The Last Picture Show

Someone I met near the Montana/North Dakota Border told me that one of the Montana towns I would be passing through reminded him of the classic Peter Bogdanovich movie “the last picture show” . That movie was about a dying west Texas town and the people who remained there, the most notable of which was a young woman played by Cybill Shepherd.

most of the towns I passed through in the Montana High Plains reminded me of “the last picture show”. but on one occasion that comment really resonated with me.  At the end of a tough day of cycling through headwinds in 100° heat, I stumbled into a motel office to inquire about a room for the night.

A voice from the adjoining living quarters greeted me with a pleasant hello. Five seconds later A woman in her early 20s who looked for all the world like a young Cybill Shepherd appeared.

I impulsively said the first thing that came into my exhausted and overheated head, Are you...from here?? Yes, she said, and motioned  to A black-and-white photograph on the counter. That’s my great grandfather. He started this motel. I looked closely, but saw no resemblance.

So, how much for a room? Couldn’t be too much. There were no cars at the motel. $64.20. Huh? Do you offer an AARP discount? Nope. A Good Sam discount. Nope. No discounts.

It’s over 100° out. so I pass up the local campground and take a room At the special price Reserved for touring cyclists on 100° days..

That night I head over to the Local saloon for dinner. The image of the young Cybill Shepherd has left an impression. 

Say, bartender, is the woman who manages the motel in town really the fourth-generation owner of that motel. “That skinny lil thing?? Yeah, she is. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Got that motel from her daddy. “

I’ll have the rib steak, please.