Viewing O'Keeffe on St. Patrick's Day in Denver

Your humble blogger (far left) with Georgia O'Keeffe peeking over my shoulder on St. Patrick's Day at the Denver Art Museum's O'Keeffe retrospective. Next to me in my wife, Chris, followed by Kate McMorrow Wright, Lori Brand, Rachel Kelley and Ray Brand. A batch of Democrats from Wyoming let loose on the big city. Photo by Unsuspecting Bystander using Kate's iPhone.

Start Roaming, Try Wyoming

This intriguing photo was on the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Facebook page. It shows a Wyoming delegation to Washington, D.C. in 1925 with President Calvin "Silent Cal" Coolidge and Wyoming Senator John Kendrick. The banner must be a tourism promotion. Note that the president is wearing a cowboy hat. Coolidge was from Vermont and served as governor of Massachusetts. He probably had little use for a cowboy lid. The catch-phrase on the banner is nice for its near-rhyme. It's often hellish to find rhymes for "Wyoming." But if I was in the tourism game, I'd have a phrase that said: "Start Roaming, Try Wyoming." Wyoming was made for roaming. By horse. By car. By foot. Lots of room to roam. In 1925, the interstate highway system was 30 years in the future and most roads weren't paved. 

On St. Patrick's Day weekend, I ponder the possibility of a Pope Howdy Doody I

As a kid, I bore a startling resemblance to TV's Howdy Doody.

Each St. Patrick’s Day, I ponder what it means to be an Irish-American. This year, as a new pope takes the reins of Mother Church, I’m also pondering about what it means to be Irish Catholic.

I just had a flashback. I get those occasionally. I wonder if it’s my damaged heart playing tricks on my brain.

Back in those black-and-white days of the 1950s, my younger brother Dan and I found ourselves in the same ward at Denver Mercy Hospital. We had double pneumonia, which is twice as troublesome as single pneumonia. It sound worse, too, doesn’t it? Our mother was a nurse at Mercy, a graduate of the hospital’s nurses’ training program at the tail end of World War II. 

The Mercy nuns were in charge. They wore full habits back then, which lent them an air of authority and mystery seasoned with a dollop of menace. They were neither the horror of the nuns portrayed in some books or plays written by lapsed Catholics. Nor were they the sweethearts portrayed in “Sister Act” or “The Sound of Music.” They were tough yet fair. They seemed to treat Dan and I a bit better than the others. This was probably due to our mother.

One day, Dan seemed to have a brainstorm. He waited until one of the nuns was in the ward, and he sat up and said, “I want to be a priest.”

The nun scurried over. “A priest, is it?” The Mercy nuns all spoke with an Irish brogue, yet another import from that benighted isle. 

“Yes, sister.” Dan beamed angelically. 

“That’s a good boy,” said the good sister, patting Dan on the arm. “And how would you like some ice cream, Daniel boy?”

“Thank you, sister.” More of the beaming. My brother had black hair and blue eyes, Black Irish like my mother. I had bright orange hair and was covered with freckles from head to toe. The kids at school called me Howdy Doody, who was a red-haired, freckle-faced TV puppet. He was an agreeable sort but dopey looking. I didn’t like him.

The nun returned with Dan’s ice cream. None for us. After all, we didn’t want to be priests. This was the highest calling a kid could attain. Parish priests ruled the Catholic roost. We know now that some of them were less than saintly. But back in those patriarchal days, they could do no wrong.

The next time a nun entered the room, Tommy piped up: “I want to be a priest.” The nun came over, patted Tommy on the head and said he was getting some ice cream too. So half of the kids in the ward now had ice cream and I had none. Before the fourth kid, the one in the bed by the wall, could speak up, I also said: “I want to be a priest.”

The nun walked over, put her hands on her hips sand said, “I suppose you want to be a priest so you can have some ice cream.”

“No sister.” I was no dummy, although I looked like one. “I had a dream. In it, I was a priest.” 

