futbol

Buddha mouthing a size 3 soccer ball and when I say mouthing I really mean engulfing.

infection

No preface into this one. (that's kind of a preface)

Two thoughts:

1. I want to be able to infect a larger number of people with my knowledge, encouragement, positivity, openness, acceptance, love, and my smile.

2. I miss having the choice to be alone.

With love and a smile,

I

city feeling

Bozeman gives me a great vibe. I was trying to explain to my dad how different cities and towns project a certain attitude and sense of community. Without doing more than heading into a grocery store and taking a quick walk through the downtown I built an opinion and formed judgements of Bozeman. I feel that there is a mutual respect between residents in addition to an integrity that demands a respect for the city. It is clean, stylish, and seems to thrive on local business. The dreaded commercial expanse that seems to be taking over western Montana is clearly separated from the character and longevity of the city center. Wal-Mart was the very last piece of shit before you got back on the freeway. The 2nd best place next to non-existent.

It's pretty neat when you can meet someone that grew up within 45 minutes of where you did. Enter Anne from St. John's.

Buddha and I exited Bozeman through the fore mentioned commercial expanse and made our way to Three Forks which is the home of the Missouri River head waters. We dipped our toes and then set up 'camp' in the Element. Buddha asked me this morning if I would carpet the platform. She said she was hesitant to toss and turn because of the fear of splinters. I'll have to get on that.

Currently, I'm sitting in the Venus Rising Espresso House in Butte. A working city. It's raining, which I haven't complained about because it is cleansing the Element and the 2 inches of gumbo that was applied as we made like leaves and got the fuck out of Pine Grove.

Pardon my French.

fall vaca

I'm currently sitting in Livingston, Montana enjoying a cup of joe and an everything bagel at the Coffee Crossing, which might be the smallest coffee house I've been in to date. I'm not sure it is dog friendly but if it were Buddha would occupy ALL of the free space. There is character and flavor packed into every nook and cranny, pretty neat.

Missoula is my destination, once again, and I've until Monday night to get there. I left Billings Friday afternoon and drove to Red Lodge where I enjoyed spinach enchiladas and Happy Hour margaritas in a local place named Bogart's. After supper I began constructing my sleeping structure under a nearby street lamp while there was snow melting across the sidewalk. I've got my wood, pipe, and tools splayed out across the road and sidewalk and a local couple (nick and jessica) approach me and ask what I'm doing. As Buddha is eating Jessica's hand I give them a brief synopsis of who I am and what I do.

What great people. They invited me over and gave me a bed for two nights. They are the first legit friends I have made since I've been in Montana and it is encouraging as hell. Nick is a former college soccer player from the University of Portland and now he works with the forest service in the summer and patrols the mountain during ski season. Jessica is from Canada and is in marketing for the local ski resort. All in all... good people. Oh! Buddha made two friends as well. Nelly who is a little Golden and Ace who is a big, big Black Lab. There was a lot of tri-racial love/hate going on.

Since leaving Red Lodge this morning I've been dodging mountain ranges while driving along I-90. I'll hopefully make it to Butte before the sun goes down and then see how well the sleep is in the Element.

It is windy as shit and I'm literally being blown around Big Sky.

hitch hiking

A few weeks back Buddha and I were attempting to hitchhike clear across Montana to Missoula, which is an 8 and 1/2 hour drive, roughly 500 miles. We drove the 'trusty' Jeep to Highway 200 to give ourselves a 45 mile head start. I figured we could set up a post along the highway with the security of our car being a couple hundred yards away. Oh yeah! Did I mention that Buddha hates walking?

While standing on the side of the road we try t

o make ourselves look as pleasant as can be. Buddha has to be lying down so she doesn't seem gigantic and I am standing tall and confident thumbing it like I've done it before. What was m

issing in this equation was the variable of our location. Garfield County. It has been said to be the most desolate region in the lower 48. Hmmm... that doesn't make for very much traff

ic.

2 hours go by. About 20 cars drive by. Less than half of

which are heading west, the direction we want to go. It's now 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, all most time for rush hour. I'm staying optimistic. Buddha is sleeping on the white line trying to will us west. A man heading east pulls up in a late 70's, blue, beat up Ford F-150 packed full with his life. He uncoils out of the driver's side and mumbles about having to take a break from something. About how a 4-wheeler messed him up real bad and about how he had to get to town so he could get some pills. From the looks of it he had already been medicating. He offered me a beer and asked where I was going.

Mark Beebo had been everywhere. The San Juan Islands, Texas, Florida and he kept coming back to Garfield Country. He said, "It doesn't matter where you are because it's where you are that matters." He loaded up and left Buddha and I there on the road waiting for our ride.

4 hours went by. We packed up our gear, headed into town and caught the football game and some socialization at the bar. Better luck next time.

As humans we look for external objects to satisfy us. It could be a new gadget or a different apartment. It could be a move across the country or a fat chocolate chip cookie. Whatever it is, we hope it brings happiness. It's the 'grass is always greener' mentality. Mark Beebo taught me something that day on Highway 200 that is going to help me figure out who I am, where I need to go and how I need to develop internally through the mess of externalities to be eternally happy. To find out what really matters.

Where I am.

welcome fellow pilgrims

Since I've been living in Montana I have experienced an awful lot. I've seen things I've never seen and had the opportunity to do things I didn't know people did. There have been pictures posted and many of you have had the chance to tap into my mind and get a small feel for what I've been going through.

Thoughts are things that have been dominating my mind and competing for my time. I understood, while living back in Michigan that there are periods of time where we as humans don't consciously 'think.' We go through the motions and distract our minds with stimuli and banter.

Thinking is something I have started to do a lot of. Formulating plans and ideas, developing personal goals, and constantly evaluating and assessing my person as a whole. This space is for me to share what I am thinking, learning, and experiencing.

I hope you find light in the truths of my life.