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Show Free sprtf no- stopped by Utah 's cultural negative I'm talking to Sandy Palsson, a free-spirited California Califor-nia transplant, a Brigham Young University graduate, a happy stay-at-home mother of two children... And, according ac-cording to some newspaper readers, a first-class genuine ge-nuine snob! "Cyclops I By BRIAN GRAY ' "I really don't care what they say about me," she says. "In Utah, there is a cultural negative for a woman to speak out and say what she thinks. But I grew up in California and I can better accept any criticism leveled at me. When I first read of people mentioning my name in the newspaper, I laughed. It was only later that I became angry at all the distortions." Sandy is not front-page news, but she has been a regular target of writers in the letters to the editor column. She also is a woman who admits-she'd "better-not "better-not set foot in a K mart store for fear they'd take my photograph and keep it on file. ' ' Sandy's notoriety began last month when she and her Farrnington neighbors heard of a proposal to construct con-struct a K mart store on busy Highway 89 by Shepard Lane. Sandy was no fan of K mart, but she was even more concerned about the effects of increased traffic and commercial hubbub. Convinced that city planners had not considered the environmental impact of the store, her family and several neighbors printed and distributed a flyer boldly headlined: "Farrnington Residents Against Tacky Stores." The flyer and the "tacky" description was later reported in several newspapers including the Davis County Clipper. The onslaught began. Within one week, K mart shoppers were scribbling letters to the editor faster than one can say Blue Light Special. The writers called Sandy San-dy a snob, a phony, and a rich woman out of touch with the economic needs of the average Utahn. "Let her live up on the hill with the rest of those Farrnington snobs," wrote one K mart devotee. Wrote another, ' 'She must think she's better than ac tress Jacqueline Smith, who has an apparel line at K mart." A woman even called Sandy and left a scathing message on her answering machine. "I've got sue children and I can't afford to shop at the more expensive expen-sive stores like you can," argued the woman. "Just who do you think you are? ' Sandy knows who she is. Brimming with self-confidence, self-confidence, she has no qualms about her reference to K martas having a "tacky image." "Listen, I never said that K mart customers were tacky. I simply stated that the store has a tacky image. During the company's presentation before the planning commission, officials admitted that the Faimington store would be upgraded, so in effect the company was agreeing that they have a low-budget image. I admit I haven't walked into a K mart in years, but that isn't the point. I'd be questioning a Nordstrom store, too, because I'm not sure Farrnington needs a huge com- mercial development on a busy highway. "As far as personal criticism of me, I can take it. If a person takes a stand, that person better be ready to take their lumps and bumps. But I still think the city needs to look at other options. If we need to pay more taxes to preserve the city's quality of life, then put it to a vote. I'd rather pay more taxes than have Farrnington become another West Valley City or Sandy. I moved from Southern California tp get away from all the commercialism and the next thing I know, the city is bending over backwards to rush through a K mart. ' ' It especially rankles to be called a snob. ' 'My husband hus-band and I are middle income folks. In fact, I sew a great deal of my children's clothes. My father wasn't a millionaire, for crying out loud...It's just amazing to me what gets people excited. One criticism of a department store and people are calling you and your neighbors snotty. ' ' So to set the record straight, Sandy Palsson is not questioning the quality of K kart merchandise. She is, however, defending her idea of Farrnington 's quality of life. "That's something you can't buy at a shopping mall," she says. "If that makes me a snob, then so be it!" |
