The American Spectator : A VERY Strange Day

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A VERY Strange Day

By Ben Stein on 7.14.11 @ 6:06AM

Don’t mind the beer-drinking man.

TUESDAY
Alex and I are up in Idaho. It’s overcast and thunderstorms are forecast. Neither of us feels like going out on the boat, so we are just going to go for a nice long ride to The Bull River Parkway, a genuinely beautiful highway that runs roughly between Heron, Montana and Troy/Libby Montana through the Kootenai National Forest and along the Bull River, the Yaak River and some other rivers.

We got to Heron, Montana just in time to have a little snack at the Heron Sweet and General Store, served to us by a lovely young woman named Lauren and her very pleasant grandmother.

Then we got on the Bull River Parkway, which was just as magnificent as I had remembered it from maybe 15 years ago when I took Tommy on a ride up there when he was a little boy.
We had been told to look for the Ross Creek Cedars and sure enough, a sign pointed out a turn off for those Cedars.

It was a LONG turn off and extremely windy. I was starting to get dizzy from the altitude and the twists and turns. When we finally got to the parking lot for the Cross Creek Cedars-we had not passed a single car and there were no cars in the parking lot-I was too dazed to walk the roughly one mile to the Cedars grove. We turned around in our loyal, sturdy rented Cadillac and headed back to The Bull River Parkway.

Miracle! As we rounded a turn, we came to a scenic overlook that was the most expansive, magnificent sight I have ever seen. Forests that went on forever. An immense valley floor of trees that rose to a stupendous mountain with snow on the top in August. We stopped to take pictures and could hear the rushing sound of Ross Creek far below us.

It was stupefyingly gorgeous. I later learned that this was the Cabinet Mountains National Wilderness, that goes on almost to Libby. It has about 95,000 acres-and that’s just a tiny sliver of the Kootenai National Forest. The beauty here is beyond reason.

But how could anyone find his way in that forest? How could you keep from being eaten by bears and mosquitoes? Or snakes? I like looking at The Wilderness but, as my wife says, “a little wilderness goes a long way.”

We got down to The Bull River Parkway and headed north. We passed a café that was about halfway along the parkway. Its door was open and so I went in (Alex stayed in the car).

As I walked in, I saw a bewildering array of video games, a pool table, a room set up with a stage and chairs for music, and several middle aged men at the bar. One stared at me intently. There was also an immense old Labrador Retriever in the floor.

“That’s a big dog,” I said cheerily to the man staring at me.

“He’s there to keep the riff-raff out,” said the man in a distinctly unfriendly voice.

“I see,” I said amiably. “I guess it’s not working because here I am.”

The man drank a huge draft of his beer and said, “We don’t see too many Jewish people here.”

(I sort of thought that was coming. I had been having eerie feelings all day long and this man had a number of empty beer mugs in front of him.)

“I wonder why that is,” I said to him.

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About the Author

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (60) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

D. Singh| 7.14.11 @ 7:38AM

Sir

What an unpleasant encounter Mr Stein had. In all communities there are good and bad people.

The good and the bad are not representative of each other.

I have always thought that God permitted men of other races and those with disabilities to test my reactions to ‘Man made in the image of God’.

As a Christian when I ‘insult’ another man over something he cannot help, I believe that the ‘insult’ strikes Jesus first.

For on what other basis can God forgive, me the wrongdoer, without consulting the victim of my wrongdoing?

Arthur L| 7.14.11 @ 2:01PM

So many aspects of Ben's story are suspect, especially the one about the man who says "I've seen you on TV." I do not believe Ben experienced any antisemitism. He just made up the story for sympathy.

In a previous entry Ben claims that he went into a Seven/Eleven and all the customers gathered around and asked for his autograph. Most people do not know who the hell he is or care. They certainly would not want his autograph.

The man has delusions of grandeur. I believe he thinks he's got "a little star quality." How anyone can appreciate his drivel is beyond me.

I read him just for the pleasure of noting his pretentiousness, his shallowness, and I get a kick out of his over-the-top,maudling ramblings on his dogs.

What an ego!

Russ| 7.14.11 @ 3:06PM

Are you the guy at the bar?

