News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 2221 - 2245 of 3191
What do you do when your life is literally too boring for words? You turn to the weird news of the world: While the temperatures have been hot all across Montana the past few weeks, the east coast has seen some record high temperatures. With those stories dominating the news it makes sense that NBC affiliate WDSU in New Orleans thought to go “there.” By which I mean “down there.” You know, the unmentionable down there that you would find showing at a nudist colony — and they...
I’m the fish, pacing my casita. I feel like I live in an aquarium. Bubbles rise from my mind. Occasionally I gasp for oxygen. Three weeks, every day but Sunday, blessed reprieve of Sunday, workmen swarm my yard. The projects creep forward. Abel and his nephew, also Abel, called Pelon, which is a nickname that translates “bald,” along with Josue show up at eight in the morning and work until four or five in the afternoon. Pelon, a teen, has beautiful dark hair. I wonder if he acquired his name when a baby, born without a hair...
And “the best things in life are dirty,” the gospel according to Ben Rumson (Lee Marvin) and Pardner (Clint Eastwood), words to live by from “Paint Your Wagon.” Amen. A lot of spiritual truths hide in songs and when I’m up to my knees in mucky ol’ mud, and the song, even a song from a cringe-worthy musical, makes me smile, so be it. Rainy season is here, an undeniable truth. Josue and Abel are building my new wall between my casita and the neighboring property. The man who...
I started taking a yoga class for all the usual reasons: to work on strength, flexibility, balance, humiliation. Now, if I were writing this column strictly for my family to read, I could stop at that first sentence and have them rolling in the aisles, as the saying goes. Really, I’d be killin’ it in those 18 words. They’d react, saying: “There’s more?” “Are you kidding?” “You had me at yoga.” Ha ha ha hardy har har, guys. “Strength, no problem. She’d be, like, ‘I am Pam Sch...
The lyrics, “Ah, ha, oh, no, don’t let the rain come down, my roof’s got a hole in it and I might drown” woke me as once more waters pounded my roof and the lake of run-off lapped against the west side of my casita. The early ’60s voice of Ronnie Hilton crooned into my ear, silly lyrics to a slightly calypso beat. Every night, every single night, sometimes sooner, sometimes later, count on it — the rain falls freely. “So, you who have lived here your whole life, how long will...
Now that the primaries are over, many folks are taking the temperature of Montana’s political climate. It feels “hot” or divisive, and many believe it will only get hotter as the political season advances. They may also agree that the November election results will have major implications for Montana. Many even believe we are at a critical juncture in our state’s history. We certainly see this, at One Montana, where we are trying to create a vibrant Montana through common ground. The general campaign will tell us where t...
(Havre High School band member Amelia Beard wrote about the band’s recent trip to Washington, D.C.) The D.C. trip was amazing and the experience to march in the D.C. parade was absolutely outstanding. This is a memory I will never forget. This trip definitely brought the band together, and we all became closer with each other. The trip was well organized. All of the monuments we were able to see were phenomenal. The two days of traveling back home wasn’t the bad for me. We made new friends in D.C. who were also marching in...
(Jessica Otto, a Havre High School band member, was impressed by her visit to the Holocaust Museum.) The most memorable part about Sunday was indefinitely the Holocaust Museum. At the beginning before you start the tour they give you a card asking you to find which photo would stick with you the longest. The one that's stuck from the moment I read the description overtop was in the section about what happened to those with disabilities. The photo had a little girl. She had curly hair, couldn't have been more than 10 years...
In pursuit of the perfect flooring for my some-day new-to-us home, considerable research and countless hours of analysis paralysis have led me to this: I’m bringing dirt floors back into fashion. Think about it before you dismiss the idea. First of all, eco-friendly options are all the rage. And I don’t think we can get more ecologically grassroots than we do with dirt. Plus, it’s immeasurably practical and economical. What are the most time- and money-consuming issues encount...
The Havre Daily News asked some members of the Havre High School Band to reflect on their trip to Washington over the Fourth of July holiday when they participated in the National Independence Day Parade. Band member Meggan Smith gave her thoughts about the experience. We started marching down this street after warm-ups, we didn't really know where we were going, but we hoped the parade would start soon. All of a sudden, we turned onto this street filled from curb to building with people. Thousands of people squished...
The trouble with using sarcasm as your favorite communication device and then doubling down on that by writing a humor-based column is that it hurts your credibility. It’s not that people think I’m a liar, it’s just that they think they can’t necessarily believe what I say. Sure, that’s a fine line, but I like to think it’s an important one. When a co-worker asks, “Do I put a comma right here?” and I say, “Only if you want to sound like an ignorant hillbilly” — whic...
Every morning at first light a symphony of birds sings me awake. I don’t say it’s necessarily pretty birdsong. The New York Philharmonic it is not. But it is loud. And it is a mixture of voices of whatever birds are hanging out in this part of the state at any particular time. Perhaps a better description is of musicians tuning their instruments prior to the performance. Tuning takes a good hour. At full light each singer flies off to greet the day with its perfect song. At any one time I look out my windows and see doz...
