Surfer Patrol sez: "Let the Gay Scouts in!"

I can't speak for the rest of Surfer Patrol, but Patrol Leader Mike Shay says it's OK with him if Gay Boy Scouts are allowed into our hallowed fraternity. LGBT leaders, too, although that's a long shot -- for now.

I can't remember the number of our troop, but we met in a church in Ormond Beach, Fla. While the troop's other patrols bore names of Florida's wild animals such as Panther, Rattlesnake and Gator, my brother Dan and Bobby C. and I all voted to become the Surfer Patrol. As usually happens with surfers, our patrol was typecast as the troublemakers, which rarely happened in real life. Yes, we almost got out troop kicked out of Camp Lanochee. And yes, we did teepee another patrol's tent. And yes, our patrol members were much better surfers than we were Boy Scouts. We could shred, and did. But we were loveable. And we rarely caused any real damage.

When I hear reports that some church congregations have gathered together this evening to pray for a non-Gay Boy Scouts of America, I say: "Bring it on!" Or maybe "Cowabunga!" Make all troops welcoming to all people, gay or straight. The Mormons say it's OK with them -- and hardly any of them surf. The United Methodists and the Unitarian Universalists and national Jewish leaders say its OK with them. As always, the Catholic Church is a problem. My brother Dan and I were Catholic school boys, outcasts in Baptist-heavy Florida. We all grew up in a time of vicious names, "queer" as a nasty slur, and "faggot." I don't think I used them, but I may have. I was a jock in the South before it became the New South. Let's face it -- even in the 21st century, gay-bashing still exists in Dixie.

Let the sun shine in, B.S.A.! Surfer Patrol would dig that.

NPR Health Blog: Childhood ADHD can lead to adulthood obesity

The title of this blog comes from a quote by hypertext inventor Ted Nelson who once told Wired Magazine that having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was like having a "hummingbird mind." I wrote an essay for the late lamented Northern Lights magazine about rock climbing with my son who has ADHD. I used Nelson's quote in the article and the editor used it for the headline. So, in 2005. I decided to use it for the name of the blog as my initial idea was to blog about ADHD, as blogging and hyperactivity seemed to go together. I was sidetracked by politics and various other topics so my blog is a lot more wide-ranging than anticipated.

That brings me to today's post about ADHD. I came across it via a Facebook post from renowned ADHD expert Dr. Edward "Ned" Hallowell. The good doctor wrote the intro to an anthology that featured some of my writing, Easy to Love but Hard to Raise: Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories. He writes on his site today about the fact that childhood ADHD can lead to adult obesity. He quoted an article about a recent study featured on the NPR Health blog. Overeating releases dopamine which is what human nervous systems crave. A pint of Ben & Jerry's at midnight is just what the impulsive person ordered. But not the cardiologist. Read more here.

National Main Street rep Todd Barman speaks about Cheyenne's downtown on May 20

Local visionaries continue to drag Cheyenne's downtown kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Hats off to those businesses with the chutzpah to inhabit downtown. You can see a list on the Downtown Development Association web site. Some of my faves are Ernie November for music, Freedom's Edge for handmade brews, The Albany for lunch and the Paramount Cafe for coffee, music and open mic nights. Alan O'Hashi and architect Glen Garrett have been trying to get the Hynds Building whipped into shape through the LightsOn! Project and Alan's effort to work with Laramie County Community College to bring student housing downtown.

I just write about it. I spend some of my money downtown, but it's just a drop in the bucket to my overall expenditures. Most of my food budget goes to King Soopers on Dell Range, Safeway on the South Greeley Highway and Albertson's on Yellowstone (and the Osco Pharmacy therein). There is no downtown grocery store since the closure of the old Safeway. The state owns the building. Hospital construction crews use the lot for parking.

This weekend, downtown is alive with a number of cool events. Railroad Days is being held at the Depot. I wandered in yesterday to see the massive model train set up in the lobby. The place was filled with vendors and train buffs and the merely curious such as myself. This is the only weekend when you can get a guided tour of the historic roundhouse. I bought my tomato plants yesterday at the Master Gardeners Sale. Chris and I attended the "Long Stories, Short Films' Session yesterday at at the Cheyenne International Film Festival at the Atlas Theatre. I'm always curious about the ways of storytellers since I am one. The CIFF continues through tonight. Today we're wandering over to the Yiddish Food Festival at Mt. Sinai Synagogue next to the old Safeway.

