07.S02.P1 Chapter Seven, Snippet Two - "The Three Forks Song"

"Chewing The Fat in Three Forks", Photo by Susie Rosso Wolf

Special Posting

In celebration of our five year anniversary of making the journey

 to this land of freedom and treasure, I have written a 

special tribute to life in Three Forks, Montana.

The Three Forks Song

Susie Rosso Wolf

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take it day as it comes

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Look out beyond the tip of your nose

As far as your eyes can see

See the mountains and the tree tops

And the raging rivers three

Hear the roaring of the wind

Whip through the prairie floor

Grab a cowboy by the hand

And dance forever more

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Sit a spell and chew the fat

And don’t forget where your neighbor’s at

Lift two fingers off the wheel

Holler at your pardner as loud as you feel

Tip your hat when the ladies walk by

And you might earn a slice of pie

Ask the fella up the road

To lend a hand with your heavy load

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Walk in your waders to catch a fish

Look up at the stars to make a wish

Grab your axe to chop an old tree

Ring the dinner bell and count to three

Throw on the saddles lets go for a ride

No matter what the weather outside

In wind or rain sleet or snow

A Montanan is always ready to go

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Let’s go hunting to stock up on grub

And later on we’ll stop by the pub

We’ll dance in circles and sing along

Down the center and back all night long

A do-si-do then an allemande

Come on little lady please give me your hand

The moon shines bright out on the porch

With the romance lit by a flaming torch

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

The eagle swoops at the rivers bend

His breakfast galore that he knows no end

The sun just rises and the farmer prays

For a healthy crop and more warm days

But soon the snow shall fall and freeze

Then our sleep at night will surly ease

For we are hardy cold weather folk

Forty below and that ain’t no joke

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh take each day as it comes

Hard working men for an honest wage

Pounding nails or backhoeing sage

Just three months to grow food for one year

Wife seeds the soil though the freeze she does fear

The churches are filled with God fearing people

No you won’t find one fancy steeple

For we are simple Three Forks kind

The thought of leaving never enters our mind

We take each day as it comes comes comes

Oh we take each day as it comes

We take each day as it comes comes comes

We take each day as it comes

Three Forks takes each day as it comes

Oh we take each day as it comes

We take each day as it comes comes comes

We just take each day… as it comes.

07.S02 Chapter Seven, Snippet Two

New Prairie Woman
Susie Rosso Wolf
Chapter Seven, con't

When April arrived home from work I was quite surprised by her appearance. She wasn’t anything like what I had imagined her to be. She didn’t fit the voice I had grown accustomed to over the phone during the weeks Robert had begun to call me. I pictured April as a girl next door, slight, fine boned woman with a short haircut. The woman who walked in the door was in a word, not that. April was a very large woman on the bottom half with a smaller waist, large bust, and long hair falling down her back that was expertly colored bleach blond with caramel brown low lites. Her hair was beautiful, and it was obvious that she cherished it as her greatest asset. Her face was somewhat unremarkable in its shape and features but the expertise of her make-up applying skills was more than evident. A bit too loud and borderline barrio home-girl for my taste, I was surprised by the bright red lips, thick black lines that were painted across her eyelids and the heavy dark brown eye shadow and layers upon layers of black mascara, all spread over the canvass of her face which was covered in a peaches and cream colored liquid pancake dusted  with powder that all seemed unnecessary, given where they were and where she had just come from; the post office. Dressed in her postal uniform shirt over a pair of tightly fitted maternity jeans, her pregnant belly stood out like a sore thumb. Bone tired from a long day on her feet and then the near hour drive into Three Forks from Bozeman, she was pleased to meet us and very friendly but obviously in need of taking a rest, getting out of her shoes and clothes. Excusing herself, she retired to the master bedroom where she took a bath then changed into a comfortable outfit of pink terry cloth stretch pants and a white short cropped t-shirt that exposed her situation.

Robert barbecued steaks for dinner while April made the side dishes of corn, microwaved baked potatoes and a large garden salad. We all sat at their enormous dining room table made of solid oak enjoying the meal and conversation. During dinner I felt the absence of Brenda’s presence because it was she, who was back in Northridge house and dog sitting for us, due to her insistence. She wouldn’t take no for an answer when she offered to watch the house and look after Cutter, Lilly and Dinky and although it cost us an arm and a leg to fly her from Montana and then back again, it was worth the peace of mind knowing that our precious little family back home was in familiar hands who cared for them. Brenda was so thrilled that we would be visiting Robert she would have done anything to promote the effort, I do believe.

