Maybe Ponce de Leon had it wrong, and the Fountain of Youth was in Wyoming

Which way to the Fountain of Youth -- and the gold! Painting of Agueybana greeting Juan Ponce de León from the U.S. Military website:www.bragg.army.mil/ 1-295INF/images/MSG%20Pedr... Painting by Puerto Rican artist Agustin Anavitate.

Florida is 500 years old!

Happy birthday, Sunshine State.

This isn’t a real birthday. It marks the year that Juan Ponce de Leon came ashore with his well-armed entourage. So, it celebrates five centuries of conquest. Some 350,000 people were living on the peninsula at the time. They didn’t last long once they were invested with musket balls and European microbes. 

Florida’s peninsula arose from the ancient ocean about 2.5 million years ago. People arrived about 14,000 years ago, riding dinosaurs from Michigan on a spring break trip. Florida was bigger then, as sea levels were lower due to a lot of water being locked up in glaciers. 
   

Population was 4.9 million in 1960. When our family moved there in 1964, the state probably had more than 5 million souls, making it the 10^th most populous state in the U.S.

These days, it boasts almost 20 million souls, most of whom can be found at Disney World the day that I decide to take my family there. It is now the fourth most populous state, right behind California, Texas and New York. I currently live in the least populous state, Wyoming, right behind North Dakota, Alaska and Vermont. 

The New York Times reviewed a new book about Florida by reporter T.D. Allman. It’s called “Finding Florida: The True History of the Sunshine State.” Here’s what one fantastic Florida-based author, Bob Shacochis (“The Immaculate Invasion”), says about the book:

"I loved Allman's extraordinary book. … Almost every county in Florida bears the name of a butcher, a slavedriver, a madman, a scoundrel or a thief, in a state where for half a millennium the governing mandate seems to be Defeat the Truth, Triumph over Reality. T.D. Allman's counter-narrative to all the pretty lies is a scouring hurricane of research, investigation, and soul-cleansing wrath, and I doubt there has ever been a better, or more important, book written about the Sunshine State, the birthplace of imperial hubris, American-style."

And here’s another Florida writer, Les Standiford (“Last Train to Paradise” and the excellent John Deal series):

"Equal parts social analysis, historical review, and jeremiad, Finding Florida is a passionate, often scathing, and remarkably comprehensive encounter with a confounding, contradictory, and ever-elusive place. If your idea of hell is being chained to a galley oar between a politician and a Chamber of Commerce exec, then you are likely to love this book."

Some customer reviews on Amazon weren’t as effusive: “50% Bluster, 50% Politics,” said one. “A tirade masquerading as history,” said another.

Still, I have to put it on my reading list. I lived in Florida from 1964-78 (with time away for two years of college in South Carolina), which were incredible growth years for me and for the state. Those were my formative years, ages 13 to 27. I went to a high school named after a priest who accompanied Ponce de Leon on his strange quest to find the Fountain of Youth. I graduated from a university that trained most of the state’s politicos, the good (Walkin’ Lawton Chiles) and the bad (UF’s massive football stadium is named after Katherine Harris’s grandfather – yes, that Katherine Harris), which makes me wonder what they were teaching in those poli sci classes. Disney World arose from the dense woodlands and swamps of Central Florida. Miami became the capital of vice and cocaine. Millions of northerners moved into massive developments such as Palm Coast and The Villages. 

And I moved West to Denver, my birthplace, and eventually to Wyoming. The state celebrates its quasquicentennial as a state in 2015, although it is quite a bit older to judge by those dino skeletons I keep unearthing in my yard. I recently dug up a skeletal horse-like creature with a horn on his snout. My daughter says it’s a unicorn but I’m skeptical. Didn’t horned creatures roam the Wyoming savannahs way back when?

I’m part southerner and part westerner. Color me confused. Most of my writing used to take place in the South. Now it’s set in Wyoming and Colorado. I’ve been in Wyoming for 22 years (with two years in D.C. in the mid-90s). But it’s all about people, isn’t it? They are incredibly complicated no matter where you go.

As a helpful guide to my readers, I will put two of my stories on this blog's pages section in a few days. One is set in Florida. One is set in Wyoming. Read them and see what you think. Critiques are welcomed. 

Meanwhile, I must get back to my reading. Latest book is the startling memoir, “When Katie Awakes,” by Florida writer Connie May Fowler. Connie will travel to Wyoming in the fall. More about that later. 

Leukemia is a family affair

My brother Dan found a match.

I wrote over the weekend about Dan’s search for a bone marrow donor. Millions of people are on the donor registry, but very few have just the right qualities to match Dan’s metabolism.

Dan was diagnosed with leukemia just before the 2012 holidays. The holidays, it seems, are a dangerous time for the Shay family. I celebrated them by having a heart attack. My brother Dan celebrated them by going into the hospital for a gall bladder surgery that turned into a diagnosis for acute myeloid leukemia. Five of my other siblings spent Yuletide swabbing the inside of their cheeks and spending the swabs off to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Our sister Molly did not return a swab kit because the Italian post office was on strike, or maybe it was the railroads or the airlines.  Anyway, she finally located her kit at the P.O. and sent it off to Houston.

The first almost-perfect match for Dan was our sister Mary, who is the youngest. It’s better to have a match among family members, as the rejection rate is lower. Mary was excited to be the chosen one. My sister Maureen thought she was going to be the chosen one, as she and Dan have a lot in common.  But Maureen was not a match.

I was not tested. My recent heart attack and my advancing age left me out. Age, it seems, is not as big an obstacle as my medical condition. Donating marrow takes a toll on the body. The docs prefer to have donors between the ages of 18-44, although they will use those in the 45-60 range. Once you reach 60, though, the strain on the donor’s body is higher and the quality of marrow is lower. Since I’ve already had one heart attack, I could easily have another.

My sister Mary is afraid to fly. So, she drove from Tallahassee to Houston with Maureen and Dan. A few days after arrival, Mary went in for a battery of tests while Dan underwent another round of chemo. Complications arose. Not with Dan but with Mary. X-rays detected a spot on her right lung. More pictures were taken. The docs decided to do a biopsy. Results showed cancer. The docs decided to remove the middle lobe of Mary’s lung and the take a look at the lymph nodes while they were at it. Mary, of course, is stunned by this turn of events. People tell her that she’s lucky to be at MD Anderson, the best place in the world for cancer treatment. She agrees, but can’t help asking, “Why me?” She wonders why she’s the only one crying in a hospital filled with cancer patients from all over the globe. Her answer: “They knew they had cancer before they came here. I didn’t.”