This got her attention.  “A dream?”

I nodded. “Yes sister.”

“And in this dream were you eating ice cream?”

“No sister. I was dressed like a priest and was saying mass.”

“You’re a fine lad, saying mass in a dream.  You almost could call that a vision.”

“Yes, sister.” 

She looked down at me. “We’re out of ice cream. I’ll get you a popsicle.” She frowned and walked out.

“Copycat,” said Dan.

“Not,” I said.

“Popsicle.” Tommy snickered. He bit into his ice cream bar.

I got a cherry popsicle. The nun broke it in two so the kid in the far bed could have some. 

As I ate the popsicle and stared at the two ice cream eaters, I vowed that next time I would be quicker on the draw and fake my priestly calling with much more alacrity than I had earlier. Perhaps I should be a bishop? Or pope? Too grandiose, perhaps. But imagine the world’s surprise when Howdy Doody the First donned the papal garments and those bitchin’ red shoes.

The Argentine pope and Borges and a building inspired by Dante's "Divine Comedy"

Our new pope, Francis, is from Argentina and is the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

I say "our pope" because I'm a cradle Catholic, attended Catholic School and received all the sacraments in the church, except for holy orders and extreme unction (I'm holding off on that last one). But because I'm a Liberal and don't go to church, I'm usually considered a cultural Catholic or a lapsed Catholic or not a Catholic at all. Listening to NPR during this popapalooza, a conservative caller agreed that the new pope should adopt a zero tolerance policy on sexual predators. But she went on to say that the new pope should also adopt a zero tolerance policy for Liberal Catholics who criticize the church. People like me.

No matter my Catholic status, I'm pleased that the new pope is from a country other than a European one. I know very little about Argentina. I know that the great writer Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentine, as is Manuel Puig ("Kiss of the Spider Woman") and Julio Cortazar, the "modern master of the short story." Alfonsina Storni was a great modernist poet from Argentina. She's the character in the song Alfonsina y el Mar, based on Alfonsina's suicide by walking into the sea. The country has a great literary tradition. In fact, retired writers with at least five books get a special pension from the government. I was ready to pack my bags for Buenos Aires when I discovered that you have to actually be from Argentina and write in Spanish or one of the native languages to qualify. Que?

I wish American writers got literary pensions. We are, after all, part of Mitt Romney's 47 percent. We just take verbs and nouns with no thought of ever giving them back. I'd be happy to give them back if I could find a publisher.

Did you know that here is a building in Buenos Aires inspired by Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy." You can take a look at it here. I don't know of a single American skyscraper inspired by a literary classic.

Argentina was also site of "the dirty war" of the 1970s in which the ruling junta was responsible for the 30,000 "disappeared." The church was criticized for its cozy relationship with the generals whose death squads were murdering at will.

From a story in the Digital Journal:

"We have much to be sorry for," Father Ruben Captianio told the New York Times in 2007. "The attitude of the Church was scandalously close to the dictatorship to such an extent that I would say it was of a sinful degree." Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/345612#ixzz2NTVKbz3X

Read still more on this subject in The Guardian.

I wish Pope Francis a long life. Let's hope he has time to read, and to ponder his role in his country's past.      

3-D printing transforming us from passive consumers to active creators

Amazing stuff. This 3-D printing technology may be an immediate threat to manufacturers but what about artists and crafters? Our work may be covered by copyright, but that hasn't prevented online purloiners from lifting digital images and written work from web sites. The music world faced this a decade ago and they seem to have reached some sort of compromise, one that walks the line between getting stuff for free and paying for it.

Many left behind as Wyoming continues its opposition to Medicaid expansion

Wyoming is one of those Obamacare-hatin' states that have (thus far) refused Medicaid expansion.