After dinner I helped April with the dishes and general cleaning up while Robert and Kurt went out for a walk around his property. We had a nice time sharing about our lives and interests while she put food away and wiped down the table and I dried the dishes she had washed. Eventually we migrated into the den to sit and watch some television while she reclined in Robert’s overstuffed chair with her feet up on the ottoman. I was aware that she was extremely tired so I suggested that she go to her bedroom to take a nap, only to be surprised by her raising her leg up in my direction where I was sitting next to her on the sofa, then bluntly suggesting that I give her a “foot rub.”  Unable to deny the pregnant April of her request and taking into consideration that she was just plain tired and not in the mood for putting on airs for her boyfriend’s visiting aunt and uncle, I gently acquiesced, scooted over closer to her and began to rub her feet. To say it was an odd sensation of mixed feelings running thru mind and body would be an understatement of immense proportions, but, I wanted to please her in a freakish low self-esteem kind of way. While working out the stress and tiredness of her day through the magic of my experienced hands, I came to learn that it was, according to her, April who coaxed Robert into moving forward to “healing the wounds” of our relationship.

“Your family is so weird,” she said. “In my family we don’t hold grudges, we just scream and yell and then make up. You Italians hold onto something for so long it winds up killing you and I told Rob that’s no way to live. I told him he needed to forgive you.” Choking back the tears while swallowing this young woman’s explosion of opinion in my face as I rubbed her feet… was all too surreal. It didn’t take any time at all before my mind grew weary and my heart filled with sadness, so I explained to April that I was quite tired from the trip and retreated to Brenda’s beautiful bedroom to take a rest while Kurt and Robert continued to visit with each other, on their own.                                                                       

07.S01 Chapter Seven, Snippet One

"Mountain Tease"

The Spanish Peaks, Three Forks, MT

New Prairie Woman
Susie Rosso Wolf
Chapter Seven

In all my life, I had never once stepped foot into a manufactured home. Sure, during my days of living with Kurt in Oregon I had visited plenty of friends who lived in single-wide trailers and some of them were quite nice but I really didn't have any idea how much the trailer/manufactured home industry had evolved over the years. The outside of Rob’s new home was built to replicate a log cabin and the inside was open, modern, beautifully appointed, and quite palatial. It was obvious much time was spent furnishing and a great deal of attention was paid to every detail. The interior was based on a western theme with one large collectible framed portrait of John Wayne as the main focal point. Fine art brass sculptures of horses, horse busts, cowboys riding horses, and couples riding horses wearing cowboy hats were placed with great thought throughout the house. The sculptures were beautiful as were the hand carved coat racks and of course, gun racks, and cowboy hat racks made from deer and elk antlers. The hat rack was mounted onto a slab of carved wood that had a dried rattlesnake skin nailed onto it. Robert had been hunting snakes and skinning them ever since I could remember, here he was in snake heaven, with so many rattlesnakes on the prairie.

The den was the first room you entered into from the back door. The living room was the room you walked into from the front of the house that faced the mountain ranges of the Bitter Roots, The Tobacco Roots, The Spanish Peaks, The Bridger’s and far in the distance but visible when snowcapped, West Yellowstone. The master bedroom suite was enormous, fit for a king, with a Jacuzzi bath tub, separate shower room, open his & hers bathroom sinks, two closets, a gigantic nursery area and office space along with the largest area for a king size bed I had ever seen. The vaulted ceilings allowed for interesting architecture of support beam walls that had nook space for April’s beautiful cut crystal collection of vases and sculptures. The room was absolutely lovely dressed in their royal four poster bed of solid mahogany that matched her ten foot long by four foot deep dresser with a spectacular mirror attached that created an atmosphere of pure luxury and class.

