This picture was taken over 12 years ago in one of my family's favorite places, Sliding Rock. It's a locals hot spot because it is a natural water slide on the American river.
Over the weekend my husband and I traveled back to our hometown where this picture was taken and it got me thinking about the term "flatlander" versus "local." What is a flatlander you ask? Urban Dictionary defines it as a "a term that all mountain people use to describe tourists that don't have the skills/knowledge to recreate in the mountains."
While I was growing up in the mountains we relentlessly mocked flatlander's. They couldn't drive in the snow, wore funny looking shoes, and always had there hair done. They just looked and acted different then a local. As a local you were very proud to be a local and felt a strong camaraderie with other locals.
This definition now begs the question, am I a flatlander? My husband and I have had this debate on numerous occasions. I grew up in the mountains and yet I don't know how to drive in the snow, I wear dressy shoes, and I style my hair (most days!). Ooh crap, I may have become a flatlander. The very thing I once mocked. When I travel back to my hometown I am now a tourist. Or am I? I know all the local hot spots and I always bump into people I know and yet I am not a local.
When I left for college I "rocked" my Tevas and my Columbia jacket. I put "rocked" into quotations because when I look back, I realize I was probably the dorky girl in the dorms with the weird clothes. The symbols of cool had changed for me, my hip Tevas and Columbia jacket were now out of place and strange. I was the person that didnt have the "skills/knowledge to recreate" in the city. I wonder what term you would call someone who is a tourist in the city from the mountains? I believe it was at this point in the my life I began to lose my local status and began to wear the title of flatlander.
So what am I now? Maybe I am a "local-flatlander?" I guess you could say I am a mergence of the two worlds. You could call me a locallander or a localflat! A localflat ...hehehe..that's kinda catchy! I am a localflat! It kinda sounds like Bubbafat from Star Wars (yes... Honey I'm aware that I probably spelled that wrong but my readers get the jest.)!
If you grew up in my hometown you understand this debate and my apprehension in becoming a flatlander but if you grew up in the city I am sure your scratching your head and asking is a flatlander a derogatory term? No not necessarily. Flatlander's are vital to the existence of the community I grew up in. Our economy exists to a large part due to flatlander's coming up to play in our backyard - skiing, rafting, hiking, fishing, camping, etc. Now that I am older I am thankful for all these visitors because they create necessary jobs.
In order to further explore this term I have posed a question on my Facebook wall "what is a flatlander?" Let's see what the responses are. I am curious to see how people respond to the term. This should be interesting.
You are not a flatlander. Your heart still belongs in this town. No matter where you live you will always belong in this lovely peaceful place.If you have any doubs read your post one more time and pay close attention to the last paragraph of your post.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...flatlanders? No, definatly not, but not quite the locals we once were. FYI, it's Boba Fett. Close, but no cigar.
ReplyDeleteAre you a Flatlander?
ReplyDeleteDo you carry your garbage out or do you leave it in the forest when you take a nature walk? Do you leave garbage bags sitting in front of the gate at the dump, because they are closed or dump it in a trash bin at the s...chool or a business? Or perhaps you may decide that the garbage can out by that driveway is a good place to put your bags of garbage, the one I pay for to collect my garbage and get charged extra because you have decided to leave yours there too. Oh, and let’s not forget when you do that, the bears get in it and I have to pick it up from all over my yard.
How about if I take your bag of garbage and drive to your house and dump it back on your front lawn? In fact, I’ll set up a tent and use your yard for my bathroom too. Before I leave, I will spread the garbage all over like the bears do up here.
Do you leave feces and urine along side of the rivers and lakes instead of burying it or using the porta potty that is less than 10 feet from where you squatted? Do you leave your disposable diapers in our lakes and streams so that when we go for a walk we get to enjoy seeing them through the clear water? Flatlanders do not realize disposable diapers are not biodegradable. I believe they are the same people that come up here and graffiti on rocks at the park and beside the roads.
We walk our animals at these places every day, because we don’t have dog parks. We’ve had to stop going to our favorite places where we live because people that come up here on weekends do not respect the land. I would be very surprised to find out a “local” left their hooks and fishing line tangled up on the shore so that my dog, when he ran out to go swimming in the lake would get caught in it and get hooked and I would have to take him to the vets to get it removed and stitched up.
Do you leave coals from the bbq or the wood stove (because they are not hot) in a paper bag on the porch, then leave to go home? Thank you for that. It keeps my husband busy putting out the house fire you just caused. It keeps Cal Fire in business too, putting out the wild fire that started because you didn’t put out your fire pit before you left the camp ground. Oh, and let’s not forget driving behind you watching as you throw your cigarette butt out. Have you ever heard of Smokey The Bear? You can prevent a forest fire. KEEP YOUR CIGARETTES IN YOUR CARS! Burn them up instead.
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ReplyDeleteDo you understand that we know cars drive fast and we can drive fast too up a mountain to get to the ski area, but do you REALIZE and RESPECT the road conditions and understand it’s not how fast you can drive in the snow, but HOW SAFELY YOU CAN STOP?
While you are driving up here early in the morning, we have families taking their children to school and folks trying to get to work. We are very glad you bring money to our little town, but please SLOW DOWN. We want to get them to school and work safely and we would love for you to get to your destination safely as well.
Let’s not forget the folks that bring their domesticated animals up here and let them loose because they do not want them to be in a cage. Do you realize people that you have just fed the “local” wild animals a nice and tasty meal? Domesticated animals DO NOT SURVIVE in the wild. It doesn’t matter if you set them free next to a golf course.
Please stop coming up here and trying to tell us we can’t shoot our guns or use firewood to heat our homes. We are respectful of the guns laws and know where we can and cannot shoot. If you do not want to hear the shots, then stop taking down trees to build your houses. If you take down the barriers, then you will have to hear it.
Are you the same person that builds a 3000 square foot home and then decides to sit in a tree to prevent us from being able to get firewood that we need? We need firewood to survive through the winter. It snows here and sometimes the power goes out for days. But Flatlanders know that because when the going gets tough, they get out of town. They call the police department and fire departments and ask for assistance in shoveling out the driveway so they can get back home for the holiday. Here’s a question posed to a visitor from below. If you have been following the news and KNOW there is going to be up to 3 feet of snow, you do not have 4 wheel drive vehicles AND snow chains, and you do not come prepared to have no electricity for 3 days, then why come at all? Our town may be called a resort town, but by no means is everyone that lives here your servant.
It’s not about a difference in clothing or how you wear your hair. It IS about how you act or more so how you RESPECT where you are at. It’s about being prepared. It’s about respecting the area and the beauty and keeping it that way for the next person. It’s about taking accountability for your actions when you are in this serene area so that after you leave here, the ones that live here can continue to enjoy where they live and the ones that come to visit after can also enjoy it.
One more thing for now. SHAME ON THE PERSON that STOLE a Christmas tree on Christmas eve from the church group at the local market. Because you “have a cabin up here”, does NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO STEAL.
Have respect for yourself and where you live and where others live. When I come to visit your town, I will have respect for you and it too.
Do you do those things, Nipper? No. You know why? Because someone taught you to be respectful of wherever you are. You do not take for granted and you do not abuse. You may feel like you only have a few things in common with how people live up here. You may like the city life. However my darling one, you have respect for both places. By the way, you don’t look happy in that picture. Did someone leave their poop by the side of the river and you stepped in it?