This snippet by Virally Suppressed on Daily Kos seemed to be relevant to the issue:

With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion and mental health parity law all taking place at the present, it is difficult to anticipate where we will end up in ten years time. It is a fairly safe bet that Federal spending on mental health will continue to rise at a lightning pace due to the nature of the Medicaid expansion, which places a minimum of 90 percent of the costs on the Federal government while extending comprehensive mental health care to tens of millions of low income Americans. It is also more than likely that the health gap in this country will become exacerbated by this new legislation, an idea which seems counterintuitive considering the entire point of the Affordable Care Act is to reduce barriers to health care and create a more egalitarian health system. However, thanks to the infinite wisdom of The Supreme Court, state governments have been given an irresponsible amount of power in their legal right to refuse Medicaid expansion and essentially tell their constituencies that they will have to forgo medical care because of an ideological tiff between two political parties who don't have their best interest in mind. This latitude which has been given to state governments and which is arguably in violation of the supremacy clause of the Constitution, will create a two-tiered mental health system in which the healthy get healthier and sick continue to be ignored by the system that is supposed to be protecting them. Thus far, 24 states (and DC) have said that they will be participating in Medicaid expansion, while 14 states have stated that they will not be taking part. Of those 14 states, only 3 are in the top half of the nation's health rankings and 5 rank among the bottom 10. It looks like some states are replacing old state funding with Federal funding, while other states aren't replacing old state funding with anything.

Read the rest here.

If Sen./Dr. Barrasso isn't going to legislate, he can at least medicate at Wyoming health centers hit by sequestration cuts

Sen./Dr. John Barrasso, Sen. Mike Enzi and Rep./Gazillionaire Cynthia Lummis don't have to depend on the Cheyenne Health and Wellness Center on Fox Farm Road for medical and dental care. They get free care courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer. But hundreds of other southeast Wyoming residents are not as fortunate. These low-income individuals will be impacted by the sequestration cuts soon to hit the Cheyenne center and a similar one in Casper, Community Health Center of Central Wyoming. Since both Enzi and Lummis call Cheyenne home during their many vacay days, and Barrasso is from Casper, perhaps they could look in on some of the people who will be affected by their dilly-dallying and political gamesmanship. Better yet, maybe Dr. Barrasso could take some time out of his lackadaisical schedule to minister to those Casper folks needing sutures or prescriptions. If he isn't going to legislate, he could at least medicate. Read about the cuts in today's Casper Star-Trib.

Tickets now on sale for Cheyenne Little Theatre's production of "Rent"

"Rent" casts rehearses title song at Historic Atlas Theatre. "Rent" opens April 5.
Get your tix here.

If you like 21st-century Cheyenne, thank the gubment

Joyce Kilmer at the High Plains Arboretum: I think that I shall never see/A poem as lovely as a tree.

Cheyenne owes its existence to government or, as it's pronounced in certain quarters, gubment (sometimes, gubmint).

That darn federal gubment was nice enough to station troops at Fort D.A. Russell to drive the pesky indigenous residents from the High Plain, thus making way for settlements, ranches and rodeos. This also made the region safe for the railroad, which owes its transcontinental success to the sweet deal it got from that darn federal gubment. The fort eventually grew into F.E. Warren AFB, home to the Peacekeeper Missile and thousands of income-generating Air Force personnel. Further economic development was fueled by federal office for the BLM and IRS. And state gubment grew, too, with hundreds of state employees driving Cheyenne's economic engine, buying weed-whackers at Lowe's and dining on prime rib sandwiches at The Albany Bar & Restaurant downtown. Many of us were forced to go to Fort Collins for more exotic fare, thus allowing the regional economy to grow. It's still a challenge to get good sushi in The Magic City of the Plains. But one must make sacrifices to live in this low-tax, sparsely-populated paradise with its always-entertaining legislature.

According to the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens web site, Cheyenne had 5,000 people and 12 trees in 1876. I now have almost as many trees on my north Cheyenne lot. I have two huge spruces in my front yard, trees that sometimes give me pause during our occasional 50-mph gusts that blow in from the mountains. I sometimes wonder if they will come crashing down on the house, causing yet another call to Neil, my insurance man, who's supervised multiple damages caused by hailstorms and sewer back-ups during the past two years.

