Getting lots of grief about the a whole Pierre thing. I have no quarrel with those who say there’s more to the town than met my eye. Yes, I am sure there’s lots of great fishing, pheasant hunting etc there (many of my in-laws come down from Alaska to shoot the pretty birds in South Dakota). Yes, I am sure that judging by the standards of my citified expectations is unfair etc.

But I’m sorry I don’t buy this “you’re a snob” nonsense. Yes, I suppose I am a snob in many respects, though it’s not the word I would choose. But, look, just because I’m from the city/East Coast does not mean I can’t tell when a burgh is rundown or not. Like so many once-thriving small towns and small cities in this country, Pierre looks like it’s seen better days. The downtown stores look like Wal-Mart et al have inflicted serious damage. The video-poker casinos are everywhere. How is it snobbery on my part to point these things out? Is it un-snobbish to say “I like the way the neon casino signs light up the night sky”? Would you prefer condescension? “Oh, the Best Western is lovely– by South Dakota standards I’m sure.”

On the subject of the Pierre Best Western, by the way, I should say that I suspect they dump the dog owners in the D cellblock where they put us — right by the railroad tracks. So there might be much nicer bits to the hotel.

Anyway, I’ve been to plenty of places that are very un-East Coast city-slicker that I like very much. In fact, I’m a big fan of Fairbanks, Alaska where I’ve spent quite a bit of time and which is geographically and every other way about as far from the Upper West Side as you can get. I agree with Derb’s emailer that you need to look beyond the “downtown” facades to get a real sense of the what the community is like and about. But spare me the charges of snobbery when I accurately describe the facades that I saw.