by Travis Mateer
After snowing earlier this week, it’s now raining steadily, so I’m writing a VERY frustrated blog post INSIDE instead of trying to sell my shit at the garage sale I didn’t want to have in the first place because I’m moving into my truck at the end of this month.
Yesterday started off pretty good with my phone call into Aaron Flint’s radio show, and I had some good conversations in decent weather as I promoted the evolution of my independent journalism into the puppet show this clown world deserves, but by the end of the night I was viewing a mentally ill woman yelling in the middle of the street holding two trash bags in my rearview mirror as I drove home late dreading the morning and my need to sell off my belongings to pay bills.
One of those bills is for my emergency room visit for the kidney stone I apparently have, which is making it difficult to do basic things, and I don’t have the goddamn time for this medical bullshit, because I have less than a week to get out of ANOTHER living situation, something that has been a reoccurring challenge for the last few years.
Since the weather was decent yesterday I spent some time rolling around downtown in my trash-responder outfit, which intrigued two ladies enough that they asked if they could photograph me. I had been admiring some alley-art the Radius Gallery promotes (after I called them out for taking TIF dollars on Flint’s radio show) when I BECAME art.
Here’s one of the pieces I was looking at, thinking, THAT’S YOU, MISSOULA!
Ok, I should probably go outside now and sit in the truck that will be my home in case someone comes by with money to spend. If that describes YOU, then come by Mount Avenue and Woodford. I’ve got some good shit to sell. And Legos.
If the content I provide six days a week is something you’d like to help cover the cost for me producing, then Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is the current online location to do so. Any little bit helps, like the $20 dollar donation I just received. Thank you!
And, as always, thanks for reading!
Travis,
I suggest that you consider starting a School of Journalism in Missoula as a means of earning income. Offer a short course, say, six weeks of two hour sessions, to anyone who might be interested in learning how to do research, investigate, report, and write about what they have learned AND how to promote their work so others would be interested. A half dozen people, $50/pop, would add up to $300 in your pocket for your time. The most important part of this would be that others would be learning valuable lessons which could then be utilized in many ways.
You have already been trained and understand how things work. You are dedicated. You are comfortable speaking in front of people. You do not hesitate to say things which need to be said. You would be a good teacher…IF you could focus on the subject at hand and not be drawn away by your situation.
Obviously, it would mean substantial work on your part and the logistics would be daunting, but the nice thing about it is that once you had the groundwork laid, you would only have to improve on it. The classes themselves could become continuous, depending on the demand which might or might not be there. Heck, if you put together a viable course, I would buy a ticket myself.
Food for thought.
Heck yes! I’m very interested in doing something like that. My truck spectacle was originally going to be a mobile library, and I’ve been thinking on how to structure a class of some kind for awhile. Great idea!
Keep me posted. I want to see it happen.