Tag Archives: Missoula

Color Me Rad

Posted on by
2

This past Friday it seemed like all of my social media outlets became flooded with talk about a certain race taking place the following day. Somehow I was able to block out all the hype about this particular race starting with the announcement that it would in fact be staged in Missoula all the way up through this past week. However, with the excitement reaching a breaking point on Friday with seemingly the whole city of Missoula participating, I got sucked in.

Yep, Brent Reser got registered for Color Me Rad!

Well, check that, I really didn’t get registered, I got very lucky. My friend had a full sponsored team for the race. However, at the last minute one of the girls on the team pulled out. Chelsea asked me if I wanted to fill in and after asking her a couple questions, I committed to a 9 a.m. run the next morning. I was about to get rad!

Don’t know what Color Me Rad is? Let me explain real fast. Color Me Rad is a racing tour that goes around the country staging 5K runs. Of course the defining factor of these runs is that race participants get doused in all sorts of vibrant colors throughout the race. Using this corn starch powder and a type of liquid spray, participants get turned into human rainbows. The color mayhem begins right at the starting line and continues at certain spots throughout the course and then culminates with one last color shower at the finish line. Besides all the powder and spray that volunteers and race organizers throw at you throughout the race, you are also able to purchase as many colored powder bags that you desire to add to the fun…and let me tell you, people take full advantage.

 

BEFORE: The morning of Color Me Rad.

BEFORE: The morning of Color Me Rad.

From what I have been told, these types of color runs are nothing new. They have been around for decades and besides Color Me Rad, there are other color race tour competitors out there. Well, consider me ignorant because before this past week, I had no idea that these things existed. Probably for the better though because it enabled me to really experience something so unique and fun with absolutely no preconceived notions going in.

Missoula’s Color Me Rad took place in a desolate location about nine miles outside of Missoula. Of course come race day that desolate location transformed into a colorful paradise. After parking my car in an overgrown field, I strolled over to the start line. Big crowds dressed in white and silly costumes were getting ready to run. People were already spreading the bags of colored powder on one another, music blared. The race is organized in “waves”, basically different heats of people taking off at half hour intervals to make sure everyone gets an adequate colorful experience. I was in the first wave of the day at 9 a.m. As we waited at the start line, the race organizer said a few words before sending us off. Let me tell you, this dude was exactly what I envisioned when I thought about what someone who was in charge of a race called “Color Me Rad” would look/talk like. He was your stereotypical hippie with long braided hair and a straggly beard. He wore a silver vest with matching silver pants. While talking to us, he told us that “Some stupid people did a bad thing in Boston.” Interesting way to say it. He then asked us to take a moment of silence. After that moment he roared into the microphone “Let’s get RAD for Boston.” He then started the race.

Myself with teammates Chelsea and Chris.

Myself with teammates Chelsea and Chris.

We were blessed with amazing, sunny weather for the race. I chose to run the whole way instead of doing the courteous thing and waiting for my teammates. But I couldn’t help it. It was just so nice running through the course with the anticipation of what each color station would hold. The course was never crowded and I actually ran through many of the color stations all by myself, thus insuring that I got hit especially hard by the colors and spray from the volunteers. Despite running mostly uphill and on a trail layered with rocks, it was the easiest 3.1 miles I had ever ran in my life. When I got to the finish line and ran through the last cloud of color, I wanted to keep going.

AFTER: What I looked like at the conclusion of the race.

AFTER: What I looked like at the conclusion of the race.

Post race was fun too! After reuniting with my teammates we took pictures both with our phones and then at the professional photo station that was set up to capitalize on the racing color high that everyone had. Good music continued to play and people kept buying more of the color packets to try to get even more rainbowish than they already were. Meanwhile, the 9:30 a.m. wave got started as the hippie race organizer fired them up. To take a phrase from this very interesting fellow, I then “peaced out.”

How my clothes looked at the end.

How my clothes looked at the end.

I would definitely recommend Color Me Rad. It is such a fun concept and I really did enjoy myself on Saturday. Believe me, anyone can do it. The race is not timed and everyone participating is just there to have a good time. Although you will have to take a longer shower than usual and you might have to throw away some clothing, it is well worth it. On Saturday morning, I was definitely rad. Don’t Blink.

Something that Happens all the Time

Posted on by
Reply

I always roll my eyes a little bit when people make a big deal out of an event that they feel is rare but actually isn’t that rare at all. Sometimes it makes me question if certain people have their memory banks working properly.


This week in Missoula we had a couple rather chilly days. In fact, we even got snow. No doubt about it, I hate it when it snows in April but it is not like it hasn’t ever happened before. But the late season snow was not what dominated everyone’s Facebook statuses and tweets regarding the weather over the last couple days. Instead, people focused on the low temperatures.


