It’s an absolutely beautiful day here in God’s country – lake and mountains, blue sky with not too many chemtrails. And it’s the opening day of our very own Super Walmart! We have extra police stationed strategically to make sure those crazy shoppers don’t get off track, or rush too fast – to get to those opening doors.

I’m sitting in my office, in my house, and I can see the huge new building on the hill. I watched it being built. They had to bring in a lot of fill to make a level spot in that once green and empty space – above the old not-so super Walmart. Watching the process irked me deeply, I felt it in the pit of my stomach. This summer the hill was just brown and dusty, with trucks crawling all over it. We had a huge wind/rain storm mid-summer. The dust before the rain was in large part a result of the super store construction process.

I had a vision of the building as a prison. The view of the mountains and the lake from the new Walmart vantage point is spectacular. It’s right up there next to the main highway going south and out of town. There are no obstructions to the view. But there are no windows view-side. It’s brown, no windows, and a few lights for security.

They’ve planted some trees and actual grass up the slope of the hill this side of the building.

I don’t have as much of a visceral response when I see it now. And that makes consider the state of my own acceptance of change, and forgetfulness of how things were before. My willingness to move on.

As of the 2010 census, the population of the town of Polson, Montana was under 5,000 people. We are situated 67 miles north of Missoula on Highway 93, and 60 miles south of Kalispell on Highway 93. That is to say that Polson is in a straight line on the same major thoroughfare between those two larger cities – which both have Super Walmarts. Where is the support for Polson’s new endeavor going to come from? What did Walmart’s due diligence tell them? I can’t imagine.

My partner’s family has owned and operated a local telephone company in nearby towns since the 60s. They are struggling and scurrying to keep up in the voraciously fast-moving telecom business being pushed by customer wants and needs and the Bigs ever on their doorstep. Judy’s brother, Jay, spent at least 5 years trying to get locals to understand what real-life impacts a Super Walmart would have on businesses and lives of those living in the vicinity. To no avail. Now we get to have the experience first-hand. I’m interested, and a little fearful of what’s to come.

We’re moving, building a house closer to the lake and the mountains, with no view of the new store.

Categories: Politics