So there's lot to do. But downtown still has a lot of empty buildings and The Big Hole where Mary's Bake Shoppe once stood along Lincolnway. You could write a book on the many ideas generated to fill the hole. I may just do that....

This week, the DDA "invites you to come support downtown" with a presentation by Todd Barman, a representative from the national Main Street organization. Wyoming Main Street will be hosting a public meeting with Barman Monday, May 20, 5-7:30 p.m., at the Historic Plains Hotel. According to a display ad in this morning's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle:

"He will be preparing an analysis of the community, and will be meeting with community representatives and downtown stakeholders to discuss future economic development activities for downtown."

Sounds good to me. My notebook and I plan on attending Monday's meeting. I would expect a a fair number of visionaries along with some naysayers who think that "planning" is a dirty word. They also think that "creative placemaking" and "the future" are dirty words. They may have a point about "creative placemaking." Such a weird term. Maybe "creative economy" is better.

For previous posts on Cheyenne's downtown revitalization efforts, go here and here. 

Return to the Victory Garden

I expect to harvest at least a double handful of tomatoes from my Victory Garden this summer.

Feels good to be back in the garden letting the dirt flow through my fingers and get caught under my fingernails. I let the patch go fallow last year as I was healing from a bout with depression. You'd think that gardening would be good for melancholia and maybe it is for some people. I just looked at my modest plot and saw a weed-choked north 40 spread out in front of me. Seemed like too much work instead of fun, which is how I usually look at it.

I dug out the weeds this week. This is the least fun part of the exercise but it didn't seem that way. I hauled the weeds to my garden recycling bin. I do all of this while hooked up to my LifeVest, which is an external defibrillator. I get my implanted one in June. Can't say I'll miss the vest, although I've worn it since January. I gardened all week without it beeping. Sometimes I can't walk out to my car without alarms sounding. "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! Your ticker's about to blow!" I loved that robot...

About half of my strawberries made it through the winter, and my perennial flowers are coming up. This morning, I drove down to the annual Master Gardeners Plant Sale at Depot Plaza downtown. I was there a bit early. They thought that I was a volunteer but I bugged out before they put me to work. I meandered over to a nearby vendor's tent that belonged to Dawn Thiesen and her Thrive Nursery. She gardens up neat Horse Creek with the help of a greenhouse. I lingered mainly because she had some healthy looking plants and they had cool names. This is a failing of mine, as I tend to buy things more by name and description than by looks or price. These plants were all made in Wyoming, USA, which is always another selling point for me. Local! Local! Local!

As for tomatoes, I bought a Tolstoi, a German Extreme, Ailsa Craig, Silver Tree and Early Cherry. Dawn has a mini-catalog that has a paragraph written about each variety. I didn't read about the Tolstoi but figured it is a very literary plant that will grow to War and Peace size by the end of the summer. I expect fruits the size of the master's head, which reportedly was quite large.

I planted the German Extreme in a large pot. Dawn said it only grows about a foot high but spreads out with maturity. I suppose it's best it's in a pot as anything German does tend to encroach on neighboring territory. The Ailsa Craig is a Scottish blend named after an island in the Clyde of Firth, no doubt a single malt tomato. I bought some broccoli plants. One if called Packman which I imagined a Pac Man -- hope it doesn't gobble up the rest of the garden. If it does, I should get a free game out of it.

As the day progresses, I feel my muscles revolting from the bending and stooping and raking and digging and watering. I hear a beer calling my name.

FoCo, NoCo vs. Chy-town, SeWy -- which one is the winner?

Old Town in Fort Collins boasts a new arts space. Here's the lowdown on The Artery from CSU's Rocky Mountain Collegian:

This past Friday the missing piece to the art scene here in NoCo moved into Old Town. A set of 17 art studios that were designed to stimulate the creativity of artists across a wide range will celebrate and showcase art in Fort Collins in a whole new way.

The Artery, which you will find in a historic building on the corner of Linden and College, has been beautifully renovated into a unique art gallery, art studios and events venue. It will rent studios to visual artists and creative businesses, host concerts and gallery walks, teach classes and workshops on all sorts of mediums and much more.

There's an added bonus for this new space.

