Fair Circuit 2010 - Montana

The first place we set up was in Bozeman. The event went without incident, except that we were able to see some old friends (Jess & Brett).

In Colorado, I had bought some cheap $12 shoes, and once we got to Montana, the shoes had caused me a big, nasty blister on the bottom of my right foot. To make matters worse, my legs started to swell again. It was kind of a tough time. I was thinking that I must have a blood clot again. So one night, after we closed down the booth, I went to the hospital, and they checked me out - no blood clot! Just swelling caused by the vericose veins. It was a relief.

From Bozeman, we packed up and went to the Montana State Fair in Great Falls. There were some friends that I hoped to see there from last year. But no such luck. But we did meet some new friends.

One guy named Jason (a dead-ringer for Matt Damon) came out of his tent one morning to find me dressing my foot. The blister had popped, leaving an open sore on my foot. My feet were still swollen, and my toes were turning purple.

"I've been in the Marine Corps and been on a lot of hikes," Jason said. "But that is the worst foot sore I have ever seen. You need to get that checked out."

In truth, his words were an answer to prayers. I had just hobbled over to the common showers on the fair grounds and looked at my foot while I showered. While I limped back to our campsite, I knew something was not right and prayed inn my mind to God to know what to do. It was only a few minutes later that Jason had said what he did.

It was harder to admit that I needed help. I have this machismo thing where I have to be productive. I can't be holding people up due to my personal ailments.

So I waited until we got to Missoula before I went to the ER. The ER doctor stopped listening to me the minute he found out that I was diabetic. Basically, all that was happening to me was my own fault, he told me, because I wasn't taking care of myself and I pretty much deserved what I got. But he did prescribe me antibiotics that helped with the infection.

The whole rest of the trip, I suffered from swollen legs, but I started learning to deal with it. In spite of the health issues, I enjoyed my time in Montana.

We did tons of orders for medical marijuana farmers. Last year, we had seen several signs for medical marijuana clinics. This year, the stoner culture in Montana had visibly grown. We did custom t-shirts or hats for several marijuana farmers. We even got several offers to trade for marijuana, which actually seemed tempting until the next event occurred.

I got a phone call from the lady that manages my storage unit back in Arizona. She said that deputies had shown up with a warrant, had cut the lock to my unit, and had found marijuana in my unit. I was frantic. I had no idea how that could have possibly happened. I tried calling Apache County Sheriff, but they weren't answering. It felt like I was being framed for something. I strained my mind to try to figure out what could have happened.

I finally deduced - last year I had stored some things belonging to the daughter of a friend in my storage unit. It must have belonged to her. When the sheriff called me, that's exactly what happened. They had already figured it out themselves.

I took it as a sign from God. If I had been tempted to accept marijuana - and I was - there was a good reason not to take it home. I don't want to ever do anything to risk losing my kids.

Medical marijuana farmers gave us some of the best business. The next best customers we had were roller derby girls. This sport has become quite popular, and we sold many shirts and hats to this crowd - to the Hellgate Girls in Missoula, and to the Flathead Roller Derby Team. I tel you - these girls are bad ass! But they are all very cool, and I wish I could have knocked back a few beers with them.

From Missoula, we went to Kalispell. Then after six weeks, we headed home. It is always good to go home, but it was also good to see friends. (Special shout out to Wayne, Playboy T, Loki, the whole crew at Roll the Cage from Montana Department of Transportation. You guys make these trips worth it!)