Friday Night Swing Regular Discovers New State

Tired of the hustle and bustle, the exorbitant cost of living, and his friends, Friday Night Swing regular Brad Dickson up and moved to the township of Missoula in July. According to wikipedia, Missoula is the county seat of Missoula County in Montana, which is a state. Locals get their news from the Missoulian, the Missoula Independent, and New West Missoula. At the time of this report, Brad had not yet chosen a favorite local newspaper.

A city dweller for many years, Brad had become disenchanted with Big City Living and was eager to spend some quality time in the great outdoors. Fortunately, it was difficult to find an apartment in Missoula, so for the first few weeks, Brad got to sleep under the stars -- in his car in the parking lot of a Best Buy.

"I slipped the security guard a sawbuck," Brad said. "And he pretty much left me alone after that until I found a place to live." (See picture of Brad's new digs.)

There is little local interest in swing dancing, but Brad has made numerous friends -- including a bison named Bucky, a grizzly named Grrrr, and a salmon named Twitchy -- and he reports that they are planning to open up a swing club in downtown Missoula.

"It won't be like Friday Night Swing," he said. "It will be a hell of a lot better. Not to be harsh or anything."

In addition to opening a swing venue, Brad will be one of 84 first-year students at the University of Missoula School of Law. He'll study Environmental Law with a focus on land use and water law.

Rumors that Brad is holding a carwash this weekend to raise money for a Greyhound ticket back to San Francisco are "greatly exaggerated," according to his publicist.

Brad, everyone at Friday Night Swing misses you and wishes you well on your adventure!