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E-mail Anonymous Mike at zonitics4-at-yahoo.com By Anonymous Mike, pseudonymously.
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Friday, January 9, 2009
In Praise of Boring Imagine my amusement, and total lack of surprise, when in reading Forbes' list of the most boring cities in America to find out that Chandler is listed in the top 10. You will be completely unsurprised to learn that I lived in Chandler for 10 years and loved every moment of it, in fact to this day I believe it is there that "rainbows end." Of course in fairness to Chandler I grew up in an area where the 3 big social events of the season were the first day of hunting season, the opening of the state agricultural fair, and the big high school wrestling match against Phillipsburg. So by comparison, to me the bright lights at the corner of Pecos and Arizona Ave. shine very bright indeed. Okay the Forbes' article is not a really slam against the cities in question, just an analysis of which cities fail to generate headlines (as opposed to say Detroit) but if I was Mayor Boyd Dunn, I would put the moniker of "boring" on the city's seal. Boring is safe and prosperous, where the kids are safe playing at night in the cul-de-sac. Boring is low taxes. Not spending taxpayer money on "civic pride" projects like light rail or sport venues. It's not taking half of $800 million bond issue and spending it to spruce up a downtown that the average citizen visits maybe once a month. It's not about building foolish things like popsicle stick skyscraper, 50-foot magnifying glasses, or giant escalators to nowhere. It's about staying out of the news, which is all pretty much negative anyway, and doing remarkable things that never seem to get remarked upon. Besides, if the people of Chandler want excitement they all know they can go at any time to Apache Junction. Anything goes there and usually does |