Letters – Winter 2022-23
“Delightfully Pissed”
On our way to Canada, we stopped by our place near Cameron and perchance happened to see Outside Bozeman. Normally, we avoid these types of magazines, which are filled with pretentious, ghoulish real-estate cabins designed for the audience of us spoiled generational “Boomers.” Why am I delightfully pissed? Your magazine cost me a day of travel to bird hunt and fish in Canada for our month-long campaign. I was so engrossed with your humor, the biting cynicism, and above all enthusiasm for Montana. And the lack of O/B trying to sell land to satisfy the empty hearts of my generation, Boomers who want to escape and find Paradise. As Joni Mitchell sang, we find Paradise and then turn it into a parking lot. This is the first time in 33 years of our annual trip that I have halted to read/enjoy a Montana we rarely see anymore. We are generational landowners, sportsmen on the Madison River below Quake Lake. As a matter of fact, my youngest brother was born nine months to the day after the earthquake when my parents were staying in West Yellowstone. Keep up the great work and above all, don’t sell out. Cheers. —Patrick Maxon
Nail on the Head
I am embarrassed to admit that you made me laugh—embarrassed because my dog’s given name is indeed Bridger. I followed the flowchart on your Spirit Animal ID ("The Beast Within") and it led me straight to “Someone’s dog named Bridger.” We adopted Principal Craig Kitto’s two golden retrievers after the accident (he was killed in an avalanche in February of 2021) and the male came with the name Bridger. We renamed him Jim and moved Bridger to a middle name—as 25+ year residents, having a dog named Bridger is a little too much for us. Your description of Bridger is spot on—“Jim” is exactly as you describe. Thank you for the great laugh. —Aaron Traxinger
Sucker for Sarcasm
As an outsider who has been able to visit Bozeman often for many years, I loved your article “Newbie Gaffes” in the latest issue. I started visiting back in 1996 and have a lot of the same laments about how things “used to be.” I get the desire of locals to keep Bozeman the same as it was the moment they moved there. It’s hard to blame them. You guys at O/B have taken the responsibility to educate through humor while being serious about what Bozeman has been and what your readers want it to continue to be. There is an art to getting a point across this way. You guys have always been great at it. Keep up the good work! Also, of all the gaffes I hope the newbs take seriously, it’s the last one. Cheers. —Rick Kordick
