Montana is a small place. I mean, it's huge--like, the size of Germany huge--but it is tiny in terms of people living here. To continue the German analogy, Germany has about 80 million people within its borders; Montana, as of the last figures available, has 967,400. Ponder that kind of open space for a moment. There's a reason that Ted Kaczynski chose Montana.
But I mention this not to evoke memories of one of the more famous Montana residents of the past couple of decades (which is not the same as his being a Montanan, because we all know he came from Harvard, and maybe Chicago). It's more to explain how things work here.
When I started to have questions about school standards for gifted kids and accommodations, I did first talk to local school officials. That just makes sense. But when I couldn't get the information I needed, I didn't have to take some intermediary step. I just called the Montana Office of Public Instruction and spoke to the head of their Gifted and Talented Education office. And that's normal. I expect to be able to talk to people in my government at all levels in Montana, because that's the way it works here. The Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee? We all call him Max--and a few other things these days, as it happens.
The other thing is that the longer you live here, the more chance there is that you will end up knowing someone in the Big Important Office you're calling. I called the State Elections Office about an absentee ballot question while we were living in Prague and was routed to a guy who had been my cousin's roommate in college. The very nice and helpful woman at OPI happened to be the daughter of my godparents' neighbors, in whose yard I had camped when I was a kid. And so on. I kind of love it.
So, for old time's sake and a demonstration of Montananess, I offer up the following picture, featuring my daughter and Max, a.k.a. Montana's senior senator, enjoying a barbecue in Livingston last summer. He has clearly just told her about his healthcare plan, which is why she is smacking her forehead.
Close-up:
Prescient, that one.