Doug Nagel, general director of Rimrock Opera, is one of our home town treasures, notable for attracting young attractive folks who can really sing, including some from Billings and other places in Montana, and of course, doing some wonderful singing himself on occasion.

Amy Logan, choral director at Skyview, does a terrific job with her ROCK group—Rimrock Opera Chorus for Kids—besides doing some great soprano work in various operas and other venues for the past couple of years.

Saturday evening at 7:30pm and Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm. This is worth a weekend in Billings. Bring your pickup and fill up at CostCo and check out the new restaurants in town.

Things seem to be moving along at the S Billings Blvd exit off I90. They are supposed to open real soon. I’m betting on April or May. Watch that space.

But who could leave CostCo without trying most of the samples, one of which featured one of my childhood luxuries, Spam. I didn’t know it was still being made but there it was, served on a toothpick with a little piece of pineapple. Instant flashback to the 40s and Glenn Miller’s In The Mood.

But of course there were other goodies and here is the one we will try as soon as I can get the barbecue fired up. These are a little larger than quarter-pounders. They are Angus beef and they have bleu cheese mixed in with the meat. Isn’t that what they serve in Paradise? A little under $2 per serving. Unbelievable.

[Hmm, various foods might be a way of introducing a comparison/contrast of then and now in my memoirs, kind of like the questions on the quiz show in Slumdog Millionaire]

But first we had to sample the excellent buffalo burgers at Red Lodge’s Foster & Logan’s Pub & Grill. The beer and wine menu looked pretty good too. See the picture above. This was a very early lunch late on a Tuesday morning, so only a few people were in the bar.

I had seen an article in the Gazette sometime in 2007, noted it in my blog, Muellerstuff, and was curious to see how things had been going for Rand Herzberg, who has been in the coffin-making business for some five years now. He told me that, in contrast to a lot of other retailers, 2008 was his best year yet. Perhaps part of the reason is that no matter how hard we try by exercise, by pills or surgery the mortality rate is still 100% and then there is the fact that Rand occasionally winds up in his workshop ’til the early hours of the morning making sure that someone who needed a coffin quickly would get it in time for the funeral.

Detail of coffin

He was kind enough to show us his workshop, located about 3 miles south of Red Lodge, where he keeps a couple of ordinary coffins for show, but all of his coffins are custom-made, and often in a hurry. The workmanship looked good. See the joinery, if that is the word, to the above.

My wife started to worry when I asked how tall she was. He also makes urns for cremains. See his web page. I never thought I would have the opportunity to use that word—cremains—cremated remains. Life is good.

By the way, don’t believe the directions that Google maps give to Cowboy Coffin and Pine Box Co. You will wind up in Roscoe. Instead, go through Red Lodge toward Cooke City, and turn left across Rock Creek about 3 miles beyond the Ranger station. Call for directions. Check out his website here.

Rand Herzberg—Coffin Carpenter

There is a lot of useful information and good pictures on this professionally done website. It looks like prices haven’t risen during the past year, except for what Rand calls the “classic” shape, where the shoulders and trunk tend to widen out, which is more difficult and takes a lot longer. The prices seem very reasonable to me. Rand is a nice guy as well. Here he is smiling next to one of his ordinary rectangular coffins.

This is what they sent:

Is your company or organization green? Prove it.
THE ONLY REVOLUTIONARY SUSTAINABILITY BADGE SYSTEM
Green Directory Montana brings customers and businesses together to help make Montana sustainable for future generations.
Businesses, organizations and individuals must meet a minimum of five sustainability requirements (minimum of 3 environmentally focused badges) to be included in the Green Directory. Customers can feel good about shopping the guide, as their purchasing power is used to sustain our community.

We have added an article about Billings Free Press see it here.

Best regards-

Jophiel Silvestrone CEO
Green Directory Montana Inc.
greendirectorymontana.com
(406)208-TREE

Green Directory has been awarded the EcoStar Award for 2008!

Our Philosophy:
One green change alone can’t make the world sustainable overnight, but thousands, and eventually millions of ones will. One drop in a bucket hardly makes a splash, but millions of individual drops make an ocean.

If doing business with green friendly businesses is something you want to do this is a great resource to find them in your area. They aren’t covering the entire state yet, but I’m sure that’s their long term plan.

This would make a great New Year’s resolution for your business or personal shopping.

Billings’ newest department store is about to open its doors.

Kohl’s announced Wednesday its grand opening is set for Oct. 1.

The new store on the west end will bring in 150 jobs to the Billings area.

Kohl’s has 1,000 stores nationwide.

This fall it’s opening 47 environmentally friendly stores, including the Billings store.

The new department store is committed to serving the community through a program called Kohl’s Cares for Kids. St. Vincent Healthcare is one of 150 hospitals nationwide that will benefit from Kohl’s fundraising.