Even though he is a Democrat....

I love the music of Bon Jovi. I decided this back when I was about 15 years old and I got various albums through the mail, not Columbia House, but the other one... BMG? Anyway, buy one get 10 free or something like that. I got the Keep the Faith Album and I remember sitting at my moms computer playing some civilization game I got from Kent. For hours I would play while the music was on repeat. I memorized every song on the Album and loved them all. One song that I particularly loved/love was 'Dry County.'

I loved the guitar solo, just everything about the song. It wasn't until moved to this little oil town that I was looking for coorelation between the town and the song.

Across the border they turn
Water into wine
Some say it's the devil's blood
They're squeezing from the vine

For many of the people in Vernal, the opportunities to work in the oil industry is a blessing. They all come here for jobs when they may not have the education, or have the criminal record that makes it hard to get another high paying job.

Some say it's a saviour
In these hard and desperate times
For me it helps me to forget
That we're just born to die

Even though I did not come for the oil, I came to Vernal for opportunity. I came here like many did, to find a better life. I couldn't use my degree in the land of 100,000 students and 100 history teachers applying for the same position at any given school. I got two interviews and was stuck working overnights at a hospital. I enjoyed the job, but felt that I could do better.

I came here like so many did
To find the better life
To find my piece of easy street
To finally be alive
And I know nothing good comes easy
And all good things take some time
I made my bed I'll lie in it
To die in it's the crime

It was a leap of faith to move to this 'in the middle of nowhere' town. It was a town that didn't have any places to live, let alone AFFORDABLE places. It was a leap I so wanted to take. In Provo, I had promises of a morning show at a station 'someday,' and I had no prospects for teaching. Hardly anything to stay there for.

You can't help but prosper
Where the streets are paved with gold
They say the oil wells ran deeper here
than anybody's known
I packed up on my wife and kid
And left them back at home

Now, I didn't pack up on my wife and kids, but I know plenty in this town who have, because the oils wells (or future wells) are supposedly full and deep. In 2007, it really was hard not to prosper. I had a teaching job and a wonderful (at the time) radio job that paid the bills and made life seem steady for ONCE!

Now there's nothing in this paydirt
The ghosts are all I know
Now the oil's gone
The money's gone
And the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on

Thanks to Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary under Barack Obama, and other policies, the oil wells have somewhat been shut down. This caused another crash of sorts in this oil town. The money started to go, the families that once prospered and accumulated large truck and house payments lost their huge paychecks. Some families, still do, worried about how they were going to be fed. In our Condo Complex alone we were once at about 30% occupancy because owners abandoned their properties and others moved out. One lady lost 10 units alone because they were unhealthy and the payments were late. Things are looking up, but not like they were in 2007.

Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hand
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive

Anyone that graduates high school in Vernal has two options: (1) to stay in Vernal and work at Big O Tires or in the oil/gas field somewhere or (2) leave to get an education at the U of U, UVU, BYU, Utah State, etc. Although Vernal does have a great USU campus and a tech, it just isn't the same to go there for these students as it is to leave home and experience college in 'the city.'

In the blessed name of Jesus
I heard a preacher say
That we are God's children
And He'd be back someday
And I hoped that he knew
Something as he drank his cup of wine
I didn't have too good of a feeling
As I head out to the night

Vernal has seen its ups and downs. The Old timers here will tell you about the crash of 1981 or so, and how the city was left to the native Veranlites to resurrect it. Now that we have had the crash of 2008-09 no one knows exactly what the future holds. Will a new president in 2012 give us a new chance? Will a lawsuit against Ken Salazar change anything? A lot of people are out a lot of money because of the down turn in the economy. But, on the other hand, do we want uneducated oil rig workers storming around town in big trucks, tats, and scary beards having more money than those with Degrees? Do we want the crime that comes with the rough population? Vernal has been doing some spending on a new jail, new city and police headquarters, and advanced city planning in preparation for another spike in population. More hotels have been built in Vernal in the last three years than I have stayed at in my life. If we are prepared, will we prosper?

I cursed the sky to open
I begged the clouds for rain
I prayed to God for water
For this burning in my veins
It was like my soul's on fire
And I had to watch the flames
All my dreams went up in ashes
And my future blew away

I am lucky enough to have two wonderful jobs that moderately depend on the economy. I will have a job no matter what. What about those kids who I have coached and taught in one way or another whose lives and existence depend on their family thriving off of the oil and gas industry? Just like the Reds, Bengals, Jazz... I pray for the hometown team. I hope that this town begins to thrive again.

Now the oil's gone
And the money's gone
And the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on

We are hangin' on. We have a wonderful core in this town. We have a temple and a few tourist attractions with the dinosaurs. We have farmers and ranchers nearby. We have other mining, we have travelers come through town. We have some of the most beautiful scenary in the high Uintas including Flaming Gorge and other reservoirs nearby.

Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hand
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive

I for one know that I am not getting out this house! I have a mortgage that is about twice what my home is worth. I am stuck here, until the demand is back.

Men spend their whole lives
Waiting praying for their big reward
But it seems sometimes
The payoff leaves you feeling
Like a dirty whore
If I could choose the way I'll die
Make it by the gun or knife
'Cause the other way there's too much pain
Night after night after night

I don't know many people in this town currently suffering, but I am aware that people are. I know that some parents are frustrated because they cannot find a job. I know some parents take it out on their children. And I know that there are other horrible effects of this bust. For those who are suffering, I pray for their big reward. Whether it be oil or not, I hope that Uintah County is not Dry County.

Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hand
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive