Hunkered down, somewhere in Wyoming, part 5

I've started two blogs with Coronavirus stats. By the time I finish, the figures are outdated. Just shows how fast this thing is moving.

I've been hunkered down for two weeks or so. I'm retired so time stretches and contracts anyway. Insert a stay-at-home order (in WYO, it's more of a suggestion) and who really knows what day it is?

My most recent abandoned blog began by wondering how many Coronavirus cases there really are. I've been checking stats from a variety of reliable sources but nobody really knows exact figures. Due to equipment shortages, testing is sporadic or nonexistent. Some states, New` York for example, are testing thousands every day but still require a physician's order. Cuomo, not really a guy who likes Trump, had nice things to say about him and Pence in one of his impressive early press conferences. The D.C. duo had answered New York's call for more test kits. Maybe it was Cuomo's desperation. Maybe Trump still has feelings for his home state. Maybe it was good PR for a bungling administration. It happened, The state leads the nation in all categories. Cuomo said the other day that 21,000 medical workers from out-of-state have responded to pleas for help. New York City is the epicenter. Reminds me of the response to 9/11 when Americans answered the call to the World Trade Center attack. We can respond in an emergency. We're just not that good at taking care of each other on a daily basis.

On the other end of the scale is Wyoming. We have the same brand of Coronavirus -- COVID-19 -- but our numbers are much lower because our numbers are always much lower. Our population is sparse (580,000) as is COVID-19 testing. As of this morning, WYO has 162 active cases after some 2,000 tests by the state lab. No deaths, thank goodness. Our hot zones are Laramie, Teton and Fremont counties. My county of Laramie leads the list with 37. We're the capital city with the largest population so that makes sense. Fremont includes Lander, Riverton and the reservation. Teton is gateway to the national parks, which are closed along with ski areas, so it gets many travelers from all over. Colorado also closed ski areas when Eagle County became a hot zone with as many cases as Colorado Springs.

But how many are there really? I read in the Gillette News-Record that there are 131 possible COVID-19 cases in the county who have been asked to shelter at home. The Fremont County Incident Management Team has directed 608 people to self-isolate. Most of these people show symptoms but can't be tested because there are no test kits. That makes it even more important to stay home.

Colorado, our neighbor with the largest population, reported 3,728 cases as of yesterday. Those stats come from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. On Thursday, neighboring Weld County listed 329 cases, twice as many as Wyoming's state total. It's a bit daunting to see a map of the COVID-19 hot spots in Colorado and see two of them (Weld and Larimer counties) clustered at the Wyoming border. There is an incredible amount of travel between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyo., and Fort Collins and Greeley, Colo.

Colorado has tested eight times as many people as Wyoming. No surprise there, as Colorado has about eight times the population of Wyoming, most of whom are on I-25 the same time as I am.

Numbers are important. But what we'll remember are the stories spawned by Coronavirus. I will remember that my family declared its own quarantine when things started getting bad about two weeks ago. I'm a cardiac patient, Chris has diabetes and our daughter Annie had elective surgery the day before the hospital cancelled all non-essential operations. We have ventured forth a few times to get take-out or just to take a drive to nowhere.

On the afternoon of March 31, as I was applying 2021 stickers to my license plates, I saw my neighbor Mike in his yard and asked if he had any toilet paper. He was on his way out to buy some and said he'd see if any was available. An hour later, he came to the door with two four-packs he had found at Dollar Tree. He left them on the porch. My wife wiped down the shopping bags and the two TP packages.

The next thing we will lack are cleaning wipes. We started the lockdown with five rolls of those and we're down to one. I tried to order some yesterday with my groceries. Not available, the King Soopers site said. I ordered groceries to be delivered by Instacart, the contractor that selects and delivers from KS. Instacart employees on the East Coast went on strike for more pay and better working conditions. I hope they get it, and hope they seriously consider unionizing after seeing how little the bosses care about their safety. Ditto for amazon.com employees who run ragged trying to fill our orders for TP and sanitary wipes and Fitbits.

Most talk show personalities are broadcasting from home. You see family members meandering by in the background. TV personality and philanthropist Bethany Frankel was being interviewed on Good Morning America when her dog entered the scene and licked her face. Andrew Lloyd Webber is taking requests to perform songs he plays from home on his piano. YouTube is filled with homebound people singing or playing an instrument. We are watching a lot of YouTube videos. Chris was overjoyed to discover vids of Jane Fonda workouts, the same ones she did in our living room when they kids were little. Sitting at my desk in the office, and the Fonda soundtrack came on, I flashed back to the eighties.

I am impressed by the major and minor contributions to the cause. Since today is payday, the family is donating to several good local causes. Cheyenne crafters have been making masks for doctors and nurses. Police officers deliver groceries to shut-ins. Students at Newcastle High School are making masks for the volunteer fire department. Cheyenne Botanic Gardens staffers deliver soup to their elderly volunteers. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft flew his own plane to China to fetch equipment for medical personnel. This blog has no love for the Patriots but it was a great gesture.

It's odd to be at home watching the world go by. It's in pretty sad shape but we find ways to be human. And there are ways to contribute, both in money and time. I will list some of those resources in my next blog.

Next Women's March on Wyoming set for Jan. 20 in Cheyenne

Last year, the day after the presidential inauguration was a lot more interesting than the inauguration itself.

The inaugural Women's March was held around the U.S. on Jan. 21, 2017. Cheyenne mustered a crowd of at least 1,200. Not bad for a community of some 64,000 souls. I was a food volunteer at the event -- and a marcher -- and I summarized my experience in this Jan. 22 post.

On that gorgeous January day, many of us marchers were still in shock from the election results. Trump was (and is) a sexist, misogynistic jerk who openly bragged about grabbing women's body parts. I couldn't believe that America would choose this guy over a much more qualified and intelligent woman. Hillary Clinton. I couldn't believe that we had a black president for eight years and had taken a few steps forward and now we were taking giant leaps backward. Events during the past 11 months have shown how bad things can get.

The Women's March did not derail Trump's nefarious plans. One thing we Baby Boomer activists have learned is that one march does not lead to immediate consequences. Wars do not end. Civil rights are not achieved. It takes many years and hundreds of marches and legal actions and elections to achieve the stated goal.

That's a tough lesson for Americans. We expect instant results. But it's hard-headed patience and persistence that wins the day.

See you at the next Women's March on Wyoming in Cheyenne on Jan. 20, 2018, 10 a.m., at the Historic Depot Plaza downtown. A potluck will follow. Get updated info at http://www.wywomensmarch.org. See today's WTE for an article about the march. The theme for this year is voting -- both GOTV tactics and getting women elected to public office. You can't expect progress when your state legislature is dominated by a cabal of Male Republican Know Nothings.

Hell's bells, it's Wild West Week

Photo from the Wyoming State Archives shows downtown Cheyenne's Mayflower Cafe during Frontier Days sometime around the late-1940s. 

"Hell's bells, it's Wild West Week."

That's what Slim tells Sal Paradise in "On the Road" when he realizes he's landed in Cheyenne Frontier Days. It's 1947 and CFD reputedly was a bit wilder. It might have even been Cheyenne Day, that mid-week extravaganza when everyone gets out of work at noon. Bars are open, the streets are closed, and the beer is flowing freely. Those post-war CFD participants at "Wild West Week" were feeling their oats. The war was over, they were alive and felt so damn good that they weren't freezing in the Hurtgen Forest or rotting in the Bouganville jungle that they rose their horses into the Mayflower Cafe. That actually happened, or that's how local lore tells it. Tanked-up cowboys riding horses into bars. Jack Kerouac was here and on his way to Denver's LoDo before it had a fancier title than Skid Row. Seattle may have coined that term -- Skid Row after Skid Road -- but Denver perfected it. Larimer Street better known then for bums and seedy bars than hipsters and swank bistros.

Chris and I left work at noon on Cheyenne Day and made our way to a closed-off Capitol Avenue. The beer flowed freely yet I saw nary a cowboy on horseback except the mechanical one on the Wrangler sign on Lincolnway. There was music and beer over on Depot Plaza. A spacious stage was set up on the big alley on Capitol between 16th and 17th streets. Technical problems forced the bands out of the alley and out onto the street onto a tiny stage the size of my car. But the bands played on, as they do in tough circumstances. The Burroughs from Greeley is a nine-piece funk and soul band with a cool horn section. They shoe-horned themselves on the stage and played a fine set of original music. In the midst of that, they slowed things down with some John Lennon. I'd never seen this band before. Where have you guys been keeping yourselves? NoCo venues, to judge from their web site.

Hell's bells -- Alysia Kraft leads The Patti Fiasco during Cheyenne's "Rock the Block" concert.

The Cheyenne DDA/Main Street org arranged this event which it dubbed "Rock the Block." DDA contracted with four very good bands to play downtown which, in turn, was designed to lure residents and tourists downtown. To judge from the crowds, it was successful. The audience for The Burroughs was modest, but things picked up for The Patti Fiasco which has its roots in southwest Wyoming. Lead singer/guitarist Alysia Kraft is from Encampment in Carbon County and the band formed in Laramie before moving to Fort Collins. Alysia spends a lot of her time in Austin these days, which is the way of things. Her mom staffed the merch table at the concert. She also was the first to get up and dance to some of TPF's better-known songs, such as "Wyoming is for Lovers" and "Small Town Lights."

Chris and I decamped for a local backyard party that also featured a live band. We saw some old friends, quaffed a few beers and then returned downtown in time to catch the last four songs by the Josh Abbott Band. By that time, the technical problems had been fixed and a packed crowd was rocking out to the tunes of the headliner. Not sure if it was country or red-dirt music or what, but the band was tight. The mostly-young crowd was enjoying it, some even singing along. I point out the age of the crowd because I notice that these days. It matters who is coming out to see your shows. At 64, I may have been the oldest person there. I recognized few of my peers in the crowd. I wondered who they were. Locals or tourists or both? If locals, how come I never see these people at other music events? They aren't attending Fridays on the Plaza concerts or Cheyenne Guitar Society offerings or the symphony. There is something about a summer outdoor event that features good music and alcohol. Arts presenters can learn something from this, if they haven't already.

Chris and I finished our Cheyenne Day by wandering over to the Depot Plaza. A soul band from Denver performed contemporary pop tunes and some oldies from the soul catalog and the disco era. This crowd was a surprise, as it was heavily Latino/a and black. That's unusual in our 93-percent-white state. Cheyenne, which has a better ethnic mix than most in WYO, draws mainly older and white audiences for Depot Plaza concerts, even when the band is hip and ethnic. Maybe there were reunions going on, as often happens during CFD. Cheyenne has an active NAACP chapter and several historically black churches. Warren AFB brought many urbanites to Cheyenne who liked it and stayed. Alas, we usually don't see each other at public events. Maybe Cheyenne Day is the draw, or CFD.

Today is Saturday, the second-to-last day of CFD. Chris and I volunteer tonight at the Old-Fashioned Melodrama in the Historic Atlas Theatre. Volunteering -- another CFD tradition. Another Shay family tradition.

See you tonight at the Atlas!

Capital Chorale adds a dash of humorous seasonings to a rainy Cheyenne night

By now, decades into the electronics revolution, you would think that everyone would be safely at home on a rainy Friday night playing e-games or watching a super-hero flick on their mega-widescreen TV.

That's not the case. The more electronic options available, the greater the need to get out among our fellow humans. Yes, we are an untidy and argumentative bunch. We do like to get together to enjoy the arts.

Friday night featured a variety of offerings in Cheyenne. Chris and I attended the Cheyenne Capital Chorale "Tasteful Tapestries" concert. The Cheyenne Little Theatre offered "9 to 5 -- the musical" and the LCCC Theatre featured "Anne of Green Gables." Bands performed at local bars. The Suite Bistro held its usual karaoke night, which could be considered an art form depending on who's on stage at the time. If it's me, forget it.

My daughter Annie, however, has a great voice and was performing with the Capital Chorale last night. "Tasteful Tapestries" was all about food, as am I, so it was a natural choice to attend. Because I've been homebound for a month due to knee replacement, I've had an opportunity to hear Annie rehearse her solo and the other songs on the CCC repertoire. Unlike her violin practice in the fourth grade, which set neighborhood dogs howling, Annie's singing is a joy to hear. Her solo was the classic tune from "The Sound of Music," "My Favorite Things." A tuneful little ditty that I've heard hundreds of times during screenings if Chris's favorite film. The song has plentiful references to Austrian foodstuffs -- schnitzel with noodles and strudel -- so it fit easily into the evening's program. Janet Anderson performed "The Big Rock Candy Mountain," a song by Harry McClintock about the musings of a Depression-era hobo made famous in "O Brother, Where Art Thou." The Cheyenne Capital Quartet (plus one) tackled the classic "Snap, Crackle, Pop" advertising jingle, which brought back memories of endless bowls of Rice Krispies. The trio of Paula Egan-Wright, Sarah Scott and LuWana DePorter celebrated caffeinated beverages with the "Java Jive."

After breaks to bid on silent auction items and to buy yummy pastries (pecan pie!), the chorale launched into "The Seasonings" by P.D.Q. Bach, the pen name for musician and humorist Schickele. It's been decades since I've heard P.D.Q. Bach (1807-1742) performed. I forgot how clever and irreverent he can be. Songs included "Tarragon of Virtue is Full," "Bide Thy Thyme" and "To Curry Favor, Favor Curry." The pianist was accompanied by bicycle horns, triangles and some mysterious homemade instruments. The cast expanded to include a pair of cheerleaders, a chef, football players, and soothsayers.

A whopping good time was had by all. And money was raised for the 2015-2016 season.

And to think that all of this entertainment was brought to us by volunteers, our family members, friends and neighbors who are in it for the love of music.

That was one super day, Cheyenne

Chris takes a break from work while I take five from walking Superday for Mike Ceballos.

Yesterday was Superday in Cheyenne. At first glance, that name seems grandiose. Can any event be super? Can't you find another title? Cheyenne Day would be a good one but it's already taken. The Wednesday smack in the middle of Cheyenne Frontier Days is Cheyenne Day. It's the day that almost everyone gets off work at noon and is drunk by 12:30. If you think I'm exaggerating, go hang out in downtown Cheyenne on July 23. It can be fun, too, if you bring along some moderation with your enthusiasm. Music on the plaza. melodrama at the Atlas (and on the streets). Art in the galleries. Rodeo in the park.

Superday may just have to do.

Superday 2014 falls in an election year. Booths for gubernatorial and legislative candidates are stuffed among those for the YMCA and Recover Wyoming and the Cheyenne Ski Club. I was there this morning. Lynn Birleffi and I teamed up to hand out leaflets for Mike Ceballos, who's running for superintendent of public instruction. I know Mike as an arts education supporter during his stint as CEO of Qwest. He's a good man with loads of leadership experience, a trait that will be handy at a Department of Education fraught with turmoil during Cindy Hill's reign. If you haven't been keeping up, well, I don't have enough time and fortitude to school you on these pages. Let's just say that Mr. Ceballos will bring some much-needed sanity to the department. He's a Democrat, too, and that will give us at least one statewide elected official we can crow about. 

For some people at SuperDay, such as my wife Chris, this is a working day. For the rest of us, this is a day we volunteer. Cheyenne is known for its volunteerism. We donate thousands of hours during Frontier Days and almost every other time of the year. Why? Tradition! And then there's that empathy gene that calls out to us. There are plenty of causes that need our time and attention. I could make a long list. Fortunately, I don't have to do so as the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle did so today in its "Volunteer Wyoming" insert (check it out). You could sum it up by saying that any nonprofit organization needs volunteers. So that's what we do.

What cause or organization do you volunteer for? Any why?

Chris and I as part of the mudding crew June 21 at the newest Laramie County Habitat for Humanity home-building project in Cheyenne.

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.

MYOB: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker wants to outlaw same-day voter registration in all of the "W" states

Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker wants to end same-day voter registration in every state. Wyoming, of course, has same-day voter registration and it has been extremely popular and effective in electing a Republican majority to the legislature, an all-Republican Congressional delegation and an occasional Democratic governor. All of us who have worked the polls know that anyone who shows up to register is shown to a separate registration table staffed by paid volunteers who have attended at least one training session held by the county clerk's office. This time-tested system is apparently not good enough for Scott Walker:

"States across the country that have same-day registration have real problems because the vast majority of their states have poll workers who are wonderful volunteers, who work 13-hour days and who in most cases are retirees," Walker said in the speech. "It's difficult for them to handle the volume of people who come at the last minute. It'd be much better if registration was done in advance of election day. It'd be easier for our clerks to handle that. All that needs to be done."

Forget Mr. Walker's ageism. Forget his stereotyping of poll workers as "retirees" whose feeble minds are apparently unable to keep track of voters. Those voting days can be long and tedious, punctuated by an occasional long line and a tough question about eligibility or voting protocol. In Wyoming, poll workers can work half-day shifts, an option brought to you by legislation sponsored and ramrodded by one-time Democratic Rep. Lori Millin. In 2010, I worked one of those split-shifts while most of my fellow volunteers did not. They were tougher than I am. Maybe they wanted to stay on-site and hobnob with old friends, or maybe they wanted to eat more of Edith's yummy tamales (we eat well at the polls), or maybe they just like what they're doing and are damned good at it. Whatever the reason, a more hard-working bunch you will never see.

Perhaps Gov. Walker actually believes that Wisconsin poll workers are inferior to those in Wyoming. Perhaps we need a poll-worker Olympics to find out who is the best of them all.

Or perhaps Gov. Walker is just full of it. Didn't the Repubs learn anything from the recent election? Americans don't like it when you trample on their voting rights.

"Encore careers" seems to be the new buzzword for Baby Boomers

An AP article by personal finance writer Dave Carpenter was reprinted Friday in the NYT's Business Day section. It was all about us perpetually annoying Baby Boomers and a new trend for us to find "encore careers" that combine "personal meaning with social purpose."

As many as 9 million people ages 44 to 70 already are in such careers as the second or third acts of their working lives, according to nonprofit think tank Encore.org. 

But that number is poised to multiply as many boomers and others take steps to combine making a living with making a difference. Another 31 million older workers are interested in finding encore careers, based on a 2011 survey by the nonprofit. 

A mixture of longer lifespans, layoffs, shifting cultural attitudes and financial realities is causing this growing urge among over-50s to seek out more purposeful work. Sometimes it's just an itch to do something more purposeful in retirements that can now last for three decades, while still pulling in needed income. 

The demographics of 78 million baby boomers should ensure that this careers shift accelerates, says Encore.org vice president Marci Alboher. 

"This trend has the potential to be a new social norm much the way that the dream of the golden years, of a leisure-based retirement, was an aspiration for the generation before," she says. 

Alboher is the author of the soon-to-be-released "The Encore Career Handbook," is an invaluable resource for older workers looking for purposeful career alternatives.

"Purposeful career alternatives." Kind of a clunky term but it's a handy way to describe what many Baby Boomers are trying to do with their retirement (or per-retirement). For awhile now, retirement has become less of a "leisure-based" lifestyle than one that combines do-gooderism with a little bit of freedom to travel, visit grandkids and recuperative time following the usual knee or hip replacement. 

I grew up in Florida, capital of leisure-based retirement. As a beach town, Daytona had more than its share of retirees. You saw them moseying down the beach, playing shuffleboard at City Island Park, and driving 10 m.p.h. down A1A. Half of our beachside neighborhood was made up of snowbirds, Michiganders or New Yorkers or Ohioans who spent most of their year in Daytona but who migrated north to visit family and friends during the hellish Florida summers. Many were widows, still-vital women who had moved to Florida with their retired autoworker husband only to find themselves alone after their spouse expired after a couple years due to golf ennui or shuffleboard overdose. This used to be one of the hazards of retirement, especially for hard-working men. They had nothing to sustain them outside of work. No hobbies. No creative pursuits. Nothing. So they just fade away, like General McArthur's "old soldiers."

We Baby Boomers have different attitudes and, to be fair, worked different sorts of jobs than our parents. I've reinvented myself several times during my life, as has my wife Chris. We're both surprised that I've been at my job more than 21 years and she's been at hers more than 10 years. We even have retirement plans that haven't been gutted by corporate raiders (like Bain Capital) or right-wing, Tea Party legislators.

We also both work in careers that combine "personal meaning with social purpose." Chris is a supervisor at the Cheyenne Family YMCA. Most people know the Y for its exercise classes and swimming pool, but it also offers daycare, summer camps, a myriad of classes and workshops for seniors, and scholarships for people with limited incomes. The VA Hospital uses the swimming pool for patient rehab. The Y "does good" on a daily basis. 

I'm a state employee that works in the arts. My road to this carer took me through jobs as newspaper reporter, newspaper editor, magazine writer, corporate publications editor and community college teacher. My two decades as an arts administrator has been interspersed with intense bouts of fiction writing which, occasionally, lead to publishing, as well as stints on various boards of directors for nonprofit organizations. I've served on the Wyoming Governor's Mental Health Advisory Council. I served on the first Laramie County Habitat for Humanity board and have been a board member for local social service nonprofit UPLIFT for 12 years. I've been an officer for the county Democratic Party. 

Every so often, Chris and my efforts intersect, as when we both served on the YMCA's Writer's Voice committee that brought professional writers and poets to the Y for classes and workshops. 

Our encore carers seem to be happening before our very eyes. We will retire in the near future. We will not go silently into that good night, as if any Baby Boomer could do that. We are loud and we are proud. Especially loud.

So what will these retirees do? I can retire in four years but Chris has a few more years past that -- she's younger than I am. I plan to spend time writing and travelling and volunteering and/or working for my local arts organization, wherever that may be. Chris isn't a writer, but she loves to travel and volunteer, which she may do for our local Y, wherever that may be.

Where will that be? Ironically enough, that may be in Florida. Almost all of my relatives live there -- eight brothers and sisters and their many offspring. Chris's only sister lives there. Chris and I both went to high school in Florida and I graduated from the University of Florida. We have salt water in our veins from the many hundreds of hours spent on the beach. 

Still, we've lived on the Front Range of Colorado and Wyoming for 34 years, with two years off in Washington, D.C., for bad behavior (a temporary work assignment). We have lots of friends in Cheyenne, Fort Collins and Denver. Fort Collins is one of the region's most happening arts towns. Denver is my birthplace and where I spent ten years of working life, where our son was born.

Who knows? I have four years to figure this out. Four whole years! It won't go fast, will it?

Will it?

Cheyenne NAACP banquet includes awards and presention about "Big Medicine" of the Lewis & Clark expedition

Attended the Cheyenne NAACP (Unit 4108) Freedom Fund Banquet last night for the first time. My wife Chris has been a number of times, as she's actively involved with the local NAACP in planning the annual Juneteenth Celebration in Martin Luther King Jr. Park. It's the longest-running Juneteenth event in Wyoming and, until recently, the only one. Chris and I were given a gift membership to NAACP last year. This year, we renewed the membership.

Also attending were about a dozen members of the Laramie County Democrats and the the Laramie County Democratic Grassroots Coalition. Love & Charity hosted a big table of youth, giving them an opportunity to see the NAACP in action. A number of Colorado NAACP members were present, including the Wyoming/Nebraska/Colorado region chair.

Cheyenne NAACP President Elder Rodney McDowell presented a number of awards to sponsors and volunteers. Chris was surprised when she received a "President's Choice" plaque, so surprised that she burst into tears. She does most of her work behind the scenes and isn't used to blatant public presentations of awards. She got as standing ovation, to boot, and a big hug from Elder McDowell. The wording on the plaque: "In appreciation of your commitment and dedication to Civil Rights and Social Justice in Cheyenne and throughout Wyoming." Those words mean so much in Wyoming, a place that doesn't always lived up to its motto of "The Equality State." So proud of you, Chris!

Guest speaker was Dr. Robert Bartlett, actor and professor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University in Cheyenne, Wash. He performed a one-man presentation, "Manservant York." York was the manservant/slave that William Clark brought with him on the famous "Voyage of Discovery." The two has grown up together on the Clark Kentucky plantation. Clark taught York outdoor survival skills as the two hunted and fished the wilderness. When Jefferson appointed Lewis and Clark to make their trek, Clark felt that York's skills would come in handy. They did. York became known as "Big Medicine" to the Indians encountered along the way. On more than one occasion, his presence dissuaded the Indians from killing the voyagers. One Nez Perce chief thought so much of Big Medicine that he had him bed all four of his wives.

During the expedition, York became a free man in the wilderness. On his return to St. Louis, he once again became Master William's slave. He was even beaten after he'd asked for his freedom once too often. York's end is a mystery, although Bartlett opines that he lit out for Indian country, spending the latter part of his life with the Crow Nation in northern Wyoming. York urged the audience to look for him in the history books, "although you'll have to look awfully hard."

Look for York; see if you can find him. 

Time to retire the old refrain: "There's nothing to do in Cheyenne"

When I left the Wyoming Arts Council building after work on Friday, I did what I often do -- attend an arts event. Because I work in the arts, you might say that I left work to go to work. And on a Friday!

The event was an artist's reception at the Cheyenne Family YMCA. YMCA stands for Young Men's Christian Association. In the old days, young men of the Christian faith used to live and exercise at the local YMCA. It was a safe -- and inexpensive -- place to do both.

Now YMCAs are exercise meccas for men and women and children. The Cheyenne Y has some 7,000 members. My wife and daughter both work at the YMCA, and I work out at the Y. Some may be surprised to learn that the Y has an active arts program that includes exhibits, workshops and performances. It has a gallery adjacent to the front desk that features a new local artist each month.

