I woke up to this…
Turns out my buddy
who kept telling me that Boise didn’t have anything to offer was filling me
full of crap to set my expectations low. The place is great. Friendly people,
beautiful climate, excellent scenery and cityscape and tons to do. In fact,
they try to play it down to prevent people from moving there! There’s a bumper
sticker that says, “Welcome to Boise. Now go home.”
I met so many
people whose response, when I told them how much I liked it there, was
“Great…don’t tell anybody.” It’s pretty
humorous, the pervasive spirit protectionism they have.
I headed down for a
big breakfast, my typical 4 eggs, sliced tomatoes and coffee…lots of strong,
strong coffee. It was raining pretty steadily, and I inquired about a place to
buy an umbrella. Unfortunately, the downtown area is full of great retail
shops, pubs, cafes, and restaurants…but no Walgreens or CVS where a guy can
grab an umbrella. I had just about given up when I decided, “hell no,” I’m
going down to the capitol, and I don’t care how wet I get.
So I made my way
out into the rain, shuffling from awning to awning, trying to stay as dry as
possible. A few blocks down the street, I walked by a Jos. A. Bank men’s store
where what should they have in the window but umbrellas…albeit pretty damned
expensive umbrellas! Who cares though…worth it.
I headed down to
the Capitol Building, an immense and beautiful structure. A lot of states don’t
seem to give what I’d consider to be proper respect and attention to their
Capitol cities and buildings. Boise does it right. The place was palatial.
Making my way
through the chambers of congress, up and down the halls and into the rotunda, I’d
never seen so much marble. Even Texas’ Capitol building, in all its grandeur,
didn’t seem to have as much attention to detail and ornament as the Capitol
Building in Boise. I was enamored. In the base of the building was a circular,
walking tour of the history of Idaho…a checkered past to say the least. Maybe
that’s why I felt so at home here. Scandals, cheats, thieves, rogues, killers
and outlaws…and that was just the politicians!
I saw a
friendly-faced man standing in the gift shop and walked over to visit for a
bit. We talked about the different Capitols I’d visited and what made Boise
special. He said I should really go see the Governor’s office, since it
apparently had a lot of character. The Governor’s name is Butch. That’s right…Butch.
He’s a SERIOUS cowboy and a hell of a guy.
I thanked the guy
at the gift shop and made my way up to the Governor’s office. As I walked in,
there were three women standing in the reception area working, smiling,
chatting…seemed like a great energy. I love finding a place where people love
what they do for a living!
The sweet,
middle-aged woman at the front desk asked me who I was there to see. I told her
I had just come up from Texas, and heard that the Governor was a good guy with
a cool office. She said, “Well you ought to go meet him. He’s right down the
hall.”
She showed me into
the office for a minute to look around. Sure
enough, this guy was a character. There were pictures of him working cattle,
riding horses across the plains, getting dirty. Not your typical politician, I’d
say.
She poked her head
in and said, “If you’d like to meet Butch, he’s down here now.”
I walked up and
shook his hand. He said, “So you’re from Texas, huh? I just got back from
riding the circuit for a couple weeks down there!” He had taken third place in
team roping at the huge pro rodeo in Kerrville, Texas…DUDE IS 69 YEARS OLD!!!
He said, “I used to
take 1st all the time, but I’m not as young and tough as I used to
be.” Hell at 69, I’m shocked the man can ride rodeo at all! How fucking cool is
that?!
We hung out at
chatted a while about Texas, rodeo, and being Governor. The man was insanely
cool. It was noonish by then. Snapped a pic, thanked him for hanging out a
while, and took off for the conference.
When I got back I
told my friends how everything had happened. They were excited and laughed about
how I always seem to end up in interesting situations…then some fatass hater,
listening to me talk about hanging out with the Governor said, “Yeah, he’s probably
easy to get in to see.” I thought about asking him how he’d spent his morning
and what fun adventures he’d sought out in his amazingly interesting life. I’ve
learned that jealous pricks generally aren’t worth your time. And you end up
looking like more of a dick for tearing them down for being stupid, instead of
letting them look pathetic and stupid on their own. I took an intensely
patronizing tone and just said, “Yeah you’re probably right…I’m sure it’s no
big deal.” I smiled a “my life rocks and yours blows” smile and left him there
sitting in his boring loser-ness.
Go have an
adventure today, people. And if there isn’t an adventure to be had…then by God make one, my friends.
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