On Monday (April 22) we saw a record low of 15 degrees in the early morning. The next day we saw another record low as the mercury got as far down on the thermometer as 20 degrees. My reaction to these record days? Big deal. But my reaction was not shared by others as people went off the deep end proclaiming how crazy, bizarre, and non-typical these weather numbers were. Reactions like “OMG another record low for Missoula, summer must be canceled this year!”……”WTF Mother Nature? Are you serious?”…… “Another record low for Missoula, this is extraordinary”……..”Just don’t know how to explain these crazy temperatures we are experiencing, something must be up.” Oh, please.


I kind of think you have to be totally oblivious to weather patterns if you liken record temperature days to actual rare occurrences such as a full lunar eclipse or the appearance of a comet. Record low and record high temperature days happen somewhere in the country every single day. Every city will experience several record days in a year. Again, every single city will experience several record temperature days in a year!! With 365 days in a calendar year, unpredictable weather and climate patterns, and strong recorded weather data , daily weather records are bound to happen.


But I don’t want to pass all blame on to average citizens who hear the weather information and immediately feel that something unique is going on. I definitely feel the media fuels the hysteria by making a bigger deal about a pretty common occurrence. Headers and headlines that exclaim RECORD LOWS, extended weather reports, and utilizing breaking news to include such stories as weather records helps to blow something such as an unusually cool April day out of proportion.


I find myself using the word perspective a lot. I think if we use just a little bit of it when it comes to weather events we will be able to differentiate between occurrences that really are worth our attention versus occurrences that happen multiple times on a consistent yearly basis. Today the weather turned more seasonal and we had a sunny and beautiful spring day in the Garden City. Finally, Missoulians can relax…..until of course the next record low day comes next week. Don’t Blink.

My Mid-April Weekend

Posted on by
Reply

Another weekend is now in the books for your Don’t Blink blogger. Want to hear about the wild and crazy weekend I had? Yes? Yes, you do? Well too bad, such a weekend did not happen. However, I did have a good past couple days even if I have no crazy shenanigans to report. As I do from time to time I will take a blog post to make mention of a few highlights that defined this past weekend…boring as it may be.

Friday – Conclusion of Spring Ball: On Friday night our football team finished spring ball with a final scrimmage inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Played under the lights and with an emphasis on giving back to the community, it was a very enjoyable and fun evening.

In fact, the scrimmage was just not a conclusion for the football team, it was a conclusion for me as well. The scrimmage marked my fourth and final Griz event in the past seven days. The Saturday prior to the final scrimmage we held our spring game in Ronan, Montana. It was nice to take a day trip up north to Ronan and watch our football team fill the town with Griz cheer. Although it was a cold and windy day the rain held off and everyone seemed to have fun. On Tuesday we held our student-athlete talent show, “Griz Got Talent.” I was tasked with running all the sound and video for the show. Wednesday night we staged our basketball celebration for both our Griz and Lady Griz basketball teams for completing amazing seasons. Held in Dahlberg Arena I performed the same duties I did the night before.

Of course this brings us back to Friday night and our spring ball finale. A rainy and cold day had us a little nervous for how ugly conditions might get for the event that night but as most people know, God is a Griz fan. When 5:30 p.m. rolled around and we opened the field to the kids to participate in low key drills with the players and coaches, it couldn’t have been a nicer night. After the kids went back in the stands with their parents we honored two Griz legends, Dave Dickenson and John Edwards, at midfield. After showing a highlight video chronicling the achievements of both men, Dave and John both addressed the crowd. As for the scrimmage, the fans who showed up were treated to an exciting, high scoring battle. After the scrimmage concluded the whole team stayed out on the field and signed autographs for the fans, many using the 2013 Griz football poster they just received as signing material.

 

The football team signs autographs under the lights.

The football team signs autographs under the lights.

The scrimmage was a lot of fun to work. Running music and Griz Vision, I enjoyed working with everyone else up in the control room of the press box. With representatives from sports information, internal ops, the GSA, and the football team all working together up above, we had a great time.

 

A view from the Washington-Grizzly Stadium press box of the scrimmage.

A view from the Washington-Grizzly Stadium press box of the scrimmage.

Saturday – High School Reunion: Although Missoula is only 200 miles from where I went to high school at, I surprisingly didn’t have anyone here in town who I went to Mead Senior High with. Well, that all changed last week when one of my high school friends moved here from Butte. Now throw in the fact that this friend who just moved here has a best friend who also went to school with us living in Whitefish and you got the potential for the three of us to reconnect and have some fun.

That is just what happened on Saturday night. My friend John, who works as a personal trainer, is now living in Missoula. His best buddy, Chase, who works in an important position at a credit card company in Whitefish, decided to come down and check in on John’s new place. This of course led to the three of us hanging out yesterday evening. After the three of us met at my place we enjoyed some fine dining at Hooter’s and then went downtown and played shuffle board (Chase and I won!). We then did some other exploring around town before calling it a night. Earlier today we reconvened and ate breakfast at Stone of Accord before Chase made the trip back to Whitefish.

