Recent Writings
A few thoughts on the letter “S.”
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m tired. In the past 13 months, we’ve suffered a pandemic; contentious elections; not a few moments of momentous internal strife, a few international crises; and bizarre and pervasive conspiracy theories. And, then there was winter. At least winter seems to
A few thoughts on the “wall” that is really an inefficient fence.
Having survived COVID and feeling sort of — but not completely — immune, I recently traveled down Mexico way. I didn’t go into Mexico, except just a tiny bit, because a.) I didn’t take my passport with me to Arizona, and b.) even if I had, I didn’t want to
A few thoughts on Surviving COVID-19
I promised myself I would write something light and funny this month. But then, I went to town. I hadn’t been for a while. I’d been pretty much holed up at home for a couple of weeks, since a few days before I tested positive for COVID-19. I am very
More than a few thoughts on the United States; past, present and future.
I am ranging through The American Trails Series, ten books edited by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. and published in the 1960s. They each have a different author, including Wallace Stegner (The Gathering of Zion) and Stewart Holbrook (The Boston Post Road). Beginning with prehistory, they are accounts of major routes
Winter at the River
The dog has paused his joyful romp,
quit rolling in the ermine crust
the world has grown since late last night,
to watch and listen, as I must,
to a world so still it must have a say.
One More Christmas Eve.
Can you smell it? You remember.
Rows of magic electric embers
glow upon verdant tinseled boughs
The fragrance fills the winter house
Gifts piled on the felted cover
Carefully wrapt by loving mother
A few thoughts on Covid, masks and manliness.
As we approach our national election day, polls reports that Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by 35 points among women, but only by 2 points among men. The good news is that the polls have Trump losing, and the gap is getting wider every day. As a man, though, it
A few thoughts on pure-d B*** S***
The weather has been unseasonably warm, if you haven’t noticed, and I’ve whiled away a few days getting reacquainted with the prairies and island ranges of central Montana. Day before yesterday, I drove from Chinook through the Bears Paw Mountains, crossed Missouri on the Sanford-McClellan Ferry and found a camp
A few thoughts on rights and responsibilities
To vilify others because of an affiliation as Democrat or Republican is ludicrous, but we are encouraged to do so by those who benefit by sowing divisiveness and concentrating on issues that keep us apart, rather than leading us into areas of agreement and unity.
A few thoughts on liberty and justice for all
Bill Hodge, Rob Mason and I are rolling slowly down Bloody Dick Creek Road in the Beaverhead National Forest toward a tour of Big Sheep Creek National Backcountry Byway. The way is bumpy, so typing on my laptop in the back seat is slow and oft redone. But, being on a journey, I feel like journaling.
A few thoughts… on patriotism
There is nothing wrong with being a patriot — vigorously supporting our country. But our patriotism can’t be blind. Patriotism is not about waving the flag or our guns or yelling at each other over religion, race or sexual orientation. It is not defined by genomic structure or our personal view of Spirit.
A few thoughts about snails and cougar poop
Bits of life and death decorate the tread. Shards of hide and bits of white fluff mark where a snowshoe hare was consumed by something hungry. The list of suspects is short but impressive. A colony of ants confidently builds a residence in the center of the path, as if to say, “What bear?”
Short Musings
A few thoughts on trees, O2, CO2 and basic breathing.
It’s 4:19 pm on the day when A Few Thoughts is due, and I’m just getting to it. It’s been on my mind, but my
A few thoughts on politics, the weather, religion and literary license
Politics: Bombing Iran? So, what’s new? We’ve been interfering in Middle Eastern politics since forever. The argument that Donnie will keep us out of wars
A Few Thoughts on Questions For My Dad.
My neighbor Aaron Harris showed up with his portable sawmill this week, and we proceeded to make rectangular pieces out round logs harvested from my
Short Musings
A few thoughts on trees, O2, CO2 and basic breathing.
It’s 4:19 pm on the day when A Few Thoughts is due, and I’m just getting to it. It’s been on my mind, but my mind has not been coming up with a good subject, which is not a new phenomenon, but one I’ve not had trouble with for at
A few thoughts on politics, the weather, religion and literary license
Politics: Bombing Iran? So, what’s new? We’ve been interfering in Middle Eastern politics since forever. The argument that Donnie will keep us out of wars is now moot. Maybe 100 times more folks showed up for “No Kings Day” than for Donnie’s birthday parade ala Red Square. The military seemed
A Few Thoughts on Questions For My Dad.
My neighbor Aaron Harris showed up with his portable sawmill this week, and we proceeded to make rectangular pieces out round logs harvested from my place by Ma Nature herself: windthrown Douglas fir, cedar and hemlock courtesy of big wind events during the past few years. Brother Kent and I
A Few Thoughts About Conservatism
When my grandparents landed in Montana long, long, long ago, they brought with them some interesting sensibilities. They were of the pioneer type, but missed the big push into the country and so ended up being, in reality, settlers. They arrived 34 years after the Northern Pacific, more or less,
A Few Thoughts on Spring and Winter
Spring managed to surprise me this year. Again. I walked to the river yesterday and discovered fresh-grown catkins hanging from an errant Sitka alder that has taken root in the stream bank. I have no idea what that alder is doing there, for most of my experience with said plant
A few thoughts on Something and SDRs.
At Oakland Airport, I await a flight to Spokane, last leg home from Seattle. It’s a roundabout way to get there, but it fits the day, which has been roundabout also. I still like to fly, but there are a number of SDRs that go with flying these days I
A few thoughts on the closing of Ivano’s
There’s a joke about Ivano’s Ristorante Italiano, a Sandpoint institution for 37 years: Question: “Where’s the best Italian restaurant in Spokane?” Answer: “In Sandpoint.” Alas, no more. I enjoyed what was possibly a last meal at Ivano’s Friday before last. I enjoyed my “employee discount for life,” Jim Lippi’s gift
Eulogy for Laddie: a not-so-good, absolutely great dog.
I had a dog, and his name was Laddie.His middle name was “A.D.D.”He was a trial, a joy, and sometimes a baddie,and sometimes he even paid attention to me. “You, dog, were a pain in the ass. Sometimes. And all through your life with me. At intervals. But, you were
Winter at the River
The dog has paused his joyful romp,
quit rolling in the ermine crust
the world has grown since late last night,
to watch and listen, as I must,
to a world so still it must have a say.
A few thoughts about snails and cougar poop
Bits of life and death decorate the tread. Shards of hide and bits of white fluff mark where a snowshoe hare was consumed by something hungry. The list of suspects is short but impressive. A colony of ants confidently builds a residence in the center of the path, as if to say, “What bear?”
The Blessings of Retirement
Retirement means, of course, launching full-tilt into the rest of life, set to do all the things we have been wanting to do, but lacked the long, connected strings of time to do them. There’s nothing like a chainsaw, a splitting axe and some old-fashioned salvage logging and wood-cutting to facilitate social distancing.
Spring, Muddy Feet and Rainbows
The world made a switch today, from lingering winter to progressive spring. I anticipate a time when we make a similar switch from this strange and scary time of personal isolation to a more normalized version of life, when every other human might not seem to be a threat.