It's not easy growing trees in "one of the harshest growing environments in the country," according to the Botanic Gardens.

Again we can thank the gubment for our lush landscape. The USDA's Cheyenne Horticultural Field Station (now High Plains Grasslands Research Station) researched and grew varieties of plants that could stand up to our harsh climate. The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens now is working on a 62-acre High Plains Arboretum on the site. Trees have always been a necessity. Next week at the library, we get to hear from a tree expert. Says the Botanic Gardens:

Early settlers struggled with the arid climate, alkaline soil and constant wind. Hailstorms often hastened the end of an already short growing season. Now Cheyenne can grow trees but it isn’t easy and you need to know what to plant. 

Don’t miss the lecture on Tenacious Trees with expert arboricultureist, Scott Skogerboe.

When: Saturday, March 16, 1 p.m.
Where: Laramie County Library Cottonwood Room
Price: $15.00 ea.
Purchase tickets online at www​.brownpapertickets​.com, type in “Gardening with Altitude,” or purchase at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens (cash or check only)
NOTE: Lecture Room has limited seating. Advanced tickets are recommended as tickets at the door may sell out. Sponsored by the Laramie County Master Gardeners and the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

I almost forgot to thank city gubment and its support (since 1986) of the Botanic Gardens. Thank you.

Republican Sequester brings pain to Wyoming

Sequester causes cuts in funding for special needs students: http://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/sequester-might-cut-funding-special-needs-students

Mayors from communities around Yellowstone National Park have petitioned Gov. Mead to use state funds to plow the park's roads so it will open on time for tourist season. Yellowstone's budget has been cut by more than $1.5 million due to sequestration. The Governor wonders why the state should have to spend money for federal obligations: http://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/governor-ponders-sequestration-help

Cheyenne Airport may have to shutter its air traffic control tower: http://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/cheyenne-regional-airport-might-lose-air-tower

April 6 Bluegrass Hootenanny features Hillbenders, Blue Grama and BeatGrass

If you attended the Feb. 9 concert by the Jalan Crossland Band at Terry Bison Ranch, you know that Alicia Padilla knows how to put on a show. A great time was had by all on a snowy winter night. Alicia's Wagon Ruts Productions is staging another show at the ranch on April 6. She sent this info:

On April 6, we're having a Bluegrass Hootenanny featuring the Hillbenders with very special guests: 

Blue Grama -- the massively talented, 6-piece ensemble from Northern Colorado. Blue Grama draws from their Bluegrass heritage and breathes joy, fresh life and excitement into their amazing, rich melodies.

Wyoming's finest, BeatGrass. BeatGrass's diverse sound is an unprecedented coalescence between BlueGrass and innovative originals, jazz standards, Motown classics and covers of some of the more newfangled hits. Their impactful complexities have been packing the house (and the outdoors) since their formation in 2010 across Wyoming.

PRESENTING: From traditional roots, springs the high-octane, instrumental mastery of the HillBenders. Hailing from Springfield, Missouri, these boys have been tearing up the bluegrass circuit, leaving their audiences reeling. Winners of the Telluride BlueGrass Band Competition in 2009 and taking First in the National Single Microphone Championship in 2010, the HillBenders are a contemporary force to be reckoned with. Their latest album, Can You Hear Me?, is an eclectic, compelling rouse to the senses. The richness of their upbringings in traditional BlueGrass provides a foundation upon which they innovate a unique and unforgettable sound. Each member has a jaw-dropping mastery of their instruments, which will hoist you right out of your chair. 

The quintet consists of Nolan Lawrence (Lead-singer/ Mandolinist), cousins Jim Rea and Gary Rea (Guitar and Bass), Mark Cassidy (Banjo), and Chad "Gravy Boat" Graves (Dobro). Their meticulous arrangements ripple into a cascade of improvisational brilliance. Experiencing the bands' skilled harmonies is comparable to drawing a five of a kind Aces, every hand.

