Top 10 Weird Things about Montana
(From a California perspective, with great affection. In no particular order other than how I thought of them)
- People say "crick" for "creek". Really. It has two ee's in the middle. How do you get an "i" out of that? I may let my child say "pop" for soda (even though it makes me shudder a little), but I will not ever let her get away with "crick".
- On the public radio station they interrupt to announce lost dogs.
- Speaking of dogs, they wander around on their own or in packs, all over the place. It is very, very common to have traffic stopped on the main street to let a dog pass. Though now that I think about it, that might just be in this town.
- The air sometimes smells like mountain scent air freshener, naturally.
- They just don't use toilet seat covers. Anywhere. In CA they were *everywhere*.
- They not only accept checks for everything, they EXPECT them. Even in the drive-through for fast food. Though god help you if you're not a local, because only local checks.
- Everybody seems to like their coffee sickeningly sweet. From drive-through coffee stands. With straws in the hole of the to-go cup. Why would I want to sip hot coffee out of a straw and scald my mouth?
- It is *always* okay to be dressed in jeans. It is perfectly acceptable for a woman to wear jeans to a wedding.
- Maybe this isn't weird, but there is a huge loyalty (and discrimination) based on being FROM here, actually born in this town or at least in Montana. If an article is written about you in the paper, it will always say whether you are or are not a "native". This is one of the first questions asked in every social setting.
- I live in a town of about 35,000 people. And it's a big town for Montana. I love that.