Down the main hallway were two small bedrooms. One was appointed to Brenda and the other was for the girls when they came to visit. On that side of the house there was a bathroom with a shower and tub and lovely sink with a beautiful mirror above it that was wall to wall. It was only a medium to small bathroom, beautifully decorated and quite nice. Much attention to every detail was glaringly obvious with raffia tied around the for show not for blow bath towels and hand towels hanging on the towel racks and glass vases filled with dried flower arrangements in addition to antique finished wall sconces and small framed artwork on the walls. Heading toward the living room, at the end of the hall was a dividing wall with more nook openings where several beautifully framed family photos were placed, one of which was of my father with Robert as a child and another of my parents. No sign of Kurt and I or any other Rosso Family members in any frame were presented. On the other side of the wall was the den’s fireplace which, in and of itself, was a showpiece of rustic flavor featuring large river boulders and a uniquely carved mantle. Across from the living room was the guest bathroom, which was the most unique room in the house. It was very small, but built with a loft type ceiling at an angle, set in a space that was actually blue printed as a coat closet but they requested it be built as an additional bathroom so, the manufacturer of the house set in one toilet behind a wall, like one you would find in a school lavatory, and then one old fashioned sink on a pedestal with a mirror hanging over it on the other side of the privacy wall. Its simplicity was elegant and I loved the colors April chose to decorate with in this room; olive green accented with periwinkle. Turn right and you were in the big living room with its four picture windows with a good sized dining room that led to the kitchen. The kitchen was my favorite room with its wide open floor plan, countless cupboards, walk-in pantry with an extra stand up freezer, endless counter space, island cook top stove, built-in oven, broiler and microwave, deep double sink with massive oval shaped windows that spanned the length of the entire counter from one end of the room to the other. This provided a view to both sides of the back property all the way to Old Town Road. Windows galore throughout the entire house gave a feeling of open air living in the rustic extremes of prairie life surrounded by mountains and hills. With four entrances, there wasn’t any area of the house that didn’t lead to the front or back of their two and a half acre lot. The laundry room/mud room was quite large and also led to the back of the house with its own outer door.

After a shower and a little nap, Robert fed us a lite lunch while we sat in the den watching a John Wayne movie on his beast of a television. The heavy wood entertainment center that housed this monster was modern but in very good taste. The sofa was covered in elegant soft brown leather, again, lending to the rustic western theme accentuating the fact that you were standing in the Interior Western United States, the Rocky Mountains in particular. Well, with John Wayne as master and guru, there wasn’t any doubt you were in a western home.

06.S09 Chapter Six, Snippet Nine

New Prairie Woman

Susie Rosso Wolf

Chapter Six, con't

Conifer Grove on Conifer Trail, Three Forks, MT

 As weeks passed, I learned the news of my oldest brother’s illness and asked Kurt if it were possible to schedule a trip to Oregon to visit him after he was released from hospital in Newport. Kurt agreed that it was important to pay a visit to Big Mike so he made arrangements with his employers (Kurt worked as an independent contractor in the music business as a sound engineer in live music productions) to not book him for work during the week of the tenth of June, 2006. In late May my nephew, Little Mike, called to say that Big Mike was not up to company and asked if we could postpone our visit until Big Mike became more stable. This news obviously left the week of the tenth of June wide open now, as we had prearranged for Kurt to be free of any work related obligation.

Late one night in early June, Kurt returned home from the Santa Monica Airport where he had been working since eight o’ clock that morning on rehearsals for a benefit show taking place in one of the airport hangers. He was exhausted and fit to be tied after a long and grueling day. Angry at the level of disrespect from the “new breed of talent with no talent at all” that he was forced to work with these days, he was disgusted by how much the music industry had changed over the course of his twenty-five year career. Tired and frustrated by hours of gridlock on the 405 freeway, he popped the top off of a Budweiser as he plopped himself down onto the concrete and red-brick deck of the Jacuzzi. He soaked his feet, took a long pull off the beer, and then announced that we were going to drive up to Montana.

Blackie carried us across California into Nevada then on to Arizona for what seemed all of a blink of an eye. We crossed into Utah and drove through the great expanse of the entire state before heading over to Idaho. After what felt like a lifetime I-15 merged into the majestic state of Montana that I had dreamed of seeing since I was a young girl in Catholic School all those years ago. Miles of childhood dreams and fond memories of my friend Eva Yamamoto passed by as eagles perched upon fence posts that were a blur and yet all so clear and thrilling. The further into Montana we drove the more white crosses bolted to metal stakes appeared dotting the landscape as a loud and glaring warning to watch your speed while driving on ice. Towns with names like Dillon, Twin Bridges and Whitehall appeared and then quickly disappeared due to their itsy-bitsy size. Highways named MT-41, MT-287, MT-55, MT-69, I-90, MT-2 all led us to a road called Frontage that passed by the tiny historic passage named Old Town Road. As we looked over to see where we would turn, there was a silver colored GMC pick-up truck parked over to one side with Robert sitting in the driver’s seat and a Blue Heeler pup hanging out the window. Kurt pulled in behind Robert’s rig and he got out of his truck. Robert walked up to Kurt’s window with a wad of chew under his bottom lip.

