IMHO

 I laughed when I finally figured out what IMHO means- In My Humble Opinion. Mostly because in the past my opinions weren't humble- I expected people to agree and act accordingly.

​Well, my friendship circle has increased exponentially to the degree I keep my mouth shut. Even my kids like me now

​One of the things I like about living in Wallowa County is that most people DO keep their opinions to themselves. Militant opinion-giving fractures relationships. For our survival here, we need to be interdependent and rely on each other as needed. So slinging opinions is not helpful.

​However, once a person gets to know the Wallowa County vibe, she can easily read unspoken opinions.

When given potholes, plant geraniums.

​For instance, there is a long-running debate about the potholes in Joseph. The city says there's no money, that even if grants were written, we wouldn't get them.

I've come up with a plan that would easily get the streets paved...

Each year Cycle Oregon comes to Joseph, route them away from the highway, but strategically through the streets of Joseph. They would be so annoyed at the damage to their expensive bicycles, they would grant us money to pave them. Once one street is paved, the next year we can move them over to another street. Street by street, it could be done 

​That's how Joseph can benefit from tourism dollars.

​But then, I think I just gave my opinion.

​Oh, well.