Words, Sounds, Meaning

       What makes a Montanan?   I've only known two, but for a goodly number of years, and they have similarities.  I began to wonder how I would characterize them:

          "sturdy,"    "stalwart,"     "steady,"    "stable,"    "staunch"

I realized I was using words that all began the same way.  Was this an accident?  The words seemed appropriate, and they were the first ones that came to my mind.

       Then I recalled that in another context entirely I had learned the three-letter Indo-European  root "sta" stood behind a huge host of words, all with the basic meaning "stand," these words among them.

       These men, not known for lying or sitting around, do stand; they follow standards, and they are persistent.  I wonder if even the "sta" sounds and the way we utter them suggest staying qualities.