Mary had cancer and Dan no longer had a donor, as current cancer patients are not good risks. Mary will be operated on at MD Anderson on May 28. Dan returned to Florida to find a new donor. Local fund-raisers and donor sign-ups were held for him in Daytona and Ormond Beach. News finally came last week that Dan had a 20-year-old donor that fit the bill.

Then came a surprise. The long-delayed kit from our sister Molly landed at MD Anderson. The preliminary test showed promise. When the final results came in, Molly was as good a match as Mary, although slightly older. Apparently, a 57-year-old sibling is a better prospect than a 20-year-old stranger.

There’s a catch. Molly is finishing up a stint as a lactation specialist at Aviano AFB in Italy. She’s been over there for more than a year. She likes her job and, on days off, is learning a lot about fine Italian wines and food. She has traveled to the Vatican and to Venice and Croatia. But she still needs to wrap things up before arrivederci. She’ll be back in the states in late May, make her donation and head back to her home in Tallahassee. She will have to rest up from jet lag and marrow lag.

Dan will receive his transplant of cells and will be in Houston recovering for 100-some days. His body will be vulnerable after the infusion of our sister’s cells. Infections can occur. I’ll probably fly down to see him for a week. I’ll be recuperating from surgery to implant an ICD which will keep my heart beating regularly – and prevent catastrophic heart failure. Just call it the rhythm method. I got rhythm, who could ask for anything more?

The rhythm method? That was my parents birth control process, which is one reason they had nine kids. But if they had used another more trustworthy method, Dan would not have all of these wonderful siblings and their transplant-friendly bone marrow. My wife Chris and I used to joke around with our son and daughter. When they were fighting, we’d caution them: “You may need a kidney someday.” We didn’t realize the truth in that statement.  You may need a kidney someday, or a batch of bone marrow. 

On the Cheyenne Day of Giving May 10, the person you save may be your brother -- or mine

Every four minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia. A few months ago, my brother Dan in Florida was one of them, and he's looking for a bone marrow donor. Watch this video and find your local donation program. In Cheyenne, you can register to be a bone marrow donor at the annual Day of Giving, Friday, May 10, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Kiwanis Community House in Lions Park. See you there! The person you save may be my brother -- or yours.

UW Crushes Facebook site goes dark after hateful post targets Laramie prog-blogger

My friend and fellow prog-blogger Meg Lanker-Simons in Laramie was attacked online this week. Here's what an unidentified person said on the Facebook page UW Crushes:

I want to hatefuck Meg Lanker-Simons so hard. That chick that runs her liberal mouth all the time and doesn't care who knows it. I think its hot and makes me angry. One night with me and shes gonna be a good Republican bitch.

This is verbatim. There are so many things wrong with this that it's hard to know where to start. Would this person countenance someone saying this about his sister, wife, girlfriend or mother? If not, why is he saying this about someone else in public? He must think that such comments are OK. Where did he learn that? At home? From his UW pals? Talk radio? These attitudes are in plentiful supply on the web and on conservative talk radio. Sure, some of these words are not allowed on the airwaves. But hateful anti-women messages spew regularly from the big mouths of Limbaugh and Hannity and even women commentators such as Ann Coulter.

The UW Crushes site no longer exists on Facebook. The attitudes, alas, continue. After the story broke, Meg received a barrage of hateful anonymous comments on her Tumblr site, Cognitive Dissonance. I won't repeat any of them here. For the first time ever, Meg had to block anonymous posts. That's saying something for the most outspoken liberal blogger in the most conservative state in the U.S.

We always want to know who's to blame when these things happen. UW Crushes was not an official UW web site, although it carried the university's name and featured its logo. The UW administration had distanced itself from the site that posted "crushes" involving university students. That made it a throwback to the original Facebook at Harvard, if the "Social Network" film can be believed. It seems a stretch to blame UW for the transgressions of one person who may not even be a student. The site's administrators confessed to being engineering students too busy to monitor every status update. One wonders if they will be too busy to monitor the computer systems, nuclear plants and bridges they will be building after graduation.

We could blame Wyoming's conservative culture. Conservatives have had a particularly tough time keeping their prejudicial attitudes to themselves. Remember all of the dumb things Republicans said in the most recent election cycle? Remember Akin's "legitimate rape" and Romney's "47 percent?" Even big-time conservatives like Bobby Jindal have told their colleagues to quit being so dumb in public. That didn't stop some of our Republican legislators for saying stupidisms about the LGBT community during the civil unions debate at the 2013 session. Women in the Equality State continue to experience inequality in the workplace. And they continue to be slapped around at an alarming rate by their menfolk. Violence, alas, is an American as apple pie and is served up often to women.

Wyoming is not the only place in the world where some men profess a need to rape women into docile, compliant serfs. But it's the place I call home and this kind of attitude must stop. I have a wife and a daughter and some day will have grandchildren and I don't want any of them to be subjected to violence.

Simpson's Plaza at the University of Wyoming is the site of a demonstration against UW Crushes and rape culture in Wyoming. It will be held on Monday, April 29, 11 a.m.

Graduation day at cardiac rehab

I graduated from cardiac rehab. After 36 sessions, I'm a new man. Call me Bob.

I entered cardiac rehab a shadow of my former self. I had a heart attack at Christmas and congestive heart failure to greet the new year. The docs inserted a stent on Jan. 4, and I was a hospital guest for a week. I started cardiac rehab in late January following several weeks at home of bad TV and bad juju.

I worked my way up from performing a few puny exercises into a super-colossus doing a whole bunch of puny exercises. The nurses and exercise physiologists shouted encouragement at every turn. "Don't hurt yourself with those two-pound barbells!" "You're not supposed to lie down on the treadmill!" Stuff like that.

I now move over to a 12-session regimen at the CRMC Exercise Center. It's staffed by the same nursing staff. Rumor has it that they really make you sweat over there. They use new and ingenious exercise devices to make your heart wake up and smell the coffee. I hear they even have coffee.

But no doughnuts.

Wish me luck.

Wyoming Dems plan ballot referendum to repeal Republican unpaid wages bill

Good! 

This comes from the Casper Star-Tribune:

The state Democratic party’s Central Committee will push a ballot referendum to repeal a new law on payment of unpaid wages on grounds it is detrimental to Wyoming employees. House Bill 79 was sponsored by Rep. Tim Stubson, R-Casper, and is known as the “Collection of Unpaid Wages” bill. 

