Planet JH Weekly staff conducted interviews with all the gubernatorial candidates. Subject: the state of the arts (and arts funding) in Wyoming.
Excerpts from some of the best responses for those of us who want to see the arts thrive in our state:
Matt Mead (R) said that artists' works attract cultural tourists. He sees Wyoming arts as being more closely tied with statewide tourism efforts, but though he confesses “a great passion for playing guitar that is inverse proportion to his talent,” he believes that art adds to individual quality of life. Mead pledges to follow Freudenthal's lead by continuing to make sure the arts remain relevant in Wyoming.
Rita Meyer (R): This is a 'quality of life' issue.” The governor, she said, is responsible for promoting the arts as much as economic development, natural resources and education. She would advocate for “incremental funding increases to the Cultural Trust Fund,” she said, and include the arts in Wyoming's infrastructure.
Leslie Petersen (D) said that she wishes the arts had been included in the Hathaway Scholarship curriculum, which provides incentives for students to pursue post-secondary education. Born in Dubois, Petersen credits her mother, a painter, with instilling her with a strong sense of the arts despite so much as a local movie theater. She would like to see the arts added to the list of accolades for Wyoming life, along with low crime, high education standards and the outdoor lifestyle. Petersen also said that she would use her many years of experience fundraising for various political campaigns and community efforts to increase private funding for individual artists. “I know how to raise money,” she said, “and I think it's very appropriate for the governor to do so.”
Pete Gosar (D) said that his experience as a teacher has given him first-hand knowledge of the value of arts in education. Once a student of the piano – who professes no ability – Gosar said that the arts are a different part of the learning process that add value to education. “It's a different way to put context to culture,” he said.
Read the entire article at http://www.planetjh.com/
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Rawlins man publishes a Wyoming mental illness memoir
An amazing story at this Casper Star-Trib link: http://trib.com/article_6d01c998-a490-11df-84c7-001cc4c03286.html
Daniel Meyers, 56, finished his autobiography, "The Spirit of the Lion," after 21 years of work. An earlier version was lost, so he had to begin again. Not many of us writers have such dedication and stamina.
Daniel has schizoaffective disorder. He lived a wayward childhood and was once in an orphanage. He's been in and out of mental health centers and has taken a variety of medications for his disorder.
He started the writing his book around 1989 as part of a non-fiction writing class taught by Helon Raines at University of Wyoming/Casper College.
Rodger McDaniel, head of the Wyoming Mental Health Division, liked the book so much that he bought one for every state legislator. And the Carbon County Library in Rawlins includes it in one of its book discussion groups.
Read the entire CST story. It's inspirational. And then go buy the book at http://www.authorhouse.com/
Daniel Meyers, 56, finished his autobiography, "The Spirit of the Lion," after 21 years of work. An earlier version was lost, so he had to begin again. Not many of us writers have such dedication and stamina.
Daniel has schizoaffective disorder. He lived a wayward childhood and was once in an orphanage. He's been in and out of mental health centers and has taken a variety of medications for his disorder.
He started the writing his book around 1989 as part of a non-fiction writing class taught by Helon Raines at University of Wyoming/Casper College.
Rodger McDaniel, head of the Wyoming Mental Health Division, liked the book so much that he bought one for every state legislator. And the Carbon County Library in Rawlins includes it in one of its book discussion groups.
Read the entire CST story. It's inspirational. And then go buy the book at http://www.authorhouse.com/
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Foodies swamp farmers' market, swoon over peaches and squash and roasted peppers and all the rest
I love our farmers' market.
Smells like roasted peppers, for one thing, which excites my senses. I want to buy bags of peppers and shove them up my nose. No good can come from that.
But smelling the pablanos and jalepenos gets me in the mood for buying other foodstuffs.
First up -- peaches. I know that it's slightly early for Colorado peaches but I bought a few from Palisade and some apricots. Nothing quite as sensual as the smell of peaches. I love the juices running down my chin and onto my clothes. Sweet and sticky. Better yet -- slice peaches onto vanilla ice cream.
I also bought some Palisade-grown apricots. Very good. Not sure about apricots and ice cream but I'm willing to give it a try. BTW, Palisade is 12 miles east of Grand Junction, Colo., along the Colorado River Valley. The Palisade Peach Festival is Aug. 19-22.
Vanilla ice cream is the starter for so many fruits. Strawberries, peaches, cantaloupe, blueberries, raspberries, etc.
I bought some pattypan squash from a farm located between Kersey and Greeley, Colo. Before I left for the market, my wife asked me to buy some of those squashes that looks like blossoms and have ridges around the edge. The seller told me that another customer had told her how wonderful these squash were when cooked on the grill.
Did someone say "grill?"
The seller told me to cut them in half, drizzle olive oil over them, and let the propane-fed flames and/or coals lick them to perfection.
I bought some olive oil. Foodies thrive on olive oil. They would drink gallons of the stuff if they though they could get away with it.
Carol Ann Kates, author of "Secret Recipes from the Corner Market," makes some dazzling olive oils. I bought a bottle of the Mexican lime. Sample cups were set out with chunks of bread. I sampled the lime and blood orange and several other varieties. Carol told me that the olive oil comes from California but she juices the limes at her place and puts them together for a fragrant combination. I may end up drinking the Mexican lime olive oil.
Dipping chunks of that bread into the olive oil samples sparked numerous conversations. Good food sparks good talk. We all hung around Carol's stand and dipped and munched and finally bought. My idea is to take the Mexican lime oilve oil and slather it on the squash and grill them. I bought a loaf of Jewish rye from the Styrian Bakery out of Fort Collins. This will be great for dipping. I also may use the olive oil as a marinade for the steaks I bought from the 7 Bar 2 Ranch, which is 20 miles west of Cheyenne along Happy Jack Road.
I bought three sirloins. "Wyoming-raised, dry-aged and all-natural beef."
Can't wait to grill them. I revel in the fact that the beef was raised within a few minutes of my house in Cheyenne. I sampled some of the 7 Bar 2 burger and it was very tasty without any added elements.
After the farmers' market, I headed to Safeway to buy some cilantro grown at Grant Farms in Wellington. I also bought some shrooms for the steaks and ice cream, of course, because farmers' markets aren't the best places to buy ice cream.
I have a lot of my own leaf lettuce that needs to be eaten. Chinese pea pods, too, along with a couple of tomatoes. I am watching the tomatoes very carefully. I want them so bad.
Smells like roasted peppers, for one thing, which excites my senses. I want to buy bags of peppers and shove them up my nose. No good can come from that.
But smelling the pablanos and jalepenos gets me in the mood for buying other foodstuffs.
First up -- peaches. I know that it's slightly early for Colorado peaches but I bought a few from Palisade and some apricots. Nothing quite as sensual as the smell of peaches. I love the juices running down my chin and onto my clothes. Sweet and sticky. Better yet -- slice peaches onto vanilla ice cream.
I also bought some Palisade-grown apricots. Very good. Not sure about apricots and ice cream but I'm willing to give it a try. BTW, Palisade is 12 miles east of Grand Junction, Colo., along the Colorado River Valley. The Palisade Peach Festival is Aug. 19-22.
Vanilla ice cream is the starter for so many fruits. Strawberries, peaches, cantaloupe, blueberries, raspberries, etc.
I bought some pattypan squash from a farm located between Kersey and Greeley, Colo. Before I left for the market, my wife asked me to buy some of those squashes that looks like blossoms and have ridges around the edge. The seller told me that another customer had told her how wonderful these squash were when cooked on the grill.
Did someone say "grill?"
The seller told me to cut them in half, drizzle olive oil over them, and let the propane-fed flames and/or coals lick them to perfection.
I bought some olive oil. Foodies thrive on olive oil. They would drink gallons of the stuff if they though they could get away with it.
Carol Ann Kates, author of "Secret Recipes from the Corner Market," makes some dazzling olive oils. I bought a bottle of the Mexican lime. Sample cups were set out with chunks of bread. I sampled the lime and blood orange and several other varieties. Carol told me that the olive oil comes from California but she juices the limes at her place and puts them together for a fragrant combination. I may end up drinking the Mexican lime olive oil.
Dipping chunks of that bread into the olive oil samples sparked numerous conversations. Good food sparks good talk. We all hung around Carol's stand and dipped and munched and finally bought. My idea is to take the Mexican lime oilve oil and slather it on the squash and grill them. I bought a loaf of Jewish rye from the Styrian Bakery out of Fort Collins. This will be great for dipping. I also may use the olive oil as a marinade for the steaks I bought from the 7 Bar 2 Ranch, which is 20 miles west of Cheyenne along Happy Jack Road.
I bought three sirloins. "Wyoming-raised, dry-aged and all-natural beef."
Can't wait to grill them. I revel in the fact that the beef was raised within a few minutes of my house in Cheyenne. I sampled some of the 7 Bar 2 burger and it was very tasty without any added elements.
After the farmers' market, I headed to Safeway to buy some cilantro grown at Grant Farms in Wellington. I also bought some shrooms for the steaks and ice cream, of course, because farmers' markets aren't the best places to buy ice cream.
I have a lot of my own leaf lettuce that needs to be eaten. Chinese pea pods, too, along with a couple of tomatoes. I am watching the tomatoes very carefully. I want them so bad.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Wyoming primaries are two weeks and counting
Difficult to believe, but the state primaries are only two weeks away -- Aug. 17.
Been so busy with family matters and old-fashioned melodrama and gardening and work that I barely noticed.
I volunteered to be an election judge. I was a judge in the monumental 2006 mid-term elections, supervising the polls so thoroughly and adriotly that they wanted me back for aznother round.
Besides, the county was short of warm bodies, especially those with experience.
It's enjoyable to work at the polls. In the olden times of 2006, volunteers had to work full shifts, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lori Millin, our state rep in District 8, shepherded a bill through the House that divided up those shifts. Not monumental legislation, but it may bring in more volunteers when county residents find out that they don't have to work from dawn, when the coffee and doughnuts are fresh, until it gets dark and all that's left is sludge at the bottom of the coffee pot and a few stale dough balls.
Lori has moved on to run for the State Senate. I worked for her election as rep and will do the same for her as senator. New to the race this year is Ken McCauley, who's been very active in the Laramie County Democrats and now makes the leap to running for office.
I have one of his signs in my yard. He did a hit-and-run delivery Sunday evening. It's blue (of course) and a logo that includes an A-10, the same kind of plane Ken flew in combat. Very clever. Ken's a commercial pilot now and has a thoughtful platform. You can read it at http://www.mccauleyforhouse.com/.
I'm not sure who will get my vote on the Dem gubernatorial slate. Pete Gosar and Leslie Peterson are the only serious candidates. Before these two candidates pushed the filing deadline to the last minute, there was nobody to vote for. Some Dems were thinking about registering as repubs and voting for anyone but Micheli, whose only idea is gutting state gubment and keeping the federal gubmint off of our backs. Interesting to note that Micheli collected all kinds of subsidies from the Agriculture Department which happens to be a branch of the dang federal gubmint. Mead did too. But I can forgive Mead, since he's more of a moderate and seems to be one of the few Repubs in the Gov race who takes time out from chewing on the feds. I've been astonished at how much time Colin Simpson spends bashing gubment and gubmint. He's not as moderate as a I first expected.
Most WyoDems are voting for Dems, as it should be. I could vote for Mead. But won't.
Been so busy with family matters and old-fashioned melodrama and gardening and work that I barely noticed.
I volunteered to be an election judge. I was a judge in the monumental 2006 mid-term elections, supervising the polls so thoroughly and adriotly that they wanted me back for aznother round.
Besides, the county was short of warm bodies, especially those with experience.
It's enjoyable to work at the polls. In the olden times of 2006, volunteers had to work full shifts, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lori Millin, our state rep in District 8, shepherded a bill through the House that divided up those shifts. Not monumental legislation, but it may bring in more volunteers when county residents find out that they don't have to work from dawn, when the coffee and doughnuts are fresh, until it gets dark and all that's left is sludge at the bottom of the coffee pot and a few stale dough balls.
Lori has moved on to run for the State Senate. I worked for her election as rep and will do the same for her as senator. New to the race this year is Ken McCauley, who's been very active in the Laramie County Democrats and now makes the leap to running for office.
I have one of his signs in my yard. He did a hit-and-run delivery Sunday evening. It's blue (of course) and a logo that includes an A-10, the same kind of plane Ken flew in combat. Very clever. Ken's a commercial pilot now and has a thoughtful platform. You can read it at http://www.mccauleyforhouse.com/.
I'm not sure who will get my vote on the Dem gubernatorial slate. Pete Gosar and Leslie Peterson are the only serious candidates. Before these two candidates pushed the filing deadline to the last minute, there was nobody to vote for. Some Dems were thinking about registering as repubs and voting for anyone but Micheli, whose only idea is gutting state gubment and keeping the federal gubmint off of our backs. Interesting to note that Micheli collected all kinds of subsidies from the Agriculture Department which happens to be a branch of the dang federal gubmint. Mead did too. But I can forgive Mead, since he's more of a moderate and seems to be one of the few Repubs in the Gov race who takes time out from chewing on the feds. I've been astonished at how much time Colin Simpson spends bashing gubment and gubmint. He's not as moderate as a I first expected.