John, Chase, and I on Saturday night.

John, Chase, and I on Saturday night.

Chase and John were both a class under me in high school. However, despite the year gap we all played football together. The bond that develops from playing sports together is extremely strong and will always carry on as the years go by. Because the three of us shared so many hours together on the athletic field we will always feel connected. Just as we had each other’s backs several years ago, we still have them today. It was so nice hanging out with them.

Sunday – Snow Storm: Even though it is late April, Mother Nature could care less. What looked to be a decent day with the sun shining brightly in the morning quickly turned into deception and deceit as snow started falling at a fast rate from the spring sky. A blizzard in April? Really? Roads were covered and visibility was next to nothing as Missoula received a late season whiteout.

I hate the snow. I hate it even in December so you can get the picture that I especially despise it in April. Of course with my luck the one time that I decided to park my car in general parking as opposed to under my assigned covered area at my apartment complex the sky decides to dump snow on us. Sorry, but scraping/brushing inches of snow off my car does not sit well with me when the month of May is just around the corner. Oh well, I guess I should not be surprised. I just thought that after an Easter weekend filled with temperatures almost reaching seventy degrees that we might not see snow until October rolled around…wrong.

———-

The weekend has come and gone. Time now to get back to work and start another week. Luckily for me, the next weekend will be here sooner than usual. I have a short work week that will conclude at the end of Wednesday. Come Thursday I will be on the road again as I embark on a fun adventure…but more on that later. I don’t say this enough but thank you so much to all of my readers! I appreciate all of your support and comments regarding my blog. You are my motivation to continue writing. Have a great week everyone! Don’t Blink.

Why You Need to Visit Missoula

Posted on by
Reply

Missoula is a great city. It is a one of a kind place that many people hold fond memories of. For people who live outside of Missoula but in Montana, Missoula is the thriving center of the state. It is the closest thing to a big city within the borders, the cultural hotbed of the region. The appeal of the Garden City to Montanans living outside of it is obvious. But what about people who live out of the state? Especially those who live in cities much bigger than Missoula? Is there anything for them in The Zoo? YES! In my opinion, the case for people living out of state to come to Missoula is even greater than the people living in state.

Quite often I find myself pitching Missoula to my friends from the west. Living in Washington state for the first 18 years of my life, I still have lots of friends and family living in that area. Because I like showing off my current home, I lure people to come visit me by briefing them on why they should make a trip to Missoula. These are the points I use to make them book that trip:

I first tell them that they need to experience Montana! They need to visit Cowboy Land, the place of no speed limits, where buffalo roam free, and where the internet is yet to exist. Well, not exactly. Everyone knows that Missoula is probably the most “un-Montanan” place in the state. But I think that helps my case in getting them to come visit me. I let them know that they don’t have to worry about roughing it but at the same time they still get to experience a different place and proudly say that they have spent time in God’s Country. So while they won’t really spend time in the heart of the state where the true Montana way of life runs more rampant, they still get to experience a place that has no sales tax, enjoys longer days, and sits in a different time zone.

I then tell them that they got to come just for the amazing beauty of Missoula (of course I try to arrange their visit in either Fall, late Spring, or Summer). I try to tell them about the mountains, the river, and trees that characterize the town. I fill them in on the beautiful sunsets and subsequent star-filled skies that linger over our heads. I refer to the trails, the clean streets, and the wildlife that we are exposed to. I mention the numerous green parks. I allude to the absolute gorgeous scene they will encounter the second the city comes into focus as they start to hit the city exits off of I-90.

I then go on and elaborate on the special type of community feel that Missoula has. I explain that they are entering Griz Nation, an area that wherever one looks, they will be reminded of a very proud and successful tradition, one that does not just live on campus. I prep them for the unique way in which Missoulians gather together. You know, all the festivals, events, and celebrations that we have. No, there just aren’t a few spread out annual events held throughout the year. Rather, Missoula has events that run on a weekly basis (i.e. Downtown Tonight, Farmer’s Market, Out to Lunch, etc.) even though the casual onlooker would think that they were in fact annual events because of the tremendous attendance that each single event garners. I summarize by telling my dear friends and family that no matter what day you show up, there will be some type of event or festival going on with the whole community partaking.

I then take it one step further and highlight the individual people that make up the community. I tell my out of state friends about the genuine and carefree attitude of the people who live in Missoula. I tell them that the people here treat others with a higher level of courtesy, a higher level of respect. People are nicer when they are happy, and most of the citizens in Missoula are just that…happy. Who wouldn’t want to come to a Happy Place?