The gallery was my destination on Friday. Tony James is August's featured artist. He's a fantastic photographer who specializes in landscapes. He has a knack for capturing the inner life of High Plains clouds, exposing them as they get ready to spew rain or snow or hail. He has an entire series of photos of aspen leaves, portraying them in different settings and different colorations. Tony had two pieces in this summer's Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition. One of them received a purchase award and now is part of the state's permanent collection.

Tony's wife Dee is also an artist. She's the power behind the recent renovation of the Cheyenne Artists Guild building in Holliday Park. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and had fallen on hard times. Using her considerable skills of persuasion, Dee talked Lowe's into donating $50,000 work of material and labor to completely redo the building. Artist Guild members wielded paint brushes and hammers, too. Go see the results and be impressed. Membership is up from about 50 to 200. New art is on the walls and the place now has a new furnace and space for year-round workshops. The city, which owns the building, will soon install a new roof. The Guild is one of the stops on the monthly Art Design & Dine Artwalk.

Tony and Dee James are forces of nature. They are both retired but are not retiring folks. Tony is a Cheyenne native and Dee is almost a Wyoming native, her family arriving in Wyoming from Kentucky when she was two. They are practicing artists and community organizers. Every day, they leave behind their work and go to work promoting the arts in the town that they love. People love to talk about Cheyenne as a place where volunteerism means something. Our largest annual event, Cheyenne Frontier Days, is volunteer-driven. My friend John Coe, a retired arts administrator an music composer, tells the story of moving from Cheyenne to Winchester, Kentucky, to take care of his aging mother. At his first Kiwanis meeting, John said he has just moved from Cheyenne. The Winchester Kiwanians besieged him with questions about the CFD pancake breakfast which, apparently, is known throughout the land.

Which just goes to show how important is it to give back to your community. And to make sure that your community has a solid arts infrastructure.

Since we moved to Cheyenne in 1991, my wife and children and I have played a role in the arts. So many others have done the same. So it's no accident that every night there are multiple offerings. No longer can my children say, "There's nothing to do in Cheyenne," although I still hear it occasionally. When I leave work every day, I can go home or I can attend an exhibit, a concert, a play. The summer schedule has been filled with events, and that continues as I look at the fall events listed on the Arts Cheyenne calendar. Go see for yourself at artscheyenne.com.

Obama volunteer meet-up set for Saturday at the Laramie County Public Library

Pres. Barack Obama speaks to an SRO crowd right down the road at CU-Boulder earlier this week.

From Robert Vernon-Kubichek, director of the Obama campaign in Wyoming:

Volunteers here in Wyoming come from all backgrounds, but they all have a couple things in common: a personal stake in this election and a passion for making sure President Obama and other Democrats win this November.  

Our volunteers here in Cheyenne are buzzing with energy -- so you should come out and get to know everyone at our volunteer meeting this Saturday.

We'll talk about how we're organizing in our neighborhood and how you can get involved.  

Can you make it? Here are the details:  

What: Cheyenne volunteer meeting

Where: Laramie County Library, Sunflower Room 2200 Pioneer Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82001

When: Saturday, April 28th 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

FMI: Go here

Albany County Dems do a training Saturday -- and you're invited

This comes from the Albany County Democratic Party via its Facebook page: "Got activists? Yes we do, Albany County! Come join the Precinct Leader Training tomorrow Saturday, Aug. 27) on the University of Wyoming campus in the Rendezvous Room in Washakie Hall in Laramie. We'll get started at 10 a.m., break for lunch and reconvene at 1 p.m., so please feel free to stop in, share some knowledge, and lead Wyoming into the wild blue yonder!"

Cheyenne's people are not exactly retiring types

Typical Cheyenne volunteers

In my previous post, I was a bit unfair to both AARP The Magazine and Cheyenne The City. Cheyenne is a great town with many amenities. Yes, it has low taxes, which makes many retirees happy. But it also has the 115-year history of Cheyenne Frontier Days, not only a Western tradition but one that depends almost entirely on volunteers.

Not every century-old event can say this.

I am a volunteer at the Old-Fashioned Melodrama, now in its 55th season. It's the summer offering of the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players, now in its 85th year. Easterners used to counting events and buildings and neighborhoods in centuries might scoff at the idea of anything in two figures being a tradition.

But just think about how tough it is to get an organization up and running -- and then to keep it running. I've been a member of organizations that have disappeared after a decade. I've participated in events that start with a bang but end with a whimper a few years later.

So, a 55-year-old volunteer-run event is a thing of beauty.

Yesterday evening, my wife Chris and I were part of a melodrama volunteer corps at the Historic Atlas Theatre. I was house manager and Chris ran the box office. Jim the retiree and Lexie the high school girl ran the concessions. An Air Force retiree and an attorney and a computer guy staffed the bar. Carol ran the 50/50 raffle table. She took a tumble recently and is using a walker. There is nothing on heaven or earth that will interfere with Carol's volunteer time at the melodrama. That includes cancer, which she's been battling bravely for years.

The sheriff is a high school teacher who also coaches the speech-and-debate team. His deputy is a Cheyenne native, brilliant actor and waiter at a local bistro. Jim the emcee works for the state and Jenny the card girl work full time and also is in the melodrama cast. Cast members are teachers and students and entrepreneurs and government employees. All volunteers.

