PONDEROSA, Billings MT
   
 

It had a Sambo's. Now it's a Stella's. It was the Ponderosa; now it's the Clock Tower. The old buildings in the background were felled for a parking ramp, because nothing enlivens a city like dark concrete structures full of empty cars.

I miss Sambo's, but only for the style it brought to the street, and the promise of the long counter with hot coffee.