Most WyoDems are voting for Dems, as it should be. I could vote for Mead. But won't.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
WyoDems' Jefferson-Jackson Banquet Sept. 25
Bill Luckett has announced the details about the 2010 Jefferson-Jackson Banquet hosted by the Wyoming Democratic Party. It's on Sept. 25, which is unfortunate since I'll be at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper. But most of the Dem candidates will be there and it's a great time and place for schmoozing.
Here's the announcement:
Here's the announcement:
I am pleased to announce that we have scheduled the 2010 Jefferson-Jackson Banquet for Saturday, September 25, 2010, at the Cody Holiday Inn. I hope you will be able to join us for the state party's annual fall rally and Central Committee meeting as we head into the final weeks before Election Day. Our new Acting Chair plans to raise with the Central Committee our strategy and message going forward and we will be organizing for a major statewide effort aimed toward getting out our vote in November.
We are trying something a little different this year by having a LUNCHTIME banquet instead of the more traditional evening event, and the banquet itself will take place from noon to about 2 p.m. Individual tickets are $75 per person. You can make your reservation today by calling state party headquarters at 800-729-3367 (that's 800-SAY-DEMS) or by purchasing tickets online at this link:
http://www.wyomingdemocrats.com/ht/d/RegisterForConvention/i/1311383
We have a block of rooms available at the Holiday Inn for the discounted price of $109 for Friday and Saturday night, but the deadline to get that rate is August 27, so please make your reservation now and don't miss out. Call the Holiday Inn at 800-527-5544 and ask for Booking Code ZQS to get the Wyoming Democratic Party rate.
The banquet is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m., September 25, at the Holiday Inn. Featured highlights will include addresses from our excellent slate of candidates for statewide offices and announcement of the winner of our Party Builder of the Year Award. We will announce further details as they become finalized, but we wanted to let you know the date, time and place for this exciting event so you can make your plans today.
Please join us if you can for this annual fall fundraiser and political rally with Democratic leaders and activists from across Wyoming. While we expect to have a very few tickets available at the door, space is limited, so sign up today by calling the state party office at 800-729-3367 or purchase tickets online at:
http://www.wyomingdemocrats.com/ht/d/RegisterForConvention/i/1311383
Bill Luckett
Executive Director
Wyoming Democratic Party
luckett@wyomingdemocrats.com
Big weather pounds high plains -- big hailstone travels to Boulder
 |
| Sean R. Heavey/For The Billings Gazette From the Billings Gazette: Sean Heavey of Glasgow tracked a storm that hit Valley County and Phillips County on Wednesday evening. A pickup truck pulling a trailer drives in the storm on Highway 2 between Hinsdale and Glasgow at about 8 p.m. Wednesday. Victor Proton, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service office in Glasgow, said reports indicated the tornado touched down for a brief time near Hinsdale at about 7:30 p.m. Twenty-five tornadoes have been reported in Montana so far this year. That compares to seven last year. An EF3 tornado that hit Reserve on Monday killed two people and injured several others. Another big storm in Vivian, S.D., spawned hail the size of cantaloupe. One of those hailstones was 11 inches in diameter and may be the largest ever recovered. It was transported to the National Weather Service office in Cheyenne last week. On Friday, it was shipped off to NOAA in Boulder. There's some bad news: When the NWS measured the hailstone, it had shrunk to only eight inches in diameter. This may endanger its chance for a weather record. At first, I thought the impressive chunk of ice was coming to town for Cheyenne Frontier Days. I would like to see a huge hailstone. Others would too. The CFD committee should have found a place in the parade for it. "Record-setting hailstone from Vivian, S.D. See it before it melts!" The stone, of course, would have to be transported in a refrigerated plexiglass case. Probably impractical. Hail is transitory, as are the storms that birth them. High plains storms are bitchin' to watch from a distance but hell when they strike your community. On Sunday, Cheyenne marks the 25th anniversary of its deadly 1985 flood. Twelve people were killed, including the mayor's daughter. Here's how the NWS describes it on its site "Historic flood events in the Missouri River Basin:" By late afternoon on August 1, 1985, a stationary thunderstorm developed over Cheyenne, Wyoming, producing record amounts of rainfall. In approximately a 3-hour time span, six plus inches of rainfall occurred. The storm produced at least one tornado, heavy rains, and hail. In some parts of town, hail piled up to depths of 4-6 feet. The severe flooding resulted in 12 deaths, 70 people were injured, and total damages exceeded $61 million.Strangely enough, another historic flash flood happened on the same day nine years earlier just 60 miles south of Cheyenne. It was the Big Thompson Canyon Flood that killed 135 people. It takes a talented photographer to capture one of these summer storms (see above). For another impressive shot, go to www.billingsgazette.com |
Friday, July 30, 2010
Literature drop for Ken McCauley Aug. 14
Linda Stowers sends this Dem news:
Ken McCauley, Wyoming House District 8 candidate, is having a literature drop on Saturday, August 14. If you are interested in particpating in this activity join him at 3612 Moore Ave at 8 a.m. on the 14th. You will just be leaving literature on neighborhood doors.
I am in Ken's district. He has visited me and my neighbors at least once already. He is a Democrat. He is a great candidate. Not sure if I can make lit drop as I may be out of town. But I will drop lit on other days.
Good luck Ken!
FMI: http://www.mccauleyforhouse.com/
Ken McCauley, Wyoming House District 8 candidate, is having a literature drop on Saturday, August 14. If you are interested in particpating in this activity join him at 3612 Moore Ave at 8 a.m. on the 14th. You will just be leaving literature on neighborhood doors.
I am in Ken's district. He has visited me and my neighbors at least once already. He is a Democrat. He is a great candidate. Not sure if I can make lit drop as I may be out of town. But I will drop lit on other days.
Good luck Ken!
FMI: http://www.mccauleyforhouse.com/
Thursday, July 29, 2010
"Cowboy up" mentality doesn't prevent suicides
The Wyoming Department of Health Aug. 27 on-line newsletter about suicide prevention carried this article:
The "Cowboy Up" motto of self-reliance can be deadly for vulnerable Wyoming residents.
Rugged individualism prevails in Wyoming and other frontier states, where residents “cowboy up” to take care of problems on their own — even if that may mean taking their own lives.
Halloween 1991 was a happy time for siblings Beau, Brett and Blair Wagner of Cheyenne. Yet before one brother turned 20 he would be dead by suicide. A second brother ended his life four years later.
Cheyenne Frontier Days™ had wrapped its 113th year a mere week before Beau Wagner ended his life. The date was August 4, 2009, and while local and national media were reporting on record attendance and rodeo champions, Beau was living his last hours. “He was in such a dark place,” recalls his mother BJ Ayers.
Like many who contemplate suicide as a final escape from unrelenting “psychache,” Beau hid the depth of his pain—and hid it well. Reflecting the rugged western independence that Wyoming citizens abide by, Beau handled his problems in his own way. So did his kid brother Brett.
Less than four years earlier, Brett too had died by suicide. He was 19 years old, and the youngest of the three Wagner boys. It was December 1, 2005, the day that Brett's sudden and unforeseen death first shattered this Wyoming family.
The Wagner brothers -- Beau, Brett and Blair -- resemble one another in more ways than their rugged good looks. Genetic predisposition to depression, a mood disorder that is often present in people who die by suicide, is something else Brett and Beau likely had in common. But both coped with their emotional pain in their own ways that didn't include clinical treatment—medication, therapy, or ideally both in combination with one another.
After Brett's passing, he left many drawings, sketches and letters that now serve as a testament to his emotional pain—a pain so great he saw no way out other than to end his life. Mom BJ hoped her two remaining sons would be insulated from thoughts of suicide by their youngest brother's death. That was not to be for Beau. Research shows that people who lose a loved one to suicide are at much higher risk of dying by suicide themselves. As unfathomable as it may be, Beau's following in the footsteps of his younger brother, while tragic and incomprehensible, is not surprising to experts in suicidal thoughts, gestures and attempts.
In 2009 the boys' mom established a non-profit organization, Grace for 2 Brothers Foundation. Its mission is two-fold—to serve as a resource for those in emotional crisis or for those who know a person in crisis, and also for people who have lost a loved one to suicide. These "survivors of suicide loss" often experience traumatic, complicated grief and can be prone to anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, along with potential onset of clinical depression, as an outcome of coping with a loss as profound as suicide, particularly that of a child.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! SATURDAY, AUGUST 14: 1st ANNUAL "WALK OF GRACE" at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lions Park Amphitheater in Cheyenne. For information or to register, visit http://www.gracefor2brothers.com/. SUNDAY, AUGUST 15: 2nd ANNUAL MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT the Airport Golf Course in Cheyenne; registration begins at 11 a.m., with tee-off at 12:30 p.m. For information or to register, contact Rick Boheler at 307-432-0547 or rboheler@comcast.net.
On stage in Casper on Aug. 9
In Betsy’s own words: “My father owns a welding shop where I grew up playing with fire and tools twice my size. Though I never wanted to grow up, I live in a 24-year-old body playing as if I have faery wings stretching out behind me. I build my own toys out of the resources around me. In high school, I studied abroad for one year as a Rotary exchange student in Japan. Breathing, eating, and socializing in another culture cured me of believing that there is only one way to live. Traveling became another passion for me and since I have met, it seems like, countless amazing philosophers, circus freaks, artists, dancers, musicians, transcendentalists, teachers, and muses. I generally move every few months, and I dream of living on the road in an art/music studio on wheels. I enjoy watching Casper blossom. Every time I return from somewhere the culture has grown.”
Michael Shay’s fiction and essays have been published in Northern Lights, High Plains Literary Review, Colorado Review, Owen Wister Review, Visions, Relief Journal, High Plains Register, and In Short, a Norton anthology of brief creative nonfiction. His book of short fiction, The Weight of a Body, was published by Denver’s Ghost Road Press in March 2006. Michael was co-editor of the Wyoming Center for the Book’s 2003 anthology, Deep West: A Literary Tour of Wyoming. Michael blogs about writing and politics and Wyoming on his hummingbirdminds blog. He is the individual artists’ program specialist for the Wyoming Arts Council in Cheyenne.
FMI: http://www.artcorewy.com/
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Depressed? Get over it, cowboy!
Wyoming teens still engage in risky behavior.
That’s not really news for teens living anywhere or at any time. I must admit that I engaged in some risky behaviors as a lad. Lived to tell the tale and to lament the fact that we don’t seem to be making any progress on this front.
In its Kids Count report, the Annie E. Casey Foundation says this:
For our teens, things are getting worse, not better.
And this happening during boom times, a time of budget surpluses and increases in state spending on education and, to a certain extent, health care. This includes boosts in funding for mental health care, too.
So, if throwing money at a problem fixes it, we should all have happy and productive and living teens.
Some of us do not. In 2008, six percent of the state’s teens were not attending school and had not graduated from high school. That’s better than 2000 when that figure was 10 percent. Teen pregnancy is up. Fifty-one births were recorded in 2007 for every 1,000 females 15-19 years old. That was 42 per 1,000 in 2000.
Lots of bad news sprinkled with some good news.
These are more than boring stats for those of us with teen children. Our 17-year-old daughter Annie has engaged in some risky behavior. I’m sure that Chris and I know only some of it. The war on drugs has failed us and our country. Teens seem to get booze any time they want. Annie seems to know more high school drop-outs than kids still in school. There’s a batch of homeless teens in Cheyenne who roam from one friend’s house to another and occasionally sleep under bridges. One only has to wander through the mall to see our town’s array of teen mothers.
One could write a book on this subject, but someone else will have to do that. I just want to explore one factor that underlies all of these problems.
Wyoming.
A conservative state with a frontier mentality. If you live here, you get to enjoy some incredible scenery and outdoor activities. Peace and quiet and low crime rates. In exchange, you will be underpaid and have access to second-rate health care and third-rate amenities in the arts and culture. Mental health care is almost nonexistent. This is a state without a single child psychiatrist and only one drug and alcohol treatment center for teens. The reigning attitude is that you can tough it out, no matter what the “it” is? Drunk? Quit drinking. Depressed? Get over it, boy, and get to work. Suicidal? If you want to shoot yourself, please do it outside.
This is all tied in with the rugged individualism that made Wyoming great. That’s the myth, anyway. Our State Legislature actually spent time during the past session on an official code based on some pretend cowboy past. I blogged about during the session (http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2010/02/wyomings-new-code-of-west.html) and last spring http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2010/04/uw-panel-discusses-wyomings-new-code-of.html.
The Legislature is representative of Wyoming in that it is overwhelmingly Republican and more conservative that most of the Wyomingites I know. It has many more members from the ranching and agricultural fields than is represented in the population as a whole. The part-time Wyoming House and Senate should be made up of mainly of those from the extractive industries, tourism and government – local, state and federal. A columnist once postulated that if Wyoming had a logo that better represented its population, it would replace the bucking horse with a bureaucrat carrying a briefcase. Just imagine that image on state letterhead.