That's what it takes the make this big event work. We represent only a few of the many hundreds who run the parades and night shows and rodeos and pancake breakfasts. We get a lot of fun and satisfaction from our activities. Hey -- CFD is one cool party. But civic pride is also at work. Speaking of work, our police and sanitation workers and firefighters and EMTs all work over time during this ten-day period. And some, in their very spare spare time, volunteer for other things. Officer Colby White is on stage every other summer as a melodrama emcee. There are many others.

Takes more than no income tax and low taxes and conservative politics to make a city appealing to young people and retirees alike.

It takes people who care.

Some dirty deeds afoot this summer at the Old-Fashioned Melodrama in Cheyenne

"Dirty Deeds at the Depot" is the Cheyenne Old-Fashioned Melodrama for this year.

Cheyenne Little Theatre presents the 55th Annual Old-Fashioned Melodrama with "Dirty Deeds at the Depot." Return to the glory days of the Depot with our Heroine, Lacie Camisole, the dastardly Professor Thaddeus Mack and the kind Station Master, Justin Tyme. Enjoy a taste of the old west with CLTP!

Produced in cooperation with www.heroandvillian.com

Directed by Barb Jalonen

Atlas Theatre

July 14-17, 2011 @  7:00 p.m.

(Frontier Days) July 21-23, 25-30 2011 @ 7:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m., July 24 & 31, 2011 @ 7:00 p.m.

August 4-7, 2011 @ 7:00 p.m.

I write about this event because I'm a volunteer, both in the front of the house and on stage. On Saturday, I will be the show's emcee while my wife Chris works the box office. Summers in Cheyenne are made for volunteering and many people do just that. Hundreds of them. Many of them serve as ushers and parade marshals and clean-up crew for Cheyenne Frontier Days. Others are emcees or olio entertainers or barkeeps for the melodrama. Pick your poison -- lots to do, and much fun to be had.

In reality, it takes hundreds and maybe thousands of people to make a city work. It takes everyone.

Enjoy your local theatre this weekend

Cheyenne Little Theatre Players’ productions come fast and furious for us fans. For the directors and actors and stage builders and musicians – each play represents many long hours of work.

Chris and I volunteer often for the CLTP. Neither of us is much on acting and/or singing. Chris has some improve experience and I’m an emcee at the summer melodrama. But we love to watch people who can act and sing. 

We’ll be volunteering with other able-bodied folks this weekend for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at the Historic Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne. The play’s music and lyrics are by William Finn from a book by Rachel Sheinkin

Performance Dates: March 18-20 & 25-27

Cast:

Chip Tolentino/Jesus: Kevin Guille
Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere: Stephanie Medema
Leaf Coneybear/Carl Dad: Jeran Artery
William Barfee: Chris Arneson
Marcy Park: Marcie Smith
Olive Ostrovsky: Kathy Borgaard
Rona Lisa Perretti/Olive’s Mom: Patty Walkley
Vice Principal Douglas Panch: Keith Thomson
Mitch Mahoney/Dan dad/Olive dad: Terry Barbre

Description: A hilarious tale of overachievers’ angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show’s Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.

Get your tickets at http://www.cheyennelittletheatre.org

Busy time on the Wyoming theatre scene

Our family heads out in a few hours to volunteer at the Cheyenne Little Theatre's production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." The show plays through next weekend. Director of this Tennessee Williams' drama is Brenda Lyttle with her husband, John Lyttle, serving as assistant director. They often acted together and also volunteer at the Old-fashioned Summer Melodrama. Brenda is one heck of a convincing torch singer while John's sheriff makes people quake in their boots.

Family values. And fun.

This is a busy time of year for the CLTP. "Streetcar" on stage and rehearsals going on for the "War of the Worlds" radio drama. Auditions coming up, too, for "The 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and "Noises Off," directed by Jim Rolf. There are several dozen community theatres in Wyoming but none is as old or as busy as the CLTP. I understand that Cheyenne has one of the oldest community theatres west of the Mississippi. I will have to do some research to see if that's accurate. I'd like to believe it's true.

Here's audition info for this week's auditions:

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

Directed by Doreen Oakley

Auditions on Monday-Wednesday, Jan 24-26, 6:30 p.m., at the Mary Godfrey Playhouse

Performance Dates: Mar 18-27

Adults Only - Age 20-60

The directors will be looking for 5 men and 4 women between the ages of 20 and 60. Some roles require the actor to play multiple characters.

"Noises Off" auditions will be in February. CLTP also is hosting the 2011 Rocky Mountain Theatre Association Festival in February. FMI: http://www.rmta.net

FMI: 307-638-6543

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.

Volunteers needed for 54th annual Cheyenne Summer Melodrama

This e-mail bulletin was sent out today by the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players. You will note some familiar names taking the helm of melodrama volunteers. read on...

It's Melodrama Time!

Mike and Chris Shay have agreed to Co-Chair the 54th Melodrama, and they are in need of people to chair the Marketing/PR and Front-Of-House(Front of House consists of Box Office, Concessions, Bar & Wait Staff)Sub-Committees. If you are interested, please email them at melodrama@cheyennelittletheatre.org

We will also be seeking volunteers to staff our bar area during the run of the show. Anyone interested in pouring our refreshments must be 21 or over and TIPS trained. Free TIPS training sessions will be offered from 5-9:30 p.m. on:
Tuesday May 4
Tuesday June 1
Tuesday July 6

Location -- at The American Legion Post 6, 2001 East Lincolnway, Cheyenne

No need to register, just show up and they'll fit you in!

