I Like Concord

 I had been coming to New Hampshire for a short while, visiting friends who had moved to Hillsborough and in the Fall of 1973 I thought why not. The following Spring I moved to Concord, and other then a few short stays outside our city I have been here since then.

While there are tales of the stoic Yankee (and some of those stories are well founded) I have found folks I met here welcoming and friendly. They introduced me to an array of activities that I had never participated in. Some I didn’t even know existed, like climbing on rock cliffs and cross country skiing. Because of their friendship and guidance my life took a route I could have never imagined before moving here.

I mention this because I really like living here. It was a fortunate decision I made all those years ago that led me to Concord. 

So while I may write and speak about issues that effect our city, I do so because I know we can do better. I do so because I know like myself the people I talk with in Concord also know we can do better. There is a difference between saying no and saying let’s give this some more thought. And there is a difference between being against something and feeling we can make it better before we start so we don’t have to fix it later.

A number of years ago my wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to take a couple of months to travel across the Country. Everywhere we went it was spectacular. From upstate New York to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. Montana and skiing in West Yellowstone with our National Biathlon Team. Utah, where we skied at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Winter Olympic venue where we ran into Nordic Combined athletes we knew from Proctor Academy in Andover, NH. Bryce and Zion were pretty amazing too. A backroad through the desert to Tuscan that took us through Gila Bend, Ajo and cactuses in bloom. A real treat. And California, the redwoods and Yosemite and the beautiful northern coast. All wonderful.

So when we got home people asked us what we liked best. We had to tell them that it was impossible for us to to pick a favorite. All have special characteristics that make them unique and almost impossible to compare. And they asked us if you could live anywhere, where would it be. And with little hesitation we answered New England. New Hampshire. Concord. 

I like it here. I like the people. I like our downtown. I like our rivers and I like the rural character and open space that still permeates the outlying areas of our city. I can get to Waterville Valley in 57 minutes. Portsmouth and the coast an hour. Hop on the bus and I’m in Boston in a little over an hour. I can still get on my bicycle (no more running) and in less then ten minutes I can be on roads with little traffic.

So when I’m critical of projects and how we go about our city’s business it isn’t because I like to complain. It’s because I like Concord. It’s because I want what makes the most sense for our city. And the reason I’m running for the city council is because I want you to be able to tell me what makes sense for you.

People who were born here and stayed and those who moved here, did so for the same reason my wife and I did. We all like Concord. Cathy and I have decided we aren’t going anywhere, we’re staying here. We’re retiring here and we’re going to enjoy all our time together here. Because we like Concord.