We hate gubment. We are the gubment. Wyomingites get more back in funding from Uncle Sam then they pay in taxes.
We hate gubment.
Back to our teenagers. We have some fine teens in this town. Smart, energetic, talented. In a few years, they’ll be of to college and exciting careers in places other than Wyoming. Some will had for the military, and still others for the oil patch.
Many others will be left behind. Pregnant at 16, or working fast-food jobs while something better opens up. Others will die while driving drunk.
And we’ll sit back, watch the unfolding chaos, and ponder the wonders of the Cowboy Code.
That’s not really news for teens living anywhere or at any time. I must admit that I engaged in some risky behaviors as a lad. Lived to tell the tale and to lament the fact that we don’t seem to be making any progress on this front.
In its Kids Count report, the Annie E. Casey Foundation says this:
Wyoming’s death rate among people 15 to 19 years old, based on accidents, suicides, homicides and other causes, was 86 per 100,000. Only seven other states had a higher rate.
In 2000, Wyoming’s teen death rate was 81 per 100,000.
For our teens, things are getting worse, not better.
And this happening during boom times, a time of budget surpluses and increases in state spending on education and, to a certain extent, health care. This includes boosts in funding for mental health care, too.
So, if throwing money at a problem fixes it, we should all have happy and productive and living teens.
Some of us do not. In 2008, six percent of the state’s teens were not attending school and had not graduated from high school. That’s better than 2000 when that figure was 10 percent. Teen pregnancy is up. Fifty-one births were recorded in 2007 for every 1,000 females 15-19 years old. That was 42 per 1,000 in 2000.
Lots of bad news sprinkled with some good news.
These are more than boring stats for those of us with teen children. Our 17-year-old daughter Annie has engaged in some risky behavior. I’m sure that Chris and I know only some of it. The war on drugs has failed us and our country. Teens seem to get booze any time they want. Annie seems to know more high school drop-outs than kids still in school. There’s a batch of homeless teens in Cheyenne who roam from one friend’s house to another and occasionally sleep under bridges. One only has to wander through the mall to see our town’s array of teen mothers.
One could write a book on this subject, but someone else will have to do that. I just want to explore one factor that underlies all of these problems.
Wyoming.
A conservative state with a frontier mentality. If you live here, you get to enjoy some incredible scenery and outdoor activities. Peace and quiet and low crime rates. In exchange, you will be underpaid and have access to second-rate health care and third-rate amenities in the arts and culture. Mental health care is almost nonexistent. This is a state without a single child psychiatrist and only one drug and alcohol treatment center for teens. The reigning attitude is that you can tough it out, no matter what the “it” is? Drunk? Quit drinking. Depressed? Get over it, boy, and get to work. Suicidal? If you want to shoot yourself, please do it outside.
This is all tied in with the rugged individualism that made Wyoming great. That’s the myth, anyway. Our State Legislature actually spent time during the past session on an official code based on some pretend cowboy past. I blogged about during the session (http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2010/02/wyomings-new-code-of-west.html) and last spring http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2010/04/uw-panel-discusses-wyomings-new-code-of.html.
The Legislature is representative of Wyoming in that it is overwhelmingly Republican and more conservative that most of the Wyomingites I know. It has many more members from the ranching and agricultural fields than is represented in the population as a whole. The part-time Wyoming House and Senate should be made up of mainly of those from the extractive industries, tourism and government – local, state and federal. A columnist once postulated that if Wyoming had a logo that better represented its population, it would replace the bucking horse with a bureaucrat carrying a briefcase. Just imagine that image on state letterhead.
We hate gubment. We are the gubment. Wyomingites get more back in funding from Uncle Sam then they pay in taxes.
We hate gubment.
Back to our teenagers. We have some fine teens in this town. Smart, energetic, talented. In a few years, they’ll be of to college and exciting careers in places other than Wyoming. Some will had for the military, and still others for the oil patch.
Many others will be left behind. Pregnant at 16, or working fast-food jobs while something better opens up. Others will die while driving drunk.
And we’ll sit back, watch the unfolding chaos, and ponder the wonders of the Cowboy Code.
Monday, July 26, 2010
THE MAN IN ( MOSTLY) BLACK
Saturday, July 24, 2010
What health care reform looks like for people with mental illness
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) provides fact sheets on the huge new health care reform law and what it means for those of us struggling with depression and bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and behavior health issues. Mental health parity is finally becoming a reality. I just discovered that my health insurance has caught up with the times, removing caps on mental health treatment, both out-patient and long-term hospitalization. Change! And hope!
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Issue_Spotlights&template=%2FContentManagement%2FContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=100489
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Issue_Spotlights&template=%2FContentManagement%2FContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=100489
National Geo Geotourism Map worth a look
Atlantic City Mercantile, Dark Horse Books and 7D Dude Ranch all part of the National Geographic's Yellowstone Region Geotourism Map at http://www.yellowstonegeotourism.org/map.php.
The region emcompasses quite a distance, further than most of us in Wyoming consider the Yellowstone ecosystem. For instance, the Little Bighorn Battlefield on Montana's Crow Reservation is on the map. It's worthy, no doubt, but so far away from the old Yellowstone caldera at around 150 road miles.
Entirely possible that National Geo knows more than I do.
The region emcompasses quite a distance, further than most of us in Wyoming consider the Yellowstone ecosystem. For instance, the Little Bighorn Battlefield on Montana's Crow Reservation is on the map. It's worthy, no doubt, but so far away from the old Yellowstone caldera at around 150 road miles.
Entirely possible that National Geo knows more than I do.
U.S. Army stats: Discharges for mental disorders increase by 64 percent
Disturbing news from a USA Today story as reported in The (Pakistan) Nation on the Web:
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a toll on minds as well as bodies, statistics released by the U.S. Army indicate.
The Army said the number of U.S. soldiers forced to leave the military because of mental disorders increased by 64 percent from 2005 to 2009, USA Today reported.
Last year 1,224 soldiers received a medical discharge for mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
The number accounts for one in nine medical discharges.
Army Lt. Col. Rebecca Porter, a behavioural health official, said research shows "a clear relationship between multiple deployments and increased symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD."
The Pentagon reported in May that mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops in 2009 than any other medical condition.
Joe Davis, a spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the military is excellent at treating visible wounds but not wounds to the mind.
Friday, July 23, 2010
ANTICIPATION
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Hot music on a cool night in Cheyenne
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Military seeks out new advice for Afghan quandary
Greg Mortenson, the Bozeman, Mont., mountain climber turned activist turned author, is in the news for his unique approach to winning the war in Afghanistan.
NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/world/asia/18tea.html?src=me&ref=homepage
NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/world/asia/18tea.html?src=me&ref=homepage
Sunday, July 18, 2010
My garden becoming picturesque
The fence keeps out our mutt and two new kittens, who like to munch on greenery. Also the occasional rabbit that wanders into the yard.
Kathleen Parker: "Good Golly Ms. Molly"
Columnist Kathleen Parker writes today about a new Islamic fatwa, this one issued against Molly Norris, a Seattle cartoonist.
The Islamic fundies have issued a fatwa against Morris for attempting to draw the prophet Muhammed. Islamists says that thou shalt not draw or even attempt to draw or talk about drawing the prophet Muhammed. I should add that not all Islamic scholars agree that such a prohibition exists.
So what are you waiting for? Go sign. I did.
The Islamic fundies have issued a fatwa against Morris for attempting to draw the prophet Muhammed. Islamists says that thou shalt not draw or even attempt to draw or talk about drawing the prophet Muhammed. I should add that not all Islamic scholars agree that such a prohibition exists.
...In support of Norris and others, 19 Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists have signed a petition condemning threats and attacks against cartoonists. The petition is posted on the Cartoonists Rights Network International website (http://www.cartoonistrights.com/). It hasn't enough signatures.
So what are you waiting for? Go sign. I did.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Community volunteering, Cheyenne style
Why do people volunteer?
There isn’t much glory in picking up trash along the city’s greenway. Sure, your organization gets a sign: “This section of the Greenway sponsored by the Old Timey Choo-Choo Train Collectors Club” – something like that. People see it every day as they walk or skate or bike by. But is that all there is?
People like to help. They like to hang around with like-minded people. As you pluck candy bar rappers from a patch of nettles, you are with other people who like what you do. And you’re performing a public service.
You get bragging rights, too.
“Have you ever been on the quarter-mile stretch of Greenway between Chattanooga Road and Rock Island Lane? Ever notice how the nettles are free of Snickers wrappers? Our club did that. All aboard!”
Scientists tell us that humans may be hard-wired for empathy and philanthropy and community service. We may even come equipped with an “empathy gene.” We could all be do-gooders at heart. This may come as a shock to Ayn Rand fans, who believe that greed and self-preservation are the only hard-wired human virtues. It may shock others who love to point out that only humans and our chimp cousins kill their own kind for the thrill of killing. That kind of attitude gets us off the hook in so many ways.
But if we are hard-wired for empathy and social interaction, it doesn’t let us off the hook in so many ways.
I’ve been thinking about this lately because Chris and I are volunteer coordinators for Cheyenne’s Old-Fashioned Summer Melodrama, now in its 54th year. It’s a production of the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players, now 80 years old and counting. As with all community theatres, the CLTP depends on volunteers. The melodrama is an all-volunteer show – directors, cast, backstage crew, olio acts, bartenders, ushers, and all the rest. It takes a lot of volunteers to run 28 shows, especially when this one is the organization’s largest annual fund-raiser. And the most fun.
Most people I know aren’t anxious to staff the old-fashioned (and very hot) popcorn maker in our historic (non-air-conditioned theatre) just for the joy of sweating. Jeanne knows the popcorn maker frontward and backward and is one of the few people who can get it to behave. She takes a joy in that, and in teaching the rest of us rookies. She divvies up the extra popcorn, and takes some home for her family. Small physical reward for five hours of hard work.
I was house manager for last night’s show. My job is to look important and handle the money. During one of my frequent breaks, I looked around the lobby and could see the following: behind the bar was a tee totaling Mormon and former Miss Wyoming contestant, a writer who sometimes takes care of her twin boy grandkids and a retired sheriff. Jeanne was disciplining the popcorn machine, ably assisted by 16-year-old Erica, whose grandma (a former school librarian) was backstage helping her granddaughter get dressed for a performance. Selling raffle tickets were mother and daughter, both long-time volunteers. My wife Chris was taking care of the box office and Joyce was sitting at the “will call” table – she was in melodrama performances back in the 1960s. She contends that she’s too old for acting but still loves to help out.
Waiting on tables were an Air Force NCO and his wife, who also supervises the theatre’s craft shop. There was Lew, an 82-year-old Air Force veteran and American Legion volunteer and Mark, a twenty-something guy who also volunteers backstage. Barb, too, who auditioned for the melodrama but didn’t get a call-back. So I called her up for duty in the lobby.
On stage were college kids, high school kids, state government employees, teachers, entrepreneurs, realtors and even one person who is looking for work and still found the time and energy to volunteer.
Signed up for volunteering later is the county clerk, several attorneys, government types, retirees, day-care providers, police officers, homemakers, men and women from Warren AFB, college kids, and several people running for public office.
None of these people are being paid, although waitrons get to keep their tips.
So they get something else out of it. Some of the young people are looking for experience that can lead them into careers in theatre or film. One of the card girls this year is back from college for the summer and working as the tech person for the local TV station’s morning show. The honoree at this year’s Cheyenne Film Festival was a former melodrama volunteer, Daniel Junge, who has gone on to make documentaries nominated for Academy Awards. My son Kevin runs the sound and lights for his community college theatre program. He was waiting tables at the melodrama last year.
Others who spent part of their childhood at the theatre are now volunteering with their kids. Some are in show biz, but most are teachers, bureaucrats, serving in the military, working at carwashes, ranching, or maybe just ne’er-do-wells. Never know how people are going to turn out.
I’m an arts bureaucrat and writer. My wife runs the arts programs at the local YMCA.
Volunteering makes us feel good. We also know it’s part of being an active member of the community. It’s part of valuing our community, even creating community where it didn't exist before.
Where did we pick up such crazy ideas? Our families, for one, and growing up Catholic. We were also influenced by hippe values, which were a strange amalgam of "love thy neighbor" and "me-me-me!" All of us Baby Boomers seem to still be struggling with this issue.
Community is what it’s all about. You may not have a single empathy gene in your body. But almost everyone agrees that there is such a thing as “community values.”
There isn’t much glory in picking up trash along the city’s greenway. Sure, your organization gets a sign: “This section of the Greenway sponsored by the Old Timey Choo-Choo Train Collectors Club” – something like that. People see it every day as they walk or skate or bike by. But is that all there is?
People like to help. They like to hang around with like-minded people. As you pluck candy bar rappers from a patch of nettles, you are with other people who like what you do. And you’re performing a public service.