The bill changed the statute that authorized the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services to determine and collect claims for unpaid wages on behalf of employees. 

It changed the definition of wages to exclude the value of vacation time accrued at the time of an employee’s termination if the employer’s written policies provide for forfeiture of accrued vacation upon termination, and those policies are acknowledged in writing by the employee. 

The bill passed the House 45-14 and the Senate 19-11, with Democrats in both houses voting no. 

Republican Gov. Matt Mead signed the bill into law. It goes into effect July 1.

Read the rest here.

Wyoming Young Writer's Camp finds a new home

My son Kevin attended the Young Writers Camp for five of his teen years. The camp, geared to secondary school students ages 15-18, was held at the Thorne-Rider Youth Camp near the appropriately-named Story for a dozen years. Before that, YWC was held on the grounds of the Ucross Artist Residency Program. Poet Jane Wohl ran the show until she started teaching full time at Sheridan College. YWC alum Micah Wyatt then took over the reins, with assistance from his sister Danica, California poet Jesse Loesberg, and some guest writers, such as me, who dropped in to teach a workshop around the campfire in 2006.

Kevin was still in junior high the first time he went to camp. He loved it. During his checkered high school career, when he regularly skipped algebra and science to board at the adjacent skate park, he never missed camp. Ten years later, he keeps in touch with a whole group of YWC alums. 

After a hiatus of several years, the camp will be held July 27-August 2 at the Northern Wyoming Community College District Spear-O-Wigwam Mountain Campus in the Big Horns. Instructors are poet/attorney/musician Micah Wyatt, fiction writer Christine Fadden and Kara Bacon. Registration fee is $300. To register, go to http://www.sheridan.edu/site/spearowigwam/register-now/

According to the NWCCD web site, the Spear-O-Wigwam grounds is the site of a literary landmark. During the summer of 1928, Ernest Hemingway wrote the first draft of "A Farewell to Arms" in one of the Spear-O-Wigwam cabins. The semi-autobiographical novel was serialized in Scribner’s magazine from May to October 1929, bringing Hemingway international acclaim as the Great Depression began. Even today, the book is recognized as an emblematic narrative of the World War I generation.

Hemingway's old stomping grounds may be a pretty good place for a 16-year-old to find his/her Muse.

Wyoming GOPers get ready to rumble in 2014

Today's Casper Star-Tribune lead editorial carried news of a brewing Republican rumble.

The Wyoming GOP Central Committee recently approved a resolution to repeal Senate File 104 -- the so-called "Hill Bill." SF 104 stripped State Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill of most of her superintendent duties. She and her minions were unceremoniously moved from her suite at the Hathaway Building to a bunker in an undisclosed location. Hill only has a few duties left in her job description. Those include roles as the state graham-cracker-and-milk monitor and manager of arithmetic flash cards.

Republicans are miffed. Thing is, SF 104 was a Republican-generated bill. The Central Committee is the steering mechanism for the WY GOP. It appears that the CC was egged on by the Constitution Party and Tea Party members in its ranks. So one core group of Repubs was responsible for the bill that removed Hill, and another core group of Repubs want to repeal said bill.

To make matters more complicated, Hill is suing Gov. Mead for signing off on the bill, and has announced she is running for governor in 2014.

This clash will further alienate Wyoming's usually sensible conservative majority. They may come out in droves to vote for Mead's reelection, or they may sit home in disgust. They may even vote for the Democratic Party candidate, as they often have in the past. Thanks to solid support by Democrats and a sizable bloc of moderate Republicans, I have spent more than half of my 22 years in Wyoming serving a Democrat in the State Capitol. They were Mike Sullivan and Dave Freudenthal. What Dem might run in 2014? Maybe Nancy Freudenthal could be tempted to give up her judge's robes for the many pairs of sensible shoes it takes to go door-to-door in a gubernatorial run. Probable not very likely. Who else is waiting in the wings?

Good question. The Dems have had a tough time fielding good candidates for Gov and other state elected offices. Laramie Democrat Mike Massie was the best candidate for the state superintendent's job in 2010. That was the year of the Tea Party's rise, when it was the kiss of death to have a "D" by your name on the ballot. About Hill, we can now say to Republicans: "We told you so."

We may take the same stance in 2014. How delicious it will be to sit on the sidelines and witness the GOP bloodletting. Problem is, it will be a huge embarrassment to the state. As the CST put it:

The answer will impact far more than education. The near future of the GOP in Wyoming, given the disparate percentage of Republicans here. will dictate the long-term fate of Wyoming.

Businesses are watching. Tourists are watching. Entrepreneurs are watching. The energy sector is watching.

Gov. Mead is a moderate on most things. Yes, he was part of the ridiculous  lawsuit over the Affordable Care Act, and he's stubbornly resisted Medicaid expansion. But he is a strong supporter of economic development in our communities and tourism. He knows that the state's future has more to do with high technology, education, entrepreneurs and creatives than it does with the extractive industries and whether or not a person can carry a gun into his favorite restaurant.

Sure it would be fun watch a GOP Battle Royal. But if you like this place and its people (as I do), you hope for something more civilized.

Nice horsey. Wheeze. Cough. Gasp!

In my childhood dreams, I was Roy riding Trigger while Dale Evans cheered us on. I had a serious crush on Trigger and Dale.

My cowboying experience is limited.

As a kid, I yearned to ride the range with Roy Rogers and John Wayne. My favorite shows were all westerns: Gunsmoke, Cheyenne, Bonanza, The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, Sugarfoot, Have Gun Will Travel, Maverick, and so on. I galloped through my dreams on Trigger or Silver or any number of TV horses.

In reality, I couldn't get anywhere near a horse without heavy wheezing and gasping for breath. I had asthma, and horses and hay and tree pollen and weeds and cats were the enemy. That ruled out any horseback riding, or even horseback viewing from a close proximity. Petting zoos were out of the question.

It was tough on a kid of the West.

I was 27 and living in Florida the first time I rode a horse. My asthma had abated, and a nice young woman named Chris had asked me to accompany her on a horseback ride. This nice young woman had owned a horse at one time, and had been riding since she was a kid. I asked her if she would help me pick out a very docile horse, the kind of horse which would be nice to a newbie. "What's the fun in that?" she said with a smile.

At the stables, she selected a steed with spirit, and then found an old nag for me. We rode along together for awhile, and then she asked if I minded if she galloped ahead. She took off, horse hooves pounding the ground, disappearing into the Central Florida forest. My horse and I galumphed along. Eventually we rounded a bend to find Chris standing in the trail next to her horse. Chris has sand and twigs in her hair. The horse had an innocent look on his face.

