Power to the People – Apathy Destroyed

I just returned from voting.  I have a responsibility to vote because many citizens before me have died and defended my right to peacefully tell my country who I believe should represent me.  The concept that we can peacefully change governmental leadership is still the exception around the world, not the norm.

So you will understand why I am so overjoyed about a conversation I had with one of the officials at my precinct.  I asked how the turnout had been so far?  She just burst into a grin a mile wide.  She said there are approximately 1,600 registered voters in the precinct and close to 1,200 have voted already!

Holy sh#@t!  Yep.  That is a near 75% voter turn out and it is only 12:30MST.  She said she has NEVER seen a turn out like this before in her life.

Thank you to everyone in my neck of the woods.  You demonstrated why this country is still the best place on earth.

The New (Old) Form of Transportation

And I don’t mean bicycles or the original form of human transportation (our own two feet).

After our kids last soccer game of the season, we went to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream.  As we enjoyed the spoils of a great game, two girls on a horse come around the corner.

Now I have blogged in the past about the uniqueness of Montana, but even in downtown Bozeman (population over 40,000) it is a bit odd to see a horse in the middle of the street.

I have to hand it to the girls, at least they are trying an alternate form of transportation!

1st Day of School

Like many dad bloggers, I experienced my first back-to-school drop off this week.

My daughter just started kindergarten today.  The entire family dropped her off.  Boy was she proud and confident.  I am not sure who was glowing more- me, my wife or Ellie.  Even our middle son seemed ecstatic to see his sister off.

Landon headed off to Montessori about 20 minutes later without his big sister by his side.  He smiled and waved through the window.  I could see him chatting it up with his fellow preschoolers like they had been buddies for years.

Childhood truly is magical.

Guns in Montana

Here is an interesting one for parents to ponder in today’s environment of random shootings and school violence – how do you teach your kids to respect guns/weapons?  Should you teach them anything about guns?

Yesterday I road my bike home from work.  As I rolled up to an intersection, I saw two young men (about 20-25) walking down the street with a high caliber rife.  Hmmmm, only in Montana was my thought.  No one passing by thought much of it.  Including me.  Then, the next day on my way to work, I see three men in a field just off the road testing out a compound bow.  One of them looked like he was buying it from the other gentlemen with a friend along.  Probably an eBay deal.  Same thing….only in Montana.

I grew up in Montana.  I remember hunting with my Dad for ducks, wild turkeys, and pheasants.  I remember going to hunters safety courses before my Dad let me have a single shot, bolt action .22 caliber rifle.

I figured the entire world had the same understanding and respect for guns.

Boy was I wrong.  Once I left Montana and attended college in Tacoma, Washington and later moved to Pittsburgh with my wife, I experienced the exact opposite.  I remember the evening news in Pittsburgh.  It seemed like every night was another gun homicide.  My wife saw the ramifications of it roll into the ERs in Pittsburgh.  Talk about an eye opener.

So, I can 100% understand both sides of the gun control issue.  Folks who grow up in rural America don’t always see (literally first hand) just how devastating guns can be in inner cities.  City folks don’t see the way guns are / can be respected in everyday life in rural parts of the West.  Both have valid views of the world.

So I came to this conclusion.  Both sides of the gun control argument have valid points.  Personally, I am 100% for some level of gun control and I am 100% for educating my kids on guns even though my wife and I have decided we won’t have weapons in the house.

How about you?

No Road-to-the-Sun But…

My wife and I drove the Road-to-the-Sun in Glacier National Park a couple of days ago.  Unfortunately, our planned bike ride of the pass was cut off by the official “no bicycles beyond this point.”  At first, I felt the park services may be discriminating against the cycling community.  However, upon driving the road, I quickly understood why the sign was posted.  They were doing construction on several sections leaving any shoulder that was normally there, complete gravel and rock.

We quickly altered plans and did another excellent ride the following day.  Two of the shots from our ride are below.  Glacier is awesome.  We are already talking about our return trip sometime in the near future.

Wildthings and Humanity

I was reminded not once but twice in the last 24 hours just how wild Montana remains.  My two oldest kids were rambling on last night about a mountain lion sighting in our neighborhood.  This has happened several times in the last five years and we obviously take the sightings seriously.  We have a series of trails that run through our neighborhood and many of them run though densely wooded areas – prime hiding spots for creatures like mountain lions.

Luckily, the kids didn’t seem to have nightmares about it.

This morning on my bike commute into work, I ran across two horses trotting down the highway.  No owners in sight.  It appeared they escaped their pasture and were off on an adventure of their own.  They gave me nothing short of an inquisitive look as I rode on by.

In the last several months, I have seen the following animals around Bozeman (8 miles from my house).

Ducks
Geese
Deer
Badger
Skunk
Prairie Dogs
Cattle
Snakes
Herons
Hawks
Rabbits
Eagles (Golden and Bald)
White Owl

Except for the extremely harsh winters, Montana really is a great place for kids (and adults!) to grow up.

A Betty Crocker Block Party

Block Party and Betty Crocker.  What a fabulous combination of Midwest American goodness.

My wife and I were discussing block parties the other night.  I remember block parties growing up in Billings, Montana.  I remember running all over the place with the neighborhood kids.  Wow, what a good time.

Block parties have to be on the decline in America.  My neighborhood had the traditional grid layout with streets like Elm and Ash.  They were ripe for this sort of activity.  I don’t think many of the suburban neighborhoods built in the last twenty years are as block party friendly as those built in the 40’s and 50’s.  Or,  we just aren’t making time for this sort of activity.  I bet we aren’t making time.

So is anyone still seeing great block parties in their neighborhoods?  If anything, it gives us an excuse to buy Schiltz.  We all get to save money and support 1950’s nostalgia.

So what are your summer block party plans?

Bike Commuting

I am an avid cyclist.  I spent over a decade road and mountain bike racing.  But, I always did it for competition.  Once I graduated from college, more important activities came along like my spouse, career and kids.

I started commuting to work this week.  Not for gas money or a green cause (sorry, no altruistic or economic reason).  I can not explain why I haven’t done this earlier.  It really perplexes me.  Now granted, six months of the year are winter.  Winter in Montana IS made of two things – COLD and SNOW.

But check this picture out.  This is my 30 minute commute scene from my house to work.  Yes, I am not kidding.  I bet I will see a rash of resumes from technology marketers dying to move to Montana and work for RightNow.  I will post the winter picture soon.  Until then, I am enjoying the 10 mile commute.