I love Great Falls for what it has—such as the very finest cut of beef on this continent (Eddie’s campfire tenderloin), and the most genuine, warm people one could ever hope to visit with. Yes, you’re missing a few things, like a good view of the mountians, but you also have a shortage of factors most of us detest. I would think, for example, that the percentage of GF kids with pierced tongues, would be extremely low.

When you pull up to someone at a red light in GF, chances are they’re listening to am stations like 560 or 1310. Few motorists in your city are doing their best to loudly convince us they’d be more at home in the “projects,” than enjoying cattle country.

Yes, your city is homespun—but that’s a huge bonus for many of us. I don’t know that it matters much whether Starbucks came to town or not. The positive, understanding conversations one gets into at places like the VFW Club, or the Golden Corral, are probably more meaningful than what the plastic folks engage in, anyway.

I very much appreciate your country, and Great Falls will continue to be my favorite place to express the affection I have for Uncle Sam.