"He threw me," Chris said. She held up her right hand. "And he stomped on my hand."

I regarded her nice hand. "Is it broken."

She flexed it. "No. I'm glad the ground's sandy."

I patted my horse, urged her to not get any bad ideas from her colleague. Chris got up on her horse and we rode together for the rest of the afternoon. It was a warm January day, the kind of days tourists flock to Florida for. We rode into the sunset and later got married, moved back to the West and had kids, only occasionally taking time for horseback riding. I must admit that I have successfully ridden horses a half-dozen times.

I'm no cowboy.

But I just published a story entitled "Cowboy Stories." It's part of a new anthology from Colorado's Western Press, "Manifest West." It features poetry, essays and short stories about contemporary cowboys. My fictional cowboy is an urban variety, but has little to do with John Travolta or saloon line dancing. He's just an old cowboy who hangs around a Cheyenne downtown dive bar and tells stories. He has lots of stories. It was seem as if he's too old to have adventures, but he's not. He gets mixed up with some animal rights advocates and some coasters making a film about the New West. Hijinks ensue.

Read the story to find out what happens. Keep posted as to publication dates by going to Western Press at Western State Colorado University in Gunnison.

Hi-yo Silver! Away!

I like beverage stories with heavy peach tones and a profoundly bitter bite

I know that it’s trendy to want to know the origins of what you eat and drink. Much fun has been made of foodies and craft beer snobs on Portlandia. There was that one memorable episode when a foodie duo was adamant about finding the name and origins of the chicken they were about to consume. 

This isn’t new. Mo Siegel, founder of Boulder’s Celestial Seasonings, composed paeans to his Rocky Mountain teas on each box.  Ben & Jerry are side-of-the-ice-cream-carton storytellers. Every inch of Dr. Bonner’s Pure Castile Peppermint Soap is filled was advice to the human race:  “Do one thing at a time, work hard! Enlarge the positive!” He loved exclamation marks!!!!!

Not all of these are edible, although Dr. Bonner swore that his soap had 18-in-1 uses. But you get my point – advertising has long told stories on the sides of cans and boxes and bags. I read all about Frosted Flakes and Sugar Pops at the breakfast able. No mention was made of the cereal’s sugar content, which was probably 1001%. Storytelling can be very selective.

Today, our beers and wines and food come with stories. I bought a batch of Clif Bars yesterday at Safeway. These are actually energy bars that taste good. They are high in protein and low in sodium with no trans fat. Sugar is high, so my diabetic wife cannot eat them. The stories are good. The bar is named after founder Gary’s father, Clifford. Gary tells the story about how he was living in a garage “with my dog, my skis, climbing gear, bicycle and two trumpets.” He went on a long bike ride with his friend Jay and experienced an epiphany when he “couldn’t take another bite” of those “other” energy bars. So he spent two years in his mother’s kitchen perfecting his own energy bars, which you can find at any supermarket.  Kind of a nice story, right? He’s probably moved out of that garage, too, although I wonder what he did with his twin trumpets? 

I came across a bottle of wine with a story the other night at Uncle Charlie’s. The red wine is on the Dreaming Tree label and is called “Crush” after a song by Dave Matthews, one of the partners in the vineyard. On the back of the bottle, he tells a story about dogs in the back of a pick-up. Not sure what that has to do with blending Merlot and Zinfandel to get “Crush,” but I’m willing to cut the guy some slack. 

Craft breweries excel in beer label stories.New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins has a story for each of its beers. Here's the story for its new Rampant Imperial IPA:

A burly and bitter Imperial IPA, Rampant pours a pure copper and carries the sheen of a rightly hopped beer. The Mosaic and Calypso hops bring stonefruit to the front seat, and the addition of Centennials nod towards citrus for a well-rounded aroma.

The taste expands these hops with heavy peach tones and a profoundly bitter bite. There is some malt sweetness to stand this beer up, and Rampant’s finish is bone-dry.

As stories go, it's no Rick Bass or Flannery O'Connor. But we beer drinkers appreciate its bone-dry finish.

I should say "we former beer drinkers." I'm drinking red wine now, in limited qualities. I could say it's doctor's orders. My cardiologist did say that red wine is a better choice than beer, even those that bring stonefruit to the front seat. Red wine outdoes beer in the resveratrol and flavonoid categories.Tastes pretty good too.

It's all in the story....

Marcia Tatroe talks about "Embellishing the Garden with Art" April 20

My father's Irish sweater

It’s April 16 in Wyoming, the snow is falling and I’m wearing my father’s cream-colored cableknit cardigan. Sometimes it’s called an Aran sweater or, in Ireland, an Aran jumper. It wasn’t made on the islands but in the village of Glen Columb Kille in Donegal. 

My father didn’t get the sweater in Ireland because he never traveled there. That’s what the Internet is for, to order Irish sweaters online and have them delivered a few days later by the UPS man. A few members of Dad's family have been back to Ireland since Thomas O’Shea and family departed the potato famine in 1848. My father was overseas just once and that was during WWII. He was stationed in England but didn’t make the jump over the Irish Sea.  He did make the jump over the English Channel, as did his father in WWI. They both got to France to fight Germans but didn't make it to The Old Sod.

Aran jumpers have a history. I didn’t know that until I looked them up on the Internet. Aran Island women used to make the sweaters from unscoured wool so that the lanolin remained in the fiber to deflect the moisture faced by their fisherman husbands. They didn’t keep them afloat, alas, as many went down to the sea in ships (and boats). In fact, once the fishermen went into the drink the sweaters probably got waterlogged and dragged the lads to their deaths.

My sweater was knitted with a rope design, meant for either a Boy Scout, a hangman or a fisherman. I looked it up on the Aran Sweater Market web site. I couldn't find my design there, although I was pleased to see that I could buy an O'Shea clan sweater for $199. More than 500 Irish clans have their own sweater design, according to the site. 

O’Shea is the Anglicisation of the original Gaelic Ó Séaghada, which comes from the personal name meaning ‘hawk-like’ or ‘fortunate’. The sept was located in the Barony of Iveragh in County Kerry, where they were lords until the 12th century. Some of the family migrated to counties Tipperary and Kilkenny as early as the 14th century. In Kilkenny the name is often spelled O’Shee. One of the most famous O’Sheas was Katharine, or Kitty, who was the mistress of Charles Stuart Parnell.

