It has been 4 years (!) since I lived in Boise (minus the couple of months I lived there last year before the world’s biggest idiot totaled my car). I miss it a lot. I miss commuting to work by bike or bus (although I can walk to work since leaving Southern Idaho). I miss stopping at a local restaurant on my way home from work and having a micro-brew beer; I miss going to the Boise Co-Op and getting fresh, reasonably priced, delicious food. I miss gay bars and authentic Basque food and Art in the Park and BeerFest and every other event that fills our parks through the summer. I miss almost everything about being in an urban environment.
But the thing I miss the most right now about that urban environment is ANONYMITY.
We did a brief stint in Southern Idaho (which is about as appealing as genital warts- and between you and me if I had the option to move back or contract an STD… well, I’d stay where I am right now), and now we’re in Central Idaho, which is absolutely beautiful and a cozy place to live a few months of the year.
But it’s also really crowded during the Summer and Winter months. My mother-in-law manages a hotel here, so we always have requests from family and friends to visit with a discount (because most working people can’t afford a weekend here without a deep discount) and besides that, it’s just a tourist trap. People come from literally all over the world to stay here for a week or two to either ski (in the Winter) or hike/mountain bike (in the Summer). We get a reprieve from late March/Early April to about July 4th (the locals call it “slack”) and post-Labor Day to pre-Thanksgiving. Other than that, this town of 3,000 suddenly swells to up to 40,000, with all the headaches that influx of people brings.
More on this in a moment but first, a word from our sponsors:
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So we live in a resort town where everyone wants to spend their summers and winters, and because of that we have family visiting all the time. I love it when my mom and brother bring my nieces and nephews to visit, of course, but by day three I’m ready to go back to my quiet little life. And when my wife’s nieces and nephews visit, I have a lot of fun with them for the first two days, then, again, on day three ( seems to be my limit) I am looking for some sort of cave to crawl into to hide.
My sister-in-law visits a few times a month (she’s close enough that it can be a simple day trip) and I’m fine with that, but if she stays overnight I confuse her name (Jessica) and start referring to her as Stressica. (To be fair, I’ve been calling her this since, oh, I don’t know… the first day I met her. I love her, I really do, but she stresses me out.)
And we’ve seem to be hit more this summer than any other. It’s been non-stop. My little brother-in-law also lives here full time but he usually keeps to himself. When other people are here he’s a lot like me and just wants to hide…. So he comes to our apartment to hide, usually when I’m down here also trying to hide. That would be okay if he was like me and simply needed solitude, but for him it’s more the caliber of the people than the fact that they’re people. If he just played our XBox or played on his tablet or phone I’d have no problem with him being here. But usually he wants to talk about how much he doesn’t like being around people, or about guitars, and he likes me to teach him tips and tricks on those.
And that is the closest I get to solitude, not to mention that with all the company we have, when I do come to our apartment to get away, the dogs all need to be fed and walked. So I get nearly zero time alone, and can count the hours since July that I’ve had to myself on one hand.
But suddenly…..
All the kids are preparing to go back to school so earlier this week they went back to their hometowns, and this weekend my wife and Stressica her sister decided to go visit their dad, who lives about 100 miles away.
I suddenly have all of this alone time and…. Wow! It’s amazing! I don’t actually know what to do with myself, other than write a really long and boring intro to one of the best community series that this site has, so without further ado, here are your Top Comments:
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Note: Especially during this passionate primary season, please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig. (brillig’s disclaimer, but BeninSC did this formatting, brillig blameless!)
From Avilyn:
I have two nominations for tonight, from bubbanomic's latest diary.
The first comment is from The Marti, sharing a nugget of wisdom from her father as applied to Trump's character.
The second is kovie's comment, which is just an image, but the caption on the image warrants the top comment spot, I deem, for hitting the nail on the head.
You can feel the emotion and pride from urnumbersix, as she details her own swimming experience. It hurts to see how negative comments stick with her into adulthood, which is why her empowering comment about this historic Olympic moment is a must read.
Highlighted by Wee Mama:
Is this comment by Tom Frank, on Trump, in teacherken’s diary on the person who saw Trump’s taxes.
For Thursday, August 11, 2016, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on the subject.
1) Did you see the CNN Chyron text at the bottom of … by TX Freethinker +192
2) Wow. That’s definitely a new one in contemporary … by Torta +151
3) Could it be more clear that Trump is scared shit … by News Corpse +146
4) [embed] by MTmofo +144
5) On the other hand, we can name a whole bunch of … by jeremybloom +130
6) The best part of the trip was we had a 30 minute … by timsmith +111
7) Karma. Finally hitting back on them. by TomP +109
8) Recently Trump said that "I want to debate very … by Lib Dem FoP +104
9) So what are Trump supporters going to do when th … by pollwatcher +97
9) Wait, the rapper founded ISIS? /s by PissedGrunty +97
11) Trump has clearly lost his mind. In 2007 he coul … by Short Bus +96
12) So like trump. Do something for money and claim … by timsmith +94
13) Let’s not go too far. If they had a spine, the c … by dlh77489 +91
13) crooksandliars.com/... by otto +91
13) She swam an incredible race. She was behind and … by khyber900 +91
16) Oh, wow. And in a communication dated 7/29 you g … by Catte Nappe +86
17) Trump is a racist, a conman and a fraud. Yes, he … by News Flash +85
18) BINGO. In a letter I didn’t receive until today. … by Chris Reeves +84
19) jumping in up top with appropriate graphics! by TrueBlueMajority +82
20) We’ll be OK. For a dead person, I think he’s goi … by Chris Reeves +81
21) Arrested sixty-seven (67) times for protesting! … by deben +79
22) That 1989 article proves that Trumps core values … by map +78
23) 88 days. And then I hope to never hear another w … by Meteor Blades +76
23) Also, noting that the letter was authored and co … by Torta +76
23) Time Magazine is WEAK! SMALL ratings! PATHETIC! … by coquiero +76
23) Three days ago, Nate predicted this. by Scan +76
27) Wolf Blitzer commits journalism two days in a ro … by MadScientist +75
28) This guy is the real deal. He’s been a long time … by nickrud +74
28) That’s amazing. May it continue from state to st … by broths +74
30) Well, a bullshit artist is generally afraid to o … by billmosby +73
30) Trump might just accomplish what a generation of … by quaoar +73
Top Pictures
2016-08-12, courtesy of jotter!