“What the hell took so long?” He said in his big booming voice as he laughed and proceeded to call us a couple of old people. His face was lit up with happiness, it was more than apparent that he was pleased that we had come to see him.

“I thought we made pretty good time,” Kurt debated. “the map said seventeen and a half hours and we’re here in fewer than twenty. Considering how many times we stopped for your Aunt to use the restroom I think we did pretty well!”

“Come on ya’ll, follow me home, it’s sure good to see you here! Thanks for coming! Oh, and don’t follow too closely so the gravel doesn’t shoot up from my tires and break ya’lls windshield.” Kurt kept his distance and as we crossed a rickety old bridge over the Jefferson River I began to come to life after the long and exhausting drive with the striking view coming up into my tired eyes. The scene of gentle river rapids surrounded by lush green foliage under an enormous blue sky with the biggest puffy white clouds I have ever seen was all too amazing to ever imagine and I knew as we came around a bend in the old gravel road and could look out to the right of my window to see thick woods of forest lined by green pastures that were dotted with black and brown grazing cattle painting a picture that was so inviting and peaceful, that we had just arrived in a very special place. Then we crossed over a second bridge just as rickety as the first with the same river curving and bending then straightening out of its swamp waters and becoming the long expanse of waterway that led to the historic Headwaters State Park. As far as I could see there was glorious sky with rural splendor beneath it.

Two miles later, Robert made a left turn onto an unmarked narrow country trail. Each side of the road was lined with thick groves of towering Colorado Blue Spruce Conifers and Russian Olive trees. His home was just up a ways on the left hand side. He pulled onto a gravel driveway and parked beside his beautiful new triple-wide log cabin style mobile home. We parked behind his truck and I sat quietly for a moment, in disbelief that I was actually there. I turned my eyes up to God with deepest gratitude and meditated for one split second until Kurt came round to my door and opened it. He helped me out of Blackie and handed me my Canada crutch. I slipped my right arm into the brace and set my feet on the ground in Montana. Montana. I was standing on Montana ground, Montana soil, Montana rock and gravel. This was where Indians fought to preserve their very lives; their history, their land and where Lewis and Clark were led by Sacajawea to eventually discover the Oregon Trail. Montana! I took in a giant gulp of the clean crisp air and began to weep. Tears fell onto my face and arms while Kurt coaxed me to walk around to stretch out and get moving again after sitting so long on our last long leg of the drive. Robert helped me up his steps and into his home. The moment I crossed the threshold he came to me and held me for a very long time. I looked up at him and mouthed the words “thank you” and his eyes too, filled with tears as he nodded his head then closed his eyes as his own tears fell onto my hair.

06.S08 Chapter Six, Snippet Eight

New Prairie Woman
Susie Rosso Wolf
Chapter 6, con't

Morning came with the rude awakening from the land line ringing off the hook. My hand fumbled behind my pillow, up and over my book cubby to find the receiver sitting in the cradle that sat on top of the headboard. “Hello,” croaked out in my best former smokers’ voice after a long night of laughing and yelling.

“Hello, where is my mother?”

“Bobby?”

“Oh God, please don’t call me that Susie, I’m not five years old anymore, just call me Rob. Can you get Mom please? I’m in a hurry to get to work.”

“Okay, Rob, hold on.” I rolled off the water bed put my feet on the ground, grabbed my robe and wrapped it around me. Padding down the hall with Cutter, Lilly, and Dinky behind me, I could smell cigarette smoke wafting in the living room window. “Brenda? Where are you?”

“I’m out here sitting on the front porch,” she said through the open window. I opened the front door next to the diamond paned windows and found her sitting on the red-brick steps under the white porch covering drinking a cup of coffee.

“Here, take this, your son is on the phone.” I handed the wireless phone to her in my most perturbed manner then walked back into the house. Man oh man did his attitude sour my mood. But a moment later I heard Brenda yelling for me so I walked back to the living room from the kitchen and opened the door again to find her waving the phone at me with one hand and her cigarette in the other. “What’s wrong with your legs old lady, can’t walk this morning to hang it up yourself?”

“Sue, take it, Rob wants a word with you before he goes to work.”

“Oh,” I grumbled. “Hello?”

“Susie, what’s your email address?”

“Um, it’s…” I gave him the address then asked why he wanted it.

“I’m sending you an email, check it out after you wake up. I gotta go, love ya.”

