Can You Keep a Secret?

A local chat line for ATVers recently took up the question of the navigability of Spring Creek and whether the new state law applied to them. Several of the chatters were rattled by the prospects of a $500 fine for an offense, prompting this exchange:

Spring Creek is open for business and you will not be ticketed there according to the people that own Spring Creek ATV park. He told me that he would pay any ticket that was written to someone at his park. He also knows a lot of people in law enforcement. -- Rocket 67

I sure hope it doesn't get expensive for him. I think we are going to be OK at Spring Creek. If they were going to enforce it they would have by now unless they have a huge public outcry they will probably leave it alone. -- P700

Surely, you fellas aren't going to take the word of the owner of Spring Creek ATV park as gospel, right? NO OFFENSE TO THE OWNER AS I'VE MET HIM ONCE AND HE SEEMS LIKE A VERY LIKEABLE GUY. But come on...his livelihood apparently depends on the new law NOT applying to and NOT being enforced at Spring Creek. So what exactly did you expect him to say?-- Mikeyboy_esq

Well, Mikeyboy hit a nerve with his comments, prompting, among other responses, this paean to independence and fatalism:

At some point our sun is going to start to lose its power and when it does it will expand in size till most if not all the planets in the solar system are sucked in by it. Once the sun has expanded it will collapse in on itself and explode, otherwise known as a Super Nova. This will happen at some point; it's a fact. However I plan to have as much time until then as I can. This included riding at Spring Creek where they may or may not ticket me. If I'm not going to worry about the sun exploding, why should I worry about a ticket? -- Rudy

Mikeyboy responds that he's not trying to be a doomsayer ... just expressing a different point of view and that he has talked to people from the General Land Office and Texas Water Development Board about the law.

Rudy then points out: Just be careful about who is called. Just as most ATVers don't know about this law, most other groups don't either. No reason for you to point out stuff to people that can make trouble for our riding.

This, of course, sets off a whole new firestorm:

But now it would appear that you are also implying that I either don't have sufficient intelligence to avoid tipping off to the state agencies that Spring Creek may possibly be subject to the new law...While I am no genius, I can assure you that I have sufficient brains in head to avoid putting Spring Creek on the radar screen for the state gov't agencies...-- Mikeyboy_esq

At some point you just have to say f#% it and get your ass out on the trails. I don't want to pay a possible $500 fine but if that means I can't ride Spring Creek or wherever then it is time to sell the ATV and take up knitting. -- Rocket 67

-- Margaret Downing