AFTER my Canadian Rockies adventure in Alberta, Canada last September, I began entertaining the idea of checking the Rocky Mountains of America off my bucket list.
So when I was invited to attend a wedding in Montana, I just booked my flights.
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The wedding went fine.
I helped a little bit with the decorations because the Filipina bride’s immediate family couldn’t come.
The bride had some ideas for the reception hall, and I was just there to execute them, or improve on them as the circumstances presented themselves.
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The groom, a Native American Indian of the Salish tribe, had some idea for an arch on the dock on the lake where they were to be wed.
The lake is called Flathead.
And the portion they were was called Blue Bay.
Ronan, Montana where they live is just suffused with beautiful autumn leaves.
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So, the wedding being outdoors in autumn was really beautiful.
The arch I decorated with flowers and foliage was so pretty, if I may say so myself.
The wedding ceremony itself was moving, what with all the Indian pow-wows, and all tribal elements: teepee, traditional dresses, braided long hair (including mine), smudging, and buffalo hide blanket.
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I’m not sure if it was a thank you gift for me, or it was just a first outing for the newlyweds, but they took me to the Glacier National Park.
The trip was more than three hours all together.
But that was also because we just cruised around for the scenic views.
They knew I was only after the pictures and short walks, but not long hikes.
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We went to as far as the US-Canadian Border at Piegan-Babb.
But they didn’t have their passports (I had mine) so we didn’t enter Canada.
I really enjoyed learning more about the Native American Indians, a thing I started with more attention in Anchorage, Alaska.
On this visit, I even slept in a teepee for several nights.
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I never would have included Montana in my bucket list.
But God (and Life) calls me in mysterious ways.
I like the vastness and serenity of Montana.
After Alaska, Texas, and California, it is the fourth largest state in the USA, with among the least dense population.
Several Native Indian tribes are in Montana.
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On Monday, October 11, what used to be Columbus Day, and which President Biden renamed Indigenous Peoples’ Day, snow was in the forecast at the Glacier Park.
In Ronan, we had graupel, or soft hail, some 5 mm balls of crisp, opaque frost.
So I just spent the day at home reading, and watching porn. Haha.
October 12 was sunny and clear so that’s when we went to drive 300 miles going back and forth.
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I like to be in nature.
To just be.
And maybe to recharge from the complexity of society.
After a few days of being involved in the politics of social media, I was lucky to be spiritually and psychologically revived in the wilderness of Montana.
I saw some elks, some buffaloes, and maybe more uniquely, some white buffalos.
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I saw rivers, streams, creeks, lakes.
I saw gray mountains, white snow-capped mountains, green mountains, autumn gold and red mountains, blue mountains, violet mountains.
The view of Wild Goose Island in St. Mary’s Lake with the snow-capped mountains of the American Rockies at a distance is one of my favorite spots.
I mean, it made the whole trip worth it.
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I really count myself lucky to have traveled the world in the way that I have.
(And yes, I’m likely to travel to the UK next month, and to Europe for the rest of winter).
So honestly, I don’t really care much if the Filipino voters vote unwisely in next year’s crucial election.
If they want to exercise their right to vote stupidly, that’s on them.
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And the undereducated who will vote the wrong people to power, well, they will rot in their abject poverty.
Will I cry for my beloved country if my people voted the wrong people to power?
Of course, I will.
But at the back of my mind, I’ll also say, “F*ck you! I told you to go Pink, and you went Red.”
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I have seen the world.
And I take care of myself holistically.
I develop my spiritual, intellectual, psychological, emotional, and social powers.
I will survive whoever you elect as president.
And besides, I am 52 years old, I am happy, and ready to go.
If you can say the same for yourself, you can be stubborn with your stupid choices.
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If not, think again.
Why am I so happy and content?
Why am I so ready to go?
Why am I so at peace with the world?
And still, to many, I am perceived as an honest man, a patriotic guy who only wants the best for his country./PN