Last, but definitely not least, I conclude my pitch by telling my friends and family living in Spokane and other parts of Washington this: MISSOULA IS FUN! There are few places that can provide someone with a better weekend or a better week than what Missoula can. Tons of places to eat, numerous water activities, unlimited fitness opportunities, countless entertainment options, various scenic sites to experience, and spontaneous situations and events to partake in make Missoula special. Additionally, Missoula has an incredible and vibrant downtown. Nothing beats it. Great restaurants, eclectic shops, a community park, and all the bars in the world help to present such a people-pleasing place that a visitor could start in downtown and never wander outside of that area for the duration of his/her trip. If, I tell my friends, you get the chance to take in a Grizzly Football Saturday, you will have the ultimate Missoula experience. Of course since there are only six of those a year (excluding playoffs), everyone can’t be so lucky.

By this point, I always have the person I am talking to sold. Plans are made and a visit is arranged…and we have a lot of fun! If you want to come to Missoula, please let me know and we will get something set up. Can’t wait to see you. Don’t Blink.

Mad Respect for Local Sports Reporters

Posted on by
Reply

A great thing about my job is that I get to interact with professionals in various occupations outside of just athletics. Business owners, marketing consultants, public service workers, campus-wide employees, and sales reps make up some of the people I help out and work with. However, in that group I left out the one profession that I enjoy interacting with the most, the one profession that I probably have the most respect for: the local television sports reporter.

First off, I have an all-encompassing respect for the local media in general. Doing all they can to write/shoot/broadcast/Tweet the latest news in a very competitive and low-paying environment, I marvel at the excellent job that many of them do. Whether it is through a newspaper, television screen, radio, or website, I am thankful for the coverage they provide us.

With that said, my level of admiration heightens a bit for the local journalists who appear on television, especially the reporters. While appearing on camera takes an enormous amount of guts in general, everything else that the job requires from going to location-to-location, getting stories, scoring interviews, writing the material, and then putting it all together as a final package is daunting to say the least. The pressure would weigh on anyone and to realize that these people do it on a day-to-day basis speaks volumes about their work ethic.

Handing out one more heightened notch of respect, I have to specifically signal out local television sports reporters. While having any type of profession associated with athletics is a dream for many, even the most avid and obsessed sports junkie could easily get burnt out reporting local sports.

Shaun Rainey is a sports reporter for the ABC/FOX station in Missoula. He is a great talent and a friend on mine.

Shaun Rainey is a sports reporter for the ABC/FOX station in Missoula. He is a great talent and a friend on mine.

First things first that you have to understand is that a sports reporter at your local station wears many hats. Most of the time he/she travels to multiple sites in a day, scouts out a spot to work, shoots the games, conducts interviews, hustles back to the station, writes the sportscast, edits it, changes clothes, and then slides into the anchor desk and in front of the camera to deliver the day’s sports. Talk about exerting a lot of energy!

But honestly, I just rapidly fired off the main duties that the sports journalist has to accomplish. I didn’t even scratch the surface of every little detail that goes into each one of those tasks.

I didn’t talk about the long hours involved for sports reporters. From starting at the station early in the day and then going to the competition sites and then back to the station up through the late night newscast makes for a brutally long day. The hours extend to the weekends and holidays too. Sports are always happening and while most of us are fortunate enough to enjoy them, sports journalists are working their butts off to cover them.

I didn’t mention the taxing travel obstacles that many sports journalists go through as they commute from site to site, many outside of city limits. Speaking of travel, I didn’t bring up the challenging road conditions that many must navigate during the winter months, especially here in Montana. Going from small town to small town on sketchy roads in a blizzard just for the sake of capturing a few highlights is risky business.

A Movie I Wish I Never Saw

Posted on by
Reply

Very rarely do I feel the need to devote a blog post to voicing how bad a certain movie was. However, the film I saw on Monday night at the Carmike 10 theater in Missoula reached such a level of horrificness that I felt compelled to let all my readers know about it. I care about all of you so much that if I can save you $9.25 and two hours of your time I am going to do it.

Many times I read books and watch movies without reading the inside cover or watching the previews. I like to go into something with no preconceived notions. I am just entertained more when I have to figure everything out myself without the aid of a primer before. As usual, I went pretty much blind into the recent movie I saw and I can say that was one of the few times where I genuinely wished I diverted course and did some research.

Monday evening I saw “Spring Breakers”. Going in, I knew the movie featured Selena Gomez and was based on the spring break odyssey of a group of girlfriends. I also knew that the movie featured some sexual and narcotic themes….but what movie these days doesn’t, right? I just thought it would fall in line with any typical PG-13 or R rated movie. So after all the commercial ads and the 30 minutes of previews, the movie finally started. It only took one minute of the opening scene to clue me in that this was not your typical PG-13 or R rated movie.

