Friday, October 29, 2010

Utah Impressions Part 1

I have only been here in Utah since the end of May. Most of the time until now has been spent in my house working (I telecommute for an organization in the Washington, DC area), preparing for my wedding (which was in September) and family time (mine and Paul's), so I feel like I really haven't been out and about enough. However, here are some initial observations/impressions of Utah (I've been keeping a list):


Let go of the bad polygamy jokes. Please. When I was moving out here and now that I am here, I can't believe the amount of ribbing and bad jokes I have received about Utah from people who don't live here. Most of them center around polygamy, leading me to wonder how many people only think about polygamy when they think of Utah. It really is quite amazing. Of course things like TLC's new tv program Sister Wives don't help the situation. So now I feel Utah's pain. The polygamists are a tiny "out there" faction of the Mormon religion. Mormonism does not equal polygamy. The polygamists are to the Mormons as oh let's say the snake handlers are to the Pentecostal church. There is a whole lot of people and things out here who have nothing to do with polygamy. Get over it people.


Although I do find it funny that one of the local breweries (yes, you can find alcohol in Utah - easily) has a beer called Polygamy Porter. The company sells t-shirts that say "Polygamy Porter - I will share my man, but not my beer." That makes me laugh. I think about buying that for all my girlfriends...


Nice people. In general everyone I have interacted with out here is very, very nice. Living in the DC area for 20+ years, I had gotten used to terrible service. Rude, crass, uncaring, disgruntled...yeah, I am generalizing and it wasn't always that way. I have lots of great experiences, but I sure have a LOT of examples of those negative experiences. You who still live there - I know you know what I mean. Or maybe you just got used to it and you don't even notice anymore. Like I did. People here are friendly and polite. I  notice it everywhere. So what is this? Do nice people just gravitate to Salt Lake City? Am I just lucky to only encounter nice people? Is it a Mormon thing? I don't know. But the niceness is nice.


Many, many more observations to come...

1 comment:

  1. I never teased about polygamy, only wondered when you were going to get fitted for your "garment".

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