Ugh, Tourists

This is my father’s story, and it took place about ten years ago. My father works in an industry that is involved in building, but he isn’t a contractor.

He was out at a new site in a small town on the Maine coast. The town was a typical small fishing and lobstering village. It was also a well-known destination for tourists. The town survived on fishing and lobstering all year round and tourism during the summer.

While he was working, a woman wandered over from her very large, very expensive house next door to say hello. They got to chatting, and the woman, who only lived in Maine three months out of the year, started complaining to my dad about the fishing and lobstering boats starting up at 4:00 am every morning and going by her house and waking her up. Most of these boats had old diesel engines, and they were loud.

Woman: “I’ve complained to the town clerk about the noise. I want them to ban fishermen and lobstermen from starting their motors before 8:00 am.”

This didn’t sit well with my father, but he’s a polite and considerate man.

Father: “These men and women often go far out to sea to pull their traps, so they have to get up very early. Some also have secondary afternoon jobs, so going out early is their best option. This is their livelihood and going out later would negatively impact the local economy.”

She was miffed.

Woman: “Well, not only am I going to propose the ban at the next town meeting, but I have the money to ensure that the ban will be enacted.”

My father chuckled and shook his head.

Father: “You’re wasting your time.”

Woman: “We will just see about that.”

Obviously, the ban was never enacted, and she sold her summer home a couple of years later. I’m told she was fairly well hated in the area because of her complete disregard for the town’s main livelihood, and apparently, after this incident, certain fishermen and lobstermen would gun their engines hard past her house early in the morning.

She really thought her sleep was more important than an entire town’s livelihood.