The hand knit O’Shea sweater (shown at right) incorporates the blackberry, rope, honeycomb, link, and zig-zag stitches. The blackberry stitch represents the Holy Trinity, rope represents good luck, honeycomb is symbolic of work, link stands for the unbroken chain between the Irish that emigrate and those who remain at home, and the zig zag stitch symbolises the ups and downs of marriage. This beautiful Aran sweater has been hand knitted in the traditional báinín (pronounced ‘baw neen’) colour, the natural white of the wool. It comes to you complete with a clan history and crest. It is made of 100% pure new wool, is water repellent and breathable. It has been hand crafted in the traditional Irish style, and, with care, will last a lifetime.

That's a lot of thought going into one sweater. And is there an "unbroken chain between the Irish that emigrate and those who remain at home?" I feel very Irish-American but not very Irish. Quite a few generations separate me from Thomas O'Shea. My maternal grandfather, Martin Hett, emigrated from Ireland to England when he was 12. He labored in coal mines for five years until he could afford the trip to America. Grandpa Martin lived to be 90. During his 72 years as an expatriate, he never returned to Ireland. His memories were of privation, a drunken father, an evil stepmother and sadistic priests. Not the kind of memories that breeds nostalgia.

Despite all that, I celebrate my Irish roots. I may even get an O'Shea sweater. It may never stop snowing here in The New Sod.

Celebrate Earth Day! Buy a Bulgemobile!

Bruce McCall's Bulgemobiles, first seen in National Lampoon.

I was a clean-cut lad of 19 when the first Earth Day was christened on April 22, 1970. I remember it well. The magnolias, dogwoods and the Carolina coeds were all in bloom. Not that it mattered much, as my chances were better going out on the town with a bloomin' tree than a real-live coed, most of whom seemed to be focused on their hippie boyfriends. A year later, I would trade my weekly ROTC haircuts for none at all. But in the spring on 1970, I was one squared-away but clueless guy. I was unaware that such a thing as Earth Day had sprouted amidst the counterculture. The earth was a mess. Polluted American rivers, such as the Cleveland's Cuyahoga, caught fire regularly. A few years earlier, Rachel Carson's had exposed the deadly effects of pesticides in Silent Spring. Counterculture types were getting back to the earth with Whole Earth Catalog as their bible and ganja as their guide.

Here it is, 43 years later, and Earth Day has shown a surprising persistence. In some places it's treated as an official holiday, without the day off and newspaper advertising supplements. Celebrate Earth Day! Buy a Bulgemobile!

Yesterday, while perusing the library's electronic card catalog, I saw a number of Earth Day books, most geared to young readers. There were surprisingly few for adults, although there is a new bio of Rachel Carson. The library had plenty of titles on climate change and global warming, many reflecting the battle over the topics, one that has been settled on the side of real science instead of right-wing fantasies.

Governmental entities are even getting into the act when it comes to sponsoring Earth Day events. The much-maligned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is sponsoring a bunch of Earth Day events all over the U.S. Our region (CO, MT, etc.) boasts a number of them. Alas, there are none in Wyoming, which should make WY Rep. Cynthia Lummis very happy.

My employer, the Wyoming Division of State Parks and Cultural Resources, has teamed up with the Cheyenne Parks and Recreation Department to celebrate Earth Day and National Let’s Get Outside Day at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens' Paul Smith Children’s Village on Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Activities including the making of trash robots, plant necklaces, a story time and a Story Walk, featuring the Giving Tree. Parents are encouraged to recycle old garden hoses by bringing them to the event for use at the Children’s Village. FMI: Ashley Rooney at 307-777-6560 or Ashley.rooney@wyo.gov.

In the "health and fitness" category, local gubment is stepping up to the plate with Step Up Cheyenne. What does health and fitness have to do with the environment? You don't want to be the human equivalent of a bulgemobile, do you? My family participated in StepUp last spring and summer and it did wonders in reducing our unwanted bulges. Walking 10,000 steps a day took 20 pounds off of me, leading to a svelte appearance that caused me to consume fewer resources. This is a public-private collaboration, sponsored by businesses (Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, WinHealth Partners) in partnership with Cheyenne Parks & Rec, Cheyenne Greenway Foundation, Laramie County School District No. 1 and a host of others.

A Republican walks into a bar...

One of the things that irritates me about living in Wyoming: Republicans think they own the joint.

And maybe they do. But I'm irritated when I'm at a gathering and someone assumes that every man- and woman-jack amongst us is a conservative.

At a meeting today, someone told a blonde joke. I often laugh at blonde jokes. I didn't laugh at this one.

Here it is:

A  blonde and a pilot are flying together on a small plane. The plane gets up to altitude and the pilot keels over dead. The blonde makes a frantic call to the control tower. The air traffic controller tells her to keep calm. He asks, "What is your height and your position?" She thinks for a moment and then responds. "I'm 5-foot-3 and I voted for Barack Obama for president." There is a pause on the microphone. Then the ATC says, "Repeat after me: Our father who art in heaven..."

Not really funny, right? I think a much better punchline would: "I'm 5-foot-3 and I'm sitting down." She's a blonde, right?

What was my response to the joke? I said to the teller (a blonde woman, BTW): "We Democrats would have had a much different punchline."

She smiled. "Hope I didn't offend anybody."

I wasn't offended. Miffed, maybe.

I took it one step further: "You know that blonde jokes are not politically correct?"

She moved away from me, obviously uncomfortable with the tenor of the conversation. After all, Democrats don't exist in Wyoming. And if they do, they should have the good manners to keep their traps shut.

I'm a forgiving person. Sort of. But note to Republicans: Maybe you should ask your gathering if there are any Democrats in the room or if anyone would be offended by a joke about the President of the United States.

Or maybe you should just keep your trap shut. 

Kittens and hummingbirds just don't mix

Thanks to Dave Lerner at Cheyenne Network for making hummingbirdminds one of his "Weekly Net Pics" in the Trader's periodical that comes out every Friday at a grocery store or liquor store near you (I get mine at Albertson's on Yellowstone). I'm in good company, with blogs by liberal hell-raiser Rev. Rodger McDaniel and Arts Cheyenne, the local arts council. I can't wait to check out Angi Harper's kitten blog and Michelle Davis's family blog. I like blogs of all kinds, especially if they have kittens. I would have kittens too but they don't mix very well with the minds of hummingbirds.