In “Spring Breakers”, sex and nudity predominate throughout the whole entire movie. Now trust me, I am no prude, but the blatant and constant usage of the above mentioned things really did distract from anything the movie might have had going for it while also leaving the viewer to think “Wow, this is just plain indecent.” Sometimes movie makers purposely go overboard with controversial themes and many times it just comes across as unnecessary. Think the F-Word with “Casino” or violence with the last “Rambo” movie. Directors sometimes just put strong language, violence, and/or sex in every part of a movie just so it will have strong language, violence, and/or sex in every part of a movie. But where “Casino” and “Rambo” both crossed the line a little bit with language and violence respectively, “Spring Breakers” in my opinion did an Olympic-caliber long jump over that same line when it came to sex/nudity elements. For me, it was just way too much.

The movie in general was just disturbing and weird to me. Filmed and cut in a choppy, drug high-induced way, most people 10 years younger than me would probably say it was cool….I just thought it was distracting. It is in this hazy way that the movie follows four girls (one of them Selena Gomez and one of them another Disney star, Vanessa Hudgens) as they go to Florida for spring break. Funding the trip by robbing a diner, the girls live it up in Florida, partying like there is no tomorrow. The party stops momentarily when the group gets arrested for trashing a house. Sitting in jail with no money, they get bailed out by a drug dealer rapper named Alien. The rest of the movie just chronicles the weird relationship between Alien and the girls.

And that my friends, is pretty much the gist of the movie. Don’t even bother about a plot, “Spring Breakers” is completely devoid of one. The makers of the movie must have thought that an excess in party, sex, and drug scenes excused them from throwing any sense of one into the film. The whole time in the theater I tried to figure out what the movie was trying to get at, what needed to get accomplished. Nothing ever emerged.

Of course, if something lacks a plot then there is no real set up for a decent ending. With no problem to solve or goal to achieve, what do you have to base a strong ending on? “Spring Breakers” makes no exception. The ending was one of the most epically bad ones I have witnessed in a long time. If you plan to make the mistake and watch this movie, turn your head now as I summarize how the movie concludes: Alien and the two remaining girls go to a rival drug dealer’s property and engage in a shootout with the rival’s entourage. Alien is shot dead right away but somehow the two college girls are able to blow away about 25 men of the entourage, enter the mansion, and kill the rival dealer in front of two of his women who are in the shower. The girls leave the property in the dealer’s car and the movie ends. A completely unbelievable, random, and unsatisfying ending…yet completely fitting for how terrible this movie was.

To put the cherry on top of the disgusting sundae, the characters in the movie will leave a terrible taste in your mouth. The group of girls the movie follows are 3x worse than The Plastics from “Mean Girls”. While Selena Gomez played the role of the good girl, the other three were simply way too out there to ever develop any liking, sympathy, or connection for. However, the character of Alien takes the cake for complete catastrophe. Alien is played by James Franco, the same guy who stars in “Oz the Great and Powerful.” I haven’t seen a character who made me feel more annoyed or disgusted in a long time. Just tough to even look at in the first place, he had no redeeming qualities and his constant rapping/singing/reciting throughout the movie drove me up a wall. If I heard him say his repetitious “Spring break…spring break” one more time in that movie I was going to storm out of the theater. It was that bad.

The funny thing about movies is that everyone has different tastes. Believe it or not, some critics have actually given “Spring Breakers” positive reviews. While I personally have no idea how that is possible, it reminds me that my standard of what makes a good movie differs from the standard of the entertainment writer from such-and-such a newspaper or from the standard of yourself. With that said, please don’t go see “Spring Breakers.” Don’t Blink.

Missoula Dickey’s: Best BBQ Ever

Posted on by
1

Tomorrow, Missoula will officially have something that it has needed for a while. After way too long of not having the option to visit this place, which is the most prevalent of its kind, doors will open tomorrow at 11 a.m. You know what is funny though? Even though it is the most prevalent of its kind, many Missoulians give me a blank stare and ask “what is that?” when I tell them that a Dickey’s is moving into the old Central Bar location in downtown Missoula. Let me explain.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to town Dickey’s (oh yes, you are asking what exactly Dickey’s is). Okay, let me say this again…ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to town Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. As with most things, it took some time for Dickey’s to make it to Montana but come tomorrow, there will be two locations in the state (one just opened up in Billings). Everyone out there who is not on a diet will love Dickey’s. Served cafeteria style, the restaurant serves the most popular BBQ staples: pulled pork, ribs, brisket, smoked sausage, ham, and much more. The place also serves LOTS of sides, including: macaroni and cheese, potato casserole, jalapeno beans, BBQ beans, fried okra, waffle fries, and more. Obviously, you get the idea that at Dickey’s you can get yourself a tasty and traditional BBQ meal.

Besides the “meat and potatoes” part of the Dickey’s operation, the franchise also has several little trademarks that make dining at one of their restaurants fun. First off, you got the Big Yellow Cup. At Dickey’s, you can purchase a cup that is, well, big and yellow. The cup is plastic and is meant for you to take home and then bring back to the restaurant for refills each time you return. The Big Yellow Cup even has its own fan club. Dickey’s also offers a few different kinds of BBQ sauce. Mix and match your entrees with any assortment you choose. Also, kids eat free on Sundays at Dickey’s. I don’t have kids, but if I did I would be at Dickey’s every Sabbath! Finally, and my favorite, you get FREE ICE CREAM! I am not kidding. At each Dickey’s location there is a vanilla soft serve ice cream machine with cones for you to help yourself. Come on, what other place offers that?!