Amazed and confused, I walked over to the desk-top computer in my office and turned it on. Then I walked back to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee that Brenda had already made. I let the dogs back in for their breakfast once I filled up their bowls, and then sat down to get online. My inbox was full but right at the top there were three emails from Robert. Each letter had several attachments of photos. I called Brenda over to sit next to me and together we looked at pictures of his new log cabin style home in Montana, his land, his town, some bridges over a river, mountains, teepees, rustic looking structures that looked quite old and pictures of West Yellowstone. It was obvious that Robert had done well for himself by hooking up with his girlfriend, April, who could afford to buy this beautiful home and the land that it sat on. And it was also obvious that they had worked very hard to make this home a beautiful place as we scrolled through pictures of the interior of the house and the landscaping dressed with massive conifers and Russian Olives and Lilacs that Brenda herself had completely cleared from all of the years of overgrowth debris. She worked her fingers bloody each day while she manicured that land in preparation for the mobile home to be set in place on top of their newly poured concrete foundation.  His home and his town were very beautiful and suddenly I felt happy for him and relieved as well. Remembering my father’s request to “always take care of Bobby” I looked at this set up out there in Montana and knew that this was a good thing for him, that he could live a very nice life there.

I sent Robert an email back telling him how beautiful his place was and how impressed I was by what they have accomplished together to create such a lovely place to live. Brenda and I capped off the morning with a breakfast of her bacon and scrambled eggs and my Belgian waffles. We devoured the food with great enthusiasm while we tamed the growling bellies caused by the hard swim the night before. But just as we finished washing up the breakfast dishes Brenda began packing up her car to head back home to Sun City. In the driveway outside the door of her little blue car we hugged each other as if we’d never see one another again. Tears swam down our faces as the years of friendship came flooding back to both of us, as if we were watching an old flicker movie. We both felt a deep sense of loss and remorse while we wondered, clearly, if this were indeed, our last embrace.

Later that evening after reading my email, Robert called again, this time merely to chat and so we spent over an hour on the phone together. Soon after that day I received many calls from Robert and it was over the telephone that I met the girl he was living with, Miss April. They described their daily lives and sounded so happy and eventually I was speaking to Brenda too, from Montana. After a long but uneventful drive she successfully delivered herself there, to her new life, with her son, future daughter in-law and grandchildren. Whether it would be the improved life that she hoped for remained to be seen.

06.S07 Chapter Six, Snippet Seven

New Prairie Woman
Susie Rosso Wolf
Chapter Six, con't

It was good to end the conversation that was beginning to tear me down. I didn’t like the thought of losing her again; I could only take so much of this talk. I wanted to swim hard laps and let my mind clear out for a while. The moment my suit was on I walked out the sliding glass door from our bedroom and dove straight into the deep end. The feeling of plunging into water was always one of my favorite sensations. My love for that splash and sting against my body must have come from all my years of body surfing in the Pacific Ocean. Being slammed into the sandy floor of the ocean then up again into the hard breakers was an addiction I could never deny. I loved the water and couldn’t imagine ever living away from it. As nice as her description of the big star-filled sky and surrounding area was, I knew I’d never be able to leave my ocean.

I swam for a few minutes without coming up for conversation, aggressively attacking the water to vent and release. I splashed like a fish, or a whale depending on who you were and what your opinion was of my massive weight gain since I blew my knee out in 2004. Nevertheless, swimming was what I needed to let go of the stress I felt after realizing that every one of my family members, other than my sister, was soon to be living out of state because from what I heard from Sister, Robert’s father had plans of relocating out of state himself. It was a strange feeling to know that Sister and I would be alone in California.

“Hey pee-ant, knock it off with the splashing and get your butt over here I’m lonely.” She grabbed onto my foot after catching it and pulled me right up and onto my butt. I sputtered and flailed my arms trying not to laugh but managed to swallow a mouthful of water anyway. “T-he heee, see what you get for ignoring me!” Once I regained my balance I stood up and rounded my shoulders like a bull ready for the big fight. I began to huff and snort through my nose, putting my head down and making an awful noise.

“Oh! You are so going to die for that! Are you ready for your punishment lady?”

“Bring it on little mama!”

“Okay, you asked for it! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” And then I jumped up with both my hands cupped to move the water in her direction and into her eyes as I slapped the surface as hard as I could, then I leaped toward her and jumped on top of her pushing her down into the water while she wrapped her arm around my neck pulling me down with her, and thus, the war began! We played for over an hour cursing at each other like old fish wives or truck drivers and laughing so hard our sides were splitting. Kurt watched our insanity from the Jacuzzi refusing to get involved in our warfare. Before I knew it the sky was fully dark and the few stars that were shining glittered alongside the waxing gibbous moon. I pointed up to the stars and said, “See Brenda, we have stars here too, you don’t need to move away to find them!”

