Piping a different tune

Dear True,

It’s always fun, if not outright amusing, to see what “The Issue of the Day” happens to be in Grand Marais. There’s always one per summer and this year, clearly, the issue involves ATV usage. What makes it all amusing is when the normally restrained nature of the Scandinavian population suddenly becomes violently polarized, firmly entrenched, and almost hysterically vehement as the citizenry weighs in on one side or the other of The Issue.
This summer I’ve noticed a growing groundswell of otherwise mild-mannered acquaintances rising up against the “pushiness” of the ATV group and their seeming arrogance in demanding an ordinance for their hobby, a hobby which ultimately infringes on the rights of their neighbors to peace and quiet and uncluttered roads.
I myself have friends who are addicted to the ATV past time, an addiction to which I cannot relate, but that doesn’t mean I begrudge them their brightly-colored, fat-tired doodlebugs zooming noisily over hill and dale, as they grin like bears in a honey tree. As my mother often said: “It’s always fun until someone puts out an eye.” Their joy reminds me of my own passion for the bagpipes and bagpipers in general, an addiction not shared by everyone. In fact, the ATV issue has made me rethink the role of bagpipers in the life of Grand Marais.
Like the doodlebugs, bagpipers are noisy and colorful and, I feel, should be encouraged to practice, march, and parade on any and all streets they so desire. I feel the pure, quiet northern air should be pierced regularly with the singular drone and subsequent squawk of an awakening pipe before it launches into an emotionally stirring high-pitched tune, a tune which will invariably raise the hair on the back of my neck and bring tears to my eyes. I love the pipes -- so much so I’d probably follow a piper into Hell, as so many brave Scots have done before me.
So what I’m asking is this: if the ATVers have the right to lobby for an ordinance allowing them to do as they please with THEIR hobby, without regard to the opinions of their neighbors, do I not also have the right to lobby for a bag piping ordinance? Perhaps Grand Marais could become “The Piping Capital of the Midwest,” a veritable Mecca for pipers, with pipers on all corners (not ignoring the habit of many pipers for solo piping in Nature), ensuring the glimpse of “a bit of plaid” in the peripheral vision of each and every resident of Cook County?
If it works for one special interest group, why not ALL of them? Perhaps we could elect a special Sub-Council that only hears ordinance requests from various hobby groups. Or, failing that, perhaps keep things as they are and merely find an isolated piece of land in Cook County where doodlebuggers and bagpipers alike can indulge their passion without annoying others.

Pam Dorris
Lutsen