Dickey's has three different types of BBQ sauce. My favorite is the spicy one!

Dickey’s has three different types of BBQ sauce. My favorite is the spicy one!

To be completely honest though, the main reason why you should get down to Dickey’s in Missoula is not for all the awesome food, promotions, and free ice cream that the company offers nationwide. Rather, you need to check it out because of the uniqueness that separates the Missoula location from all the others.

One of my favorite parts about Dickey's is the free ice cream!

One of my favorite parts about Dickey’s is the free ice cream!

The owner of the Missoula Dickey’s is James Gibson. He is my co-worker and good friend. For his day job, he serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Business and Finance here at Grizzly Athletics. It takes a pretty driven person who is already immersed in a busy and important job to decide that he wants to take on an additional challenge, maybe the toughest challenge there is: The Restaurant Business. In the works for a long time now, I have watched Jimmy take his new business endeavor from just an idea to a grand opening. Although not even close to everything he had to deal with and work through, I got to see him jump over many of the hurdles to get to the point he will be at tomorrow. It is astounding. So know this: When you go to Dickey’s you will be supporting a true Missoulian who loves the town and is already working a job that serves the community.

Jimmy and I at the dry run for this new restaurant. A place could not be owned by a better guy.

Jimmy and I at the dry run for this new restaurant. A place could not be owned by a better guy.

One very unique thing about the Missoula Dickey’s that you won’t find at roughly 99% of the locations nationwide is that it will also feature a bar! Yes, a fast food restaurant with a bar! Quite the concept, huh? On the other side of the food line, you will find the bar. Serving both beer and liquor, you can have an adult beverage with your BBQ. How many of you have ever walked into a McDonald’s or Taco Bell and found a bar? That’s what I thought.

The bar is beautiful!

The bar is beautiful!

But it keeps getting better. From Thursday through Saturday, Dickey’s will stay open until 3 a.m.! Serving a limited menu starting at around midnight, Dickey’s will cater to the large bar crowd that takes over the streets of Missoula when night falls. To understand how significant of a development this is, you would have to know the city and know the prime location that Dickey’s sits at in the downtown district. To have the option of great tasting BBQ late on a weekend night might very well turn Dickey’s into not just one of the most popular restaurants in town but also one of the popular bars in town.

 

Lots of options on the menu!

Lots of options on the menu!

Finally, the Missoula Dickey’s will just have a genuine, community-type feel that you rarely find at such places. I have already mentioned the owner and his ties to The Zoo but it does not stop there. The Missoula location has committed to serving Griz Nation. Supporting that claim, Dickey’s has already partnered with a couple of the biggest and most prominent Montana Grizzlies entities in town. The restaurant has also expressed desire to have a large impact in the Missoula business community and help out as much as possible. How can you not want to support Dickey’s?

Previously I had the pleasure of eating at Dickey’s locations in Colorado and North Dakota. Both were awesome experiences with great food. Tonight I had the opportunity to eat at the Missoula Dickey’s as the restaurant staged its final dry run before the big opening day tomorrow…BEST EXPERIENCE YET! The food is simply top-notch quality. Please support the Missoula community while eating some great food at the same time…you won’t regret it. Best of luck Jimmy! Don’t Blink.

The food is simply amazing. Please give Missoula Dickey's a try!

The food is simply amazing. Please give Missoula Dickey’s a try!

The Real Purpose of Lent

Posted on by
6

Today is Ash Wednesday. For the next 40+ days, Christians will embark on a very holy journey called Lent. This is a very beautiful time for growing with God in preparation for the most sacred day on the calendar, Easter.

This post is going to be very brief. I just want to get across what Lent is rather than what many perceive it to be. Lent is not about “giving something up”. It is not some silly New Year’s resolution. Rather, Lent is about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Of course, going without many gratifications is part of the fasting component of Lent. But there is so much more. In my opinion, what we decide to do during Lent is much more important than what we decide not to do considering prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are things you do, not things you “give up”.

Non-Catholics and Catholics alike sometimes confuse the purpose of Lent. It is NOT a time to get praise from others for what we do during the 40 days but a time to get closer to God. It is this reason why it is very important to never ask someone what they are doing for Lent or on the other hand to make public what we are doing for Lent. This is made very clear during today’s Ash Wednesday gospel reading (Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21). Jesus taught us that hypocrites will let others know that they are fasting, praying, and giving alms. These people who let up their guard and let others know that they are not eating during a certain day or abstaining from meat or not partaking in a certain activity or practice have totally lost the purpose of doing so. Because they have confided in people and received their reward, they will not receive their reward from God. However, those who do deeds in private so that others don’t know will receive their reward from God.

