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Huckleberries: ‘Boring’ is in the eye of the beholder, too

Dave Oliveria (Colin Mulvany)

I must be boring. I (heart) Idaho, even though it was declared to be the most boring state in the union by AreaVibes.com.

Then, I suppose, I fit the website’s profile of a boring person. I’ve been married to the same woman for almost 41 years. And I raised two children in the Coeur d’Alene house that I’ve owned since December 1985. Those are two “boring” tells on the AreaVibes criteria: “What makes (Idaho) such a boring place? First off, more than half of the population is married, and at 55%, Idaho has the 2nd highest rate of hitched individuals in the nation. As we all know, married people are far less exciting than single people are. It’s just a fact.”

Idaho was also docked points because it’s sparsely populated and more than a third of the Gem State has kids at home. Again AreaVibes.com: “That means an exciting night for many Idaho families is trying to figure out who broke the iPad.” iPad? An exciting night for the Coeur d’Alene Family Oliveria is phoning our two far-flung kids and watching “Foyle’s War” on Netflix.

Boring? C’mon

Nic Casey of Coeur d’Alene doesn’t find Idaho to be boring. In response to the – yawn – most boring state ranking from AreaVibes.com, Nic commented on my Huckleberries Online blog (www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo): “Riding the gondola to Silver Mountain? Boring. Exploring the Craters of the Moon? Boring. Docking your boat at the public boardwalk at Riverstone while you get breakfast at LePeep? Boring. Walking the Serenity Lee Trail across Lake Pend Oreille? Boring. Watching the eagles at Higgens Point? Boring. A round of golf at Circling Raven? Boring. Bumping into famous people like Ben Stein or Viggo Mortensen in a grocery store? Boring. Jet boating in Hell’s Canyon? Boring. Ironman (Coeur d’Alene)? Boring. Car d’Alene? Boring. Festival at Sandpoint? Boring. Art on the Green? Boring.” Boring, like art, must be in the eye of the beholder.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner (from Oct. 3, 2002): “From dust to crystal in two years/Took dreams and sweat and maybe tears/To breathe new life into her soul/Was truly a most Worthy goal” – Tom Wobker, The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Davenport Reborn”) … Remember, Unaffiliated North Idaho Voter, you can register to vote at the polls Tuesday. And: If you don’t vote because you don’t want to affiliate, you will sit out the election that, most likely, will decide the winner in November, too … Poll: Seventy-one percent of my Huckleberries Online readers agree with President Barack Obama’s decision to visit Hiroshima later this month … Idaho’s “boring” nature translates behind the wheel, too. According to AutoInsuranceCenter.com, Idaho drivers are among the mellowest. Not so for Washington drivers. The website rates Washington as the 10th-most-likely state to feel #roadrage … Sure, Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin ($1.1 million) is earning more money than Idaho Gov. Butch Otter ($122,000), according to Transparent Idaho. But Harsin had a better year (as Babe Ruth once responded when someone pointed out that he earned more than the president) … And the answer is – 41 percent. That’s the amount of state land that Idaho has sold off since it became a state. And now the Idaho Fish and Game Commission will consider a proposal to sell 2.57 acres of prime waterfront on Hayden Lake (which has little public access)? Sad but true … The Republican Liberty Caucus of Idaho PAC spent a lot of money for that mailing to endorse state Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene, in her House District 4 (Coeur d’Alene) race with challenger Paul Amador. Only the PAC’s flier said Sims was running in House District 3 (Post Falls area). The Liberty Caucus should demand a refund or a better proofreader.

<a href=”https://www.areavibes.com/library/10-most-boring-states-america/

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