You get bragging rights, too.
“Have you ever been on the quarter-mile stretch of Greenway between Chattanooga Road and Rock Island Lane? Ever notice how the nettles are free of Snickers wrappers? Our club did that. All aboard!”
Scientists tell us that humans may be hard-wired for empathy and philanthropy and community service. We may even come equipped with an “empathy gene.” We could all be do-gooders at heart. This may come as a shock to Ayn Rand fans, who believe that greed and self-preservation are the only hard-wired human virtues. It may shock others who love to point out that only humans and our chimp cousins kill their own kind for the thrill of killing. That kind of attitude gets us off the hook in so many ways.
But if we are hard-wired for empathy and social interaction, it doesn’t let us off the hook in so many ways.
I’ve been thinking about this lately because Chris and I are volunteer coordinators for Cheyenne’s Old-Fashioned Summer Melodrama, now in its 54th year. It’s a production of the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players, now 80 years old and counting. As with all community theatres, the CLTP depends on volunteers. The melodrama is an all-volunteer show – directors, cast, backstage crew, olio acts, bartenders, ushers, and all the rest. It takes a lot of volunteers to run 28 shows, especially when this one is the organization’s largest annual fund-raiser. And the most fun.
Most people I know aren’t anxious to staff the old-fashioned (and very hot) popcorn maker in our historic (non-air-conditioned theatre) just for the joy of sweating. Jeanne knows the popcorn maker frontward and backward and is one of the few people who can get it to behave. She takes a joy in that, and in teaching the rest of us rookies. She divvies up the extra popcorn, and takes some home for her family. Small physical reward for five hours of hard work.
I was house manager for last night’s show. My job is to look important and handle the money. During one of my frequent breaks, I looked around the lobby and could see the following: behind the bar was a tee totaling Mormon and former Miss Wyoming contestant, a writer who sometimes takes care of her twin boy grandkids and a retired sheriff. Jeanne was disciplining the popcorn machine, ably assisted by 16-year-old Erica, whose grandma (a former school librarian) was backstage helping her granddaughter get dressed for a performance. Selling raffle tickets were mother and daughter, both long-time volunteers. My wife Chris was taking care of the box office and Joyce was sitting at the “will call” table – she was in melodrama performances back in the 1960s. She contends that she’s too old for acting but still loves to help out.
Waiting on tables were an Air Force NCO and his wife, who also supervises the theatre’s craft shop. There was Lew, an 82-year-old Air Force veteran and American Legion volunteer and Mark, a twenty-something guy who also volunteers backstage. Barb, too, who auditioned for the melodrama but didn’t get a call-back. So I called her up for duty in the lobby.
On stage were college kids, high school kids, state government employees, teachers, entrepreneurs, realtors and even one person who is looking for work and still found the time and energy to volunteer.
Signed up for volunteering later is the county clerk, several attorneys, government types, retirees, day-care providers, police officers, homemakers, men and women from Warren AFB, college kids, and several people running for public office.
None of these people are being paid, although waitrons get to keep their tips.
So they get something else out of it. Some of the young people are looking for experience that can lead them into careers in theatre or film. One of the card girls this year is back from college for the summer and working as the tech person for the local TV station’s morning show. The honoree at this year’s Cheyenne Film Festival was a former melodrama volunteer, Daniel Junge, who has gone on to make documentaries nominated for Academy Awards. My son Kevin runs the sound and lights for his community college theatre program. He was waiting tables at the melodrama last year.
Others who spent part of their childhood at the theatre are now volunteering with their kids. Some are in show biz, but most are teachers, bureaucrats, serving in the military, working at carwashes, ranching, or maybe just ne’er-do-wells. Never know how people are going to turn out.
I’m an arts bureaucrat and writer. My wife runs the arts programs at the local YMCA.
Volunteering makes us feel good. We also know it’s part of being an active member of the community. It’s part of valuing our community, even creating community where it didn't exist before.
Where did we pick up such crazy ideas? Our families, for one, and growing up Catholic. We were also influenced by hippe values, which were a strange amalgam of "love thy neighbor" and "me-me-me!" All of us Baby Boomers seem to still be struggling with this issue.
Community is what it’s all about. You may not have a single empathy gene in your body. But almost everyone agrees that there is such a thing as “community values.”
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
A bit of French DNA makes me nostalgic on Bastille Day
Not much singing in my grandfather's house on Bastille Day.
Martin Hett was born on July 14 inside a thatched hut in County Roscommon, Ireland, either in 1899 or 1900 -- there always seemed to be some confusion about the year. My sister Molly had to dig up his birth certificate in order to apply for dual Irish/U.S. citizenship. Maybe she knows the year.
Martin had many siblings -- and step-siblings. An evil stepmother, too. If it was a nice day in Roscommon on that Bastille Day so long ago, he might have been born outside to avoid the crowds. A few hundred miles away in Paris, fireworks were erupting, illuminating the Eiffel Tower and the wine-flushed faces of thousands of French citoyens. By 1918, a lot of them would be dead in the mud of their homeland.
And Ireland would be a free state. And Martin Hett would be in America not singing "La Marseillaise." He'd be working, though. A hard worker, not much for singing, even though he came from Irish and French stock. De la Hett was the family name, according to one family geneologist. The name brought to Ireland with a Frenchman intent on kicking Brit ass but probably winding up hanged from a gibbet, or just hanged, which was more economical.
But not before he gave a Roscommon lass his Gallic seed and part of his name.
"Let's storm the Bastille!"
"Fine, but let's make some time for a pint."
The French were many times unsuccessful in dislodging the British from Ireland, which was then part of the globe-spanning British Empire. Not clear how many French soldiers survived to mate. At least one.
And here I am, contemplating Bastille Day on a Wyoming afternoon.
I don't feel French. But I do like "La Marseillaise." A rousing anthem about revolution. Remember the scene from "Casablanca" when Victor Laszlo leads the patrons in "La Marseillaise?" One of my favorite movie moments.
During the U.S. invasion of Iraq, many American super-patriots hated the French, who would not cooperate in our misadventure. You recall the whole "freedom fries" fiasco? I do. So stupid. The French have been with us in Afghanistan. The last time I checked icasualties.org, 45 French soldiers had died in the fighting.
I have DNA ties to Ireland and France, although I've never visited either country.
Now, let's celebrate with a pint (or maybe a hometown microbrew) and then storm the Bastille.
Martin Hett was born on July 14 inside a thatched hut in County Roscommon, Ireland, either in 1899 or 1900 -- there always seemed to be some confusion about the year. My sister Molly had to dig up his birth certificate in order to apply for dual Irish/U.S. citizenship. Maybe she knows the year.
Martin had many siblings -- and step-siblings. An evil stepmother, too. If it was a nice day in Roscommon on that Bastille Day so long ago, he might have been born outside to avoid the crowds. A few hundred miles away in Paris, fireworks were erupting, illuminating the Eiffel Tower and the wine-flushed faces of thousands of French citoyens. By 1918, a lot of them would be dead in the mud of their homeland.
And Ireland would be a free state. And Martin Hett would be in America not singing "La Marseillaise." He'd be working, though. A hard worker, not much for singing, even though he came from Irish and French stock. De la Hett was the family name, according to one family geneologist. The name brought to Ireland with a Frenchman intent on kicking Brit ass but probably winding up hanged from a gibbet, or just hanged, which was more economical.
But not before he gave a Roscommon lass his Gallic seed and part of his name.
"Let's storm the Bastille!"
"Fine, but let's make some time for a pint."
The French were many times unsuccessful in dislodging the British from Ireland, which was then part of the globe-spanning British Empire. Not clear how many French soldiers survived to mate. At least one.
And here I am, contemplating Bastille Day on a Wyoming afternoon.
I don't feel French. But I do like "La Marseillaise." A rousing anthem about revolution. Remember the scene from "Casablanca" when Victor Laszlo leads the patrons in "La Marseillaise?" One of my favorite movie moments.
During the U.S. invasion of Iraq, many American super-patriots hated the French, who would not cooperate in our misadventure. You recall the whole "freedom fries" fiasco? I do. So stupid. The French have been with us in Afghanistan. The last time I checked icasualties.org, 45 French soldiers had died in the fighting.
I have DNA ties to Ireland and France, although I've never visited either country.
Now, let's celebrate with a pint (or maybe a hometown microbrew) and then storm the Bastille.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Vertical Orchestra concert promises to be very moving
A very creative idea (cross-posted from wyomingarts):
Jackson's Bland Hoke not only has a colorful name but a colorful job title: Public Art Ambasador for the Center of Wonder. He's designed a public art project that combines ski area chairlifts, musicians, and fans relaxing in hammocks -- all on a summer Sunday afternoon.
I'll let Bland describe it:
Jackson's Bland Hoke not only has a colorful name but a colorful job title: Public Art Ambasador for the Center of Wonder. He's designed a public art project that combines ski area chairlifts, musicians, and fans relaxing in hammocks -- all on a summer Sunday afternoon.
I'll let Bland describe it:
Vertical Orchestra will transform the Teewinot chairlift at Teton Village into a collaborative instrument on Sunday, July 25. Musicians will ride the chairlift, playing music with each other as the lift slowly mixes the sounds of individual instruments into an auditory environment that spans the length of the ski slope. Meanwhile, hammockers, suspended in the trees below, will listen to their chords waft by.
Custom printed hammocks will be available at the base of the Teewinot lift for $20 before the event on July 25, 1-3 p.m. The hammocks are made from industrial surplus so you can feel good about reducing waste while supporting the event! Proceeds from hammock sales will be used for an artist grant.
Some very interesting volunteer opportunities await anyone that is interested in making the event spectacular:
-Helping print 3,000 feet of artwork on the hammocks with sponge stamps
-Creating the worlds first mobile amplification system on 5 chairlift chairs
-Hanging free hammocks in public places to advertise the event (where will you sling one...?)
Feel free to call or email Bland Hoke if you are interested in volunteering.
FMI: 307-690-0097 or blandhoke@gmail.com
So that's what gives the Vegas Strip its unusual glow...
Just finished reading John D'Agata's book, "About a Mountain." It's a nonfiction account of the on-again, off-again status of Yucca Mountain, where the U.S. wants to store its nuclear waste.
But, in the tradition of creative nonfiction, D'Agata combined this journalistic journey with his own Las Vegas story -- and that of a young man who committed suicide by jumping from the observation deck of the Stratosphere Hotel.
Seems like an odd juxtaposition of subjects. But the author ties it together neatly with facts and speculation.
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid comes off looking like a bad guy. It's odd that Reid recently faulted Pres. Obama for not being tough enough against Republicans, especially when it came to the battle over health care reform.
Burying tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste under Nevada rock won't impart many health-giving properties to Nevadans. It will bring jobs, no doubt about that. Those jobs will have health insurance, which is a good thing. There will be accidents in shipping and handling, which won't cost you any extra but could cost you your life.
Sen. Reid did a pretty nifty job of rolling over for the nuclear power conglomerates and home-state cheerleaders for Yucca Mountain.
But Harry has enough problems, what with Nevada Tea Party types hounding him at every turn.
The book's most compelling sections are these:
1. What happens when a truck carrying radioactive waste wrecks on the overcrowded Vegas freeways and catches fire?
2. How do you make signage for a nuclear repository, a sign that will be understood by humans 10,000 years in the future.
The answer to number one is: Shitstorm.
The answer to number two is a thoughtful treatise on human communication. A panel of artists and linguists and teachers and scientists were asked to come up with effective signage. The challenge was a huge one. Where was humankind 10,000 years ago? Battling sabre-tooth tigers in caves and trying to stay warm during the Ice Age. They weren't doing much recreational reading -- nor consulting any signs.
In 10,000 years, we may be back in caves. That cave may be in what used to be Nevada. There will be a sign that warns of terrible danger if you go any further into the cave but humans may not understand the sign. They may say to themselves, "Hey, this cool sign says there's a nifty surprise at the bottom of this cave." "Great -- I love surprises."
John D'Agata's book comes at a good time. The U.S. is now contemplating building more nuke plants. Uranium is being mined again in Wyoming and Colorado. Turck and rail shipments from the East Coast will have to come through either Wyoming or Colorado.
Read the book for its angst-producing sections. Read it for its fine writing.
"About a Mountain" is published by W.W. Norton, 236 pages, $23.95.
To read the L.A. Times review of the book, go to http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/14/entertainment/la-ca-john-dagata14-2010feb14
But, in the tradition of creative nonfiction, D'Agata combined this journalistic journey with his own Las Vegas story -- and that of a young man who committed suicide by jumping from the observation deck of the Stratosphere Hotel.
Seems like an odd juxtaposition of subjects. But the author ties it together neatly with facts and speculation.
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid comes off looking like a bad guy. It's odd that Reid recently faulted Pres. Obama for not being tough enough against Republicans, especially when it came to the battle over health care reform.