TICKETS: $15 Presale, $17 Day of show at the door. $5 for Kids under age 12. Presale tickets available in Cheyenne at Ernie November (217 W. Lincolnway); Colorado presale: Attend one of Blue Grama's March concert dates for purchase. For dates: http://www.bluegramabluegrass.com/shows.html

PRESENTING: From traditional roots, springs the high-octane, instrumental mastery of the HillBenders. Hailing from Springfield, Missouri, these boys have been tearing up the bluegrass circuit, leaving their audiences reeling. Winners of the Telluride BlueGrass Band Competition in 2009 and taking First in the National Single Microphone Championship in 2010, the HillBenders are a contemporary force to be reckoned with. Their latest album, Can You Hear Me?, is an eclectic, compelling rouse to the senses. The richness of their upbringings in traditional BlueGrass provides a foundation upon which they innovate a unique and unforgettable sound. Each member has a jaw-dropping mastery of their instruments, which will hoist you right out of your chair. 

The quintet consists of Nolan Lawrence (Lead-singer/ Mandolinist), cousins Jim Rea and Gary Rea (Guitar and Bass), Mark Cassidy (Banjo), and Chad "Gravy Boat" Graves (Dobro). Their meticulous arrangements ripple into a cascade of improvisational brilliance. Experiencing the bands' skilled harmonies is comparable to drawing a five of a kind Aces, every hand.

TICKETS: $15 Presale, $17 Day of show at the door. $5 for Kids under age 12. Presale tickets available in Cheyenne at Ernie November (217 W. Lincolnway); Colorado presale: Attend one of Blue Grama's March concert dates for purchase. For dates: http://www.bluegramabluegrass.com/shows.html 

Terry Bison will be introducing their delicious Taco Bar Buffet for a steal at $8.95, in addition to regular menu items... They're ready for the PARTY! 

The venue has been designated NON-SMOKING FOR THE EVENING! I apologize for any inconvenience, but, smokers, please come and keep me company on the porch while I puff a couple down! Stay tuned to 103.3 The Range for contests and giveaways!

Marguerite Herman takes A Look at Wyoming Government

Marguerite Herman of Cheyenne ran an unsuccessful campaign for county commissioner in 2012. Instead of a learned, experienced Democrat, we got a Tea Party Republican. So it goes. 

This little setback was just a bump in the road for Herman, who is usually busy with 101 things. She's been writing a book and will stage a signing March 16 in Casper. Here's the info from the Casper Star-Tribune:

Marguerite Herman, author of A Look at Wyoming Government, will sign copies of the book this month in Casper. This is the seventh edition of the book, published by the League of Women Voters of Wyoming. Originally written in 2006, it includes updates in legislative districting, governing of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe tribes, the creation of circuit courts and other topics.

Herman has been the League’s lobbyist at the Wyoming Legislature for 15 years. She covered state government for The Associated Press from 1980 to 1986 and traced the development of school finance reform through the 1990s. 

“I wrote the seventh edition of A Look at Wyoming Government to cover issues that are useful for people to understand their government, how it raises revenue and spends it, how it passes laws in the Legislature, executes them in the Executive branch and interprets them in the courts,” Herman said in a release.

What: Marguerite Herman book signing

When: 1-3 p.m., Saturday, March 16

Where: Wind City Books in downtown Casper 

Info: http://www.windcitybooks.com/

Rep. Mary Throne (D-Cheyenne) to be honored at Wyoming Race for the Cure

A letter to state legislators from Wyoming Susan. G. Komen Race for the Cure Chair Laurie Heath:

Dear State of Wyoming Legislators:

Thank you for your appreciation of the Wyoming Susan G. Komen efforts on the Day of Hope. 2013 is a very exciting year for Wyoming Komen and in addition to the annual Race for the Cure to be held on August 10, 2013 in Cheyenne, at the Capitol, we have other exciting events going on across Wyoming. We will pass email bites of other awesome Komen or partner efforts over next few months. As always 75% of all monies raised in Wyoming for Komen will stay in Wyoming. The other 25% will be granted by Komen National to various research efforts.

