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We all have our little quirks, right. They’re nothing to be ashamed of because they are, in fact, one of the components of what makes each of us unique — quite probably weird, too — but unique for sure. In her Aug. 26, 2020, Pyschology Today article about quirks Sheila Robinson-Kiss says one of the keys to good mental health is recognizing that just because a behavior seems outside the norm, doesn’t make it bad. If it’s not hurting anybody, we should just figure out a way to h...
If you ever for one minute think you are different from other Americans in this foreign country, who seem to live by the motto of “I want it; I want it all; I want it now,” just endeavor to undertake a major construction project. You will discover your Gringo sense of entitlement. Guaranteed. My project isn’t major and it is only quasi construction. In a little-used space adjacent to my bodega guest bedroom, I’m installing a bathroom. Rendering my guest bedroom to en-suit...
I was walking down an old street in an old part of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Brightly colored wooden doors line the streets. There is no indication from the outside what might be within. It could be a courtyard filled with flowers and a fountain, or a small business, or somebody’s kitchen. It is a mystery what is behind these doors, and so, when one is open, naturally I look inside. Last week, a door was open, and I saw a few items of clothing for sale, so I stepped i...
One of the first lessons I learned on becoming a state legislator was to make it as easy as possible for other legislators to agree with me. I saw how those who demonstrated both competence and good will were taken seriously and achieved the greatest success in accomplishing their goals. Several decades ago, there were relatively few ideologues intent on imposing their own narrow ideas of how things should be done. Now we sadly see that there are many more elected officials who self-righteously attempt to impose their...
Fundamentalist and evangelical preachers of the last century used the advent of radio and television to skew Christianity in ways never before possible. Social media and the Christian Nationalists have taken that Christian world, atilt on its axis by the turn of this century, to a complete reversal of its poles. His disciples and other early Christians, who followed His teachings, were willing to die for their faith, as was He. Today’s Christian Nationalists appear ready to kill for the lack of theirs. Show me in the Bible wh...
I successfully built and hung a gate this week. It bears pointing out that I conquered my nemesis, the hanging of a gate, by getting the thing hung level and plumb. It swings freely and quietly both to and fro. It looks good doing it. I should be giddy, overjoyed, brimming with pride and other degrees of over-the-moonness, and yet no. At best I feel a sort of grim satisfaction. I was raised well before the era of participation ribbons, nobody cared about bolstering our...
Volunteerism in Havre has a long history. From our town’s start, there were people willing to give their time, talents, resources and dedication to worthy community causes. From giving to those less fortunate, to creating health care facilities and forming two libraries, the people of Havre and Hill County care about our town and work to achieve wonderful things, some which last generations. The Clack Museum and Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump are no different. From our inception, our growth and successes have been based on vol...
They call the impossibly complicated screen I am looking at a “dashboard,” which I do not find reassuring at all. It would be nice not to associate my ignorance of technology with crashing some out-of-control machine into a ravine, although, as I think about it, that is very much how it feels. Learning new technology is a bear. I don’t care what they say. I understand the need to play with it, get familiar with the functions and learn in a less-than-linear fashion. But less-than-straightforward learning often leads me to tr...
Generation after generation, Americans have gone to war, backed by the promise that their country would take care of them when they came home. Yet for years, our government failed those in uniform who returned home only to face a different kind of battle: the battle of cobbling together their earned care and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson was one of those veterans. Heath’s story is, unfortunately, far too familiar among our military men and women. Like many Americans, h...
I am proud to have served as a Republican all my life. I have been the vice-chairman of the Montana State Republican Party. I served two terms as a Republican county commissioner here in Yellowstone County. I worked 10 plus years for Republican Sen. Conrad Burns as his state director. I was appointed Montana U.S. Marshal by a Republican president. I also forgot to mention a ran as a Republican for the U.S. Congress, but I came up short. I remember being so proud of this country and now I fear for our grandkid’s future. T...
Let’s start with the back story. Way Back. Last year, because of the pandemic, I took my travel money and gutted my bodega which was a mishmash of shelves cobbled together from scrap wood. Shoved in rather randomly were what I call man tools and that which I didn’t want stored in the house. It was a mess, but needs must. Once my bodega transformed into my guest bedroom, I kept imagining how nice it would be to have a bathroom alongside my bedroom. In back and along the out...
What were you doing June 29, 2022? Whatever is was, you did less of it than you think you did because that day was not a full 24 hours. That’s right, we were all bilked out of our precious time together by 1.59 milliseconds. The website Timanddate.com which is a go-to site for things atomic clock-related said that this was the shortest day recorded since the atomic clock got fired up in the 1960s. The atomic clock tracks actual length of days through the modern magic of s...
Editor, I would like to address the city officials about the deer “problem” solutions you have suggested. I quote “problem” because it is not a problem for me personally. I enjoy seeing nature and I enjoy sharing my space with them. I strongly feel this is not just a planet for humans. If the deer bother me, I should move to the big city. I am not interested in doing that. I am not sure what kind of problems others are having with them, but if they are in areas that they “really need” to stay out of then I am sure there...