Burying tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste under Nevada rock won't impart many health-giving properties to Nevadans. It will bring jobs, no doubt about that. Those jobs will have health insurance, which is a good thing. There will be accidents in shipping and handling, which won't cost you any extra but could cost you your life.
Sen. Reid did a pretty nifty job of rolling over for the nuclear power conglomerates and home-state cheerleaders for Yucca Mountain.
But Harry has enough problems, what with Nevada Tea Party types hounding him at every turn.
The book's most compelling sections are these:
1. What happens when a truck carrying radioactive waste wrecks on the overcrowded Vegas freeways and catches fire?
2. How do you make signage for a nuclear repository, a sign that will be understood by humans 10,000 years in the future.
The answer to number one is: Shitstorm.
The answer to number two is a thoughtful treatise on human communication. A panel of artists and linguists and teachers and scientists were asked to come up with effective signage. The challenge was a huge one. Where was humankind 10,000 years ago? Battling sabre-tooth tigers in caves and trying to stay warm during the Ice Age. They weren't doing much recreational reading -- nor consulting any signs.
In 10,000 years, we may be back in caves. That cave may be in what used to be Nevada. There will be a sign that warns of terrible danger if you go any further into the cave but humans may not understand the sign. They may say to themselves, "Hey, this cool sign says there's a nifty surprise at the bottom of this cave." "Great -- I love surprises."
John D'Agata's book comes at a good time. The U.S. is now contemplating building more nuke plants. Uranium is being mined again in Wyoming and Colorado. Turck and rail shipments from the East Coast will have to come through either Wyoming or Colorado.
Read the book for its angst-producing sections. Read it for its fine writing.
"About a Mountain" is published by W.W. Norton, 236 pages, $23.95.
To read the L.A. Times review of the book, go to http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/14/entertainment/la-ca-john-dagata14-2010feb14
Monday, July 12, 2010
Got those old non-profit blues?
Non-profit. Nonprofit. Not-for-profit.
No matter your preferred term -- working at a non-profit organization can be challenging.
I work with them every day. I'm also on the board of a big social service non-profit, UPLIFT, and I'm a member and/or supporter of others.
Always need funding, they do. Yet often people running non-profits first got involved because they had a passion for the cause. Actors audition for a local play and the next thing they know, they're the development director for the community theatre group. I'm a board member of UPLIFT because the organization was the only one in the state addressing the needs of children with ADHD and other behavioral problems. I came in seeking advice and the next thing I know, I'm duly sworn in as a board member. That was twelve years ago and I'm now board president, term ending in October.
Volunteers and interns become employees and then specialists and maybe directors and are always learning on the run, never having time to stop and ask, "What's this all about?" They also ask this question: "How do I tell people what we do?"
The 2010 Snowy Range Nonprofit Institute may be just the right thing for you.
Here's some info from a University of Wyoming press release:
No matter your preferred term -- working at a non-profit organization can be challenging.
I work with them every day. I'm also on the board of a big social service non-profit, UPLIFT, and I'm a member and/or supporter of others.
Always need funding, they do. Yet often people running non-profits first got involved because they had a passion for the cause. Actors audition for a local play and the next thing they know, they're the development director for the community theatre group. I'm a board member of UPLIFT because the organization was the only one in the state addressing the needs of children with ADHD and other behavioral problems. I came in seeking advice and the next thing I know, I'm duly sworn in as a board member. That was twelve years ago and I'm now board president, term ending in October.
Volunteers and interns become employees and then specialists and maybe directors and are always learning on the run, never having time to stop and ask, "What's this all about?" They also ask this question: "How do I tell people what we do?"
The 2010 Snowy Range Nonprofit Institute may be just the right thing for you.
Here's some info from a University of Wyoming press release:
Communicating nonprofits' ultimate community value clearly, cohesively, consistently and compellingly is the focus of the 2010 Snowy Range Nonprofit Institute (SRNI) keynote, "Crafting Messages of Value."
Denver-based consultant Richard Male leads the session Monday, Aug. 2. SRNI, now in its ninth year, is scheduled for Aug. 1-3 at the University of Wyoming Conference Center/Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie. Male is a recognized leader in the fields of leadership development, fundraising, community organizing and public policy -- conducting training sessions, consulting, facilitating and speaking on each topic.
Male has served as executive director of nonprofits in Colorado, Missouri and Utah. One of those organizations, the Community Resource Center (CRC), has provided training, consulting and leadership services to more than 3,000 organizations in the Rocky Mountain region and beyond. While at CRC, he received a Kellogg Foundation grant to organize a public policy institute and a statewide organization devoted to grassroots leadership at the local and state levels.
Following his talk, Male will lead a hands-on workshop extending upon the themes of his talk. That session, titled "Connecting with the Community," will provide participants with opportunities to apply what they learn to their individual organizations.
This year's institute theme is "Nonprofit Management: Moving from Surviving to Thriving." Tracks are "Living Your Values" (internal processes) and "Walking the Talk" (external interactions).
For more information on this year's Snowy Range Nonprofit Institute, including the curriculum, an electronic copy of the brochure and access to the online registration system, visit the SRNI Web site: http://www.uwyo.edu/srni.
The Parkman Family Foundation has provided a limited number of full-registration sponsorships for first-time attendees. Sponsorships (scholarships) covering the $175 registration fee are on a first-come, first-served basis, available through the online registration process.
Eat some ice cream, meet Leslie Peterson
From the Laramie County Democrats:
Mike and Amy Bell are having an Ice Cream Social for Leslie Peterson, Democratic Party Candidate for Governor, on Thursday, July 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend this social/fundraiser. The address is 7419 Daniel Court which is located in The Point neighborhood.
Mike and Amy Bell are having an Ice Cream Social for Leslie Peterson, Democratic Party Candidate for Governor, on Thursday, July 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend this social/fundraiser. The address is 7419 Daniel Court which is located in The Point neighborhood.
Saturday, July 03, 2010
What does the Fourth of July mean to me?
In 1,000 words or less...
I'm looking out at the high prairie clouds. They drift east, as always, toward Pine Bluffs and Kimball. The people out there will get some fireworks this afternoon -- lightning and thunder and maybe golfball-sized hail. I should be able to see the light show from my backyard. Happy Third of July!
There will be store-bought fireworks in the neighborhood tonight. Already heard some the last two nights. Things that go boom are illegal in the city. Thing is, Cheyenne is ringed by sellers of fireworks. It would be a darn shame to have access to star shell cannons and flaming mortars and not be able to shoot them off. The law seems to stop very few except old law-abiding me.
I respect the law. I've broken a few in my time. Just the usual -- speed limits, marijuana prohibitions (a long time ago!), drinking laws (a very, very long time ago!) and I once watered my lawn on the wrong day. Nothing serious. I've tried to teach my children well, as the song goes.
Some very smart people drafted the laws that went into the U.S. Constitution that was codified 234 years ago. This document is allegedly why we celebrate the holiday, although visiting space aliens (let's see some I.D., you four-headed lizard!) might think the holiday is for blowing things up, burning meat on backyard grills and buying furniture at deep discounts. Also fighting Coloradans for camping spots at Glendo and Guernsey.
The Constitution has been in the news a lot lately. Some people think that the Constitution is just fine the way it is. Others want to change it so the freedoms in the document can be protected from Obama. Not sure how changing it will protect it. But many people talk about the Constitution but few seem to know what's actually in it. God and guns are in there. If you listen to Sen. Coburn of Oklahoma, God actually invented gun rights so it doesn't matter what the Constitution says about it.
Tea Partiers seem to be of two minds about the Constitution. Some want to wrap it in concrete (or Glenn Beck's gold) so it can't be touched. Others want to change some of its amendments in order to protect it from that darn Obama. Either way, they're mad as hell. Freedoms! Nobody gets to mess with the Constitution except us!
The odd thing about the Tea Party is they are religious about the purity of the Constitution but they aren't all religious.
But some are.
Writing in today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle's Religion section, Sunnyside Baptist Church Pastor Max Janzen wrote about freedoms:
And on our bumper stickers and in newspaper ads and on Fox TV, don't forget those. And at NASCAR races.
Most of the general public agrees with this. However, there is a part of the general public which does not. As a prog-blogger I am probably part of this minority, as are Liberals such as Rachel Maddow and Al Franken, most poets, atheists (of course), skeptics and New Dealers. We hate freedoms! We are cursed.
Now I've probably broken my own law and written more than 1,000 words. But I'm free to do so. The Constitution protects my right to say anything I want, even if it exceeds the word limit or makes me sound crazy as a loon. The Constitution also gives me the right to shoot off fireworks any darn place I want to. Says so right there in the 234th amendment.
Happy Fourth of July!
Freedoms!
I'm looking out at the high prairie clouds. They drift east, as always, toward Pine Bluffs and Kimball. The people out there will get some fireworks this afternoon -- lightning and thunder and maybe golfball-sized hail. I should be able to see the light show from my backyard. Happy Third of July!
There will be store-bought fireworks in the neighborhood tonight. Already heard some the last two nights. Things that go boom are illegal in the city. Thing is, Cheyenne is ringed by sellers of fireworks. It would be a darn shame to have access to star shell cannons and flaming mortars and not be able to shoot them off. The law seems to stop very few except old law-abiding me.
I respect the law. I've broken a few in my time. Just the usual -- speed limits, marijuana prohibitions (a long time ago!), drinking laws (a very, very long time ago!) and I once watered my lawn on the wrong day. Nothing serious. I've tried to teach my children well, as the song goes.
Some very smart people drafted the laws that went into the U.S. Constitution that was codified 234 years ago. This document is allegedly why we celebrate the holiday, although visiting space aliens (let's see some I.D., you four-headed lizard!) might think the holiday is for blowing things up, burning meat on backyard grills and buying furniture at deep discounts. Also fighting Coloradans for camping spots at Glendo and Guernsey.
The Constitution has been in the news a lot lately. Some people think that the Constitution is just fine the way it is. Others want to change it so the freedoms in the document can be protected from Obama. Not sure how changing it will protect it. But many people talk about the Constitution but few seem to know what's actually in it. God and guns are in there. If you listen to Sen. Coburn of Oklahoma, God actually invented gun rights so it doesn't matter what the Constitution says about it.
Tea Partiers seem to be of two minds about the Constitution. Some want to wrap it in concrete (or Glenn Beck's gold) so it can't be touched. Others want to change some of its amendments in order to protect it from that darn Obama. Either way, they're mad as hell. Freedoms! Nobody gets to mess with the Constitution except us!
The odd thing about the Tea Party is they are religious about the purity of the Constitution but they aren't all religious.
But some are.
Writing in today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle's Religion section, Sunnyside Baptist Church Pastor Max Janzen wrote about freedoms:
"Despite revisions historians' attempts to dismiss it, the Founding Fathers of this great and blessed nation clearly stated what did, would, could, can and hopefully will keep us from our loss of freedom: faith in God. It is on our money, in our pledge and in the second stanza of our national anthem."
And on our bumper stickers and in newspaper ads and on Fox TV, don't forget those. And at NASCAR races.
"Our freedom, most of the general public agrees, is a gift. Gifts require givers, and those who crafted, protected and granted us those liberties have for the far greater part acknowledged they were not the givers, but that God was and is."
Most of the general public agrees with this. However, there is a part of the general public which does not. As a prog-blogger I am probably part of this minority, as are Liberals such as Rachel Maddow and Al Franken, most poets, atheists (of course), skeptics and New Dealers. We hate freedoms! We are cursed.
"So in order to really celebrate liberty, be unabashedly thankful to the God who created you, in this time, allowing you to live in this place.
"And if you don't believe in God, get to work providing freedom for other people who do. Otherwise, you believe in the slavery of others to your own opinions."
Now I've probably broken my own law and written more than 1,000 words. But I'm free to do so. The Constitution protects my right to say anything I want, even if it exceeds the word limit or makes me sound crazy as a loon. The Constitution also gives me the right to shoot off fireworks any darn place I want to. Says so right there in the 234th amendment.
Happy Fourth of July!
Freedoms!
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Don't miss Cheyenne Backyard Concert with Jeff Finlin Band July 20
Everyone in Cheyenne is getting cranked up for Cheyenne Frontier Days (only three weeks and counting!). But before we get there, a few other events are in the works. Here's one (courtesy of fellow writer and music fan Linda C):
A yard concert is a casual event that brings together friends, family, neighbors and co-workers in a warm and intimate setting. It’s almost like a command performance and everyone has preferred seating!
Everyone who comes is asked to bring a favorite potluck dish, a lawn chair/s or a blanket, and BYOB. Because the band is coming without any kind of formal contract, a donation of $10 per adult is suggested as a way for them to cover expenses and make a little money, as all artists should. 100% of all contributions go to the band members.
Plates, cutlery, tea, lemonade, and water will be provided. Enjoy food beginning around 5:30 p.m. Music will start around 6:30 p.m. and go until around 9:00 p.m.