I love Havre in the spring and summer, and this year it’s so green and beautiful. A kind of new beginning. New calves in the field, robins and meadowlarks singing on the fences, budding trees, the spring and summer flowers are making their showing and the burst of color from the wildflowers carpet the hillsides in Beaver Creek Park. We are so fortunate to have this natural beauty and abundant fresh air right out our back doors — we sometimes take it all for granted. Our community is blessed with a great heritage and bea...
“So, Sondra, why aren’t you married?” Bonnie questions my back. There I am, lying unclothed on a bed, needles poking all over me, getting an acupuncture treatment for sciatica and related pains. How can I answer? Her question triggers feelings of discomfort, squirminess. But I don’t dare squirm with needles poking out all over. OK, yes, the squirming came from inside, not outside. Still. I’m asked this question a lot. Almost everyone I meet has asked me why I’m alone. Alon...
Something in the human mind loves lists: Top 5 businesses to work for and Top 5 not to work for; 10 most impressive acts of laziness in history; 24 things women over 30 shouldn’t wear; 24 things females under 30 shouldn't talk smack about; 100 must-read books; 7 must-have futon features; and on and on — the lists being too numerous to list. I have decided to feed this humankind need with a list of my own, and I give you: 5 Most Seductive Foods. 5. Bread. A mealtime staple in...
Back when people first began using e-books, I guess that is what one calls them, my daughter, Shea, said, “Mom, you are such a voracious reader. You should get one of these. You’d like it.” “And lose the visceral pleasure of a book made from trees? The thickness of the cover, whether hard or soft? The texture of the pages? The smell of ink? The smell of a new book? Or old? The satisfaction of physically turning the pages? Being able to write in the margins should I choose?...
Tragedy has been stalking my household since last we met, and I feel beholden to offer my condolences during these sad times in which I am living. RIP my perfectly ergonomic computer mouse which has spent many an hour at my side while working and playing on the computer these last 15 or more years. I will miss your smooth rolling action and the way your long cord would grab at anything on the left side of my keyboard in protest over the crowding of your work space. You served...
Sink? Swim? Tread water? — Jump in the deep end. I’m not much of a swimmer. Those who tried to teach me gave up. My first husband said if ever I was in trouble in the water, he’d swim the other way for fear I’d drag him under. That episode didn’t raise my confidence. But I can’t think of a better analogy for what I’ve been doing the last three or four or five years than treading water. All my life I’ve had a premonition that I would live half of forever, not unrealistic given the history of the women in my family, most of...
Eleven kids aren’t that many. Any teacher would be happy to have that many kids in a classroom. A baker could make a regular dozen doughnuts and still have one left. So, yeah, 11 is nothing, unless that’s the number of children in your family. I don’t mean my family, and I don’t mean your family, unless the math happens to work out that way for you. I mean my older brother’s family. There is, officially, 11 of the little darlings. That’s a lot when you have to feed them a...
Eureka. I’ve just discovered my backyard. That’s not to say I never knew I had a backyard. But I dismissed it. “Dismiss.” Hang onto that word. My first focus, of necessity, centered on my humble casita, on making it fit for human habitation. Next I devoted my time and attention to the front portion of the property, cleaned out the storage bodega, fancied up my patio, built brick bases for potted flowers and herbs. Each evening I surveyed my “kingdom” from one of my rocking cha...
I treasure a postcard from Missoula in the early ’80s. The card pictures an earth-moving business in the background. In the foreground perches a stand from which the proprietor sells croissants. It was pure Missoula. At that time, every convenience-store clerk had a master’s degree and held two or three jobs just to survive. In contrast, a friend forwarded me a look into the future. It sounded like 1984 on steroids. I thought the article painted a bleak picture. Obviously fro...
If a year from now you are in need of a healthy dose of inspiration, drop into commencement ceremonies at Box Elder High School. This is a great time of the year for those of us in the news business. We get to cover graduation ceremonies at school along the Hi-Line. We get to see graduates as they celebrate their success and begin the first step in the rest of their lives. Each service is unique, telling the story of the graduates and the community they come from. But there is something special about Box Elder. I have an...
For the record, I’m not one of those people who thinks her dog is her child, but since this is going on the record I do have to say that my dog is as awesome as any child — even cuter than a good number of them. Cooper is 10 years old, which isn’t remarkably old for a dog, but he’s definitely gotten to his senior years. He’s handling it really well, though. Every once in a while he loses his balance for a brief moment but catches it again in a snap, then he looks at me like, “Did you see that? I still got my cat-like re...
I have been watching a television series based on events and people involved in the American Revolution and it is clear to me that, had I lived at that time in history, the likelihood of my survival to old age would have been roughly nil. First off, it’s unlikely I could have managed to survive childhood and early adulthood. Aimless children prone to daydreaming rather than working were killed either by accident or out of frustration — or flat out to save money to buy food and...
I live in a garden in paradise. I have met the Snake. He is big. He is bad. He is beautiful. And if I eat of the apple from this Snake, I shall surely die. And that is where the similarities to the Other Garden Story end. My garden is lush with bougainvillea, night-blooming jasmine, hundreds of lilies, a coffee bush, palms, grapefruit, lime, oranges, mango, avocado, ferns, geraniums, ivies, philodendron, and a hundred plants I cannot name. My wee brick casita sits smack in the middle of my garden. The perimeter walls are...
