Merle Haggard's ‘Big City’ sums it up just right. So right, typing this is almost pointless. When I tell folks where I’m going to Montana, the response is always the same… “Montana?? What's in Montana?”
Nothing… there's nothing in Montana, and that's the point.
Well… there is stuff in Montana, no shit. But compared to Los Angeles, there’s nothing. Mountains… snow… quiet… silence… the stuff we long for.
Not gonna annoy you with the whole “woe is me, I’m a city boy with a country boy heart.” Even though it's pretty much true. Growing up in ‘urban’ LA, my whole life was traffic, buildings, shitty people, and beaches. That's really all there is to a big city. So if you really think about it… there's really nothing here either.
Besides world famous food & oil stained beaches, there's nothing all that special here. These days, every town in the United States is starting to look like Los Angeles & New York. Stacked living, over populated & over priced. We’re literally running out of space, look at Texas, Nevada, Fordia, etc. People are flocking from the hustle & fuckery of the city life… just to create the same thing they are running from, somewhere else.
In comes Montana, Grizzly Bear territory. We caught our flight from LAX, a family of eleven on the 8:20am flight to Bozeman, MT. Half of the group makes it on time through the chaos of LAX. The other half cuts it close… but we all make it. Off we go, a 3ish hour flight.
"Turn me loose, set me free
Somewhere in the middle of Montana
And give me all I've got coming to me
And keep your retirement
And your so-called ... social security
Big City, turn me loose and set me free”
-Merle Haggard - Big City
The first thing I listened to the second we took off. Short, sweet, to the point.
The roughly hour drive up to Big Sky seemed like nothing due to the endless views & sights along the way… it was like another world. The Gallatin river runs for a total of 120 miles, starting from the Gallatin Range in Yellowstone, and ends its flow at Three Forks, MT where it joins the Madison & Jefferson River to form the Missouri River… Just a little History/ Geography for ya.
We found ourselves in the middle of nowhere… Nothingness… Trees, mountain ranges & The Lone Peak as our view.
To be honest I was expecting some type of culture shock with the people of Montana… kinda like what we felt on our Dallas, Texas visit a few years before. That shock never came. In Texas we really felt that world famous ‘southern hospitality.’ ‘Howdies’ everywhere we went, smiles & this unexplainable warm energy… But we weren't in the south.
Montana (during this time) is cold & very north. We were often greeted with cold greetings, ignored when saying ‘good morning’ & ‘how’s it going’ to shop keepers & passers. At first I was honestly taken back, and at times even slightly offended… “Of course, soft Los Angeles boy is offended, what's new?”
Hey man just being honest here, yes my city boy mentality & ego was slightly stroked… BUT only for a few minutes. I took a step back & out of my bubble to realize this is a true mountain county state. Everything moves at a slower pace because there is nowhere else to be for these folks other than being there. In big cities we move fast; we drive fast, talk fast, walk fast, eat fast.
We never slow down to take a moment to realize who we are & what we are doing. We don't realize that time slips away... our people slip away & there's not much we can do about it. The only thing we can do is slow down & cherish these dwindling seconds.
We are not promised tomorrow, we are not promised another adventure... another flight... another hike... another cast... another ride...
Life is short, too short. Cherish the moments, cherish the people... Cherish the moments you have with people. Those moments turn into stories that are shared for generations. Those stories keep your name… your spirit alive long after you're gone.
Robert, we will share the stories we all wrote together for as long as we may live.
-DJB
Dedicated to Robert Madole - We will miss you...
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