Letter to the Editor
The Chronicle Herald
Contributed by David Baker
March 31, 2021

Read on the Chronicle Herald’s Website>

Some say you should never look a gift horse in the mouth — an old saying about not questioning wonderful gestures or presents. It’s not a saying I’ve always lived by.

The same goes for billionaires offering to build golf courses on mist-shrouded Atlantic coastal areas, as is currently the case at Owls Head on the Eastern Shore. If the public land is destroyed, do folks really believe that the golf course owners will let you wander down the fairways? Do they really believe that buyers will flock to purchase very high-end houses or stay in swanky hotels built around the “links”?

Picture this as you tee up, preparing to drive a long one down to the rocky cliff: The fog is so thick your caddie pulls out his GPS to show you where and how far to aim. After a few practice swings, you step up to the ball, take a deep breath, and after swallowing a dozen or more blackflies, you cough and spit up all you can as you try to steady yourself and catch your breath.

Do people really believe the rich and famous will put up with a foggy, black-fly infested round? Will these same rich golfers come to our shores? Build mega-homes? Reality check: No, they won’t. Why would they?

I live in the area. I do not walk my property or cut grass without bug spray, or bug-resistant clothing. Who among us doesn’t just adore the sound of a mosquito or fly of any type “whispering” in his ear or crawling along the inside of her glasses or swimming in his beer? Do you really believe the rich and famous will? Even they have standards. 

Dave Baker, Ship Harbour


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