Miss Montana

My boss gave us Wal Mart gift cards last Christmas. First of all I don't shop at Wal Mart very often. Not in protest or anything. I just don't shop that much and I don't like the crowds. Anyway it's twice now that I've gotten these gift cards. The first time I used the money to purchase a little Nikon camera, a little point and shoot. So this year I didn't know what to get. I like shooting, and I didn't have a great scope on my rifle so I used the gift card to get a new Nikon rifle scope. Really nice.

Every year I go to a hunting camp way out in the mountains. We call it Hunt Club. When I first moved to Washington from Montana I started to hunt alone as I didn't know anyone to hunt with. Soon I had one of my friends going, then his dad, and it grew and grew. It is mostly for fellowship and I think a good reason for some of these guys to get time away from the family. It's kind of cool as I'm one of the founders, plus I'm from Montana and get a certain amount of respect for that reason alone.

Hunt Club draws near, so I decided to have that new scope put on my rifle. So today I took my rifle and new scope to the Gunatoriam. The place where rednecks meet. I kid you not. So I took off my liberal artist hat and put on my University of Montana hoodie. (that always works) You should have seen me. I felt like Clint Eastwood walking into a dusty old saloon. The place really looks western with old wooden floors.

The place fell silent as I pushed open the door and walked in. All eyes were on me and my Montana hoodie. I could hear my spurs, ching, ching, ching, as walked up to the bar, "What'll you have stranger?" "Whiskey." I said. "We don't have no whiskey here." was the response. "Well, beer then." "We don't have no beer." I squinted my eyes and then turned to walk out,.. and the guy behind the bar went on. "First the gold run out,.. then the whiskey run out,... Then the beer run out..." I went back out to my truck and brought back in a case of whiskey and said, " Whiskey all around!"

Well,. that isn't exactly what happened. It was kind of like that however. I have found that I do get special treatment in some situations if I wear my U of M hoodie over here. My rifle will be ready tomorrow. 1 day turnaround. Pretty good, as I'd like to shoot it this weekend. If I'd been wearing a hoodie that said California on it I'm sure I'd be waiting a few weeks to get my rifle back. When I first moved here if I wore anything that said Montana on it I'd always hear a sheep joke. I think Johnny Carson had something to do with that. Even Woody Allen made fun of Miss Montana, dressing up like an ugly Miss Montana. Here is a link to Miss Montana Teen. Miss Montana Teen So take take this Woody!

(I knew a Miss Montana,.. Miss Montana was a friend of mine... And Woody, you're no Miss Montana!.)