Fort Collins Brewing Company has also joined the fun by renting a studio for their very own ‘art brewer.’ FCB will be holding a contest that selects two artists of their choosing to share a rented studio at The Artery to create pieces for both themselves and the brewery.

This aging writer is jealous of these young artists populating one of the best downtowns in one of the best communities in the country. I'm a CSU grad so I do bring a bias to the discussion. Fort Collins has been building its creative infrastructure for decades. CSU renovated the old high school (Go FC Lambkins!) into a state-of-the-art arts center. Old Town is thriving with shops and bistros and one of the finest brewpubs in Coopersmiths. The Beet Street arts org has moved in to the old FoCo Carnegie Library and is rehabbing it for its Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR). And speaking of craft breweries -- FoCo is the hotspot of Colorado and possibly the nation. I don't quaff the craft brews like I used to, but right now have an Odell 90 Shilling in my hand. I love summer.

As you may recall, I'm a resident of Cheyenne which is 45 short minutes from Fort Collins. We are in different states and different worlds. Our downtown has been struggling for years. We have a fantastic Historic Depot and its plaza that features bands and beer all summer long. We have the Historic Atlas Theatre and Freedom's Edge Brewery and the new Dinneen Building and the Hynds Building Project and the Paramount Cafe and Ruby Juice and several galleries and a great music store in Ernie November. But what I count on two hands, Fort Collins counts on many hands.

It's possible that Cheyenne and Southeast Wyoming just lack interesting acronyms. Cheyenne may be too short of a title for abbreviation. Chey? Cheyne? Do an acrostic with these letters and you get Cheney (God forbid). I have heard people label my place Chy-town, which isn't bad. Our region could easily be SeWy. Chy-town in SeWy! I'll have to test it out on a focus group of hipsters, if I can find any.

Cheyenne has come a long way in the 22 years that my family has called it home. This morning I was talking to Bill Lindstrom, director of Arts Cheyenne, the local arts council. It wasn't too long ago that the capital city had no arts council. That's real progress. And there's more to do all of the time.

Still, we're a long way from establishing a place like The Artery. The grand opening will be on Friday, June 7, starting at 6:30 p.m. I'll be at the Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference in Laramie, but please feel free to tool on down the road to FoCo. The opening will include an exhibition of art along with the artists behind it, food, beer by Fort Collins Brewery and music. It's free!

Republicans say it loud and scary: BENGHAZI!

As a fiction writer, I enjoy e-mails from Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis. The Republican from Cheyenne never ceases to amaze with her fabrications and half-truths and spin -- can't forget the spin. As a member in good standing of the Republican cabal in the House that gives gridlock new meaning, she can be trusted to always be on the FAR RIGHT side of each issue. This time, she is even asking questions at one of the many hearings that House Republicans are holding on BENGHAZI! I capitalize and emphasize the Libyan city's name because that's how the Republicans do it. BENGHAZI! Or like this: 

BENGHAZI!

It was funny to read today that 39 percent of those Americans polled who believe, as does Rep. Lummis, that BENGHAZI is a cover-up, don't know what country it's in. From Public Policy Polling's latest national survey (thanks to Crooks & Liars):

"One interesting thing about the voters who think Benghazi is the biggest political scandal in American history is that 39% of them don't actually know where it is. 10% think it's in Egypt, 9% in Iran, 6% in Cuba, 5% in Syria, 4% in Iraq, and 1% each in North Korea and Liberia with 4% not willing to venture a guess."

BENGHAZI!

Wherever the hell it is.  

Oogalee Boogalee! Are you scared now?

Here's Rep. Lummis's e-mail (the links are hers):

Dear Friends, This past Wednesday the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee heard from three men, all of whom are public servants and all of whom have firsthand experience with the Benghazi attacks of September 11th, 2012 that claimed the lives of four Americans.

From the testimony we heard it’s clear there was a conscious effort to provide misleading and conflicting information on the Benghazi attacks. The question now is how far up in the administration did this cover up go?

People died. There are four deaths. Concealing the facts and impeding efforts on behalf of Congress to investigate this situation is simply deplorable.

Wednesday’s witnesses had illustrious careers. But when they had the gumption to correct the inaccuracies being spread about this attack some of their careers became fodder for revenge. It is inexcusable what this administration has done to these citizens, particularly in light of what these men have done for our country.