Invest in a few hours of "Rent"

Chris and I attended the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players production of "Rent" on Saturday night at the Historic Atlas Theatre.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that this won't be a critical review of the musical due to the fact that I've been a player in CLTP productions. I've served as emcee at the Old-Fashioned Summer Melodrama. Technically, I'm not a member of the cast but I keep the show moving along with witty banter and wry observations. Chris and I also volunteer for various CLTP plays. Chris usually staffs the box office and has to deal with a computer ticketing program, phone calls from lost patrons and, sometimes, complaints from disgruntled customers. I sometimes am house manager engaging in witty banter and wry observations with loitering theatre-goers. I often have to flick the house lights five minutes before show time. Sometimes I go up on stage at intermission to draw the winning ticket for the 50/50 raffle. They only choose the most trusted volunteers for this job.

I have some emotional capital invested in community theatre. I know the time and commitment that goes into each production. The "Rent" cast rehearsed for almost eight weeks. Sets had to be built by John Lyttle and crew; costumes made by Dana and Katie Heying; music rehearsed by Dr. Judy Ransom and the band. A decision was made to go with wireless body microphones on all of the cast. They were expensive, and the cast had less than two weeks to get used to them.

I also must admit that I have never seen "Rent," neither the play nor the movie. Because I work in the arts, people think I've seen every play in the book, possibly on Broadway. I do know people who take yearly trips to The Great White Way. But I've never been. Most of my theatre-going has been of the community variety. I've made the 90-minute trip to Denver for "The Book of Mormon" and other DCPA offerings. After a slow start, I am on a lifetime quest to see every play and concert and art museum exhibit that I can reasonably afford. As a writer, I've spent most of my life buying books and attending literary events. Writing, too -- can't forget that. It's time to branch out.

So, you may ask, should I go see "Rent" during the remainder of its run.

Yes.

Get tickets here.

You must be young to be a bone marrow donor

Did you know that if you're older than 60, docs don't want your bone marrow?

I found that out by perusing the web site for the Be the Match Registry at the National Bone Marrow Program. Transplant doctors are thrilled to work with your bone marrow if you're from 18-44. They might use your precious bodily fluids if you're from 45-60. Over 60? Forget it.

I understand the reasoning.

The age guidelines are in place to protect donors and provide the best treatment for patients:

• Donor safety: As one ages, the chances of a hidden medical problem that donation could bring out increases, placing older donors at increased risk of complications. Since there is no direct benefit to the donor when they donate, for safety reasons we have set age 60 as the upper limit. It is important to note that the age limit is not meant to discriminate in any way.
• To provide the best treatment for the patient: Research shows that cells from younger donors lead to more successful transplants.

My 60-year-old brother Dan needs bone marrow. He was diagnosed with leukemia in December after checking into the hospital for a routine gall bladder surgery. His blood counts were abnormal. His doctors performed additional tests and discovered the leukemia. He underwent treatment at his local hospital in Florida, and then transferred to M.D. Anderson in Houston, well-known for its extraordinary care and facilities.

My brothers and sisters submitted samples to test their compatibility for donations. I wasn't involved because I had a heart attack during Christmas season. Heart disease and age ruled me out. Never have I felt so old or so left out.  

My sister Mary was a perfect match. She is the youngest of nine children, younger than me by 15 years. Not in the 18-44 range, but close. Family matches are preferred because it cuts down on rejection by the body to the new, implanted cells.

While Mary was going through the usual battery of donor tests at M.D. Anderson, cancer was discovered. Now she's going through treatments while my brother Dan is going through his last batch of chemo to prepare him for a bone marrow transplant from someone other than Mary.

So, if you have ever thought about being a bone marrow donor, go to the Be the Match Registry and request a donor kit. All it takes is a cheek swab or blood sample to be tissue-matched. The next step, donating your marrow, is not painless. But the life you save may be that of your brother or sister. Or someone else's brother or sister.

Not the best witness for the prosecution, but entertaining

As Roy Elson, I wasn't the best witness for the prosecution at today's mock trial of senators Joe McCarthy, Styles Bridges and Herman Welker. And Gov Dave, as the prosecutor, gave me a good grilling. But all the witnesses testimonies together did lead to a conviction. Read Rodger McDaniel's book, "Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt." See more cool photos from the trail at Cognitive Dissonance. Thanks, Meg.

The era of witch hunts, loyalty oaths and the "Lavender Scare" returns to Cheyenne today

Authors appreciate full-page newspaper coverage, especially if it appears on the day of a major book promo event.

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Managing Editor Reed Eckhardt wrote an opinion piece this morning that explores Rodger McDaniel's book "Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt." The book explores the dark days of the Red Scare in Washington, D.C., when many careers were ruined by Wisconsin Sen. Joe McCarthy. It was a time of loyalty oaths and blacklists and the anti-homosexual "Lavender Scare" and extreme partisan politics. Sen. Hunt was ensnared and ended up killing himself.

Read the book to discover the whole sordid story, and why it took 60 years to tell it. Better yet, come to today's mock trial of McCarthy and his two U.S. Senate Republican fellow travelers, Styles Bridges of New Hampshire and Herman Welker of Idaho. Presiding will be retired Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Michael Golden and former Gov. Dave Freudenthal will serve as prosecutor. Defense will be represented by Diane Lozano, director of the State Public Defender's Office. The trial gets underway at 1 p.m. today at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 1908 Central Ave. Free and open to the public. Buy a copy of the book while you're at it.

I mentioned this before but I'm a witness at today's trial. I am playing the role of Roy L. Elson, administrative assistant to Sen. Carl Hayden and candidate for the U.S. Senate. I know some secrets....

Meanwhile, go read Eckhardt's column in the WTE. Like any good reviewer, he takes the author to task for perceived oversights. But it's a good overview of Rodger's book and the scary era that spawned it.

New York Times article explores death-dealing nature of sodium in our food

Great NYT graphic by Anthony Freda for April 1 article about a new effort to reduce sodium in food, one that could save up to a half-million lives. It's only April 3 but I have already used up my five free monthly reads at NYT Online. But you can go to http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/sodium-hiding-in-plain-sight/?ref=health.Take a look at the American Heart Association's new book, "Eat Less Salt."

The Cardiac Chronicles: Orgasmatron meets Tardis

An ICD in someone else's chest (from ECU web site)

The Cardiac Chronicles continue...

