#BreakThings: Things We Lost in the Fire
05.07.21
Today, the city of Butte, Montana lost a piece of its collective identity to the flames.
The M&M Bar was an icon. Opened in 1890, for over 100 years, the bar was open 24-7 and never closed. When I was a kid, there wasn’t even a lock on the door.
The M&M was the kind of place where everyone belonged. A place where the local judges and the usual suspects sat next to each other at the counter eating garbage omelettes. Where pastors and priests came looking for lost souls. Where wives often found wayward husbands in the pre-dawn hours. But also a place where grandma could take the grandkids for lunch when Central let out early on Fridays.
No one was ever turned away. More than once, I watched a complete stranger buy another man’s breakfast or beer because he was down on his luck.
More than once, I walked into the bar on a trip home and came across people I knew from high school, old friends of my parents, or neighbors I hadn’t seen in a while. If you didn’t know where to go, the M&M was where you’d end up.
Butte is a tough town, so the pavement outside saw its fair share of fights. But the only crime you could commit in the M&M was to be rude to the staff. A lesson more than one out-of-stater learned the hard way over the years.
The M&M was a little dingy, a little musty and nothing in the place worked quite right. But for the people of Butte, that bar shown brighter than the neon lighting up the art-deco facade. If you went to Butte, Montana and didn’t visit the M&M, then you’d never really been at all.
The bar is irreplaceable, and like the spirit of Butte, unbreakable. So grab a long neck bottle and a shot of Jameson, and pour one out for the M&M.
The pandemic has taken a lot from us. But one thing it has absolutely ruined are weekends. When every day is Groundhog’s Day, how do you take a rest and value your own time? How do you stop working every day instead of just on weekdays?
Shondaland thinks it’s time to reclaim the magic and promise of the weekend. And I couldn’t agree more.
Cafe Delites has a caesar salad recipe that looks as delicious as can be. I usually skip the caesar because, ya know, fat grams, but this Chicken Caesar Salad with Avocado promises all of the flavor with half the fat.
The perfectly flushed cheek is one $10 product away. I love the Cloudy Pink shade of Sephora’s Flushed Blush, and you will too. When you head outside, a little SPF, a little mascara and this cheek color will get you through.
If your walls are looking as bare as mine are, The Stripe has her favorite spots for picking up affordable art. These 7 places will help you spruce up your home or office space in no time.
