Time To Pick & Choose
There are so many cool people in the world.
If you stay on social media too long or listen to the media, you can start to think people suck.
But honestly, when you get away from what you know and find a place where people still believe in “live and let live”, you find people are truly amazing.
A young man and his father recently showed up on our front porch to meet the new neighbors and pitch his services as an all around yard and maintenance man.
Ryeban Reed is probably 15 or 16, showed up with his dad Kevin, because he wants to work and earn some money.
He dropped his business card by a few days later and when we travel “Reed Services” will be our man.
Pioneers still exist.
Then there is the family from Oregon who bought a wedding venue near Helena and almost all of them moved out here together to start a new life. We’ll be featuring them later this week (Thursday) in a live broadcast on our video podcast “Get Real With Rick Dancer.”
The guts it takes to put it all on the line is the makings of an interesting life and an amazing story.
The other night we met a couple from Eugene, who now live in Helena. They needed a change so packed everything up, he found the town, she found a job and they changed their lives for the better.
You don’t have to move to change your life but I think you do have to be willing to give up something and take a huge risk.
When I think of great people many of you come to mind.
Yeh, I miss my friends (you) back in Oregon.
I don’t miss the politics or the prevailing attitude.
But when I scroll through my feeds or pictures I miss you.
Rugged Is Coming Back
I did a story on a female gold miner in Granite, Oregon. She described Oregonians as “Rugged Individualists”.
I think “Rugged People” are and will be making a comeback, not just in Oregon.
Many of us are tired of the loudmouths, the squeaky wheels and frankly the urban majority taking control.
Nothing wrong with city folk as long as they remember rural people also need a say in how things operate.
A renewed value in hard work, honesty, self-motivation and risk taking is gaining steam.
We don’t have time for the drama or diva’s.
It’s time to pick & choose.
It’s okay to say “No, it doesn’t work that way.”
Truth still matters in fact I think matters now more than ever.
We need to look at the flaws in our culture, that’s how you make it better.
But at the same time we need to remember when you get out of your own space and into someone else’s, you often find the problems are smaller than you think and you will be reminded how many amazing, rugged people are out here.
I have wanted to comment for a while now but our life keeps changing so I have waited. I am still not sure how it is all going to come together but, Montana has been our dream since we got married 22 years ago. We too hail from Oregon. Eugene, and then Coos Bay for the last 14 years. I worked at Faith Center in Eugene for several years for Nate Poetzl and its where I met my husband, Rod.
In 2008 we moved to CB. Our work life had blown up a bit and an opportunity came up here. We are mountain people so the idea of moving to the coast was not super exciting but it has been…