To bring you up to date, I've had several tests and doctor's appointments since my last cardiac post. One test involved breathing into a tube while sitting in a Tardis-like contraption. Actually, it looked more like the Orgasmatron from Sleeper than Dr. Who's machine. Remember how much pleasure Woody experienced in his contraption? My results were nowhere near as marvelous. I just sat in the contraption and breathed into a tube. "Deep breath! Hold it! Hold it! Breathe!" Over and over again. In one series, I was given a solution of carbon monoxide and methane. A small dose, much less toxic than the atmosphere on Jupiter. The goal was to breathe in the solution and see how readily it is absorbed (or not) into my system. This was supposedly a test of my pulmonary efficiency.

When it was all over, this test (DLCO -- Diffusing capacity of the Lung for Carbon Monoxide) showed that I was abnormal but for no specific reason.

I could have told them that before the test.

The second test was an echocardiogram or sonogram or, sometimes, ultrasound. You may know this test from the time that you were pregnant and a tech greases up a sensor and moves it all over your belly searching for the fetus lurking in your womb. I watched many of these tests during my wife's two pregnancies. It was always amazing to see the forms of these strange undersea creatures appear on the monitor. He Kevin! Hi Annie! Those two tiny varmints have now grown into full-fledged adults.

My beating heart was no less fascinating on-screen. I saw the chambers pumping away. I saw the flowing technicolor blood. I heard the soundings of the electronic pulses bouncing off my bloodstreams. The tech, who happened to be my neighbor, explained it all for me. He wasn't allowed to say anything diagnostic, as that's the purview of the docs. But he would make a good teacher for Echo 101 classes.

What did the echo show? My ejection fraction has improved but is not at normal levels. PA Amanda referred me to the gadget guy at Cardiology Associates. Not surprisingly, the gadget guy (hereafter known as Dr. S) wants me to get a gadget. It's called an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). It would replace the external defibrillator I now carry around like a man purse. The doc implants the ICD in my chest and strings electrical leadsin to my heart. 

This explanation from the East Carolina University Cardiac Psychology Lab web site:

An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) is a device that doctors surgically implant inside of your body to protect you from irregular heart rhythms. The ICD is working for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is like having the paramedics with you at all times. An ICD is an incredibly advanced piece of medical technology that is programmed specifically for you and your heart. If you are chosen to receive an ICD, you may have suffered from a cardiac episode in the past and your doctors want to best protect you from another in the future. Or, you may be at risk for experiencing a cardiac event in the future.

An ICD detects abnormal heart rhythms evident through tachycardia and bradycardia. It closely monitors and keeps track of whether or not the abnormal rhythms are corrected by the heart. If the heart is unable to restore a normal heartbeat by itself, the ICD sends the appropriate amount of electrical current needed to return the heart back to pumping effectively and efficiently. This is what is referred to as a "shock." In effect, the ICD shock "resets" your heart. The shock is delivered from the device (about the size of a stopwatch) via electrical leads anchored in the wall of the heart.

Like having the paramedics with me at all times? I'm not that lonely.

This isn't an easy decision. I'd be living with the ICD for the rest of my life. "Living with" is the key phrase. It may be the difference between living and not.

Still, I get a second opinion on Friday. We'll see what Dr. G says.

Gregory Hinton returns to Shepard Symposium for performance of "Diversity Day"

Gregory Hinton is a Montana native who grew up in Cody. He now is the creator and producer of Out West at the Autry, a historic public program featuring a series of lectures, plays, films and gallery exhibitions dedicated to shining a light on the history and culture of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Two Spirit (GLBT2) communities in the American West.

I first met Gregory a few years ago when he performed his play "Beyond Brokeback" at the Shepard Symposium for Social Justice in Laramie. The play was based on online testimonials by GLBT2 people responding to "Brokeback Mountain," the Ang Lee film based on the short story by Wyoming's Annie Proulx.

Gregory's been back in Wyoming several times since, most recently to serve as a research fellow at the Buffalo Bill Center for the West in his old stomping grounds of Cody. This week he's in Laramie for a Shepard Symposium performance of "Diversity Day" in the Wyoming Union's Yellowstone Ballroom on Friday, April 5, 1:30-2:45 p.m. 

This is a one-hour staged reenactment—with voluntary audience participation— of combative public testimony adapted from Missoula City Council Minutes to add anti-discrimination protection for the LGBTQ community, a first in Montana history.  Footage of the original April 12, 2010 hearing will screen silently as testimony is read. A workshop and discussion will follow.

After Mayor John Engen of Missoula declared April 12, 2010 “Diversity Day,” six hours of powerful public testimony was heard prior to a Missoula City Council vote to add sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression to the city’s existing antidiscrimination ordinance – a first in Montana state history.

'Diversity Day’ offers a frank glimpse into the day-to-day lives of Montana’s LGBT community and those who oppose their call for anti-discrimination protection.”  

"Diversity Day" was first presented at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival – Region 7, (KCACTF-7) in Ft. Collins in February, 2012.  It was then presented in June, 2012 at the West Hollywood Library as a featured event of West Hollywood’s One City/One Pride Culture Series. In association with the National Coalition Building Institute it will be presented in Missoula on April 12th, 2013 and in Billings in association with ACLU Montana the following weekend.  

Hinton has produced and directed stage readings of the AFER and Broadway Impact marriage equality play ‘8,’ both at KCACTF-7 in Ft. Collins and at the Bozeman Public Library.  Written by Academy Award winning Dustin Lance Black, ‘8’ is adapted from the transcripts of the 2010 California Prop. 8 trial where cameras were barred.  

For more information about "Diversity Day" or Out West programming, please contact Gregory Hinton at 323.876.9585 gregoryhinton@earthlink.net

Second-to-last Cheyenne Winter Farmers Market set for this Saturday

There are only two more Winter Farmers Markets "inside the sunny and cozy lobby of the Historic Train Depot Museum in downtown Cheyenne," which is how the monthly press release puts it. During Cheyenne winters, I am always pleased to shop in a sunny and cozy place. Even when it's not officially winter any more, as it is now, I prefer sunny and cozy to cloudy and blustery.

The next market will be held this Saturday, April 6, May 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Here are some of this Saturday's offerings:

• Gourmet local mushrooms
• Fresh yogurt
• Farm-fresh eggs, goat and sheep cheese
• Gourmet pastas, flavored oils and vinegars
• Locally roasted fair-trade coffee and herbal teas
• Fresh breads and home-baked treats
• Locally made chocolates and candies
• Grass-fed beef, lamb, and bison, free-range chickens, pork, goat's meat
• Locally produced jams, honey, and Amish-style peanut butter
• Take-home BBQ, bratwurst, cabbage burgers, chowders and bisque, smoked wild-caught salmon
• Soup mixes, rubs, and dip mixes
• Natural, locally-produced body care products
• Hand-crafted jewelry, cutting boards, cards, and other hand-made crafts

Some of this stuff I can no longer eat, due to a heart condition. The chocolate-covered bacon is out, as is the BBQ and the handmade tamales. Mushrooms are in, as are all of the grass-fed meats and craft pastas and vinegars. And I can buy arts and crafts until the grass-fed cows come home.