I walked away from this week’s hearing with more questions, more rabbit holes and without concrete answers for the families of these victims. Clearly it was the tip of the iceberg, but I’m glad to hear truth being shed on this unfortunate situation. The Committee will continue our investigation until concrete answers can be delivered.

I want to thank witnesses Gregory Hicks, Mark Thompson and Eric Nordstrom, for having the courage and strength to come forward and set the record straight on these horrific attacks.

Watch my questions HERE.

Sincerely, Representative Cynthia M. Lummis 

Interesting to note that Republicans in the House have yet to convene numerous committees to investigate how George W. Bush and Dick Cheney lied us into the Iraq War. Or the many diplomats and embassy staffers who were killed during the Bush presidency. After all, PEOPLE DIED!

"Who do they say I am? Interfaith perspectives on Jesus" begins May 23

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

My Mom, Anna Marie Hett, as she became Anna Marie Shay on Feb. 18, 1950, in Denver.

It's been a long time since I could wish my Mom a happy Mother's Day in person. Anna Marie (Hett) Shay died in April 1986, just a month shy of her 60th birthday and her 35th Mother's Day. She died from ovarian cancer, still a killer although early detection has prolonged patients' lives well past the 18 months that my Mom had. It was already well advanced when the docs detected it.

Mom got to meet her first male grandson, my son Kevin, who was born in Denver (also my Mom's birthplace) on February 14, 1985. Kevin and I travelled to Daytona Beach for a family reunion and my brother Dan's annual Fourth of July bash. I flew alone with Kevin because my wife had to work and would follow us a few days later. She was going to attend her 10th high school reunion of the Seabreeze Sandcrabs. 

I wasn't prepared to fly with a four-month-old. I got all sorts of advice before take-off. Make sure he sucks on a bottle or a binky during take-off so his ears won't clog. Keep him awake before you leave so he naps on the plane. Don't freak out if he cries and annoys the other hundred passengers.   

As you might guess, the trip was a disaster. I had to feed Kevin in the airport so he stared wide-eyed at me as the plane rose out of Denver. His head didn't explode and he didn't cry, though, not right away. And changing a baby in a 727 restroom is not the easiest thing in the world. One thing, though. Women took pity on me. Oh, what a cutie. Let me hold him. Oh, what a good dad you are. I filed that bit of info away for future reference.

When I greeted my mother, she wore a turban. It was an odd look for her. I had seen her wearing nurse's caps and Easter bonnets and rain gear and even winter caps when I was little and we lived in snowy places. The turban, of course, covered her bald head. I've seen lots of them since on cancer patients. But in the summer of 1985, it took me awhile to get used to it.

She was crazy about Kevin. She held him for hours. She had two grandkids already, both girls, so she took extra time with Kevin. And she knew that he wouldn't be in Daytona very long. And she was probably guessing that she wouldn't be around very long -- and she was right.

I did get to visit with her one more time before she passed. And she got to hold Kevin again. I worked for the Gates Rubber Company in Denver as a publications editor. Gates decided to get into the NASCAR sponsorship game. The corporate honchos had recruited a driver to wear the Gates colors and plaster decals all over his car. The company needed one of its editors to go to Daytona and do a story. I lobbied hard for the assignment. Other staffers were anxious to desert Denver for Daytona in February but, in the end, I won the sweepstakes. I took my family too.

I hung out at the race track for three days, waiting for our driver to show up. Several of our sales people were there, fretting about our mystery driver. His truck broke down in North Carolina. A storm had held him up. He was stuck in Georgia.

While I hung out at the speedway talking to drivers and crews and taking lots of photos, Chris and Kevin visited family. My Mom got lots of holding time. Chris's mom had passed away from cancer in 1984 but Chris's father lived nearby. They visited while I waited.

Our driver never showed up. To this day, I'm unsure why. The company decided to rethink its NASCAR sponsorship policy. I got a tremendous trip out of it. We held Kevin's first birthday at my brother Dan's house in Ormond Beach. We still have pictures of that Valentine's Day evening. The toddlers were tearing around the house and having a fine time. Mom was there for awhile but grew tired and my father took her home early. All of our kids were young then, and most of Kevin's cousins (and his sister) had yet to be born.

Not that long ago. But it seems like ages.

