Thanks! My grandpa used to be the warden at the tag plant in Deer Lodge, so I have a collection of old MT license plates. Figured I'd scan one and use it for my avatar. I think you're the only person so far who's identified it.

You mean Subaru wagons, right? They even got name-dropped on the L-Word..."Get Out and Stay Out."

Not at my school. Clubs and sports are encouraged (it looks good on college applications), but not required.

It depends. I had after school jobs starting when I was 15, and even got class credit my senior year through a school-to-work program. On the other hand, I didn't play sports, wasn't in very many clubs, and knew I need to bank money because my parents couldn't afford to pay my college tuition.

Unless they have a medical exemption saying they need the testosterone. At least that's how it is in MMA. Not sure if the IOC or WADA or any of the other sports sanctioning agencies allow that, but it's a big deal issue in the UFC right now.

High-five for referencing Roadside Picnic.

Pointless comment: when I clicked on this article, my Walkman shuffled up a cover of Because the Night. Further proof that my Walkman is sentient.

Thanks, hon. Things are definitely improving.

And god forbid you do find a physical activity that you enjoy and that makes you feel good about yourself, and then get hurt doing it. My depression got significantly less troublesome while I was training in MMA/BJJ, probably through some combination of a sense of accomplishment and being part of a health-focused…

Reminds me of the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous (which she totally should have name-dropped instead of Pretty Woman), where the pageant organizers are trying to stack the deck to prevent the heroine from winning, so they ask every contestant personality questions like, "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"…

Try living with a microbiologist who specializes in infectious diseases and likes discussing her job at length. Heegh.

Agreed. So hard.

In college, we called that sleep deprived goofy stage being awake at Stupid O'Clock.

How is St. Louis considered The West? Are they smoking all of Missoula's weed?

If he was that dehydrated in a fight, he'd get his ass kicked. Can see a dude legitimately looking like that during weigh-ins, when he's cut everything and eliminated as much water as possible, but by fight day, he should be looking a lot less...like that.

Like former MT Governor Judy Martz sez, maybe women just shouldn't give their husbands a reason to hit them!

Seconded!

And once you get acclimated, it doesn't affect you anymore. It's not like we're all perma-impaired because of altitude sickness.

FACT CHECK: the book and film versions of A River Runs Through It were set in Missoula, but the filming was done near Bozeman and on a couple of other rivers in Montana that aren't the Blackfoot. I've been to one of the filming sites. If you're up near Big Sky, there's a lady who sells life-size concrete statues of…

I was thinking more whale or one of those bitey cannon-ball things from the Super Mario Bros games, but I now that you mention it...