Anita| 7.18.11 @ 12:40PM

Ha! Good one.

MM| 7.14.11 @ 3:12PM

I doubt it's made up.

Ben, I can't help wonder how that fellow at the bar *knew* they didn't see many Jews there?

How does one *know* they are seeing a Jew? In your case he recognized you.

BTW - for many of those guys, every day is a bad day. Their lives haven't gone as they'd hoped; best to be thankful yours is just better.

Occam's Tool| 7.14.11 @ 4:34PM

Ben,

the majority of the people in that bar were lining up to get photos taken with you.

In any crowd, there are a few assholes, but only in the Legal Profession do we have active selection of them for success.

Franzie| 7.14.11 @ 5:36PM

Actually, Ben was (is) on TV in my area all day long doing Comcast commercials for cable TV. Depending on what channel you tune in you can see him 4-6 times in an hour or two.......

Tomas| 7.14.11 @ 4:17PM

The fellow at the bar was a bit racist (really racist is throwing a noose around someone's neck). And a bit guarded.

But, I guarantee you that this man would be the first to your aide should you encounter harm.

I used to hate bikers... scared me, really. Redneck's Rednecks. Until I spent some time with them. They're the salt of the earth. I'd trust my life to those people, certainly more than I would some city elitist.

Alan Brooks| 7.14.11 @ 7:09PM

Stein is a hard one to figure, he might be a far better traveler, raconteur, businessman (no one but Commies denies his right to his wealth) than a writer.
With Stein's being well-off, why does he need to write? perhaps he would be better of to study music, or art? As Richard Rich said "... [Wolsey] must have been misplaced in his origins."
Stein even resembles Wolsey in demeanor.

Alan Brooks| 7.14.11 @ 7:13PM

"I'd trust my life to those people, certainly more than I would some city elitist."

Then you haven't had enough experience. What goes on in the hearts of the rustic would shoch you if you could but know. Surprising to me how pollyannish-- deep inside-- a hard-boiled conservative can be. Because he WANTS to be.

Alan Brooks| 7.14.11 @ 11:21PM

You think coutry folk have wings on their backs? We've all been on farms working for a bit to 'rough it', you glimpsed what goes on behind closed doors there.
In some ways it is better; but try going to a rural hospital out in the sticks many miles away-- how many writers & editors at AS live in the country year round? a summer or two doesn't count.

TennesseeVolunteer| 7.14.11 @ 8:18AM

Ben, the redneck was testing you. As a Yankee in the South, I get tested all of the time. You come back at then with good natured repartee and they come to respect you.
Maybe I am reading it wrong but I can promise you he was just testing you.
Maybe you should follow a person with a redneck accent to New York City and see how that person is treated. I can promise you the veiled comments and giggles and disrespect would be a hundred times worse.

JimH| 7.14.11 @ 8:38AM

Having moved from NYC to a semi-rural area outside of Tampa I have to agree. Sometimes there is a bit of testing when meeting a long time native, and sometimes you wonder where they got their expectations of New Yorkers from. Though I must say my biggest impression upon moving down here was how much nicer more polite most people are.

grant1863| 7.14.11 @ 9:52AM

We got our bad impression of New Yorkers from the tourist New Yorkers passing through and the folks who tell us how great it is "back home". Otherwise Tampa is a very diverse place with great people from all over.

USSAlabama| 7.14.11 @ 3:18PM

Oh, Jim and TNVolunteer -- real Southerners have been taught by generations to be suspect of Yankees,
but we know what our Grandparents and deeper generations didn't.

Once in a while we meet some truly rude ones, but overall most are nice to know. So, I suppose the test is to see which kind you are.

Westie| 7.18.11 @ 4:21PM

Real Southerners are also very disturbed about the end of our Constitutional Republic due to Northern Tyrants and thus we will always be suspicious of N-Eastern types......from a SC/TN native married to a NY Jewess.

Occam's Tool| 7.14.11 @ 4:40PM

My wife, who is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the Capstone (Accounting), was in a jewelry store in Boston in the first year of our marriage while I was attending a CME lecture.

