Standing on my Oilfield Soapbox

Last week, the Tribune ran an article on the growing pains of North Dakota. It highlighted how the "landscape" has changed in North Dakota. Clay Jenkinson hit on the headlines in the Tribune and that the simple undertones that have shifted over the past decade along with our oil exports. According to my mother, he got blasted by a local AM radio talk show. I don't disagree with him. His opinion column reported what many people have also noticed, after all, how could you not?

Here’s what he or the Tribune didn’t report on …the price of groceries. Much to Matt’s dismay, if we are in Bismarck, we stop at Walmart, Sam’s, or Dan’s or wherever to buy essentials. I’ve also been known to stop at the Richardton grocery store as well. Dan’s recently sold out to Spartan Foods, DBA as Econo Foods. Not only are their selections limited but their prices are high. The new place to buy milk and eggs in the town is Menard’s.

Another thing they don’t report on is the change in service. Matt and I quit going out to eat for the most part. Three reasons, first, the wait/crowded restaurants is maddening. It doesn’t matter if it’s 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 at night….they are crowded and you stand in their “ill fitting” wait rooms irritated and hungry. Second, the quality of food is continually disappointing. We like hot food that tastes good. We have found that we can make better and more unique meals in our kitchen. Finally, which may be the biggest thing, the service. I’ve been served the wrong food, had major parts forgotten of my meal, had glasses sit empty the entire meal, been happy they finally even took my order, and then had to beg for the bill. Don’t even think about the idea of not telling everything at once because you know that you’ll never see the server again. We go out for the experience and have the time we leave more mad than before we came. So we stay home.

They didn’t report on the traffic. The fact that the roads are congested with jacked up pick-up trucks. That there are more license plates from out of state than there are local. Last week a guy plowed into a pick-up in front of work. He hit it so hard that the old 80's pickup rammed forward and hit a van. That hit so hard that the van collided with the hitch of another pickup causing damage to both bumpers of the van. The driver did not have a license. And I wasn't surprised.

They don’t talk about the migrants coming here have such grand expectations. A guy sat at my desk looked me right in the face and expected that he should be making $30 an hour, with overtime available, housing provided for, and a per diem. Not to mention that he wanted his schedule to be 2 weeks on/2 weeks off. I had a hard time not laughing in his face. I asked about his driving record, as most that desire this type of position have DUI’s. I asked about his conviction record, as most coming have felonies or misdemeanors. I asked about his current living situation, as most coming plan to sleep in the Wal-mart parking lot (which doesn’t allow overnight stays anymore). I asked to see his resume, to which he replied that he did not have one. I then wanted to ask how he prepared to get this dream job when he wasn’t prepared to even apply for it.

They do talk about the rents and try to hit on the housing conditions. They know now that Williston has the highest rent in the country and that Dickinson is #4. They don't talk about the crapholes that are attempting to be sold for $175K. When we were house shopping, we looked at a $190K that didn't have kitchen cupboards. What’s funny is growing up in school, I remember hearing about shanty towns, but never in my life did I think I was going to see them. I can think of 4 off the top of my head. All of which are within 30 miles, and two of which are within 5. Campers were not meant to be lived in year-long but then again neither were cars. The churches have opened up at night to allow people to sleep there, but I don’t know if that’s the right answer either.

They don’t talk about the fear. That you don’t walk or run at night (the running isn’t a big deal, like I did that anyway). You watch your drink at night if you are brave enough to go to the bars as they don’t highlight on the drugs being put into drinks. They don’t talk about the fact that they’ve busted bartenders who have been included in this. They don’t talk about the fact that you park close if you think you need to go to Walmart at night. They don’t tell you that local law enforcement officers are prompting loved ones to think about getting a concealed. They don’t tell you about the drugs that are moving into the area. They highlight it a bit in the paper along with the human trafficking and some of the drug busts but do we have any idea of how deep it’s going?

I live with my own giant. We have a shotgun by our bed. It’s not there for protection per se, but it’s not in another room because of the convenience of location. I can’t imagine ever having to use it but when people say that we are closed minded to the boom and are all being silly, I’d like to point out the number of concealed weapons permit issued within the past 5 years and the number and frequency of the self defense courses offered. Maybe they are offered out of cautiousness or being paranoid, just maybe. Don’t get me wrong, oil has done some great things for our state and have impacted Matt and I’s positions in positive ways, but I really don’t know if I can say that these positive influences are worth the exposure to all the other “benefits”.

Okay, so oilfield rant over. For the original article that inspired this…..Bismarck Tribune
Best Meal: Breakfast for supper. Complete with overeasy/overhard eggs, our bacon, french toast.

MJR: I think I’d like this oilfield crap a lot more if I was getting a royalty check every month.
ALR: I think I’d like that a lot more too.