“You don’t have ‘em like they do up there little sister, trust me on that one, okay?”

“I shouldn’t have brought it up,” I said quietly. No one said another word for a while as we soaked in the hot water and looked at the moon as it cast its radiant light across the entire back yard and created a reflection of our enormous date palm tree at the far end of the pool over the water causing the image to dance in its beauteous light as the Jacuzzi flow spilled into the water making ripples across the thirty-five foot long drink. We were all mesmerized by the dancing palm but finally, I was the first to get up and walk into the house for a quick shower, and then both Brenda and Kurt followed my lead to put an end to the night of hilarity and dampened moods. She watched television with me until the wee hours while we talked and giggled and snacked on anything we could get our hands on out of the fridge. Sleep was inevitable though, so after one in the morning I crept down the hall to our bedroom while she found a comfortable position on the sofa under a lightweight blanket. My lungs hurt a little from being exposed to all of the outdoor cigarette smoke blowing in my direction from the two of them puffing all night, so I wheezed as I tried to fall asleep, thinking about the new life that awaited her in Montana.

06.S06 Chapter Six, Snippet Six

The Jefferson River at Headwaters State Park, Three Forks, MT

“You guys would love it. I’m telling ya’ll, it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen in my life and Rob’s house is so perfect and his town is just like being in the old west with hitching posts outside the stores and everybody wears cowboy clothes and rides horses, you got to see it. And the stars at night are incredible they’re so bright and there’s so many you want to stay up all night looking up. I can’t go to sleep out there it’s so beautiful I walk around outside all night long talking to all the Indian spirits, Sue, you can feel them everywhere!”

“Indian spirits? Come on, now you’re going over board,” I said.

“No Sue, I’m serious. A lot of Indians died there right on our land and you can feel their spirits out there Sue I’m not kidding so I walk around at night while Rob and April are asleep and I talk to their spirits. The whole place is filled with spirits and history. There is this place close by our house called the Headwaters State Park where they have a memorial site set up and the graves of small children who died on the prairie during Indian attacks. It’s an amazing place, you would love it and oh, Sue I forgot to tell you, the whole place is called the Valley of The Flowers! During the spring and summer wild flowers grow all over the place and it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen you’ve got to come to see it I’m telling ya’ll!”

“But what about the winters there, aren’t you going to get sick of being cold?” Kurt asked.

“I’ve already lived through most of one winter there and it wasn’t bad at all. It’s a lot warmer in Three Forks than a lot of places in Montana cause Three Forks is what they call a banana belt; it’s got a tropical warm air flow going thru it. We actually get more rain there in the winter, not very much snow so it’s not that cold.”

“What about wind? Do they get much wind out there?” He inquired.

“No way, not like these Santa Anna winds ya’ll get out here. It’s so peaceful and quiet not even your Oregon can compare to this kind of life and I’ve just got to go live it. Sue! You’ve got to see this store they have on Main Street! This gal who owns it has all kinds of really cool women’s western clothes and boots, oooh girl, I’m telling ya, you’d go crazy over her stuff in there! And she is so nice too, all the people who own the stores there are nice and so friendly. Everybody says hello to you and smiles at you and when you’re driving everybody waves at you! Can you imagine that? You go from getting the finger or getting shot at to getting waved at with a smile!”

“I for one can’t believe you’re moving again, will you ever settle down?” I asked her.

“This is it for me you guys, I don’t have another move in me after this one, I’m getting too old for this stuff. Besides, I’ve finally found where I want to live for the rest of my life and so has Rob. We’re never gonna leave Montana”

“Tell us what your plans are, when you will be leaving, Brenda?” I asked

“As soon as I can sell off some of my furniture and other stuff, I’m having a garage sale next weekend. The minute I have gas money I’m hitting the road.”

“You’re driving alone?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah, so, what’s your point?”

“My point is it’s a long drive for a woman traveling alone.”

“Ah come on Kurt, you know me, I can handle it I’ve driven all over this dang country by myself, piece of cake my brother, piece of cake.”

“Kurt, not to change the subject, but, is the pool warm yet?” I asked him.

“Should be, want me to check?”

“No, that’s okay, I’m going to get ready, how about you Brenda?  Are you ready to get wet and relax?”

“Yes'em, I’ll get my suit and meet you outside.”