Over the past few years, Bozeman has routinely cropped up in magazine articles that list the best places to live in America. The latest such list, U.S. News Top Ten Retirement Cities, features, yet again, Bozeman. Read the larger list of Top Ten retirement cities, or read U.S. News' take on Bozeman.
The article does a pretty good job of portraying Bozeman as a technology center and outdoor mecca with a laid-back, small town atmosphere. Personally, as a tech entrepreneur and outdoor enthusiast, I cannot think of a better or more opportune place to live. And although we enjoyed living down the road in Billings for many years, and now make routine trips to Billings to visit friends, eat at the Cracker Barrel and (for Debra) shop, Bozeman, the fastest growing community in the state, has an atmosphere and air of excitement that Montana's largest city cannot match. I've been told that Bill Gates considers Bozeman as the next Silicon Valley, and have read that Bozeman will reach a population of 100,000 by about mid-century. I hope the latter prediction is wrong, although I would not bet against it (BizJournals notes that Bozeman is the 11th fastest growing small town in America). At the least, city and county planners are working diligently (and successfully, it seems to me) to maintain the rural spaces and landscape that still characterize most of Gallatin County.
Other recent Top Ten listings including Bozeman:
The #1 town in America for Best Quality of Life - BizJournals (August 2007
Natural Home Magazine named Bozeman the #3 town eco-neighborhood city in America - December 2006.
Most Active Town in America Top Ten - Men's Journal (March 2006)
In addition, Money Magazine in 2007 profiled Bozeman in its Top 100 Places to live in America.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Of Reading and Libraries
A recent poll revealed that one in four adults claimed to have read no books during the past year, while the average person read only four books during the past year. But public librarians in Maine contend that library use is steady, and I continue to be amazed at the large number of patrons I observe in my jaunts to large bookseller chain stores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders. Certainly the comfortable reading chairs and coffee shops help draw in customers, but it is obvious at least some Americans still enjoy reading. On the other hand, many public libraries are in trouble, as this public library advocacy site seeking to prevent the closure of public libraries in Chicago attests. Having literally grown up in a public library (my mother was a librarian), I am both saddened and alarmed over the apparent decline in reading trends. Some of my best memories - and to this day one of my favorite leisure activities - are those of reading a book while sitting in a park on a warm spring or summer day.
But on a lighter note, for those who may be bothering to read this blog (I wonder how blog reading stacks up against print reading these days?), you'll smile while reading the police incident reports from today's Bozeman paper:
* "A student kicked a foot bag onto the roof of the high school. The student climbed the building to get it, but he got stuck and couldn't get down. The principal went for a ladder."
* [Cue Andy Griffith theme music in the background.] "A woman was concerned about a young boy with a fishing pole walking along Thorpe Road. A deputy found the 9-year-old boy, who had stayed home from school because he was sick. After feeling better, he went fishing on the Gallatin River. His mother was aware of his location."
* [From the "what the heck?" department.] "When deputies responded to a home, they saw a naked man holding open the front door and waiting to talk to deputies. His wife explained that the man had been wandering around the house naked. He had burned some toast and was sniffing the smoke coming out of the toaster. He also had eaten butter from the tub with his fingers. The deputy explained to the woman that although his behavior was unusual, no crime had been committed."
But on a lighter note, for those who may be bothering to read this blog (I wonder how blog reading stacks up against print reading these days?), you'll smile while reading the police incident reports from today's Bozeman paper:
* "A student kicked a foot bag onto the roof of the high school. The student climbed the building to get it, but he got stuck and couldn't get down. The principal went for a ladder."
* [Cue Andy Griffith theme music in the background.] "A woman was concerned about a young boy with a fishing pole walking along Thorpe Road. A deputy found the 9-year-old boy, who had stayed home from school because he was sick. After feeling better, he went fishing on the Gallatin River. His mother was aware of his location."
* [From the "what the heck?" department.] "When deputies responded to a home, they saw a naked man holding open the front door and waiting to talk to deputies. His wife explained that the man had been wandering around the house naked. He had burned some toast and was sniffing the smoke coming out of the toaster. He also had eaten butter from the tub with his fingers. The deputy explained to the woman that although his behavior was unusual, no crime had been committed."
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Aspen Leaves and Apple Trees
Fall is nearly here. The aspen leaves are turning yellow, the apple trees have dropped all their fruit, and Grizzly Bob's daily mice kills (from the fields behind our house) have dropped considerably.
From the Bozeman Chronicle today comes an interesting statistic concerning growth here in the Gallatin Valley: in 1987, the city approved 16 new homes for construction ... and by July of this year, the number for 2007 stood at 526. (But don't tell that to the cows grazing down the hill from our house, mowing the grass for the fire station.)
In the larger world today, our president is still bent on pursuing a mistaken war that cannot be won, and Congressional Republicans, wielding veto power, are likely to continue to support the president despite the failure of the war and against the will of the American people. It is my hope and prayer that before my little girl is old enough to understand what is going on in the world, the U.S. will have acknowledged the folly of the war in Iraq and brought home our troops. I would rather her read about grizzlies and wolves (frequent front page story material in the Chronicle and the Billings Gazette) in the daily news than the Iraq mess.
Of more encouraging news is the state of Vermont's victory to cut automobile emissions. Perhaps by the time Elizabeth is old enough to think about cars, we will be driving electric autos. A Tesla Motor roadster would be nice, although impracticable in Montana for much of the year.
I close with this little gem from a recent local police report: "A woodchuck was stuck underneath a vehicle on West Koch Street."
From the Bozeman Chronicle today comes an interesting statistic concerning growth here in the Gallatin Valley: in 1987, the city approved 16 new homes for construction ... and by July of this year, the number for 2007 stood at 526. (But don't tell that to the cows grazing down the hill from our house, mowing the grass for the fire station.)
In the larger world today, our president is still bent on pursuing a mistaken war that cannot be won, and Congressional Republicans, wielding veto power, are likely to continue to support the president despite the failure of the war and against the will of the American people. It is my hope and prayer that before my little girl is old enough to understand what is going on in the world, the U.S. will have acknowledged the folly of the war in Iraq and brought home our troops. I would rather her read about grizzlies and wolves (frequent front page story material in the Chronicle and the Billings Gazette) in the daily news than the Iraq mess.
Of more encouraging news is the state of Vermont's victory to cut automobile emissions. Perhaps by the time Elizabeth is old enough to think about cars, we will be driving electric autos. A Tesla Motor roadster would be nice, although impracticable in Montana for much of the year.
I close with this little gem from a recent local police report: "A woodchuck was stuck underneath a vehicle on West Koch Street."
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