Acoustic Celtic and folk music to shop by will be performed by Dave Kramer and Steve Scott.      

For more information about the market, please contact Kim Porter, kim.porter@wyo.gov, or Cindy Ridenour, cindyr@meadowmaidfoods.com.   

P.S.: Can't wait until summer!

Welcome to the internet tubes, Casper Citizen

The Casper Citizen went live at 5:30 p.m. MDT.

According to a press release:

Civic and corporate leaders and professional journalists have joined to provide a free public platform to connect the people of Casper and surrounding areas and engage them on issues, programs and activities that make their lives better.

"Journalism is meant to educate, inform, bring us together, help us be better community members," said Deirdre Stoelzle Graves, the founding director. "This new media venture combines community input with journalistic expertise to make an online site that's by and for the community."

Designed by Russell Weller, with photos from Tim Kupsick, The Casper Citizen highlights arts and entertainment, health and wellness, food and travel, and news and opinion by and for the people of Casper. Its easy-to-use online framework will connect community members with one another around activities and issues that increase social opportunities and volunteerism. The Citizen's professional journalists will develop and train contributors in emerging media to help them report with ethics and compassion on people and issues in Casper.

Editor-in-Chief Kerry Drake said the venture is the next frontier of journalism, the culmination of a longer-term trend in the industry, with downsizing, layoffs and newspaper closures forcing local journalists to find better ways to serve their communities.

"Incorporating as a nonprofit sends a message that local journalism's commitment is to its community," Drake said. "Free and unbiased reporting that accurately and ethically informs is critical to democracy and social well-being."

The Citizen plans to host community discussion forums, provide project and program support, highlight innovation and recognize community heroes and acts of kindness. 

The first issue tackled by the Citizen is the attempted reversal of the smoking ban by the Casper City Council. Something's apparently in the Casper water supply, making normally clear-thinking citizens want to abandon the present and inhabit the dim, dark past. The Citizen points out that after Cheyenne passed its smoking ban, a group of disgruntled smokers tried to get enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. But they fell short and, guess what, bar patrons got used to the smoke-free environs and liked it. Something about eating and drinking without inhaling clouds of toxic smoke. Bar employees were able to work in a smoke-free environment, thereby avoiding high-risk exposure to lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease.

Good for the Citizen for bringing some attention to this issue.

Kerry Drake is an able editor and a fine writer. His columns for Wyofile have illuminated some of the shadier dealings of the Wyoming Legislature.

Go, Citizen, go!

"Let the Day Begin" may have been the highlight of that terrible, awful 2000 presidential race

You youngsters may not remember the original version of "Let the Day Begin" by The Call. But it was used by Al Gore as a campaign song during his ill-fated run for the presidency. Remember the 2000 election? I'd rather not.... Tom Vilsack also used the song during his short-lived 2008 campaign. Oklahoma's Michael Been was the leader of The Call. Anyway, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club takes a punkier approach than did The Call, even though they came right out of the punk era in 1980. The Call was leftie political with Oklahoma Christian roots, an odd, but very compelling, combo.

There's another chapter to this story (from Wikipedia):

Michael Been died on August 19, 2010 after suffering a heart attack backstage at the Pukkelpop music festival in Hasselt, Belgium, where he was working as sound engineer for his son's band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

On April 18-19 2013, The Call's original members Scott Musick, Tom Ferrier, and Jim Goodwin will reunite for a series of shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles with Robert Levon Been taking over the role of bass and vocals.

That is really great news. Let's hope they take the show on the road east of Cal, say, to Red Rocks.

Thanks to Badtux the Snarky Penquin for the BRMC YouTube clip.

"My Two Moms" author is keynote speaker for 17th annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice

This year's 17th annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice is next week in Laramie. Its theme is “Counter Narratives: Advocacy at the Intersections.” Here are some highlights (from the Casper Star-Trib Weekender section)::

GLARE and UW faculty panel is 4:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY in the Yellowstone Ballroom. GLARE is a group of faculty and staff in the School of Education at Brooklyn College committed to the well-being of gay and transgender people.

New York Times writer Samuel G. Freedman, author of “Breaking the Line,” speaks at 4:30 p.m. THURSDAY in the Yellowstone Ballroom.

“Equality in the Equality State” panel discussion/luncheon is 11:30 a.m. on FRIDAY, APRIL 5, in the Yellowstone Ballroom. Panelists will examine the Wyoming legislative processes surrounding the introduction a bill granting legal recognition to domestic partnerships.

Zach Wahls’ keynote address is 4:30 p.m. APRIL 5 in the Yellowstone Ballroom. It is free.“The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character,” Wahls told the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public forum in 2011, then a 19-year-old University of Iowa freshman. His speech got more than 2 million views on You Tube. He has become a gay marriage and gay parents advocate, according to a release. His book, “My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family,” delivers a reassuring message to same-sex couples, their children and anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider.

“Saturday Night Party” begins at 9 p.m. APRIL 6 at the Alice Hardie Stevens Center, 603 E. Ivinson St. Tickets: $5; proceeds benefiting the Tie the Knot Foundation, which created a line of art-inspired bow ties to benefit various gay-rights organizations.

Mary Gillgannon conducts self-publishing workshop April 2 at the Laramie County Library

Writer Amanda Cabot sends this reminder:

If you're interested in self-publishing, either in e-book or print-on-demand format, you won't want to miss Mary Gillgannon's workshop at the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne next Tuesday.  She'll be covering the pros and cons of self-publishing as well as the issues associated with cover art, formatting, distribution, marketing -- in other words, everything you need to know about this important subject.

Tuesday, April 2

6:30 to 8 p.m.

Cottonwood Room (first floor)

Joan McCarter on DKos: 'Greatest retirement crisis' in history looms large

As is often the case, Joan McCarter is one step ahead the rest of us on timely topics. Today it's the retirement crisis facing American Baby Boomers. And I'm not just saying this because I am one of those Boomers on the verge of retirement. Check out Joan's Daily Kos column here and the daily schedule for our fellow Kossacks posting about the topic this week.