But I am not here to give a scripture lesson. Not only am I 100% unqualified to do so, but I have way too many sins to ever attempt to preach the Good Word to anyone. I guess all that I want to do is just get the general message across, a message that everyone can easily understand: Lent is a private time for individuals. It is a time to get closer to God while forsaking any opportunity for attention and praise from others. 

To everyone who observes Lent, have the most blessed season ever. Don’t Blink.

Rascal Flatts/Band Perry Review

Posted on by
Reply

A couple anomalies occurred this past week. First, a big name act came to Missoula. Second, that big name act played on a Friday night. Very rarely does this town see major acts come through and when they do, they usually stop by during midweek. So obviously when it was announced that Rascal Flatts would play a concert in Missoula on a Friday night, this town got very excited.

Strangely enough, Mr. Concert himself (me) originally made plans not to go to the show. Not that I don’t like Rascal Flatts but the tickets went on sale in December and with Vegas and Christmas commanding most of my bank flow for that month, I decided it best to pass on splurging on a couple of tickets. Plus, I got to see Rascal Flatts perform that month anyway down in Las Vegas at the American Country Awards. But when a call came from my friend “Money” Mike asking me if I would like to go to the show with him I couldn’t refuse.

Joining Rascal Flatts on their “Changed Tour 2013” was The Band Perry and Kristen Kelly. Sometime early Friday morning the tour’s entourage showed up in Missoula. By entourage I mean about 6 full length trucks and probably two dozen buses. Our whole Adams Center compound and half of the adjacent student parking lot was jammed packed with vehicles associated with the tour. It was nuts. But I wholeheartedly believe that the more “stuff” a tour brings, the better the show will be.

For this concert Mike and I sat up in the 210 section of the Adams Center to the side of the stage. Because we were to the side we could not look directly at the stage so we could not see the backdrop, the main video screen, and the other fancy stuff such as the lights. But one advantage to having our seats was that we could comfortably watch the show and we could see what was going on backstage. Definitely a couple of positives that I am not normally used to.

Kristen Kelly performed first. Before the show I knew nothing about her. After the show I still know really nothing about her. All I know is that she is a tall cute blonde, probably in her early thirties (can’t even find that info on the web) who likes to sing about men who crossed her. As with any first opening act of a concert she played to a less than full arena on a dark stage. She had attitude and personality which was good and the few songs she performed had a good beat to them but she didn’t blow me out of the water. But come on, that is pretty much impossible to do given what she had to work with. I will look for her down the road on country radio.

After Kelly finished and they got the stage set for the next act, that was when the show started. The Band Perry made a thunderous, energetic entrance onto the stage and the energy really never left. Let me back up and say that I am not a Band Perry fan. I frankly detest their most popular song (“If I Die Young”) and have always found them a little too slow for my liking. But they really did make me a fan after their set. Again, I can’t emphasize enough how upbeat and fun their performance was. The lead singer, Kimberly Perry, was a complete fireball out on the stage as she really performed her heart out. Even her band mates, who are her brothers, were fun too. They performed their hits singles with “You Lie,” “If I Die Young,” and “Better Dig Two” but they also sang their lesser known stuff. And of course, with any act that is relatively new to the mainstream scene, they sang plenty of covers. However, the way they performed their covers was kind of cool in that they threw a bunch of songs into one polka melody. Towards the end of the concert they sang one of these melodies with the opening song being “Some Nights.” It worked well and I rocked out to it. Sorry to say that word again but the ENERGY was with The Band Perry the whole time, and it was powerful enough for me to feel it up in the upperdeck.

Mike and I were not caught off guard when Rascal Flatts came on stage because from our seats we could see Gary LeVox (lead singer) getting ready to go on from backstage. Even though his entrance was not a surprise, I got a little bit of a jolt when I heard his voice call out to the Missoula crowd for the first time. His voice is just so distinctive and to hear it live in person was pretty cool. Rascal Flatts took over the stage and immediately started singing hits. After they finished singing their hits, they slowed down into the middle part of the concert and sang more hits. Then, to change things up a little, they finished their show with more hits. I love going to concerts where I know every single song. Sure it is cool to hear a song for the first time in concert and really latch onto it and always have a special place in your heart for it because you heard it first live but I go to concerts to hear the people I like sing their hits. RF delivered in this department. On stage the band was funny. Jay DeMarcus acted as the band comedian and talked numerous times during the show, a couple times doing mini type comedy acts. The band also sounded GREAT live. Gary’s voice sounded the exact same as it does on the radio and all the music produced by the band sounded awesome inside the Adams Center. From the little that I could see, all the lighting and special effects looked amazing.

