Day 1 - What a day! 07/08/2009

Leaving San Angelo Texas for Billings Montana was no real problem. Judy had been (unknown to her until later) flexed off work for the day!. YAY! All play with pay-day!

I got to DFW with no problems. Then the 4 hour layover there and believe it or not NO GATE CHANGES!!! Not really. I was to fly out on US Airways so I went to their counter in the "E" terminal and asked why my flight was not posted. He kindly told me that I was actually going to fly on United Airlines located in the "B" terminal. After all I did have 4 hours of layover time.

I should have eaten in the "E" terminal since the restaurant choices were much better for some reason. Had an overcooked hamburger at a sports bar were the female waitstaff did look a lot like linebackers.

No plane changes but there was a short delay while they tried to figure out what to do about a leaking window. I think they put some silly putty on it and then assured us that even though we would be flying at 38,000 feet it would be okay. But they did have it blocked off so no-one could sit there. I was one row up.

Made it to Denver only 3 minutes late. Got off the plane at gate 4. My next flight was at gate 85 out of 90. GATE 85!!!! Why are there 90 gates in the Denver airport? Well okay they can have 90 but why are they in a straight line?? No really! For those of you who have not flown in/out of Denver that airport is one very long building with the gates strewn down the line. It took me all but 3 minutes of my layover time to get from gate 4 to gate 85. And that was using the moving sidewalks! I knew the time frame because they are kind enough to give you a countdown timer on how long it is till boarding.

Got onto the sardine can sized jet and found my seat. 8c, and aisle seat. People started getting onto the plane in the usual milling manner. Anxious but at least gladto have a seat on the plane since some got bumped.

At this point no-one was next to me in the window seat. Then a pretty young women in her early 20's was standing in the aisle next to me. I had noticed her earlier in the terminal. One, because she was pretty and two, because she had some physical problem with her left side. I could only guess that it was from some brain injury from to me an unknown source.

She began by handing me he suitcase sized purse and a shopping bag from some needless markup type store. I happily put them on the floor in front of her seat. I had no room to stand up to let her in unless I knocked her over. So I tried turning my legs to one side but since the seat spacing did not allow it gave her no more room than if I had not moved. Next thing I know she has hoisted her good leg over my legs and proceed to fall, sit, ooze and collapse over me to get to her seat. I later thanked her for my very first lap dance. She laughed and thought that was funny and said that was her first one also.

We chatted a bit on the flight. She is getting a degree in business at Montana State University and then going to Denver to get a law degree. Good for her that she is not letting her (I will not call it a handicap) get in her way and that she will go on to achieve her goals.

The rest of the flight was quiet. I listened to my iPod and looked out the window. and waited to land.

Once we did and got to the gate I was able to get up and allow her to get up without having to give me another lap dance though it may have been good for one more laugh.

I left behind the 106 degree weather in San Angelo to be greeted by 75 degree temps in Billings.

HEAVEN!!!!!!!

My friend Carolyn who I had not seen since high school (35 years ago) met me at the airport. She of course like myself had not changed a bit. She ran over to me and with all her five foot two gave me a big hello hug. We talked for a moment or two and headed out to go to her house.

Driving there I looked at the scenery that is BIllings. So much is the same as most all the cities I have been to in my life. Small and large stores. A mall and stadium and the usual accouterments of all cities and towns.

I did take note of the difference in architecture though. The overall design of the buildings and home are designed for winter weather. The houses that I have seen are taller and for the most part two story or split level. Also the roofs have more of a tilt than the ones back in Texas.

Did I mention that Carolyn is a horse nut? On the way to her house we stopped at the corral where she keeps her horses. One of whom, Kane, is an 18 hand (about six foot at the shoulder) percheron draft horse. While that is a large horse (his head is much taller than me) you have to remember that Carolyn is only 5'2", Oh and she rides him bareback. Well the fun really started when me in my sandles and Carolyn in her boots had to walk out into the pastures to find her pride and joy Kane. It's 55 degrees there at this point. The fields are wet, no, soaked. The owner of the fields is irrigating them for some purpose. So I am walking in my sandles in the mud, water and horseshit with toes that are getting colder as we journey farther out into the darkining evening.

After crossing one field and with Carolyn calling out for Kane he, like a 2000 pound puppy, comes out of hiding from the next field. He is solid black and in the low light I can only made out a huge walking shadow heading toward me. I had sent a worn shirt up to Carolyn a few days ahead of my visit for her to take to the horses so they would know my scent. A smart thing to do on my part since I did not want to be pounded by a one ton beast. As it worked out he came up to me and after getting my smell he allowed me to pet and scratch him and walked with us back to the gate. Me all the while still trying to avoid the piles of horse apples and deeper mud puddles. Kane and I chatted for a few minutes and then said goodnight.

Carolyn and Ken's (her hubby) house faces west sitting most of the way up a hill in the northeastern part of town. Looking west you can see after the houses end about a mile from her house an open prairie with rolling hills and in the far far distance the mountains.

We spent the evening talking and getting me settled in for my visit.