Each morning, no matter where the morning may find me, I open my artistic journals and pour into them words of thought through my pen. These words derived from places that I find wonder in the understanding of why. I hope these excerpts will reflect some illumination into the mind of a junkyard philosopher and purveyor of words. Then too, perhaps they will evoke thought of your own bewilderment.
I’ve never seen our newsroom empty. It makes me physically sick. Click in to continue reading.
Is this two-day-notice termination shaking my confidence? To be honest, it is. I feel sick. Click in to continue reading.
I’ve always tried to be someone Gar could be proud of; someone he wouldn’t be embarrassed to take out in full view of the community. Thankfully, a few of my shortcomings have been hidden so he’s never had to witness me publicly in my full nitwittery.
Because the 3 pounds of gray matter that we carry is such a mystery, we have been told that people only use about 10 percent of their brain. Several types of brain imaging studies show that there isn’t a part of the brain that is completely inactive.
As we age, our main goal is to make genuine attempts at achieving wise decisions. Wouldn’t that be so great if accomplished? Ha! Steve Jobs felt that it was ok to make mistakes because if you are, at least you’re making decisions. Steve Jobs never witnessed Gar and me in real time.
Some people advocate for discontinuing the penny because the cost of producing a single penny has been more than its face value for years. In fact, it costs about 3 cents to make each penny. Therefore, with inflation affecting the cost of raw materials, labor and distribution, producing a penny is becoming even more expensive. The United States lost over $93 million producing the coin last year, which is only a tiny gnat on the ass of our Nation’s $34 trillion dollar debt.
As the presiding officers of our respective chambers, we will focus on fighting rising costs like property taxes and electric utility increases, placing parents in the driver’s seat of their children’s education, and supporting mental health programs for our fellow neighbors.
I bring all these little stories together as the introduction to the commonly heard phrase that is echoing across the county. “The billionaires are moving the millionaires out of Jackson,” and they are crash-landing in Sublette County.
You usually can’t go wrong with green onions, radishes, turnips (especially Japanese Hakurei), kale, spinach, peas or lettuce in Sublette County. They all germinate quickly in the spring and with a little tender loving care, usually begin producing within four to six weeks. Potatoes are another option that grows well in Sublette County.
The most amazing kitten story I will ever relate is about Streak and how he became Kevin’s companion. Last spring in Bondurant as I led a colt around the corral, I heard a screeched meow from the old calving shed. Astonishing, as no cats lived outside after we lost Beanie Baby, who adored Kevin and went to the corrals with him and cowdog Zeb every morning.
People are being trapped in the invisible closed curve of a never-ending loop. The choice is being made without realizing it’s been chosen to identify with the socially conditioned. Mind patterns of automatic behavior perceptions and inner serenity are becoming something from the past. Mankind has forgotten that people who are content and feel the capacity of emotion, especially compassion for others as well as for themselves, help others to find the same feelings of joy and contentment with who they are.
This is the time to look back and see if we’ve learned anything in the past year. Our oldest son has a saying, “When you look back, glance, don’t stare.”
I asked the chairmen of the House committees, as they finished their work, to provide me with the interim topics they felt were most important to their committees. While most have completed their work, not all of the committee bills have been posted to the legislative website. You can find bills available for the 2024 Budget Session at https://wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2024.
A soothsayer is someone who claims to be able to predict the future. Long ago, a soothsayer was considered a useful consultant, even for a government. Today soothsayers are more likely to be scoffed at, but there are still many soothsayers who have successful businesses telling people’s fortunes and giving advice.
Thankfully, my 95-year-old client is usually upbeat because yesterday I spilled sawdust on the floor as I was putting it into the woodstove. Exasperated by my clumsiness, I turned to her and shaking my head, bemoaned, “Good help is hard to find, thus you have me.” She waved her hand, dismissing my negativity and quipped, “If you were good help, you wouldn’t stay with me.”
Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness. It demands courage and integrity. Forgiveness can bring about the peace we long for. When we practice forgiveness individually, we start by recognizing that we have all betrayed and hurt others, just as we have knowingly, or unknowingly, been harmed.
No, you can’t save the world but yes, you can make it a better place.
Should we, the hopeless romantics that want to keep the West western and see the wild horses be wild horses, be worried? The BLM already has a tactical air fleet of helicopters. Will they be fitted with 7.62-mm miniguns? The gun referred to as Puff the Magic Dragon in Vietnam? I think it is not an absurd theory. The groundwork and mentality exist and are already in place.
I understood this wise thinking because as I finish out each baking session for the season, I think, “It’s pricey and a lot of work; I don’t think I’ll do it next year.” But, like birthing babies, I forget how awful it is and next year, I do it all again.