She asked the lady behind the counter where a good hair stylist was. The Boss has a strong 'Bama accent. She was told, "Well, you might like so and so, but they're expensive..." the implication being that since she was white and Southern, Crackerism followed as night follows day.

She was steamed, but a lady (as always where she was supposed to be).

I totally agree with you Tennessee Volunteer. I must tell you something else---Southern Rural Children are the most polite children I have EVER seen.

Ray Charboneau| 7.14.11 @ 8:34AM

Mr. Stein,

Please continue your insightful commentary on everyday American life and attitudes. After reading your postings I always feel entertained, enlightened and enriched. Being a dog lover, I especially enjoyed your article on Brigid. God blesses those with a kind heart. You, sir, personify kindness.

Stormzeye| 7.14.11 @ 8:49AM

Lovely piece Ben. The man at the bar did however ask an interesting question regarding Jews' love for civilization rather than the wilderness. I guess after experiencing a bedouin/desert existence for generations, then living thousands of years in cities would cause one to choose the convenience and excitement of civilization over the hardships of the wilderness. Eminently rational choice from one city boy to another.

MoeBlotz| 7.14.11 @ 9:07AM

The !(@*#&$?/{] anti-semites sent a text message to their buddy in the big truck to watch for the Jew in the Caddy and almost got him. Anti-Semite semi-truck?

Steve A| 7.14.11 @ 9:18AM

Ben, The solution here is easy to see.

#1) Buy him a beer.
#2) Challenge him to a game of pool for $10.
If you win, refuse the $$. If you lose, he will probably do the same, but allow you to buy him more beer.

If you came back for country music night & anyone gave you any grief, your new beer pal would defend you with his life.

Lessons from a Redneck. Free of charge.

USSAlabama| 7.14.11 @ 3:19PM

Steve - that usually does work best!

PCC| 7.14.11 @ 3:58PM

Step 1 above is to buy the ignorant jerk a beer like he's the king of the world? And then play a game of pool with him? I'd rather chew glass.

Lesson from someone with a little self-respect. Free of charge.

Occam's Tool| 7.14.11 @ 4:43PM

PCC,

read the New Testament much, about how to deal with potential enemies? I have followed Steve A's advice in the Deep South (not the pool playing part, 'cause I don't play pool), and damn, being human and nice works wonders.

Ben can only do so much because he IS a Malibu Moron. But I had a thriving Medical Practice in Alabama as an UCLA trained Yankee Jewboy.

Bill| 7.14.11 @ 9:42AM

Well, the beer-drinking guy was unpleasant, all right, and if I'd been in Mr. Stein's shoes, I'd have been very uncomfortable. But as is pointed out, the guy did at least talk (which suggests he wasn't ready to pull out the torches, pitchforks, and get a rope), did invite Mr. Stein to eat with him (which in most cultures is a sign of hospitality and a holding-out of friendship), so maybe this antisemite was just an ignorant redneck; the presence of other, friendlier people suggests that may have been the case.

All that said, I'd have been glad to be gone too. Especially after that crack about the Cadillac.

marsha| 7.14.11 @ 10:23AM

C'mon Ben. Mississippi is a great place, too. We do tire of all who take every opportunity to hammer us. What happened here that your Alex references occurred a half century ago. Give us a break! Drive through our small towns and I bet you won't find much to make you uncomfortable. Plenty of cadillacs here, too.

LarryK| 7.14.11 @ 10:33AM

You're Jewish?

Pete L.| 7.14.11 @ 11:23AM

Du bist ein Mench Ben!
God Bless You

ben

Ed| 7.14.11 @ 12:04PM

Jerks are found in all areas of the country. I was driving with Ohio plates near Albany NY on the NYS Thruway (their spelling, not mine), and a driver blocked me as I was trying to merge into traffic from an on-ramp. I was forced onto an exit ramp and ended up at SUNY Albany. This was after the Bush-Kerry election where Ohio cast the deciding votes in the Electoral College. Revenge was sweet, however, because a NY State Trooper saw the whole thing and pulled him over. We waved as we passed him by.

Ned the Red| 7.14.11 @ 12:06PM

You should have sincerely told him he looked like one of the guys in "Brokeback Mountain".
"The negros stole our dates". (Animal House)

Kingofthenet| 7.14.11 @ 12:12PM

Jew's can be quite irritating in tight spaces, i.e.Eric Cantor.