We are glad to honor your very own Representative Mary Throne as our 2013 New Balance Survivor. As a national sponsor for every Race across the country, New Balance® will provide full athletic gear to Mary and our Race committee will honor her with a special tribute to her battle and survivorship throughout this year and at our Race. We appreciate particularly her spirit to serve Laramie County and Wyoming as she fights daily to ‘race for the cure’. Thoughts and prayers are with you Mary!

Time out for a sunny Saturday strawberry moment

I have no pressing reason for posting this. It's just that I was in the backyard looking at my fallow garden and the sun was shining and it was warm on my skin and I was thinking of strawberries.

There was a curious writer from Wyo, to everyone he met he asked "why-o?"

This call for entries comes from Andi Hummel of Wyoming Writers, Inc.:

Do you have a masterpiece tucked away in a drawer? Is a brand new story or poem playing around in that grey matter between your ears? 

Enter your work in the 2013 Wyoming Writers, Inc., writing contest. But hurry — the postmark deadline for entries is March 15. 

In addition to children’s, adult short stories, nonfiction, traditional poetry, and free verse, this contest features our new “Short and Sweet,” a “combo” category set to challenge your writing skills. Tell us a story in flash fiction (500 words or fewer—genre is your choice, but keep it clean!), or entice our judges with limericks (rhymed quintets—again, keep them clean!), the length and style fits well into our way-too-busy life! 

Entry fees vary, depending upon categories chosen and whether or not the author is a member of Wyoming Writers, Inc., but everyone is welcome to join the fun. Again, submissions must be postmarked no later than March 15 and mailed with appropriate entry fees (make checks to Wyoming Writers, Inc., note “contest entry fee”) to: A. M. Hummel, 89 Strawberry Hill Road, Hulett, WY  82720 

For more information on the 2013 Wyoming Writers, Inc. writing contest, check the website at http://www.wyowriters.org  for a more concise set of rules and guidelines or contact Andi Hummel at hummela@dishmail.net.

Two months later, what have I learned about the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself?

Polished red blood cells zipping along the Stent Highway 

Two months ago today, my heart revolted. A plaque logjam blocked the blood flow in my Lower Anterior Descending coronary artery or LAD. Lack of circulation caused my heart muscles to stop working. My ejection fraction fractured. My pump was on the fritz. Fluid built up in my lungs. I couldn't breathe. The EMTs hauled me to the ER. Congestive heart failure. Me?

Yes, me.

Two days later, I was in the CRMC catheterization lab with Led Zep blasting on the stereo. Dr. Chapman and crew installed a stent in my LAD. I wasn't totally under but I remember nothing until they were hauling me and my new hardware out of there and back to my room. I spent five more days in the hospital.  I recuperated at home for a month. My keister caused a permanent crease on the couch. I knew all 500 TV channels by heart. I was too wrung-out to read and write. Not even enough energy to blog!

So, as they say on TV news shows, what have we learned?

Heart attacks happen to all kinds of people. My colleagues in cardiac rehab are in their 40s to 80s. I'm somewhere in the middle. Some of them had a history of heart disease and others (me) did not. Broken hearts can be mended, although it depends on many factors. Some are out of your control and some art not. What kind of shape are you in? How severe was the blockage? How long did it take to clear the blockage? This last factor seems to be the key. Twenty minutes after I hit the ER, Cardiologist Chapman and his trusted assistant were at my side. The good doctor announced that I had experienced a heart attack and they were whisking me off to the cath lab. Not so fast, said the ER doctor. This man is in congestive heart failure and, since his breathing is compromised, can't lie flat for an hour while you work your magic. They conferred. Meanwhile, I watched and waited and tried to take some cleansing breaths -- any kind of breaths.