Jeff Finlin Band is Amy Gieske on bass and vocals and Jeff, a singer/songwriter/guitarist described by the Chicago Sun Times as writing “with the minimalist grit of Sam Shepard and Raymond Carver.” Jeff’s song, “Sugar Blue” was chosen for the 2005 Cameron Crowe movie Elizabethtown.
Cory McDaniel, Casper native, singer/songwriter/guitarist, a member of The Tremors, “Wyoming’s only 2-piece trio,” with Dale Bohren, now also has his “Crew” — Amy, Jody Taylor and Larry Neff— toured with Spenser Bohren, and performed solo at the Mettman Blues Festival in Germany.
Where: Hacienda del Sol — 5419 Ridge Road
When: Tuesday, July 20
Time: 5:30-9 (or so) p.m
FMI: Linda @ 307-421-6549
Home blogging -- Off and on and off again...
Blogging has been sporadic during the past few weeks. First, the home PC is on the blink. Can't get the PC and the Broadband to talk to one another. IP address seems to be missing. Replaced the Bresnan modem and I got connected a few times, but then it was the same old miscommunicating. Any of you IT geniuses out there know what's going on?
Meanwhile, I hit the library's bank of computers sporadically. I love libraries. I used to just love them for the books but now I love them for all kinds of reasons.
More later...
Meanwhile, I hit the library's bank of computers sporadically. I love libraries. I used to just love them for the books but now I love them for all kinds of reasons.
More later...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Getting Melodramatic...
Thursday, June 24, 2010
All these boring summer weekends
Too bad there is nothing to do this weekend.
If that sounds like a bored teen, that's because I just heard one say this.
I just spent an hour staring at the PC marveling at the weekend's events. Superday in Lion's Park all day Saturday. Music and vendor booths and food and brew and lots of sun, at least that's what the weatherpeople told me this morning. I grew so weary from our elongated winter/spring that I am thankful for each ray of Sol that hits my very sensitive Celtic skin. I wear layers of sunscreen. All the pols will be out promoting their various agendas. An election year, don't forget.
Speaking of Celts, the Cheyenne Celtic Musical Arts Festival takes place all weekend on Cheyenne's Depot Plaza (see previous post). Highlight will be The Elders from K.C., but also lots of other bands. One thing about these Celtic festivals -- Scots seem to dominate. They lord it over us Irish, them and their stinking tartans and their skirling pipes and their caber-tossing and Robert Burns look-alike contests. What do we Irish have? Music, with our sets of pipes and whistles and fiddles and such. Poetry. Writers by the score. Drinking, too. Can't forget that double-edged sword. We have swords too. And I.R.A. bomb-makers, although most of them are either dead, still in prison or riding The Celtic Tiger, selling I.M.I.R.A. T-shirts (Euros only).
And then there are all the mountain activities, including hiking, camping, fishing and a variety of folk and music festivals. Casper has its NIC Fest, where I always spend too much money on art for my crowded walls. The Jackson Hole Writers' Conference is in Jackson.
At home, there's gardening and reading novels under my oak tree.
I'm not bored.
Last weekend we were all volunteering at Juneteenth. Only a handful of pols showed for that one. They all got to speak. Dem Gov candidate Pete Gosar was there with a retinue. I liked his T-shirt, in UW Cowboy colors. On back it says "Walk On!" As a one-time jock and sports reporter, I know what that means. He was a walk-on player at UW. I asked him about this and he said he had to go head-to-head with about 100 walk ons his freshman year. After day after day of full pads and sun and screaming coaches, the field was narrowed to ten. Gosar eventually earned a scholarship and lots of playing time.
Walk on. He will be doing more running this summer than walking. Primaries in August!
If that sounds like a bored teen, that's because I just heard one say this.
I just spent an hour staring at the PC marveling at the weekend's events. Superday in Lion's Park all day Saturday. Music and vendor booths and food and brew and lots of sun, at least that's what the weatherpeople told me this morning. I grew so weary from our elongated winter/spring that I am thankful for each ray of Sol that hits my very sensitive Celtic skin. I wear layers of sunscreen. All the pols will be out promoting their various agendas. An election year, don't forget.
Speaking of Celts, the Cheyenne Celtic Musical Arts Festival takes place all weekend on Cheyenne's Depot Plaza (see previous post). Highlight will be The Elders from K.C., but also lots of other bands. One thing about these Celtic festivals -- Scots seem to dominate. They lord it over us Irish, them and their stinking tartans and their skirling pipes and their caber-tossing and Robert Burns look-alike contests. What do we Irish have? Music, with our sets of pipes and whistles and fiddles and such. Poetry. Writers by the score. Drinking, too. Can't forget that double-edged sword. We have swords too. And I.R.A. bomb-makers, although most of them are either dead, still in prison or riding The Celtic Tiger, selling I.M.I.R.A. T-shirts (Euros only).
And then there are all the mountain activities, including hiking, camping, fishing and a variety of folk and music festivals. Casper has its NIC Fest, where I always spend too much money on art for my crowded walls. The Jackson Hole Writers' Conference is in Jackson.
At home, there's gardening and reading novels under my oak tree.
I'm not bored.
Last weekend we were all volunteering at Juneteenth. Only a handful of pols showed for that one. They all got to speak. Dem Gov candidate Pete Gosar was there with a retinue. I liked his T-shirt, in UW Cowboy colors. On back it says "Walk On!" As a one-time jock and sports reporter, I know what that means. He was a walk-on player at UW. I asked him about this and he said he had to go head-to-head with about 100 walk ons his freshman year. After day after day of full pads and sun and screaming coaches, the field was narrowed to ten. Gosar eventually earned a scholarship and lots of playing time.
Walk on. He will be doing more running this summer than walking. Primaries in August!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Elders headline Friday events at Cheyenne Celtic Musical Arts Festival
June 25-27, 2010, is the fifth year for the Cheyenne Celtic Musical Arts Festival on the downtown Depot Plaza. Organizers say that "every year this festival gets a little bigger -- and I think it gets even better!" Events are free.
The Elders will be headliners on Friday, June 25, 9-11 p.m.
Full schedule: http://www.cheyennedepotmuseum.org/_pdfs/2010/celtic%20sched.pdf
The Elders will be headliners on Friday, June 25, 9-11 p.m.
Full schedule: http://www.cheyennedepotmuseum.org/_pdfs/2010/celtic%20sched.pdf
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
All this Republican talk about slashing state spending is giving me a headache
Jeremy Pelzer reported an astonishing fact in yesterday's Casper Star-Tribune -- Republican Gubernatorial candidates want to cut the state budget.
Some more than others.
Can you say Ron Micheli?
According to Pelzer, Micheli sees the budget as a growing threat. Kind of on the order of nuclear annihilation, unstoppable oil spills, F5 tornadoes, and another eight years of a Democrat in the Gov's seat.
Full disclosure here -- I'm a state employee. When Micheli talks about layoffs, he's talking about me and my colleagues. So I take it personally. When he talks about appointing fiscal conservatives to head state agencies, I cringe. What does he means -- fiscal conservatives? His own coterie of hitmen from the ranks of the Tea Party? Most of the heads of state agencies that I know already are fiscal conservatives. Many are Democrats but most are not. If you wanted each Wyoming state agency headed up by a Dem, we'd still be waiting for slots to be filled eight years after Gov Dave took office.
We all know what Micheli means -- he wants Republicans who hate gubment to be in charge of the government. Remember how well that worked out under eight years of George W. Bush and Cheney and all of his gubment-hating, oil-slurping pals? I can refresh your memory if you forget. Not sure if I have enough time or enough electrons to do so in this space. But I can try.
What do Micheli's three opponents on the Repub side say about budget-cutting?
I wonder how many times Micheli will talk about slashing state budgets and eliminating state employees and wasteful government spending when he talks to Cheyenne audiences? I did hear him speak on the steps of the Capitol a month ago and he did indeed talk about cutting state government. But that was a Tea Party crowd. They know that gubment on all levels is wasteful -- and probably sinful.
Now where my Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and veteran's benefits at?
Some more than others.
Can you say Ron Micheli?
According to Pelzer, Micheli sees the budget as a growing threat. Kind of on the order of nuclear annihilation, unstoppable oil spills, F5 tornadoes, and another eight years of a Democrat in the Gov's seat.
On the campaign trail, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Micheli has aimed his sights on what he says is a growing threat -- the Wyoming state budget.
The state budget's tripled in the past seven years, he warns in forums and campaign stops around the state, and the current level of spending is simply unsustainable.
"I just know that we cannot sustain the level of growth of government that we have now," he said. "And I don't know what the answer is. Should it be cut in half? I don't know that. Should it be cut 30 percent? Again, I don't know that."
Micheli points to a 2009 report by the ideologically conservative but non-partisan American Legislative Exchange Council that concludes Wyoming's state spending trends can't continue on a sustained basis given current revenue levels.
To reduce spending, Micheli said, he would appoint fiscal conservatives to head state agencies, offer incentives to state agencies and employees to find ways to cut costs, and move to a "zero-based" budgeting process in which every new state budget is drawn from scratch instead of starting from the previous budget's spending levels.
Any major budget reduction would likely require cutting the state's employee payroll. Micheli said he favors reducing state jobs through attrition instead of layoffs -- though he hasn't ruled the latter out.
Full disclosure here -- I'm a state employee. When Micheli talks about layoffs, he's talking about me and my colleagues. So I take it personally. When he talks about appointing fiscal conservatives to head state agencies, I cringe. What does he means -- fiscal conservatives? His own coterie of hitmen from the ranks of the Tea Party? Most of the heads of state agencies that I know already are fiscal conservatives. Many are Democrats but most are not. If you wanted each Wyoming state agency headed up by a Dem, we'd still be waiting for slots to be filled eight years after Gov Dave took office.
We all know what Micheli means -- he wants Republicans who hate gubment to be in charge of the government. Remember how well that worked out under eight years of George W. Bush and Cheney and all of his gubment-hating, oil-slurping pals? I can refresh your memory if you forget. Not sure if I have enough time or enough electrons to do so in this space. But I can try.
What do Micheli's three opponents on the Repub side say about budget-cutting?
"I think that we are in pretty good shape right now, although I think that there's always room to take a look at individual agencies and see how we're doing," said GOP gubernatorial candidate Matt Mead. "It's maybe easy to talk about it in terms of political rhetoric, but it's much more difficult when you actually have to get there and make a decision."
House Speaker Colin Simpson has proposed a "sunset advisory commission" that would evaluate the policies of and need for each state agency. Similarly, GOP candidate Rita Meyer touts increasing the number of audits of state agencies and programs.
--snip--
Colin Simpson said even Micheli's assertion that the state budget has tripled since 2003 is misleading. While state revenues have tripled during that time, Simpson said, the Legislature put much of that money toward savings and one-time capital projects.
"Taken out of context, budget numbers can be dangerously deceptive," said State Auditor Meyer. "So you have to be very thoughtful when you're looking at budget numbers, when you're talking about growth."
Read more about Wyoming politics and government at http://tribtown.trib.com/wypolitics.
I wonder how many times Micheli will talk about slashing state budgets and eliminating state employees and wasteful government spending when he talks to Cheyenne audiences? I did hear him speak on the steps of the Capitol a month ago and he did indeed talk about cutting state government. But that was a Tea Party crowd. They know that gubment on all levels is wasteful -- and probably sinful.
Now where my Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and veteran's benefits at?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Love & hate along the Pridefest parade route
Never been to Pridefest before. Might not have gone to this one if it wasn't time for a Father's Day excursion (a family tradition) and Annie's gay friend who had been in Cheyenne too long and had never seen a "Pride" parade.
I was impressed. Biggest parade I'd ever seen. Young woman standing next to me said that it was one of the biggest outside of San Francisco. Not sure about that. But it lasted about two hours. The Denver Post said that some 100,000 people saw the parade. Dang, and it didn't even have any marching bands. Music was provided mainly by sound systems on the floats. Club music, mostly, and some hip hop.
Annie and Brandon disappeared, as teens do, and Chris and I fell in at the end of the parade and walked down to the Denver Civic Center.
We passed a van that was all about God hating gays. My favorite sign read "Diversity is Perversity."
That's what it's all about, isn't it? O.K. to hate gays because they are different from you and me in this too-diverse society? O.K. to pass anti-immigration laws to keep the "Others" away from us.
"Diversity is Perversity."
Tea Partiers and born-again zealots should wear that on signs around their necks. Then we can see them coming.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Gardening in Wyoming
Juneteenth in Cheyenne
Rep. Jim Byrd introduces Juneteenth
Friday, June 18, 2010
Y as in _ _ _ _
Y Guy and Annie S at the "Music on the Plaza" event in Cheyenne Friday evening. At last, the sun...
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Send Rev. Mooney your bibles, your torahs, your korans, your atheist texts, your dog-eared W.S. Merwin books...
I receive the weekly newsletter from the Capitol Heights Faith Communities in Denver. Two communities share one building in one of Denver's oldest neighborhoods. One is Capitol Heights Presbyterian and the other is the 10:30 Catholic Community. My family and I were members of the latter. Our son was baptized at 10:30, which had one weekly mass -- at 11 a.m. The explanation is too longto get into now.