RCV| 7.14.11 @ 2:20PM

No, Eric Cantor can be quite irriting in any space, tight or otherwise.

Occam's Tool| 7.14.11 @ 4:46PM

Now, Now, King and RCV---play nice. And King, it's Jews---no apostrophe required. By the way, I need to ask King, 'cause I lost my schedule---when is it my turn in the Cave in Barbados where we Jews control the International Money Supply?

RCV| 7.14.11 @ 7:02PM

:-D

Bill| 7.14.11 @ 6:08PM

Don't you mean, "e.g., Eric Cantor?" Anybody, Jewish or not, can become irritating in tight spaces. Fat chicks, for example.

Occam's Tool| 7.14.11 @ 6:20PM

I have been in a reasonably tight spot with a Playboy Playmate of the Decade in the late 1980s. That was fairly pleasant.

Kilgore Trout| 7.17.11 @ 10:48AM

So can demRATZ ie: Hairy Reid, Pilousy, any Klinton, dolbermannn, any Kennedy, all network ankers and more

Melody Byrne | 7.14.11 @ 12:45PM

I live just south of Sandpoint in ID. My husband and I took that exact same drive 4th of July weekend to head up to Troy to get fireworks. We noticed on the highway there was a white supremacist campground, so I'm not exactly shocked at what happened (though a little annoyed they live smack dab in the middle of paradise). However, jerks like that are a minority around here, even in the MT wilderness. Oh, and that little general store in Heron IS lovely.

If you get a chance though, the new Ivano's location in Hope is spectacularly pretty.

Bill| 7.14.11 @ 6:13PM

I could tell a story about the three VERY unfriendly Sioux Indians who pulled their car in behind mine at a pullout near Pine Ridge, South Dakota, checking me out in no uncertain terms after I followed a dirt road from Chadron, Nebraska, past a lot of boonie areas up into South Dakota. It was a "watchoo doin in these parts boy?" moment.

Greg| 7.14.11 @ 2:09PM

So sorry to hear about this, but so love Ben Stein!

RCV| 7.14.11 @ 2:18PM

Ben: Thanks for the great story. My son and I go up to Idaho often as well. The natural beauty is indeed spectacular. But the small cafes all seem to be owned or populated by guys like your beer-drinking, paranoid-of-Jews/Blacks/City types guy. Does make you feel like you're on the Deliverance ser sometimes. Keep up the wonderful writing - you are a national treasure.

Occam's Tool| 7.14.11 @ 4:47PM

As we Alabamns used to say: Deliverence was shot in Georgia, not 'Bama. Home of Jimmy Carter, not Don Seigelman.

RCV| 7.14.11 @ 2:19PM

That should have been "Deliverance set".

Occam's Tool| 7.15.11 @ 6:32PM

No, sir, I believe the outside shots were done on site in Georgia, RCV.

Westie| 7.18.11 @ 4:16PM

OT is right, parts of Deliverance were filmed on the Chattooga River on the GA/NC border. I've actually paddled and camped at one of the filming spots many years ago.

RCV| 7.18.11 @ 6:46PM

I know where Deliverence was shot. It's the atmosphere of the places Ben described and I've seen that's evocative of that same mood.

Strudwick Wickerwire| 7.14.11 @ 3:38PM

Ben --

At times I'm not up to reading the posts (comments) that accompany you relating the events of your day, interesting as the slices of your life are. Those posts are as adversarial as the "beer drinker" incident, rude and uncalled for!!!

With that said, just keep up the interesting anecdotes... I enjoy'em!!!

NotPropagandized| 7.14.11 @ 3:39PM

Interesting how one person out of many casts a reputation on a place that eclipses all the other prevailing goodness. Also interesting how much more it sticks when the place is Southern as opposed to Montana Boston Chicago Philly NewYawk PontiacMI. It's also interesting the down-the-nose regard that liberal Jews have toward conservative whites no matter how friendly (cling to guns God etc). One person can pollute one whole place in the universe.

