I was really surprised when I went into the Y this week and there was no mask mandate, no one wearing them, no stupid signs tellilng me to do the same.
The same staff that had accosted me countless times over the past few months now said nothing to me.
I went to the store a day later and they had also gotten rid of their mask mandate. In fact, the only place I’ve gone into over the past week that still forces me to wear it is PetSmart, and even there, many customers are flaunting it, and no staff are telling them to put it on.
Most places are so short-staffed it’s not even worth going in there, specifically restaurants. We went up to the corporate Outback the day before Mother’s Day and it was a 90-minute wait. No thanks.
I’m glad masks are finally over. Let’s hope they never, ever come back.
The same staff that had accosted me countless times over the past few months now said nothing to me.
I went to the store a day later and they had also gotten rid of their mask mandate. In fact, the only place I’ve gone into over the past week that still forces me to wear it is PetSmart, and even there, many customers are flaunting it, and no staff are telling them to put it on.
Most places are so short-staffed it’s not even worth going in there, specifically restaurants. We went up to the corporate Outback the day before Mother’s Day and it was a 90-minute wait. No thanks.
I’m glad masks are finally over. Let’s hope they never, ever come back.
Something that deeply troubles me is social media, specifically Facebook.
Remember when they removed posts and suspended people and even banned them, all for sharing stories about the Wuhan lab being the source of the virus?
Now the mainstream media has latched onto the idea, and even flip-flop Fauci is saying it’s a real possibility.
It seems that Fauci is on the ropes. If we’re lucky, we get get rid of him for good.
I encourage you to get rid of the poison that is social media.
How is it benefiting you? How is it hurting you?
You’re probably how I was back in 2018 before I deleted social media from my life. You probably checked it around a dozen times a day, maybe more...all to get that social feedback loop that says ‘I'm good.’
Why do you need social media to feel good about yourself?
I bet one of your main arguments is that you need it to keep in touch with family and friends.
Um...what did you do before social media? Ever heard of email...or even the phone? How about writing a letter?
$10 says that your friend would be much more impressed with a real letter than some throw-away social media post.
I guess I’m just different. I don’t need constant validation, nor do I need to see what other people want to share all the time. I certainly don’t need their political opinions in my face all day, even if I agree with them. And the last thing I want to do is compare myself to others.
I don’t know why we allow this poison into our lives.
I saw this video yesterday about the growing homeless problem in Austin, Texas.
Let’s be honest - this isn’t a homeless problem; it’s a drug problem. The people that are living on the streets for years at a time aren’t there because they want to change; they’re there because they have mental health issues, troubles with addiction, and likely disabilities as well.
So it’s not all a drug problem, but that’s a big part. A huge part.
I think these people coming to Austin are coming there from California. I think most of the homeless in California are drawn there from other states, lured-in with the promises of easy community services, free money, housing, and lots of other fringe benefits that makes being ‘homeless’ (drug-addicted) quite the easy way to live.
I think many of the homeless showing up in Missoula are also coming from other areas, likely California but also Portland and Seattle.
Earlier this month, Missoula officials had to remove nearly 30 tents from the newly-opened West Broadway Island, a project that cost nearly a million dollars.
And what was this project? A bit of wood and metal for walkways and stairs, and some landscaping - all for a cool $800,000.
What a deal, eh?
Here in Missoula, our officials coddle the homeless, drug-addicted, mentally unstable individuals they affectionately refer to as “unsheltered.”
We used to have just one homeless camp in town, along the Kim Williams Trail, but that eventually closed down and migrated to the Reserve Street Bridge. Smaller camps opened up far along East Broadway, and there were still tents here and there along the Kim Williams Trail.
Then tents began to appear behind Bob Wards in the fields by the mall. There are tents by the swimming beach bridge near the bridge past Walmart heading to Lolo. I’ve seen people with shopping carts sleeping on the trail in Bancroft Ponds park during the middle of the day.
Then we have the new tent homeless camp near the bridge with the tents under it, as well as the Johnson Street place that closed earlier this year. There’s talk of opening up another tent homeless camp very soon. On top of this, we have all the homeless people milling about town, who now are seen as a marketing draw by the city/county, a way to increase food truck sales and further hurt downtown eateries via government decree.
I see a huge storm on the horizon this summer for Missoula, with how they’ve coddled the drug addicted homeless, inviting them to our community. No good is going to come from this.
I think it should be the main issue of the mayoral race - why is Engen turning Missoula into Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco?
How long before we have to dodge piles of human feces on the sidewalk, before our kids are picking up needles in the park, before some innocent Missoulian loses a family member because some transient is too drunk and high to know what they’re doing, and end up killing someone?
How long before another Sean Stevenson is killed in the homeless shelter; another Lee Nelson is beaten to death in his wheelchair?
But honestly, how many Missoulians care? And what is a Missoulian...someone that’s been here for years or decades, or a recent transplant?
Because for the latter, this city is good...a helluva lot better than what they’re trying to escape from.
Besides, if too many long-term residents complain, city/county officials will just price them out of the housing market with their policies, forcing them to leave, silencing another critic.
