This morning a friend of mine sent me a link to a NY Times article on a horrible gas explosion which took place in Bozeman, Montana nearly two weeks ago. The blast killed one person, completely destroyed five historic buildings in Bozeman's downtown, and has badly damaged several other buildings.

I'd had no idea.

Downtown Bozeman in happier times

I'd visited Bozeman last December while interviewing for a job at Montana State. One of the things that I really liked about the visit was that I was given a few hours to walk around the city's downtown by myself. Usually on such visits the job candidate is so busy shuttling from one interview or meal to the next, there is absolutely no time to see anything of the city beyond the university campus.

At Montana State, however, they gave me plenty of time to see the town I was considering relocating to, and I really appreciated getting the chance to walk around the beautiful downtown area. Obviously there are a lot of things to consider when trying to decide where you're going to live and work, and in academia sometimes you just don't have much of a choice in these matters. But when I was offered a job at Montana State—which I quickly accepted—one of the things that excited me most was that, in addition to getting a good job, I would also be living someplace that I felt I would enjoy.

And while Bozeman's amazing natural surroundings are probably the first thing that people who know the area think of, I also thought that the downtown was really nice. The people were cool. I bought a couple of records at two music stores, in addition to a fairly silly hat that I wear almost every day in Istanbul's rainy springtime. When I flew back to Michigan at the end of my campus visit, I felt that—even if I didn't get the job—I was still really happy to have had the opportunity to see that place. One way or another—even if it had to be as a tourist—I knew I'd be going back.

View from campus of Montana State University

So my heart really goes out to everyone who lives in Bozeman and loves Bozeman. In addition to the human tragedy, this must be an awful time for anyone who feels at all connected to the city's downtown. Obviously, my own connection to Bozeman is still very limited. I can only imagine how I'd feel if something like this happened to my hometown, or to anyplace that I had spent a lot of time in and had grown to feel a part of. 

A very cool place

Indeed, horrible things have indeed happened in places that I care deeply for, with the 1999 earthquake in Istanbul—which killed more than 20,000 people—being the worst of all. But tragedies don't have to be worldwide news in order to devastate a community. Whether it is one person or 20,000, wounds like this can take time to heal.

From what I understand, Bozeman is functioning normally and most of the downtown is open for business again, but I can imagine the sadness and heartbreak that people must be feeling there now.

Başınız sağ olsun, Bozeman.