It's been awhile since I was an active member but I like to keep up by reading the e-mail "open letter."
This week's issue had info on a unique art project:
Chris and I have some old Catholic perayer books and Bibles we can send. We have Chris's father's pocket Catholic missal (sp) that he carried through WWII. I also have a Book of Mormon I can part with (I have an extra). Quite a few philosophy tomes, too, that I probably can part with.
I want to contribute. Artists should be encouraged. And this one will be chock full of messages -- subtle and no so subtle.
It's been awhile since I was an active member but I like to keep up by reading the e-mail "open letter."
This week's issue had info on a unique art project:
Rev. Tim Mooney is the pastor at People's Presbyterian Church and an accomplished artist. For the Biennial of the Americas Celebration in July, he is constructing an art installation at the Space Gallery. The installation will be an American Flag made from some 4000 bibles, torahs, talmuds, korans, vedic texts, etc. - the scriptures/texts of all the major religions/belief systems in proportion to the percentage each religion/belief systems represents in our country's population. Through the installation he hopes to create a visual picture of who we are, and add to the ongoing conversation about religious, spiritual, and even atheistic beliefs that influence and affect us. The installation will be accompanied by a looping audio track with recorded prayers/hopes for our country based on the various perspectives. You can help by sending old bibles and other religious texts, preferably but not exclusively hardback to him. Red and white are particularly needed. Based on the PEW reports latest statistics he will need about 2000 bibles (protestant Christians), 1000 bibles with apocrypha (catholic and orthodox), 70 books of Mormon, 30 writings from Jehovahs Witnesses, 70 Torahs or Talmuds, 30 Sutras or Tibetan books of the Dead, 25 Korans, 15 Vedic scriptures, 70 books on atheist writings, 20 new age books, and about 300 poetry or philosophic books that cover a percentage that are unaffiliated. If you can send books, please e-mail him at timmooneystudio@aol.com and let him know the quantity and kind of book(s) you're sending. He would also gladly receive funds to support this project.
Chris and I have some old Catholic perayer books and Bibles we can send. We have Chris's father's pocket Catholic missal (sp) that he carried through WWII. I also have a Book of Mormon I can part with (I have an extra). Quite a few philosophy tomes, too, that I probably can part with.
I want to contribute. Artists should be encouraged. And this one will be chock full of messages -- subtle and no so subtle.
Contemplating Flannery O'Connor this summer in the Wind River Mountains
I stumbled upon the Ring Lake Ranch site today. It's a retreat center near Dubois. I looked at their summer schedule as was bowled over by some of the offerings.
Here's one I especially like:
Bishop Will Willimon presents "Haunted by God with Flannery O’Connor," August 1-7.
Some commentary by Director Carl Koch from the web site:
Here's one I especially like:
Bishop Will Willimon presents "Haunted by God with Flannery O’Connor," August 1-7.
Some commentary by Director Carl Koch from the web site:
Flannery O'Connor may have been haunted by God. She was a devout Catholic who beleived it heaven and hell. I used to be cut from that same cloth. But now am no longer a practicing Catholic. However, I am still haunted by the remnants of my faith. Reading Flannery O'Connor pushes all my buttons.
I have sometimes wondered in recent years about how many mainline Protestants and Catholics consciously raise the issue of their redemption or salvation. I must confess that “Will I be saved?” doesn’t keep me up nights – and it isn’t because I’m all that good. Even so, my recent bout with cancer turned my attention to last things – but only until my tests after treatment came back clear.
On the other hand, one still hears people on opposite sides of many issues – abortion, the death penalty, gay rights, war – condemn their opponents to damnation, in effect claiming that folks on their side will be saved.
Like Flannery O’Connor, my family and I were Catholics raised in a pre-Vatican Council church that seemed a lot clearer about who would and wouldn’t be saved. Good Catholics would make it into heaven – that was a given.
But, there always was some doubt that I still carry with me.
In one of my previous lives I was a professor of American Literature. Naturally I taught Flannery O’Connor’s works from time to time. In virtually every story, O’Connor placed her characters in a situation in which they faced a moral decision – a decision between salvation and damnation. They were given a “moment of grace” during which they had the power to select the good. O’Connor didn’t allow wiggle room either. At the end of the story, the reader knew the fate of each character.
So, who can be saved? How do we recognize our “moment of grace?” Bring your musings about and stories around redemption. This should be a provocative session with a master preacher and teacher who has clearly tackled this subject from many perspectives.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wyoming's Organizing for America holds June 15 meeting in Cheyenne
From the Laramie County Democrats:
I am happy to announce that Kathy Everingim will be hosting a house meeting on Tuesday, June 15, beginning at 6 p.m.
Her address is 1717 East 22nd St., Cheyenne.
Please bring a little beverage or snack to keep the mood festive and the taste buds guessing!
At this meeting I would like to focus on a couple things that needs to happen in order for Wyoming to keep moving forward.
1. 2010 voter outreach to that large number of 2008 first time voters in Laramie County. There was over 5,000. That's a lot of votes, especially then you consider that in 2006 only 33% of eligible Wyoming voters actually casted a ballot.
2. How to host phone banks and community canvasses
3. I would also like for us to meet some candidates, so let us hope they show up
4. There will be specific plans of action conducted, because that is where the fun happens.
Bryon Lee
Organizing for America - Wyoming
State Director
(307) 752-5972
leeb@dnc.org
http://www.facebook.com/ofa.wy
Please, take a couple minutes to check out this Recovery and Reinvestment Act Benefits video: http://www.barackobama.com/recovery/video.php?source=feature
Bad company -- Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis and staffer Johnnie Burton
From today's Casper Star-Tribune:
Read all about the scandals that plagued the MMS during Burton's tenure in the Denver Post's investigative report from September 2008 at http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10431998
And read this scary post at emptywheel: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/06/02/dick-cheneys-wyomings-face-at-mms/
There's more. So much more. And you thought that the Gulf of Mexico was oily.
CHEYENNE -- Wyoming's 2010 congressional race heated up recently, as Democratic candidate David Wendt blasted incumbent U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., for employing the controversial former director of the federal Minerals Management Service.
Lummis' campaign fiercely denounced the accusation, in what could be the start of a contentious election campaign for the state's lone U.S. House seat.
In a letter sent last week, Wendt demanded Lummis explain why she employs Johnnie Burton, who came under fire during her five years as head of the MMS, the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling and revenues from energy exploration on federal lands.
Burton, who served with Lummis in the state Legislature in the 1980s and was also director of the Wyoming Department of Revenue, serves as a Cheyenne-area field representative for the congresswoman, helping constituents with issues such as receiving veterans' benefits or obtaining travel visas.
As MMS director, Burton oversaw the agency plagued with what one federal investigator later called a "culture of ethical failure." Agency workers were caught taking bribes from, having sex with and using drugs with energy industry employees. Burton also promoted a now-defunct royalty-in-kind program that allowed energy companies to avoid making billions of dollars in payments to the government.
She also was criticized for not acting quickly enough to correct blunders on offshore energy leasing contracts that cost the federal government billions of dollars in royalty payments.
Read all about the scandals that plagued the MMS during Burton's tenure in the Denver Post's investigative report from September 2008 at http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10431998
And read this scary post at emptywheel: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/06/02/dick-cheneys-wyomings-face-at-mms/
There's more. So much more. And you thought that the Gulf of Mexico was oily.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Ken McCauley comes calling -- in the rain
Ken McCauley stopped by my house yesterday. Surprised to see him as it was raining and there's still time enough to campaign for the 2010 Wyoming primaries in August.
But he's new to political campaigning and thought he'd get an early start. I invited him in but he said he had a lot of territory to cover. He handed me a flyer. We talked outside in the drizzle.
Democrat for House District 8. My previous rep was Democrat Lori Millin, who's parlaying her two terms in the Wyming House to a campaign for the Wyoming Senate. Both House and Senate need all the Dems it can get. Wildly outnumbered in both houses. Still, there's always hope.
I walked the neighborhood for Lori in 2006 and will probably do the same for Ken. Lori beat long-time House Repub Larry Meuli in 2006 and newcomer Bob Nicholas in 2008. Both were squeakers. In 2008, results on KGAB Radio had Millin the loser. She ended up winning by a handful (documented at the time on this blog -- I forget the number).
Ken has a similar challenge. I've seen him working up to this for some time. He's a fellow traveler in the Laramie County Democrats. We were both handing out Gary Trauner flyers in the dark on election eve 2008, urging people to get out to vote for a good cause, albeit a losing one.
His campaign material displays his name underlined by an A-10 and its contrail. Ken flew A-10s in the USAF and is a combat veteran. He now flies big jets for United. That alone shows dedication and skill. Military service carries with it a mantle of patriotism. But that's not enough, at least for me. Many ex-military politicians have deserved votes. Others have not. I know some of Ken's politics and will research the rest and go to his public appearances. His significant other, fellow writer Joanne Kennedy, thinks a lot of him and that's probably enough for me. Still, an informed voter gets to win the arguments.
For the rest of you -- Ken deserves your attention. And, once you learn about his person and his politics, your vote.
But he's new to political campaigning and thought he'd get an early start. I invited him in but he said he had a lot of territory to cover. He handed me a flyer. We talked outside in the drizzle.
Democrat for House District 8. My previous rep was Democrat Lori Millin, who's parlaying her two terms in the Wyming House to a campaign for the Wyoming Senate. Both House and Senate need all the Dems it can get. Wildly outnumbered in both houses. Still, there's always hope.
I walked the neighborhood for Lori in 2006 and will probably do the same for Ken. Lori beat long-time House Repub Larry Meuli in 2006 and newcomer Bob Nicholas in 2008. Both were squeakers. In 2008, results on KGAB Radio had Millin the loser. She ended up winning by a handful (documented at the time on this blog -- I forget the number).
Ken has a similar challenge. I've seen him working up to this for some time. He's a fellow traveler in the Laramie County Democrats. We were both handing out Gary Trauner flyers in the dark on election eve 2008, urging people to get out to vote for a good cause, albeit a losing one.
His campaign material displays his name underlined by an A-10 and its contrail. Ken flew A-10s in the USAF and is a combat veteran. He now flies big jets for United. That alone shows dedication and skill. Military service carries with it a mantle of patriotism. But that's not enough, at least for me. Many ex-military politicians have deserved votes. Others have not. I know some of Ken's politics and will research the rest and go to his public appearances. His significant other, fellow writer Joanne Kennedy, thinks a lot of him and that's probably enough for me. Still, an informed voter gets to win the arguments.
For the rest of you -- Ken deserves your attention. And, once you learn about his person and his politics, your vote.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Five Democrats in the Wyoming Gov race
The WyoDems' site lists the following Democrats in the Governor's race:
Leslie Petersen of Jackson, recently the party chair, is deemed front-runner by those in the know and bloggers, not necessarily the same group. I've been following Mr. Gosar on his Facebook page. His photo is a shot of him on the gridiron. Not a bad thing. I am a prog-blogger but as a one-time jock I don't automatically dismiss former football, basketball and baseball players as viable candidates. Hockey players, maybe.
One problem -- most ex-jocks tend to be Republicans. Sen. Bill Bradley is a notable exception. Maybe it's the legacy of St. Reagan's turn as George "The Gipper" Gipp in the movies. That forever tainted jocks making the transformation from gridiron to backroom politics.
Is there something about sports that makes conservatives? When I think of sports heroes, I think of the hard-chargers and risk-takers. I think of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods and Joe Namath and Pete Maravich and Dan Issel and Roberto Clemente and Muhammad Ali and John Elway and George Brett and so on. Champions.
Maybe it's the big money of pro sports that makes conservatives. If you make a million dollars a minute, are you going to be radical in your politics? Can you afford it? Probably not.
I wish Mr. Gosar the best. But I do think that Ms. Petersen is going to take the primary and be our candidate for the November election.
What are her chances against Colin Simpson or Matt Mead? Not good. Simpson and Mead are moderates, as is Petersen. When two moderates face off in the Governor's race, the Republican always wins. Repub voters outnumber Dems in Wyoming two to one.
However, when the Dem is a smart moderate with great Wyoming creds (Dave Freudenthal), and is going up against a cuckoo Repub, as happened in both 2006 and 2010, the Dem wins.
I do not put Rita Meyer in the cuckoo category. She is savvy and may end up as the Republican candidate. But Ron Micheli is definitely in cloud cuckoo land. Right winger. Tea Party fave. Wants to cut state government by 40 percent.
Peterson can beat him in the race.
I'm a confirmed Dem. But I could see myself voting for Simpson, possibly Mead. But there is much danger in a Petersen/Micheli face-off. We live in strange times. Anything can happen.
That's why many Dems will switch to the Republican side in August to vote against Micheli. Think about it...
