Falling Down the Mountain

There is an article to write about INXS. They never wrote the same song twice. My birthday trip was spent in Helena, Montana. Why? First of all, I have been talking about going there for many years. Blow the mystique.

I can check it off the list. Some people fall in love with Montana upon their first visit. Traveling as much as I have, there are similarities to other areas. It's a small town. Not a one horse town. There is not a lot of variety.

The first time I visited Front Royal, Virginia I noticed many different restaurants. If I moved there they could be enjoyed in about six weeks. Then what? I am not moving to that area. Not even to bother Ed Keller?

Some people are fun to see and deal with for many years. Which led me to the Mansion District. Sarah has a nice, regular sized house. It is in a part of Helena called "The Mansion District." There is history in this area and old money from the gold rush.

I have had a good time in former boom towns. Buffalo and Cleveland are not as successful as they once were. There are many ornate buildings from when they had money. Helena has classic structures. Architecture is one selling point of visiting different cities.

In what has become a tradition- I crashed a midday mass at The Cathedral at St. Helena. It is a grand and glorious church. I even celebrated the mass which is better during the week. They cut to the chase and many were friendly to me.

If people in church were always that friendly, I might not have left organized religion. After the divorce and custody trial- you couldn't scare me with "Hell" so my religion went private. Interestingly, my Catholicism was enhanced by the lady of the hour.

Sarah Elkins is of an older faith. She invited me to dinner. Sunday dinner with her entire family. Her eldest son still lives in the area and Max came around.

If her house is Happy Days, Max is The Fonz. When he enters the room- sometimes I wasn't expecting him- it is exciting. Sarah is on record how her sons are different. I have known brothers where one is fun and vibrant while the other barely says anything. To the point you wonder how they were related.

That was not the case in this family. Jacob might be quieter. He is interesting in his own way. There are not many job opportunities in Montana so they have to find what they can. More on that later.

If Sunday dinner were the only time I saw Sarah it would have been a good trip. We met most days to walk the dog. You might have seen her videos on the mountain with dog cameos. He's a friendly dog and comes running during the minute she speaks.

We took a few walks. Never made it to the top. It was daunting. Not nearly as breathtaking as the walk taken in Park City a couple years ago. Find people who take walks. Most at her last conference would have preferred if I "Took a hike". With so many good experiences to draw upon, why bring up that?

Helena is a small area. I rented a car and could have gotten by on foot. I did not see a city bus. Legally they have one. Never saw one. Does it matter? There is a really nice Capitol Building, good shopping and friendly people. When you travel it is nice seeing something different than what you are accustomed to.

Fun Fact: Sarah and I discussed many mutual connections. Most of what we know about current events comes from posts and comments. This is the manifestation of updating others.

We did not talk about the ones who use pods or write "Great post!" which teaches nothing about your personality. Describing the fabric of our lives- why talk about The "Real Housewives" of any given city when you can meet actual housewives or interesting people in life. Reality is always superior to reality television.