Here in Utah, there seems to be an attitude that living east of I-15 is most acceptable. The closer you are to the mountains, the higher your actual personal worth. The west is crime-ridden and downtrodden while the east is rich and cultured.
(Speaking of such attitudes, it seems like there are a lot them here in Utah. Bad attitudes from both sides of the east/west issue, the Mormon/not-Mormon issue, the Ogden issue, etc. But I think I would be blissfully unaware of all of these attitudes if I would just stay off the stupid KSL message boards. Or if my husband would stop talking to his co-worker, Adam*.)
But as much as we like to dismiss such attitudes, we couldn't deny that there was something fishy happening on the west side when we witnessed the following:
One night as we were house hunting, we were kinda out in the country when we saw two cars pull over to the side of the road. Far from curious eyes (or so they thought) the drivers stepped out of their cars. Both well-kept women. Probably Mormons. One carried a pizza box while the other carried a Krispy Kreme box. They met in the middle, quickly made the swap with little or no words, and both left the scene as quickly as they had come.
To the unsuspecting witness, it looked as though they traded pizza for doughnuts. But why would they meet that way just to exchange delicious junk food? WHY?!
I have some theories.
Perhaps the pizza box was filled with cash and the doughnut box carried black market Young Women medallions. I could use one of those.
Perhaps they were swapping secret family recipes. You know... the ones that are really supposed to stay secret.
Maybe one of them is running an illegal coupon-clipping ring.
Whatever it was, I bet they got away with it.
We did end up buying a house on the west side. So far we feel completely safe and happy in our surroundings. But we are keeping our eyes wide open, and you can bet we won't be quiet about it next time we see a suspicious swap. We don't want that kind of thing in our neighborhood.
*Name changed for my husband's protection.
8 comments:
I think my Adam is on those same KSL message boards. They are horrible!
And I admit to having some of those same biases. That's what happens when you're a DCFS caseworker for the entire Salt Lake Valley. You learn very quickly what neighborhoods you have to take a partner in with you.
I live right up against the mountain, I must be so awesome!
But where do we want to buy a house? WEST SIDE!
I really really want to know what those ladies were doing.
i would be willing to pay good money for those black market young women medallions...
I used to read the KSL message boards all the time, but I had to stop and get rid of my KSL bookmark because they made me so angry.
We are on the west side, and I can assure you that your neighborhood is eons safer and nicer than ours. But you know that.
Did you not get your Young Women's award? Me neither! Joel and I thought we were a good match because he didn't get his Eagle.
hehehe That kind of stuff is everywhere! You just happened to see it. Even people on the east side have some shady dealings, and obviously there are good people on the west side! What do some postings on the tubes know?
That's true. I don't even live there and I know that I would never dare cross I-15. :) Actually, when we were thinking about moving there, the only neighborhoods I would look at were on the north east side of SLC.
As for what those women were doing...I have no idea. I wish you had stopped and asked. Caught them in the act! Although, I know you feared for your safety.
I, too, am exceptionally curious as to what they were really doing. Maybe they were swapping homemade Christmas cards.
I grew up in the only big city in Kansas and we had similar east vs. west issues. I think it's because you have a better commute if you live on the east side. When you live on the west side and drive into the city for work, you have the sun in your eyes both ways. Not a problem if you live on the east side. But for us, it made the east side stuck up and west side more suburban and laid back. (I'm PROUD to be a west-sider!) Our ghetto was inner-city and the south side. I still hate saying the word "south" in my address because it makes me feel poor(er).
p.s. I tagged you.
p.p.s. they sell those medallions at distribution. I think.
Never thought that in Utah there was such a thing as 'the wrong side of the track', I'm slightly amused.
stay safe and watch out for spiked donuts!
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