Living in an amusement park

We live in an area that a lot of people visit for their vacation. I sometimes feel that these visitors think that those of us who live here are just employees at the "Vacation Amusement Park". The picture to the right is supposed to be one of those mascots that walk around the amusement park so that people can have their pictures taken with them. From what I understand, visitors to the parks seem to think they can ask anything of the people inside these costumes. They can treat them any way they want. After all, "These people are paid well enough and trained to handle these situations." Well, that's not true. And for those of us who aren't employed in the vacation industry at all, it can get a little ridiculous.

Visitors get quite upset when we don't know the location of every street and business in our area. They get upset when we don't know the dates and times of various special events, fairs and movies. We don't necessarily know the time of the next high tide and we may not even realize that their favorite band is playing some place we've never heard of. Because we live here, we are supposed to memorize the local events calendar.

Another disappointing thing is to see how people act when they are on vacation. They seem to think it's OK to act like a fool if they aren't home where people they know will see them. Well, it turns out that screaming out your car window while driving through a residential area at 1 AM is wrong no matter where you are. Making U-turns in the middle of town is illegal no matter where you are. Cutting in front of people in a line is impolite whether you're late for the ferry or not. Even if we were all paid to endure these things, it wouldn't be right. But it's one of the things I guess you have to put up with when you live in a beautiful place where lots of people wish they could live.