HERE'S AN ARTICLE WRITTEN MY MICHAEL MOORE OF THE MISSOULIAN THAT JUST ABOUT SAYS IT ALL!

OK, it's Christmas Eve and you've got nothing for your niece and nothing for your grandma, plus the girlfriend's stocking is still a little light.

Time is short and you need to get home. You need a one-stop shopping spot with variety that just won't quit.

You may feel like you need a Christmas miracle, but what you really need is Rockin Rudy's, Missoula's little-bit-of-everything store.

"We try to be ready for just about any need," said Rudy's owner Bruce Micklus. "We're spread all the way across the board, and I feel like we cover all the bases."

The fact is, if you don't need groceries or gas, Rudy's will likely have what you need. And, it's open until 9 p.m. Christmas Eve.

So, how do Micklus and his staff get ready for Christmas? The key is an early start.

"Basically, we start the Christmas before, by looking at what worked and what looks like it will continue to work," Micklus said. "Then, over the course of the year, we go to market to see what's out there that's new. And there's a little thing called the Internet, too. We're looking for that item that only we're likely to carry. We're willing to take a chance on being out there a little bit. And we're willing to be politically incorrect if necessary."

Last year, that "it" item was George Bush toilet paper. This year, the parties have changed but the indelicacy remains.

"Well, it's a Hillary Clinton nutcracker," Micklus said. "It's a little plastic statue that's got stainless steel thighs. It cracks the toughest nuts."

As Micklus says, "you just know some things are going to work."

And like the GB toilet paper, the Hillary Nutcracker will likely work across the political spectrum.

"We're willing to go out there and possibly offend a few people," Micklus said. "These things, they're sort of mega-political."

Part of Rudy's secret is simply having a little bit of everything. It all started with music, but you've got to walk past a whole lot of other stuff to get to the CDs these days.

Refrigerator magnets, incense, Christmas cards, a lamp, some pottery? Check.

T-shirts, purses, fashionable hats and scarves, ceramic Buddhas, flower seeds, diaries, a walking stick? Got it.

Anything related to Elvis? Got it, in spades.

The other part of the secret is affordability. Micklus has positioned his store as neither a low- or high-end operation. It's just cool, and cool doesn't have to be expensive.

"Right now, there's all these concerns about the economy, and we've found that when people are thinking that way, we have our best Christmases," Micklus said. "We're not selling $300 stuff down here. We've got all sorts of things under $50, and it's easy to come in and get three or four things and not spend $100."

Part of marketing is positioning items at strategic points in the store. Micklus pays attention to that, and his store has spots where nearly everything sells.

However, unlike grocery stores, which position things like candy and magazines at the checkout counter so you'll make the dreaded "impulse" buy, Micklus considers his entire store an impulse buy.

"A lot of people come shopping early in the Christmas season, but it's clear toward December that people are coming in to buy things," he said. "They just need to run into something that fits the bill, so we try to make it easy for them."