Jimmy Buffet loved this area when he was just starting out and discovering this big ol world . It's weird here in Montana, you hear it all the time in different forms and they might even blame Jimmy to a degree... "it's been discovered ' ' it's been gentrified ' ' it's being ruined '.....What ? Hello ? I don't get ti , not a bit. It looks like all the old timers or non thinkers just like things the way they were and ignore the never ending spiral of change. I used to tell the commercial fishermen in Alaska that pined away for the old days and wanted to have first rights that if they're able to build a time machine make sure it's big enough for everybody ! For me I see a nice place to live, people who can do it want to live there , it's a good thing and an inevitable thing so the only discussion should be is how do we do community development and shape it into something that is good for everyone....a vital friendly town with an economy and housing for all strata's, THAT should be the goal .
Here's a shot of typical downtown Livingston . It's just gorgeous and certainly has it's share of studios. bistros and real estate offices. I suppose the negativers would rather see empty run down or falling down 100 year old buildings.
Now where I hang my rain gear these days in Helena they took a different approach. In the early 70's while I scratched a living in the frozen north Helena went through a thing called ' urban renewal ' and ripped down major portions of the historic area including the Marlow theatre, the sister to the Wilma in Missoula that is now one of the most wonderful music venues in the Northwest....what kind of town wouldn't want a theater like this one in Livingston ?
Every town in Montana has one of these . Why should Livingston be any different
The retro vibe in Livingston is tangible, you feel it. For me it's as simple as the word ' interesting ' and what could be wrong with that....if that's ruined I guess we could all use a good dose of ruinitity....I guess I'm making up a few words here because I guess I just don't have the vocabulary to properly describe how damn stupid people can be...or maybe greedy....it's a type of the old ' I was here first so I have more rights ' , jeez I've bumped into that my whole life and errrrrr... I hate it.
It struck me....for those that hate change the problem is simple to solve. Just move to Ringling a mere 40 miles up the road, it's a time capsule.
Ringling Ringling slippin away\
only 40 people
livin there today
streets are dusty
and the banks be torn down
it's a dying little town
Here's a couple shots or Ringling. One from the road and then a pic of main street and the bar.
behind the bar theres a pile
of beer cans
been there 27 years
think of all the heartache and tears
in 27 years of beer
So you move to Ringling and you're 40 miles closer to one of the Hot Springs which has wonderfully hot mineral water in several pools. It's one of our favorite places . Interesting Murals of Montana history surround the pools and waterfalls . Because of the minerals etc a lot of the hot springs we've been to look to be rustic with a little algae bloom or debris that collects on the bottom....not this one, it's spotless clean.
And I learned something, which is always good. Untill I really scoped out the murals done by a local guy named Gary Larson I had no idea that the Vikings had a part in pioneering Montana.
11:00 a.m. Sunday in White Sulphur Springs. Church bells are ringing, the air is crisp, cool and clean. There's just a bit of termination dust on the mountains.....life is good.
Well, that's it for my foray into Montana ruininity. Things are different in Jeff's world and I like it. If you don't like the world you're living in I guess there's only a couple things you can do....you can adapt....change your view, get new glasses so to speak . OR....you can move to Ringling.
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