My mind occasionally wanders back to the time in Moab, back in 2010, when life there became altered, and a change occurred. To tell the story in completion would require a significant amount of mental and emotional strain that I do not wish to embark on at this time. The story, in it’s entirety, will be told, just not today. I recently came across this document that I created back during that time and though I would re-share it.
Well, boy o boy, where do I begin… After being removed from our homes on Kane Springs Rd (given 48 hours notice), we finally found a wonderful spot at the low end of Spanish Valley Drive on an acre of land, sharing it w/ two wonderful people who made us feel welcome and comfortable. Now the ax wielding Grand County Building Dept. has swung again. Apparently a “friendly neighbor” called the county and complained that people were living “illegally” in school busses. Now keep in mind that this nice piece of property is surrounded on 2 sides by the worst kind of Moab redneck shit one could possibly imagine… 20 or more (and toxic I might add) cars, abandoned, line the once pristine creek that runs trough. That is only a fraction of it. Refrigerators, ovens, wrecked trailers, drill pipe, oil rig misc, and damn near anything else one could think of also line this creek. And it’s “illegal” for us to live a clean and respectful life of our choosing!!?? Give me a break! This is the same county that is permitting a large scale tar sands operation just 30 miles north, one of the most earth destructive operations on the planet. This county and this town in particular are the worst kind of sellout assholes that typically inhabit this planet today. We are being forced from our homes and treated like lepers. I feel as tho a Native American might have felt in the 1880’s. After 21 years of working and living here, I feel like leaving this Park City- Aspen- Telluride conglomeration and never looking back. Daily, on the TV and in the news, the media is constantly pounding the public to live “greener” lifestyles, yet we who live this way, here in Moab, are being rejected for just! The hypocrisy in this place is so thick you could park a school bus on it. I wish I was a better writer. I wish we could some how get some national light on this. Local coverage is not enough, not enough people here care. They seem to be more concerned w/ the bottom line than the well being and integrity of their community. I know people who have lived here for a generation or more who are moving to Grand Junction because the bureaucracy and housing costs are forcing them out.
Linus Platt, August 2010
Just Rolling By 