Missoula Rabble, Namchag wrote his name down for me in my notebook. We had a little trouble communicating, but, fortunately, a friend of Namchag's spotted us and helped me out a little. He's a Tibetan monk who speaks very little English. He has been here on and off for six years supporting his brother, Tulku Sangngag Rinpoche, build the Garden of 1000 Buddhas in Arlee, MT. He teaches Buddhism at EWAM, an international school at the gardens. He will leave for the winter but join us again in the spring to teach more classes. I asked him why he chooses to be here. He lit up, shook his head up as down and said, "Just because."
Missoula Rabble, As a young girl Hilary always imagined what it would be like to hike around Mars. Now she's earning her PhD in geophysics at Cal Tech on a full-ride scholarship. She's just visiting for the week. This girl entered my life as my locker partner at age 10, became a lifelong friend, and continues to amaze me with each year. She's a humble genius. I asked her what her favorite planets were tonight. She had a hard time deciding. "Can I make it between Earth and Saturn?" she asked. She's also somewhat of a 'Glamour' girl. In 2007 she earned a spot as one of Glamour magazine's 'Top 10 College Women of the Year.' She flew to New York to be featured in the magazine. "I felt like a fashion model," she said. "I'm just a scientist." Hilary's interest in planetary science stemmed from her interest in the extraterrestrial life as a kid, which still exists today. "I think that out of all the billions of stars and planets in the universe, it seems more unlikely there isn't other life," she said. "We can't think that we're the only ones. There's billions of other stars like the sun. Why would we be the only ones?"
Missoula Rabble, I ran into Troy at the bank while running errands at lunch. He's downtown's number one mailman and he wears a mustache very well. Troy has been delivering mail for 34 years. I asked him how he got into it. "I was 21 and got a job," he said. "Soon I got a wife, kids, and bills and asked the question, 'What was it I was going to do with my life again?'" He enjoys his job and being outside. "Everybody loves their mailman," he said.
Missoula Rabble, It's obvious as soon as you speak with Twilly that he has seen some things and been places we only see in movies and read about in the news. Twilly says he was a spy for non-profit agencies for most his life. He was charged and imprisoned for espionage in the Russian arctic many years ago. "They were gentle, but they kept me," he said. Twilly has been imprisoned several times in foreign countries for his passion to fight for environmental and human rights. "I look at things, I analyze things, I try to decide what's the proper action. If I end up in jail that doesn't matter to me," he said. "If I end up in jail it's because I've done something I've wanted to do."
Missoula Rabble, Angela immediately told me about her new outfit she was wearing when I approached her. She just bought it at a thrift shop around the corner. "It's been years since I've bought new clothes," she said. I commented on how happy she seemed. "Today I am so happy because I went off anti-depressants three weeks ago," she said. She's been taking them for 12 years. "I feel like I just came out of hell," she said. "Like someone died and I just got over it two years later."
Missoula Rabble, Tamara, front end manager at Bernice's Bakery, says she represents the red velvet cupcake at the Hip Strip Block Party fashion show today. She is also very pregnant. She's two weeks away from her due date. She doesn't know if its a boy or girl. "We have a midwife so I haven't had any sonograms or ultrasounds," she said. "The element of surprise is awesome." I asked her what she is most excited about being a new mom. "I'm excited this child gets to be with the tribe of people I run with, my Bernice's family, and this community," she said. "[Missoula] is a good family to bring a baby into."
Missoula Rabble, Joe, 31, took first place in the individual Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge today. He's one of Missoula's own. "It's basically nonstop training," he said. The challenge consists of an obstacle course that simulates realistic duties of a firefighter like tower climbing with a 42lb bag, victim rescue, hose hoist, etc. "When you throw it all together, it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he said. He's headed to Las Vegas in October to compete in the world challenge event. I asked Joe about his daily life as a city firefighter. "We show up when someone else is having their worst day," he said. "So it's important for us to have our best days when we are at work."
Missoula Rabble, "Everybody thinks I've been here forever," Charles said. He came to Missoula in 2007 to take a summer course at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. "I got out of my car, walked around downtown, and said, 'I'm home,'" he said. Charles is a prominent music photographer in Missoula. It didn't start out that way. "I came here to do landscape and wildlife," he said. He changed his mind. "There's so much of it. I'd rather just look at it then take pictures of it." He started to admire and shoot Missoula's architecture and soon moved onto bands. He was asked to take pictures of the local band Swizzlegrit and then Russ Nasset. "I took pictures of Russ Nasset at the Union Club and I was hooked," he said. Charles has a show up at Monk's Bar next month. I recommend taking a look. This guy is very good.
