No place like home

Today I went to "Out to Lunch" with a few friends and sat on the grassy knoll of downtown Missoula chuckling at how much I love the organic-liberal-hippy-community I call my home. As I ate my very first eMpenada I enjoyed entertainment by the 'Blue Onion' and a special dance number by the 'fly-fishing dancer' and his wife (today he was crossing himself enthusiastically and tossing pizzas (?)) and couldn't help but feel warm inside.

Where else could you get a food service job whilst sporting dread-locks? Where else could you be solicited by an Indian man with bracelets to 'Buy something'? Where else can you find three ginormous red Xs in a city center? Where else keeps their art galleries open late the first Friday of every month, serving wine in Dixie cups? Where else is real estate so ridiculous and the average income so miniscule (Missoula is a beautiful place to starve to death!)? Where else do you have homeless people who use the word "fantasmagorical"? Where else has only two seasons: Winter and Road Construction? Where else has such a copious amount of Beauty? Where else can you find a hand written note that says "Attention Blonde Girl in red coat that walks across Higgins Bridge between 8.25am and 8.30am. The guy in the small white van that always waves at you thinks you are absolutely Breath-taking-ly BEAUTIFUL." (Pictured here but you can't really read it... sorry)? Missoula is one of a kind. There is no place like home..