The Bozeman Style

It's good to be back. I bought this little pin at the Leaf and Bean that has the frame of the state of Montana and a little blue heart at its center. I'd pin it on my shirt, but that's a gainst a social faux pas and it'd make me look like a tourist. I almost feel like a tourist, snapping pictures of the mountains and planning a short trip into Yellowstone.
"You're back!" Tammy texted.
She's been working like a madwoman here and baby-sitting and hanging out with her married couples. It works for her. "I'm taking you to the fair."
"Sounds great to me."

Grandma basically ran into my arms. Or maybe I ran into hers. I'm not sure. We gushed about the road trip and how the headwaters of the Missouri are literally gushing right now. "Yeah, did you see the flooding in Omaha? The water level is six feet higher than normal."
"That's really too bad for them," she said. "Now, the guest room is completely ready for you, and there's food in the fridge, so help yourself." She hugged me again. "I'm so glad you're here! It's been a lonely place around here."
Grandma has been keeping up with her tax business, gardening, and reading. But she maintains that it's quite lonely. I don't blame her, really. It's a big house to keep if you're there alone.

"I'm going out to dinner with Jess Wednesday."
"Ok." I texted Tammy back. "Wait....Jess as in Jessie?!"
"Yeah, Jessie, you goof. She's back from camp for a little while."
"Whoa! I'm going to crash your dinner date."
Tonight we'll be going to The Garden Cafe, maybe shoot some hoops afterwards. That's our trend. We always got together on summer nights, played Pig, and we ate at the Garden. Jessie is now working up at Big Sky Bible camps, peer mentoring other counselors, writing Bible studies, and hiking.

We drove along the old highway from Belgrade to Bozeman. This oddly comfortable silence that we just have. Tina was in the passenger seat and we were going to a coffee shop in Bozeman. She'd moved back about a year ago after living in Idaho and Portland for 6 or 7 years. We go back as far as I can remember, preschool or before that even, and so I can't really ever let her go. She has about 4 or 5 tattoos now and works at WalMart. We're so incredibly different in almost every way possible. I can't help but just love her. We walked around for a little bit downtown, she told me of all the businesses that went under and others that opened up. Bozeman can't keep a small business for the life of it.

Anyway, I found a little Greek cafe today and ordered something I couldn't pronounce, but it came with pita bread. I saw the cook slap a hemisphere of meat on the grill. Oh no, did I order brain? I didn't, but I thought that if I had, I'd eat my money's worth. Speaking of which (being Dutch, that is), it's about time to head back to Churchill.