Visitors only seeing part of byway picture

The following are some thoughts of a Sandpoint resident if the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association had its way:

"Golly, those marvelous people from Corbert and Summer, Wash., and that fellow from Iowa. Able to express their equally valid opinion about our affairs here in Sandpoint from another state, one even a thousand miles away.

"Golly, gee. And they carry the weight of a guest columnist nonetheless. Wow, (sigh) …

"Gee, (sigh). If only I could be lucky enough to have to put up with a single week out of the year of traffic backed up halfway across the Long Bridge (as during the Long Bridge Swim). Wow, if only I were so lucky.

"Lucky to be able to sit faced away from the cattle and hog trucks, reading my Outside and Sunset magazines saying we've been discovered whilst sipping my $5 latte and having my $12 lunch at a little Sand Creek Bistro. Dreaming about the $500,000 condos that would go up if there were no bypass. Fantasizing about having a $100,000 boat below like all those from Washington and California during the four summer months when one can navigate in the creek.

"Rich enough to put weekly full page ads in the paper as the fearless downtown realty offices and tourist shop owners do. And of course, they are right. Golly, gee-whiz, (sigh); if only …"

LAWRENCE FURY

Sandpoint