It was a sad day in early July when we laid my District 14 predecessor, Kris Hansen, to rest. Kris was a mentor who was not afraid to let, not only myself know her thoughts, but anyone willing to listen. Kris lived a lot of life in her 52 years, which was very evident at the funeral where friends told quips of her life. She was a very proud veteran and active Christian; her steadfast wisdom will be missed. July has been very hot and dry for the most part. Having driven around my district from west to east and north to south,...
I’m not a millionaire and neither are 95% of Montanans. My campaign isn’t funded by millionaires, but instead, our contributions have come from hardworking Montanans who are putting their money on the line to create real change in our state. I’m proud to say the majority of our donations are small dollar donations. For example, between July 20th and July 26th, 2022, our average individual donation was $64.19. I believe in campaign finance reform and believe most Montanans and most Americans do also. I believe most people are,...
I don’t know about you, but I never can tell when I’m going to have a revelation. Like last weekend, I went with a friend to a quiet gem of a lake in central Montana and — boom — there it was a profound moment. I know what you’re thinking, water tends to inspire such things, and this water was clear, warm, glass smooth in a mountain setting, blah, blah, blah. It couldn’t have been more picturesque, but, no. I didn’t even touch the water. I was in a long-sleeved shirt, jeans...
Rain fell all night long. The ground was soggy, spongy. Flowers hung their heads from weight of water. The morning sky looked like moldy cottage cheese. Around noon, the sun broke through with promise. Every morning I take a small basket out to my mango tree and fill it with what wants to be picked. Today I put another quart of mango pieces in my wee fridge-freezer. It is jam-packed, literally, since I made two batches of freezer jam and the remainder of the space is...
I don’t think I’ve been a particular target of the Fates or anything specifically paranoid like that, I’m just saying that they’ve been busy this month testing my human endurance, with casualties and costs still rising. In no particular order, we have had bloodshed, breakage, wastefulness, unprovoked attacks, decay, disarray and pestilence. I sharpened my kitchen knives, which means — contrary to that old adage that you cut yourself worse with a dull knife — I’ve cut my...
Hurricane Estelle blew in lugging a heavy cloud blanket behind her until the sky looked like cry me a river. Day after day after day, darkness reigned and time warped, smudged and dripped down the mountain walls like Dali-esque clocks. If one took the sky and flattened it out like a topographical map, it would be criss-crossed by rivers cascading off the edges in waterfalls. (Flat sky, flat earth, what’s the difference!) Under cover of day as dark as nightfall, somebody sneake...
Argument is a way for people with differing perspectives on an issue, abortion, for example, to test and reshape each other's ideas and, sometimes, even reason out a new idea together. Unfortunately, not much reasoning together happens when everybody insists on the kind of high minded principles that inspire Facebook memes and protest signs, such as Life Begins at Conception versus My Body, My Choice. Arguments on the order of--Abortion is always wrong-- based on grand...
The package arrived last week and, I have to admit, I was surprised. I knew what was in it, of course. It was a painting that my friends Angel, Nora and I co-own. I had it for one year 11 years ago. Then I brought it to Paris, where Angel was living. But Angel had no time to hang the painting. She had just moved to a new condo and was diagnosed with cancer. And so it remained rolled up under her bed for two years. That’s when Nora decided her turn had come — and she was rig...
OK, I tried to stay out of it, I had a whole column planned about the pitfalls of the most adult activity of my life, then a political candidate from Missoula threw out the right bait at the right time and now I’ve been lured into the Roe v. Wade free-for-all debate. A bear can resist only so many garbage cans, and I could not resist the lure of this anti-abortion regulation argument: Rep. Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, who is running for Senate District 49, said in an email to m...
Yes, it’s a great place to live (for me) but you wouldn’t want to visit. I’ve been accused of having a Paradise Complex, but it is not true. I’ve been told Paradise is full of snakes and liars and have no reason to either believe it or not believe it. Nope. I live in a dusty little cow-town, farm village in Mexico and though I often say I live in Paradise, I mean Paradise for me. For me. Amen. And Awomen. When Dr. Landazari, eye specialist, who lives in Mazatlan, the Pearl of...
If there’s one thing that Montanans can agree on, it’s our fondness for wildlife. From eagles and ospreys to bull elk and bighorn sheep, we still have plenty of what so much of the country has lost. These natural riches are partly why we’re known as the Last Best Place. But it wasn’t always this way. By the early decades of the 20th century, market hunting, poaching and habitat loss had driven many species to the brink of extinction. Then, in 1937, hunters asked the federal government to tax the sales of guns and ammunit...
With the primary elections in the rearview mirror, most of us have a good idea who’ll represent us in the Montana Legislature come January. A new legislature means new ideas and, of course, recycled ideas from past sessions. The only thing our citizen legislature is required to do is balance a budget, but darn near every politician has an agenda. Their ideas got them this far and they’re going to go to Helena and create change … or something. It’s in that spirit that I’m writing this letter to all the returning and likely ne...