TIPS training is valid for 3 years. If you have been previously trained remember to check your TIPS card or online for the expiration date!

Information to follow soon on our annual Volunteer Round Up and Atlas Clean Up Day to be held at the Atlas Theatre in June. We will provide all of the needed information regarding our other Melodrama Volunteer Opportunities available to those age 16 and up at that time.

Wyoming Democrats support public option

The Wyoming Democratic Party is asking state residents to support the public option in health care reform. You can go to the WyoDems' web site and print out a petition calling for the public option. Get ten supporters to sign on and send it back to the WyoDems so they can send it to D.C. along with hundreds (we hope) of other signed petitions. Find the printable petition at http://www.wyomingdemocrats.com/ht/d/Blogger/pid/273375

This is especially important for Wyoming because we have one U.S. senator (Enzi) who was one of the "Gang of Six" on the Senate Finance Committee who spent most of the past year obstructing real reform. No surprise that Sen. Enzi has received a total of $781,419 during his career from the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries (source: American Spectator).

Let's put that in perspective. The Cheyenne Community Clinic just announced that it will close by the end of the year. The Clinic, referred to by director Murray Lou Rex as "the safety net to the safety net," receives its $190,000 budget from United Way, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, the City of Cheyenne and Laramie County. The United Way has decided to end its support. This is a crushing blow, as it supplies half the clinic's budget.

Imagine that Sen. Enzi used his ill-gotten gains from Big Insurers and Big Pharma to fill the gap left by United Way. That would keep the clinic running eight more years, allowing its volunteer docs, pharmacists and nurses to rack up another 16,000 "patient encounters."

Our other U.S. senator, John Barrasso, is a newbie so we cut him a bit of slack. However, he's one of the handful of physicians in the U.S. Congress, so we do have expect a little more empathy and sensitivity from him. Alas, we haven't seen it when it comes to health care votes. He voted against the Children's Health Insurance Program, commonly known as CHIP or SCHIP. Wyoming has 6,314 children enrolled in CHIP, according to Nov. 2008 statistics released by the Children's Defense Fund. Imagine voting to cut off funding for 6,314 children? I can't.

And what about freshman U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis? She tows the Republican Party line and votes against anything promoted by Pres. Obama. She also is the 15th-wealthiest member of Congress. We pay for her health insurance. We also pay for Sen. Enzi's Medicare coverage.

So Wyoming Democrats are urging their senators and lone rep to dig deep for some thoughtfulness and empathy when it comes time to vote for real health care reform.

Here's the wording from the WyoDems' petition:

The heath care system of the United States is in crisis. Almost fifty million Americans completely lack health insurance, including more than 70,000 people in Wyoming. Tens of millions more lack adequate coverage, and the millions who do have private coverage are paying increasingly unaffordable premiums, resulting in inadequate access to care and premature death, illness, or financial ruin for millions of Americans.

Nationwide, public polls show that a majority of Americans want health care reform to offer the choice of a robust public option similar to Medicare in order to, in the words of President Obama, “keep the insurance companies honest.” At the same time, co-ops or so-called “triggers” are inadequate in and of themselves to address the health care crisis. We need a public option to create significant competition for the medical insurance industry and give insurance companies an incentive to control costs.

Republicans and their allies in the health insurance industry have organized and funded groups of extremists to disrupt efforts on the part of the Democratic majority and administration to reasonably discuss the issue with the American people. These supporters of the status quo have demonstrated an utter unwillingness to compromise in any way to pass meaningful health care reform.

For these reasons, we the undersigned strongly support health care reform that includes a robust public option. We hereby call on Sen. Mike Enzi, Sen. John Barrasso, and Rep. Cynthia Lummis to vote for only such health care reform proposals as contain a robust public option at all stages of the legislative process, including conference and reconciliation.

Fund to Find Craig Arnold hires search team

In a story filed at 3:12 p.m. today, the AP's Mead Gruver writes about the 1st Special Response Group hired to find missing Laramie poet Craig Arnold in Japan.

Here are excerpts:

The searchers' strategy will be to look carefully for Arnold's trail and then pursue any signs, said David Kovar, founder of the nonprofit organization based in Mountain View, Calif.

"They are expert in following the sign of human passage through the terrain," Kovar said. "If you think about aboriginals or Native Americans who were known for following signs of people going through a landscape, this is sort of the modern version of that."

-------------

Kovar said 1st Special Response Group doesn't charge fees and only accepts payment to cover its costs. A fund set up over the weekend to cover the search costs had raised $10,000, Augusta Palmer said.

University spokeswoman Jessica Lowell said the fund was set up at UniWyo Federal Credit Union in Laramie with assistance from the University of Wyoming.

"We continue to hope for a resolution, a positive resolution," she said.

The island of Kuchinoerabu-jima is home to about 150 people and is generally a destination for fishing rather than hiking, said Yoshiyuki Kuzuhara, a local police official. He said the 1,800-foot volcanic mountain has no hiking trail, and the locals rarely go there.

Read the entire story at http://tinyurl.com/dgon7c

To contribute to the search fund, go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5149253