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Best Bud of the Month

The Greenery Grow, marijuana grow, cannabis, cultivation, Indiana Bubblegum, Pakistani Chitral Kush, Durango weed

Mike Michon
Cultivation Manager

It came up casually in my conversation with Mike that he’s seen Phish in concert fifty-two times. He said it like it was no big deal, nothing out of the ordinary. But it is, and I stopped him halfway into a new subject so we could talk about it:

Me: “Dear god man, seriously? Fifty-two times?”
Mike: “Yeah, some people think it’s strange.”
Me: “Actually, that’s pretty badass.”
Mike: “Yes! There’re so many people out there who aren’t passionate about anything. You need something like that in life, whether it’s mountain biking or model trains or Phish.”
Me: “… I like model trains. Especially the tiny ones.”
Mike: “Damnit. Now I want a train.”

Mr. Michon is The Greenery’s Senior Cultivation Manager; he’s our Master Grower. He spends his days about five minutes out of town tending our grow with a level of skill that borders on wizardry. And that’s not something I’m writing just to promote the weed we grow and sell; Mike’s pot is sublime. His Pakistani Chitral Kush is so good it made me want to get a “PCK” lower-back tattoo—Mike’s Indiana Bubblegum is so good it made me regret the tattoo I wanted to get because “IB” is the only pot for me.

Anyway, I sat down with Mike over the weekend and conducted one of the most entertaining interviews to date. However, I had to redact about ninety percent of what follows because Mike pulled the “off-the-record” card no fewer than twelve times (and for pretty good reason). Here’s the G-rated version:

Q: When did you start working for The Greenery?
Mike: “June 9th, 2016.”

Q. What’s your favorite way to enjoy marijuana?
Mike: “Joints. And Grape Ape is my favorite strain.”

Q. What’s your favorite outdoor activity?
Mike: “Snowboarding.”

Q: Tell us about your pet.
Mike:Walfredo is a border collie named after a Phish song.”

Q. Which station do you stream while you’re working at The Greenery?
Mike: “Grateful Dead Radio. It’s channel twenty-three on Sirius XM, but I hate Sirius XM. I’m only listening to it because of the free introductory subscription that came with my new truck. But yeah… I love The Grateful Dead.”

Q: What do you like most about working at The Greenery?
Mike: “I like plants better than people. And real jobs are a shame.”

Mike gave that last answer with a smile. I laughed. But below the hilarity lives a truth—I can’t imagine how peaceful it must be to work with those plants all day, to care for them and feed them as you walk slowly through the verdure, calmed as you go by the intoxicating perfume all around. Mike is lucky to have such a station in life, but we’re just as lucky to have him on our side, because Mike is the type of person who doesn’t suffer from a dearth of passions—he isn’t “one of those people.” He loves his dog and his Phish, he loves his east coast hockey and his deep-dish pizza, and he loves growing marijuana. He takes these things seriously, and because he grows for us, we reap the benefits: thanks to Mike, The Greenery sells the best marijuana in Durango, Colorado. And that, my friends, is why Mike Michon is your Best Bud for September. Thank you, sir!

marijuana, cannabis, weed, dark star, blue dream

Best Bud of the Month

Sam Redman

Inventory/Metrc (Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance)/POS Manager

Sam Redman is The Greenery’s very own Renaissance man. He’s an intellectual—one who can wear a denim jacket and pull it off—and he’s done all the things the rest of us just want to do: he camped in the backwoods of France for five months on end; he traveled the world just to see what he could see; he’s the front-man of a badass funk and hip-hop fusion band, Diabolical Sound Platoon. And he’s a great guy to work with. He usually stays in the back, crunching numbers at his standing desk while a podcast plays in the background, but he runs to the register when the rush hits, and he serves our customers with an affable smile, an easy laugh. Sam helped build The Greenery, lending to our company culture his eloquence and attention to detail—he’s a cornerstone in our team, an all-around cool guy, and he’s your Best Bud of the month.

Q. When did you start working for The Greenery?
Sam.  “A month before we opened.”

According to a fellow budtender, “Sam is kind of a big deal,” because he’s been here from day-one. He strapped on a tool belt and put in the floor our customers walk on daily, and he’s been managing our ever-changing, quicksilver inventory ever since.

Q.  What’s your favorite way to enjoy marijuana?
Sam.  “I don’t have one. I like all of it, from dabbing to vaporizing to smoking flower.”

Q.  What’s your favorite outdoor activity?
Sam.  “Bouldering. It’s a concentrated, gymnastic way up the rock, with pads and chalk, but no ropes. It’s climbing rendered down to its essence. I love solving bouldering problems, and I’ve authored a few local first-ascents, like ‘Al Montana.’”

Q.  Tell us about your pet.
Sam.  “Logan is a manly Maine Coon, but he isn’t named after Wolverine. He’s nineteen years old, and he got his name before Hugh Jackman was cool.”

It was early morning a few years ago, and Sam was sleeping when he heard his roommates screaming that “Logan had caught a bird.” Sam ran buck-naked into the living room to find Logan battling a bona fide turkey vulture with one of those wingspans you usually see only on The Discovery Channel. So Sam jumped into the fray and grabbed the monstrous bird while his roommates pointed and laughed, despite the fact that naked bird wrestling is a serious situation. Sam ran to the window with his prize and knocked out the bug screen while his foe fought with talons and screeching bird noises. Sam released the vulture into the air (no doubt in slow-motion, looking like a rugged falconer), and it took flight immediately without looking back. Logan was pissed for weeks, never truly forgiving Sam for his intervention, but that’s just the way cats are.

Q.  Which station do you stream while you’re working at The Greenery?
Sam.  “I like cold-wave and podcasts. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Neil DeGrasse Tyson.”

Q.  What do you like most about working at The Greenery?
Sam.  “I love our customers, and the challenging aspect of controlling our extensive inventory.”

And there you have it. Frankly, this company is what it is in a large part thanks to Sam’s contributions. He’s a witty guy with a cunning repertoire of pickup lines, and he’s a knowledgeable budtender. The next time you come in, look for the guy in a jeans-jacket and say “hi.” Strike up a conversation about flat-earthers and tell Sam they might be on to something. He loves that kind of stuff…

Sam Redman, Budtender, The Greenery, Durango, CO, marijuanaSam solving some marijuana mutha-fucking mysteries at his post.