The Bee publishes letters from readers across the Gallatin Valley. Letters are edited for length, never for truth, because we wouldn’t know where to start.
The North 19th existential crisis
I’ve been commuting from Belgrade to my job in Bozeman for twenty-two years. Recently, I’ve noticed that if I leave at 7:15 a.m., it takes forty minutes. If I leave at 6:00 a.m., it takes forty-five minutes because everyone is driving exactly 38 miles per hour to look at the new construction projects near Four Corners. I’m not sure what we are building out there—it looks like a mix of luxury dental suites and storage units for people who own too many kayaks—but it certainly has made the act of moving forward very difficult. If we all just went home and stayed there, I think the traffic would clear up significantly.
— Gary P. Henderson, Belgrade
Too much “local” at the Co-op
I feel the need to clarify that when I moved here in 2014, I was promised a rustic, authentic mountain town experience. Lately, however, the Co-op is carrying a brand of artisanal, small-batch heirloom kale chips that are simply too crunchy. I understand the importance of supporting local agriculture, but I don’t believe my molar should be at risk while I’m trying to support a sustainable lifestyle. My neighbor, who has lived here since the eighties, tells me we used to just eat frozen peas and complain about the wind. I find that much more manageable than navigating a wall of expensive, locally-sourced superfoods that I can’t identify.
— Susan Vane-Smith, Bozeman
The wind is stealing my curb appeal
I’ve spent the better part of this week chasing my recycling bin down the interstate toward Big Timber. I know we say the wind in Livingston adds “character” to the valley, but I’m tired of my patio furniture ending up in the next county. My wife suggested we bolt the chairs to the deck, but I worry that if the wind picks up, it’ll just rip the deck off the house and carry the whole living room away. It’s an honest way to live, I suppose, provided you don’t get too attached to your property. If it isn’t nailed down, it isn’t yours.
— Dale “Buck” Miller, Livingston