Missoula Rabble, Audrey, 31, was a woman in the military. "I had it good because I got out before I had to go to Iraq," she said. She was in the navy for 2 years before she was honorably discharged. She was on base when 9/11 occurred. "Everything got crazy," she said. "We were watching tv all day and checking cars for bombs." I asked her how she felt about it all now. "It's not about the war anymore," she said. "It's about taking care."
Missoula Rabble, I finally met Neeko. I've heard of her and seen her artwork but her face remained a mystery until today. She was standing outside the Wilma trying to score Jane's Addiction tickets with her husband. "We're keeping our fingers crossed," she said. Neeko is a tattoo artist at Altered Skin. She made art in high school and decided she wanted to make art for a living. She's been tattooing for four and a half years. Neeko says she mostly enjoys working on color pieces. "I like a lot of cartoony, bright, colorful things," she said. "It's a lot of fun to create a lot of depth with colors." I asked her if she had any struggles as a tattoo artist. "It's hard to do side art because I need to concentrate on tattoos," she said. And lastly, I asked if she had any advice for this big, wide world. "Don't be afraid of anything. Ever."
Missoula Rabble, I got home from work today and found these two rabble hanging out on my porch. Cameron, left, and Andy are two of Missoula's most talented musicians who play in The Lil' Smokies, voted Best Band in Best of Missoula this year. Apparently they're also looking for an apartment. I asked them a few questions about their music while they waited for my landlord. The Lil' Smokies have been together for four years and just released their first self-titled album this year. "We played a lot of covers and this year we are finally writing our own songs," Andy said. Andy describes their sound as cerebral folk music with an emphasis on lyrics and melody. "Melody is what gets me up in the morning," said Andy. Cameron laughed and said, "Melody is what keeps me up at night. And for a few hours between morning and night we exchange melodies."
Missoula Rabble, Mercedes, 23, befriended Lou Reed without even knowing it. She was raised in Missoula but decided she needed to leave it for the big city to pursue dreams of working in the fashion world. While living in New York she worked at a cafe that Jake Gyllenhal and Lou Reed frequented. A coworker informed Mercedes she was being friendly to the Lou Reed. "Once I realized who he was I became shy," she said. Mercedes called it quits in NYC saying she needed more space. "I get why my parents live here now," she said.
Missoula Rabble, Richard is a man of very few words. He was standing on the sidewalk watching people walk by when his hat and leather jacket caught my eye. I asked him what he was doing. "I'm being a part of the community," he said. Richard grew up in Montana on a farm. Most of his family has passed away. He calls himself a loner. "I never have that much to say."
Missoula Rabble, Mike has built many friendships around death. He grew up across the street from the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery and has managed it for 42 years. He grew up helping his father run and take care of the cemetery and took over once his father decided to retire. I asked him how he dealt with death. "Each [death] is a little different," he said. "There are certain ones that hurt more than others. You grieve just like anybody else."
Missoula Rabble, Mills, left, and Stef met about a month ago in Missoula. "We just walk around and drink and listen to Justin Timberlake," Mills said. They both ran away to Missoula at different times in their lives. Mills says she moved here for a fresh start. "I moved here for myself," she said. Stef says she came here for a boy. "I was supposed to meet a boy here, but I ended up meeting another boy," she said.
Missoula Rabble, I asked Joe to tell me something about himself. "I met my biological father when I was 22," he said. I asked him how it went. "He mailed my mother an iPhone with his number in it. I called, flew to meet him. It didn't go that well. It seemed to be more about relieving himself." Joe, 24, came to Missoula from Chicago. He has been homeless since January. He stays at the Poverello or sleeps in the woods a few miles out of town. He wants to be a writer. "I feel like somewhat of a voyant," he said. "I need to experience these things to be a better writer, but it isn't always pleasant."
Missoula Rabble, I knew if I ever ran into Donnie I'd have to ask him to be in the rabble. Donnie serves drinks as well as his ears to many lost Missoula souls at one of it's best known watering holes. "They tell me I'm the face of Flippers," he said. Donnie has worked at the bar for 16 years. "People get to let there stuff out here," he said. "I hear all the stories, young and old." He says he hasn't gotten sick of the drunk sob story yet. "I still like to listen. I can't judge. I've been there, too."
Galan hitchhiked all the way to Missoula from Florida with a person he just met on the beach. "He asked me to go to Montana," he said. "I could tell he'd give me attributes and things I wanted so I thought it'd be a good idea." They camped the whole way here. When I asked Galan about his troubles along the way he dropped a scripture from the bible that says, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers..." I asked him what it meant. "We don't fight people. Your enemy are those that are possessing the people."