Twenty-seven years later, two of my mother's children now are undergoing treatment for cancer. Time and scientific research have brought many improvements to cancer diagnosis and treatment. My sister Mary's carcinoid cancer was caught in its early stages. My brother Dan's leukemia was diagnosed during routine blood tests. My sister Molly will donate her bone marrow to Dan in a routine that is light years ahead of the old invasive marrow harvesting procedures. All of them will be treated at the fantastic MD Anderson medical complex in Houston.

I miss you, Mom. Thanks for showing us the way. Happy Mother's Day.

As the song says, "Let the sunshine in!"

I don't personally know the two presenters at the May 16 library workshop entitled "Letting the Sunshine in." But it's one of six mental health sessions sponsored by the Wyoming Department of Health, Stop Suicide Cheyenne, Grace for 2 Brothers and the Jason Foundation under the header of "From Just Surviving to Thriving!" Great organizations all!

Here's a tip from someone who's struggled with depression for most of his adult life. If you are depressed, don't think it will go away if you just think good thoughts or watch cheery movies. They may help. But real depression is not a passing sadness. Watching "The Sound of Music" 20 times will not banish it to the deepest reaches of your reptilian brain. The flyer for the session, led by Jonna Hilzer-Dickie (M.A., L.P.C.) and Jon Baillie (M.A., P.P.C.) sums it up pretty well:

Depression is a serious biological disease that affects millions of people each year. The encouraging news is that it can often be successfully treated. Learn ways to stop the dark cloud of depression and anxiety and let your sunshine in!

"Letting the Sunshine In" will be held on Thursday, May 16, 5:30-6:30 p.m., in the Laramie County Public Library's Sunflower Room on the third floor. It's free, and you may learn a lot. There are two more sessions. On June 20, local musician and founder of Rock for Life James Ednie will address his own near brush with suicide via words and music. He also will "offer some tools to cope with tough situations." James will provide tips "on how to not only deal with sadness, but how to celebrate it."

It is true. You can celebrate sadness but acknowledging that it's a normal part of life. I speak not only as someone with depression but as a writer who often spends time with the gloomy thoughts of his characters. Maybe that's why I write in the vein of tragicomedy. LIfe often is like that, isn't it? It's one thing when it happens in fiction. Yet another thing when it happens in real life.

The final session, "Save a Life," takes on the serious topic of suicide prevention. As you probably know, Wyoming is home to the second-most completed suicides, and WY teen suicides lead the nation. The Jason Foundations has this alarming stat on its web site: "Each day in our nation, there are an average of over 5,400 attempts by young people grades 7-12." And don't forget our veterans. Last fall at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper, soldier-poet Brian Turner noted that each day the U.S. loses an average of 18 active duty and retired military to suicides. During the course of a three-day weekend, suicides wipe out the entire platoon that he led in Iraq.

The "Save a Life" training session will go from 5:30-8 p.m. as Stop Suicide Cheyenne presents the Jason Foundation's suicide prevention program for parents. 

Blowing in the Wyoming Wind: Cattle Kate could’ve told Meg what was coming

I always look forward to Rodger McDaniel's Saturday posts on Blowing in the Wyoming Wind. They also used to appear in our local paper, but since I don't get the paper any more I can neither confirm or deny their appearance on the op-ed pages. Rodger is part of our ragtag band of progressive bloggers in southeast Wyoming. I guess I shouldn't call Rodger ragtag, as he has plenty of creds as an attorney, minister, historian, author and one-time head of the state's mental health and substance abuse division. But anyone who blatantly proclaims a liberal stance in conservative Wyoming exists on the fringe.

This morning, Rodger blogged about two Wyoming women who were the subject of lynch mobs. Ellen Watson, also known as "Cattle Kate," had the temerity to challenge the cattle barons in 1885 Wyoming Territory. She was physically lynched. Meg Lanker-Simons has had the temerity to challenge UW and Wyoming's powers-that-be, most of whom happen to be conservatives. Now she's getting lynched on-line. Go read Rodger's post here.

Meg graduates from the University of Wyoming today. Congratulations, Meg. We keep urging her to write a book. Maybe she will, although law school figures in her immediate plans. Once she gets law school out of the way and publishes her book, I hope she keeps us in mind for the book-signing tour. Laramie should be her first stop.

UPDATE: Rodger's column is in today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (I sneaked a look at a copy at my friend D's house). It's on the op-ed pages in the sports section and is headlined "UW choosing to hang before the facts are in."