I waited two more days for my stent. It was worth it -- I have a nice long stent that keeps he blood flowing. I take medication to make sure that my blood doesn't try to clot around the stent. Blood does that when it detects a foreign object. The med is called Effient. The good folks at Eli Lilly sum it up on its web site:

Effient taken with aspirin helps reduce the risk of a future heart-related event, such as a heart attack or blood clot in the stent, in patients who have had a heart attack or severe heart-related chest pain that was treated with angioplasty. There is no generic form of Effient.

I take Effient with aspirin and approximately another dozen meds. It seems to be doing its job, as I continue to feel better and have had no signs of a gummed-up stent. I visited my cardiologist on Wednesday. Actually, I visited with the P.A. at the Cardiologist's office. She called me a "Problem child" because I had so many low blood pressure readings. It seems that many of the meds I take lower the blood pressure. This is handy because so many hearty attack patients have high blood pressure, which is one of the risk factors. Oddball patients like me who have normal blood pressures, see them drop into the low range. So she and her colleagues have been juggling my meds to see if they can raise my blood pressure without raising it too high. So much of this is a guessing game. "Educated guesses" might be a better term. There's an amazing array of heard medications. Some goose the heart muscles and some increase blood flow. Some thin the blood and others polish the surface of the blood cells. It's fascinating, really, that so much research had been conducted on the heart. Cardiovascular disease is the nation's number one killer, one of the main byproducts of the so-called "obesity epidemic." That has something to do with it. There's big money to be made. That's fine with me, as Eli Lilly & Company's products have kept me alive. I'm just happy to be insured, especially after I took a peek at my hospital bill. There apparently is an obesity epidemic when it comes to hospital bills. But I have to pay very little of it. What do people do who have no insurance, or are under-insured? That's been at the heart of the debate over the Affordable Care Act.

So I take my meds, attend cardiac rehab and think healthy thoughts. Eat well, too. The other day a friend gave me a New York Times article about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet.

About 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even drink wine with meals, a large and rigorous new study has found.

This is something that I'm going to explore. My roots are more closely-linked to the Irish Sea than the Med. But maybe it's possible for a Celt to change his culinary habits from beer and potatoes to olive oil, beans and wine. More on this subject in future posts...

Good weekend for writers and artists in southeast Wyoming

It's a good weekend to be a writer or artist in southeast Wyoming.

Henry Real Bird, former poet laureate of Montana, will present a free writing workshop at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne on Sunday, March 3, 1-3:30 p.m. No need to register; just show up with your journal and your imagination. Henry was born and raised on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana and is a often is a presenter at the annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. He's in town to serve as a judge for the 2013 Poetry Out Loud competition which takes place on Monday and Tuesday.

The Wyoming Arts Council and UW team up to present CLICK: A Weekend for Wyoming Visual Artists March 1-3 in Laramie. Hear from arts professionals in a series of panel sessions and attend hands-on studio sessions conducted by UW arts professors. On Friday at 7 p.m., hear from UW Eminent Visiyting Artist Judy Pfaff. Registration fee is $100. FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/CLICK-conference-registration-2013.pdf

Rodger McDaniel's new book, "Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins," will debut on April 2

Here's some good news. Rodger McDaniel's biography of Wyoming U.S. Sen. Lester Hunt will be released on Tuesday, April 2. He's holding a reception at the Historic Governor's Mansion in downtown Cheyenne on that evening from 7-9 p.m. This will be your first chance to get a copy. 

Later that week, you may want to drop in on "The Trial of Joe McCarthy, et. al." on Sunday, April 7,at 1 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Cheyenne (Lester Hunt's church). The U.S. senators who were involved in the blackmail of Lester Hunt will be prosecuted in a "mock jury trial." Former Governor and U.S. Attorney Dave Freudenthal will prosecute. Retired Supreme Court Justice Michael Golden will be the trial judge. State Public Defender Diane Lozano will be defense counsel. Witnesses playing the roles of Drew Pearson, TA Larson, Red Jacoby and detective Roy Blick will present the evidence. The jury will render a historic verdict, according to Rodger.

