rivaling, theater district. He is focusing on the environment and making the SLC valley a cleaner, healthier place to live. In fact he is requiring all of the city departments to report and improve upon their carbon footprints.
4) Hobbitville. This is TOTALLY TRUE! There is a community near Westminster College that is entirely built for and by Little People. There are rumors that people of average height cannot go into this community. I don't particularly like the name of "Hobbitville". It just encourages teenage pranksters to bother the LP, but I won't lie. I would love to see the place.
5) The snow is the best on earth. I have not been to all the fancy ski resorts in Europe, but I have been skiing in the east, in Colorado, northern Michigan, and now Utah. We all live and die for those monster snow mornings when you brave the drive up the canyons to be one of the first on the lifts. I have many friends who are severely hard core telemarkers and I am totally jealous of their skills. I am just happy to take some runs and started hitting the blacks at the end of this past season. Now it's time to work on some deep powder and tree lines. The goal this year is to beat last year's number: 35 ski days.
6) Pioneer Day AKA the Days of '47 AKA Day of Deliverance. I swear the next statements are true. This is the biggest state holiday in Utah. It beats out Christmas and the 4th of July put together. July 24th is the day that celebrates the arrival and pioneering of the Great Salt Lake Valley by Brigham Young and the Mormons. The parade is bigger (THREE HOURS) and the fireworks are grander for Pioneer Day.
I have to say, Utah is better than I thought it was going to be. Obviously since I am staying. Anyone else have Utah Myths to share?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I heard that oral sex is illegal in Utah. Swear to the dear almighty. It was in Cosmo.
Utah was one of the first states to give women the right to vote.
Women's Suffrage--the right of women to vote--was won twice in Utah. It was granted first in 1870 by the territorial legislature but revoked by Congress in 1887 as part of a national effort to rid the territory of polygamy. It was restored in 1895, when the right to vote and hold office was written into the constitution of the new state.
http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/womenssuffrageinutah.html
Hobbitville is a myth. It was built by average height people and there are small houses built there for birds that were housed on the property. Birds like ostriches. I get tired of telling people that it doesn't have midgets living there. It is just an old lady who doesn't like trespassers. Leave the lady alone already.
The Legend of Hobbitville!!!
Legend has it, that the late Sir Allen (AKA the Aquatic Aristocrat ) dedicated his life to the thing he loved most... "The Fowl of the Air"
In the 1920's Sir Allen built a small community and Aviary, tucked into a patch of woods in the heart of Salt Lake City.
Peacocks, pheasants, sparrows and the such still grace this beautifully spooky place.
To watch over the grounds and hundreds of birds, Sir Allen employed a group of small people, who built their cottages in these woods.
Today, "Hobbitville" continues to lure in curious visitors, drawn to the beautiful birds, strange poems enscribed throughout the park, and the mysterious cottages, with their small doors and flickering windows.
Sir Allen's widow and a small group of hobbits supposedly still live on the premiss and don't take very kindly to strangers.
As the legend goes... there is a headless lama in the middle of Hobbitville (I have included a picture) who protects the birds in Sir Allen's absence.
If you plan on visiting Hobbitville, please do not take what I say lightly...
To visit these gardens without giving the Headless Lama its do respect will almost certainly bring bad luck.
To avoid offending the Lama, the birds of past and present and the Hobbits that inhabit these forests, simply leave a gift at the feet of the Headless Lama.
I know it sounds silly, but why take the chance on some bad luck? :)
... If I were you I would sacrifice a coin, some chap-stick, a flower, or whatever you've got in your pocket.
Post a Comment