Pete Gosar, 1774 Coughlin Street, Laramie, WY, 82072
Phone: 307-760-3219. E-mail: gosar4gov@gmail.comAl Hamburg, 4705 Road 70Y, Torrington, WY, 82240
Phone: 307-532-7710. E-mail: TBDLeslie Petersen, PO Box 1147, Jackson, WY, 83001
Phone: 307-413-5004. E-mail: leslie@peopleforpetersen.com
http://www.peopleforpetersen.comRex Wilde, 1910 E. 22nd Street, Cheyenne, WY, 82001
Phone: 307-274-5450. E-mail: rexwilde2010@gmail.comChris L. Zachary, 1015 Warren Ave., Cheyenne, WY, 82007
Phone: 307-514-2891. E-mail: chrislzachary@yahoo.com
Leslie Petersen of Jackson, recently the party chair, is deemed front-runner by those in the know and bloggers, not necessarily the same group. I've been following Mr. Gosar on his Facebook page. His photo is a shot of him on the gridiron. Not a bad thing. I am a prog-blogger but as a one-time jock I don't automatically dismiss former football, basketball and baseball players as viable candidates. Hockey players, maybe.
One problem -- most ex-jocks tend to be Republicans. Sen. Bill Bradley is a notable exception. Maybe it's the legacy of St. Reagan's turn as George "The Gipper" Gipp in the movies. That forever tainted jocks making the transformation from gridiron to backroom politics.
Is there something about sports that makes conservatives? When I think of sports heroes, I think of the hard-chargers and risk-takers. I think of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods and Joe Namath and Pete Maravich and Dan Issel and Roberto Clemente and Muhammad Ali and John Elway and George Brett and so on. Champions.
Maybe it's the big money of pro sports that makes conservatives. If you make a million dollars a minute, are you going to be radical in your politics? Can you afford it? Probably not.
I wish Mr. Gosar the best. But I do think that Ms. Petersen is going to take the primary and be our candidate for the November election.
What are her chances against Colin Simpson or Matt Mead? Not good. Simpson and Mead are moderates, as is Petersen. When two moderates face off in the Governor's race, the Republican always wins. Repub voters outnumber Dems in Wyoming two to one.
However, when the Dem is a smart moderate with great Wyoming creds (Dave Freudenthal), and is going up against a cuckoo Repub, as happened in both 2006 and 2010, the Dem wins.
I do not put Rita Meyer in the cuckoo category. She is savvy and may end up as the Republican candidate. But Ron Micheli is definitely in cloud cuckoo land. Right winger. Tea Party fave. Wants to cut state government by 40 percent.
Peterson can beat him in the race.
I'm a confirmed Dem. But I could see myself voting for Simpson, possibly Mead. But there is much danger in a Petersen/Micheli face-off. We live in strange times. Anything can happen.
That's why many Dems will switch to the Republican side in August to vote against Micheli. Think about it...
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Great news for Cheyenne locavores
This comes from Cindy Ridenour:
Summer Farmers' Market Season officially opens on Tuesday, June 8 as the Wyoming Fresh Market opens.
Wyoming Fresh Market
3:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Tuesdays, June 8 - October 12
Yellowstone Road in front of Sutherland's
"Eat Local. It's thousands of miles fresher."
Opening the Season with:
Fresh Garden Produce,
Grassfed Beef and Bison, Ready-to-eat BBQ, Smoked Salmon and Chowders,
Gourmet Pasta,
Baked Goods,
Local Jams, Honey, and Peanut Butter Spread,
Garden bedding plants and hanging baskets, house plants,
Natural Body Care Products
To come in the following weeks:
Tortillas and Chips, Salsas,
Grassfed Lamb,
Free-range eggs,
Colorado Tree Fruits, starting with cherries - perhaps end of June,
More Fresh Produce and body care vendors,
and more...
Summer Farmers' Market Season officially opens on Tuesday, June 8 as the Wyoming Fresh Market opens.
Wyoming Fresh Market
3:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Tuesdays, June 8 - October 12
Yellowstone Road in front of Sutherland's
"Eat Local. It's thousands of miles fresher."
Opening the Season with:
Fresh Garden Produce,
Grassfed Beef and Bison, Ready-to-eat BBQ, Smoked Salmon and Chowders,
Gourmet Pasta,
Baked Goods,
Local Jams, Honey, and Peanut Butter Spread,
Garden bedding plants and hanging baskets, house plants,
Natural Body Care Products
To come in the following weeks:
Tortillas and Chips, Salsas,
Grassfed Lamb,
Free-range eggs,
Colorado Tree Fruits, starting with cherries - perhaps end of June,
More Fresh Produce and body care vendors,
and more...
Monday, June 07, 2010
Dem Gov hopeful Pete Gosar participates in Energy Expo Gubernatorial Debate
From a press release:
Democratic Party Gubernatorial candidate Pete Gosar will be in Casper on Tuesday, June 8, 2010, at the Democratic Men’s Meeting. The meeting will take place at the Parkway Plaza at noon.
Pete will also attend the Energy Expo Gubernatorial Debate in Gillette. The debate is being
held at from 4-6 p.m. at the Cam-Plex Multi Event Facility.
Pete will be available at both events to answer questions and discuss issues facing Wyoming.
Contact: Pete Gosar, 307.760-3219, gosar4gov@gmail.com
Democratic Party Gubernatorial candidate Pete Gosar will be in Casper on Tuesday, June 8, 2010, at the Democratic Men’s Meeting. The meeting will take place at the Parkway Plaza at noon.
Pete will also attend the Energy Expo Gubernatorial Debate in Gillette. The debate is being
held at from 4-6 p.m. at the Cam-Plex Multi Event Facility.
Pete will be available at both events to answer questions and discuss issues facing Wyoming.
Contact: Pete Gosar, 307.760-3219, gosar4gov@gmail.com
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Tales about Heart Mountain -- and the "Octopus in the Freezer"
Photo shows the interpretive walk on the site of the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp between Cody and Powell. Photo taken by Lee Ann Roripaugh on her family's tour of the site yesterday before a presentation at the WWInc conference. (from Facebook) Lee Ann and Bob Roripaugh presented a fantastic reading last night at the WWInc conference in Cody. They took turns reading poems from Lee Ann's book, Beyond Heart Mountain. Readings were accompanied by slides from the internment camp, provided by Dave Reetz of Heart Mountain Foundation. Very moving.
Lee Ann read the poetic monologues that were in women's voices. Bob, her father, read the men's voices.
Lee Ann is Bob's daughter. Bob is Wyoming Poet Laureate Emeritus and retired University of Wyoming professor. Lee Ann teaches in the creative writing program at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
Lee Ann talked about growing up in Laramie. Back then, the university town was very, very white -- still is. Life wasn't easy for a shy non-white kid. Her mother, Yoshiko, met Bob when he was serving with U.S. Army occupation forces in Japan.
Bob grew up in west Texas where WWII bomber crews trained at the air base outside town. Meanwhile, in Japan, Yoshiko was a school girl whose town was pounded regularly by those very bombers.
In Japan, they met and fell in love and married and moved to the U.S. Bob taught English and wrote about his experiences. Bob's story "Peach Boy" was published by the Atlantic Monthly in 1958. This led to enquiries by editors. According to Bob, one letter asked if he was working on a novel. "I told him I was, even though I was really working on a book of short stories."
This led to a published novel. It's also a useful tip for short story writers. If an editor or agent ever asks if you're working on a novel, say yes.
In Cody on June 4, 2010, Bob read about one of the internment camp's No-No Boy who refused to serve in the U.S. Army and was sent away from his family to another camp. He read about the Isei building a mini-internment camp for the horned toads he found around the camp.
Lee Ann read in the voice of the camp nurse. She read about a Nisei woman whose son interrogates Japanese prisoners of war. She read in the voice of a young girl who has to listen to the snores of the old lady on one side of her thin barrack's walls (they don't go all the way to the ceiling) and the couple on the other side who fight and then make strange noises like the hooting of owls.
Each of the writers then read samples of their own work. Bob read a part of "Peach Boy" and the poem "Yellow Willow," both based on his experience in Japan. Lee Ann read some poems about growing up in Laramie: "pearls," "Antelope Jerky" and "Octopus in the Freezer." I've heard Lee Ann read "Octopus" before. But it was good to hear again because it alternates between horrifying and hilarious. Lee Ann's mom had bought an octopus at a Denver market and it was stored in the freezer. Lee Ann heard bumps in the night and the clanging of a furnace and thought it was the octopus banging around in the freezer. Not sure which of Lee Ann's three books this is in, but buy them all and pay special attention to "Octopus." A new twist on childhood fears of a monster hiding under the bed.
Lee Ann, Bob, Max McCoy and two literary agents will be conducting workshops and presentations all day today. More info at http://www.wyowriters.org/
Friday, June 04, 2010
Wyoming writers in High Plains Book Awards
Two very talented -- and wildly different -- writers from Wyoming have books as finalists for the High Plains Book Awards.
Samuel Western's book, A Random Census of Souls: Prose Poems (Daniel & Daniel Publishers), is one of three finalists in the poetry category for the awards. Sam lives in Sheridan and has won a creative writing fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council.
Info about the book:
About the Author:
Robert Greer's novel Spoon is one of three finalists in the fiction category. Bob has a ranch outside of Wheatland. He may be the only African-American physician best-selling novelist rancher in Platte County. But that's just a guess. Here's some info from Bob's web site:
Fine summer reading.
Samuel Western's book, A Random Census of Souls: Prose Poems (Daniel & Daniel Publishers), is one of three finalists in the poetry category for the awards. Sam lives in Sheridan and has won a creative writing fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council.
Info about the book:
Prose poems built of strong narratives, keen descriptions, and lively characters Packed with vivid and meaningful detail, these gemlike prose poems bear witness to lives both static and changing, set in well-defined contemporary and historic scenes. The stories reveal real people and their troubles, joys, and desires. The writing is bold and full of social consequence, whether set in among Wyoming high prairie, New England hardscrabble farm, or the metropolis of Ancient Rome.
About the Author:
Samuel Western has served in the Swedish merchant marine and worked as a commercial fisherman, contract logger, longshoreman, and hunting guide. He is the author of the book Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming's Search for Its Soul, and he has published poems and pieces in The Economist, Wall Street Journal, LIFE, Sports Illustrated, High Country News, Northern Lights, and Owen Wister Review. He holds an MFA from the University of Virginia -- where he also taught English -- and is the recipient of a Wyoming Literary Fellowship. He lives and writes in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Robert Greer's novel Spoon is one of three finalists in the fiction category. Bob has a ranch outside of Wheatland. He may be the only African-American physician best-selling novelist rancher in Platte County. But that's just a guess. Here's some info from Bob's web site:
Make time for SPOON, an engrossing literary novel from Robert Greer about a half-black, half-Indian man searching for his roots. Arcus Witherspoon comes to work for the Darleys as a ranch hand, but he ends up becoming a friend and mentor to their son, T.J., and a resolute ally when a coal company begins to pressure the Darleys to sell. Set in Montana's ranch land, this is a story about family, identity, and as always for Robert Greer, about our land and way of life in the West. A moving, memorable, and suspenseful tale.
Read an interview with Robert here
Fine summer reading.
Hallucinating on the road to Cody, WY ("Visions of Cody?")
Arrived in Cody yesterday as the sun set. We traveled in a caravan from Cheyenne. Seven-hour trip. Gorgeous scenery. The clouds were playing tricks with us, high-altitude winds carving them into a shark, the number two, a wagon pulled by a kid and -- according to my women traveling companions -- schlongs. Over beers, they also spoke of phallic rock formations. Perhaps seven hours on the road brings on hallucinations?
I didn't see any of the latter. One cloud looked like a Titan 3C rocket, another like a giant squid. But I was driving and had very little interest in cloud gazing which might cause me to drive into a shapely rock formation. And I was involved in listening to a book on CD, "The Spies of Warsaw" by Alan Furst. Read several of Furst's books but never listened to one. The reader (must get his name) has great facility for voices, delineating them with just a change in pitch or a bit of an accent. This is the unabridged version, but I may many more miles to go on this trip and will be able to finish this one and maybe another.
"The Schlongs of Wyoming." Enough of that...
The Wyoming Writers, Inc., board meets this morning to talk about budgets, last-minute conference details, elections and all those boring but crucial board details. The conference has a great line-up this year and it will be an exciting weekend.
More conference posts later....
I didn't see any of the latter. One cloud looked like a Titan 3C rocket, another like a giant squid. But I was driving and had very little interest in cloud gazing which might cause me to drive into a shapely rock formation. And I was involved in listening to a book on CD, "The Spies of Warsaw" by Alan Furst. Read several of Furst's books but never listened to one. The reader (must get his name) has great facility for voices, delineating them with just a change in pitch or a bit of an accent. This is the unabridged version, but I may many more miles to go on this trip and will be able to finish this one and maybe another.
"The Schlongs of Wyoming." Enough of that...
The Wyoming Writers, Inc., board meets this morning to talk about budgets, last-minute conference details, elections and all those boring but crucial board details. The conference has a great line-up this year and it will be an exciting weekend.
More conference posts later....
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