Question: May I serve on the jury?

Tales from cardiac rehab: The return of S

I posted on Monday about my cardiac rehab buddy S. She was hauled away by EMTs after complaining of chest pain and registering a very high blood pressure.

Glad to report that S returned to rehab on Friday. Once again we were treading treadmills side by side. She's 13 years younger than I am but, as I'm discovering, age doesn't spare you from heart disease. I've met people in their thirties who've had heart attacks. I've met people in their eighties who've had heart attacks. We have cardiac rehab participants who've had angioplasties and stents and single bypasses and quadruple bypasses. We are the lucky ones, the quick rather than the dead.

I'm reading Thriving with Heart Disease: Live Happier, Healthier, Longer by William M. Sotile, Ph.D. When the book was published in 2003, Dr. Sotile was the director of psychological services at the Wake Forest University Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. I checked out the book from the library at my rehab program. Nurse Julee recommended it, and I thank her for that. Sotile recommends an assertive approach to cardiac rehab. He urges us to get a second opinion, and possibly a third or fourth. He writes: "If you haven't been referred to a cardiac rehab program, find out why."

Research shows that people who begin cardiac rehab while still in the hospital and continue with the program after they're home -- even if it's only for a few months -- suffer less anxiety, depression and disability than those who try to manage on their own. Further, both rehab patients and their families have a fuller understanding of the illness and so they are better able as a group to weather the storms that invariably blow in.

I like going to rehab and, thanks to health insurance, can keep it up until I'm well on my way to some sort of normalcy. The CRMC Rehab unit employs a great group of cardiac nurses, exercise therapists and nutritionists who supervise our time on the treadmills, rowing machines and universal equipment. They monitor our vitals and intervene if things are going a bit haywire. Witness their intervention with S earlier in the week. The nurses have been a bit concerned over my low blood pressures and have worked with the cardiologists to fine-tune my many medications. This is the first time I've had to store my meds in a plastic container the size of a shoebox. I can begin to understand a patient's confusion over what drug to take and when. I have a list, and it's constantly changing.

Dr. Sotile notes that there is an aura of mystery surrounding heart attacks:

All known cardiac risk factors combined account for only three out of four cases of heart illness -- the others are attributed to unknown causes.

I have no history of heart disease. My family has no history of heart disease. I don't smoke. I exercise regularly and have lost 30 pounds during the past year. My cholesterol is not abnormally high. I don't have a high-stress job.

I still had a heart attack.

Unknown causes. This appeals to the mystery lover in me. It also speaks to my fiction writer self. Stuff happens. We don't always know why.

Many of us in Wyoming are just one emergency surgery away from ruin

Many of us are a couple paychecks away from ruin. Throw in an emergency surgery and lack of adequate medical insurance, you have a crisis on your hands. This dispatch comes from fellow prog-blogger Meg Lanker-Simons in Laramie:

One of our Bucking Jennys, Meg at Cognitive Dissonance, is recovering from emergency surgery. Like many of us, Meg is underinsured and a member of the working poor. She and her husband will be facing some stiff medical expenses. You've enjoyed her biting editorials on this page, show her some love here if you're able: https://www.wepay.com/donations/send-cognitive-dissonance-your-love

Meg writes that she now has 40,000 followers on Tumblr. That's an impressive number and illustrates how active this indie blogger is on her site. That's the thing -- some of the most interesting content on the web can be found on the blogs of creative people such as Meg. She writes and rants and has her own progressive radio show, not an easy task in Wyoming. But none of this brings in money. That's the blogger's lament, no matter the political bent or passion. We do it because we can't help ourselves. It's a creative outlet too, and unbridled blogging can take you to some amazing places. Meg was blogging at the Republican National Convention in Tampa last year, and at Netroots Nation in Providence.

To keep her  going, I'm kicking in a few bucks. I suggest you do the same.