BenStein is the best, even when he sometimes doesn't agree with me. I wish I had a picture with him. I'd wear it with my church name tag!...

AmeriCAN1| 7.14.11 @ 4:05PM

Ben, Love your stories and experiences (good and not so good) that you share, especailly on how you handle those not so good ones...great teaching to us fellow AmeriCANs and Human beings. You remind me very much of a mutual friend/neighbor you have at Sand Point, (intials are B.D.D. and lives on a closed resort). You both are great men, great examples, and Great Americans and am proud to have you in our lives as either a personal friend or friend in beliefs/ideas as such as yourself. Love you adn all you stand for and have done for this country ans still do...thanks so much for sharing. Have a Great Day and an Even Better Tomorrow!

alex parkhurst| 7.14.11 @ 4:24PM

Ben,
I used to live near Ross Creek Cedars. Next time, please take the tour. It starts a few hundred yards from the parking lot. It is not a mile away. Someone gave you bad directions. These trees are 500 years old and almost 200 feet high. Whole walk is 30 minutes max. Also, between Libby and Troy are the Kootenai Falls, the largest falls in the Pacific NW that does not have a dam. Some of Meryl Streep's movie "The River Wild" was filmed at the falls. I watched it being filmed.

You want a good story. The locals want two mines to open that have the largest deposits of silver in the U.S. No silver, no solar power. Both mines are underground and underneath the Cabinet Mountains. The access is by adit, not open pit. It's the folks downstream in Sandpoint among others that are are preventing the mines from opening. I know, I've talked to them. Too bad. The counties these proposed mines are in (Lincoln and Sanders) have the highest unemployment rates in Montana.

della street| 7.14.11 @ 5:59PM

My Jewish husband, and my Irish Catholic self, spent a few summers in the mountains of N.Ga.
We were constantly asked where we 'worshipped' Responding 'nowhere' was a real conversation killer. However, once they heard his soft spoken Savannah accent, we were welcomed with open arms and great courtesy, but were definitely a 'curiosity' in the area. Eventually we got tired of driving 40 miles for barely passable rye bread or to see a movie, but it was nice for a time.

USSAlabama| 7.14.11 @ 11:38PM

I was married to an Israeli for a couple decades and everybody in Alabama loved him.

Occam's Tool| 7.17.11 @ 11:05PM

USS Alabama: That explains much about how wonderful you are. Kinda like another Alabama girl of my acquaintance.:-D

Ralph Novy| 7.14.11 @ 9:06PM

"Jewish people like civilization," he said. "They don't like wilderness."

"True enough," I said, "but I just saw an amazing wilderness view and it's fabulous. It amazes me that there aren't more tourists here."

Huh? Could anyone so ostensibly intelligent be so actually stupid?

I'm waiting for the other shoe to fall.....

Please retire from "public life," Ben. You're way past your prime. You're starting to stink.

You had a good run. Be thankful.

Ralph
Hillsboro, Wisconsin

weddingdress | 7.15.11 @ 4:52AM

I was married to an Israeli for a couple decades and everybody in Alabama loved him.

Martin Tell| 7.15.11 @ 8:19PM

Good (subtle) use of a Robert Zimmerman quotation by Ben.

Jorge| 7.16.11 @ 1:14PM

Ben, evidently this fellow didn't know that you want him to pay more taxes. If he did you may not have gotten out of there alive.

Scott| 7.16.11 @ 8:22PM

Well Ben, I think that Ron White put it best: "You can't fix stupid!" Racism is the only cancer that can be cured with the soothing balm of a lovely conversation. Minds only remain narrow when they refuse to listen to differing viewpoints. When Mr. Unfriendly realizes that "City Jews" are not as detestable as he had emagined, his outlook might just change. Who knows, maybe Ben planted a seed for others to water. Either way, every place needs to have it's characters. After all, what village doesn't have it's own idiot? That is what makes life interesting. It isn't the smooth parts of life's road that reveal who we are. No, it's how we react to the bumps, potholes, and A-holes that try to throw us for a loop. Keep paying it forward Ben!

Beverly| 7.20.11 @ 8:22PM

If we think of this comment forum as a "village" , the idiot must be Ralph.

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