Just a couple critiques I have of the show. I wish Rascal Flatts got a little more personal with Missoula. Gary never forgot the name of the city and he always made sure to mention Missoula and Montana in the obvious spots but I was looking for a little more. I like it when artists talk about an experience they had in the city that day or when they take pictures of themselves in front of town landmarks even if it is all complete BS or the photos are doctored. I also think the concert went just a little long. I know they have so many hits and I loved listening to them all but maybe they could get rid of the drum and guitar solos and maybe cut out one of the comedy acts by Jay.

When the show finally did end though, it was a great way to go out as both opening acts came out on the stage and performed “American Band” with Rascal Flatts. I love it when everyone on the tour performs a song. Sometimes this never happens and sometimes they do it in the middle of the headliner’s set so they can get bow out early but for them to all perform at the very end was pretty cool. It definitely put the cherry on top of a 4 hour concert.

Mike, thank you very much for the ticket to the show! I can now check off on my list a couple acts who I wanted to see perform live (for full length sets). Time to buy tickets to the next show! Don’t Blink.

My Favorite Fast Food Place

Posted on by
2

This Christmas my wish list was pretty much fulfilled because I got the one gift I wanted the most! No, not a GoPro, not a kendama, not accessories for my iPhone, not even a pack of socks. What made me bursting with holiday joy was when on a couple of different gift opening extravaganzas I ripped open a gift box that had what I really wanted…Subway gift cards!

The Subway gift cards I got for Christmas.

The Subway gift cards I got for Christmas.

I am a mega Subway sandwich fan. By a large margin it is my favorite fast food restaurant (Taco Bell a distant second). If I pick up dinner before I go home, if I am traveling, or if I am working late and need food, Subway is my choice to fill up on. I love it and I get hungry just thinking about sinking my teeth in one of their sandwiches.

Rest assured everyone, I haven’t fallen for the Subway marketing BS that says their sandwiches probably equate to the healthiest meal on earth. I think the whole Jared diet plan is a complete scam. While I would say Subway can be a healthier option than McDonalds or Wendy’s, I do know that SW can push on the calories. Unless you are eating a flatbread veggie six inch sub each time you go, make no mistake about it, sandwiches in general are not the healthiest food choice. Especially if you get a foot long, choose a bread with cheese on it, add sauces, and then decide to order chips and a drink with it, you are looking at a pretty fattening meal. But come on, that is what makes it so good!

So I am definitely guilty of my first two ways of “fattening up” a Subway trip. Unless I am going in for lunch, I am always getting a foot long and my all-time favorite bread is the Monterey cheddar…YUM! Can anyone guess what my sub of choice is? What’s that you say? Oh, you don’t care?!?! Of course! But let me tell you anyway….COLD CUT COMBO…every single time! Subway’s cold cut combo never gets old for me and it is always $5 so it is also a complete bargain. Although I don’t get chips and a drink with my subs I must admit that I always am tempted to get the jalapeno variety while I am paying.

I like nothing more than a fresh cold cut combo from Subway

I like nothing more than a fresh cold cut combo from Subway

I think one of the reasons why I love Subway so much besides of it just tasting good is that it is so readily available. There are Subways everywhere! When it comes to the city of Missoula, I think it is an understatement! We have Subway sandwich shops all over the place. You can find various locations on the same streets, you can find them in shopping areas, you can find them in a few convenient stores, you can find one in our mall, and you can even find one in our Wal-Mart! It doesn’t really matter where I am at in Missoula, I am always walking distance from a Subway.

With so many different locations and with my tendency to never really just settle on a certain one, you tend to find out that not all Subways do things the exact same way. Depending on the place I go to the sandwich artist always seems to fold my meat onto my sandwich in a different way. Some lines go from left to right while some go from right to left. Some carry soup while others don’t. Some participate in certain national promotions while other locations act like they have never even heard of them before. Some locations will always bag your sub and put napkins in it while others will just wrap your sub and hand it to you. Some stores will use shredded cheddar cheese while most every other store will use sliced cheddar cheese. However, I like these little eccentricities of each Subway. It keeps things interesting and encourages me to explore the city.

A sneak picture I took at the east Broadway Subway in Missoula

A sneak picture I took at the east Broadway Subway in Missoula

With all the differences of each different Subway sandwich shop there is one thing that they all have in common: That oh so amazing smell! Besides ice cream shops, there is no other place that smells better than a Subway restaurant. That heavenly smell of fresh baked bread mixed with the fresh ingredients mixed with the marinara from the meatballs produces one of my all-time favorite smells. There needs to be an air freshener called “Subway Sandwich Restaurant”. I would definitely buy it.

Sadly, my gift cards from the holiday season are just about exhausted. Lately I have averaged around 2-3 trips to Subway a week. Definitely not the best of habits but I simply love the sandwiches and my stomach definitely feels way better after eating a sub rather than a taco or burger. So go ahead and call me “Jared” if you want but remember I am not doing the walking and I am not losing the weight. EAT FRESH. Don’t Blink.