| |
 |
 |
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
722 - Everyone knows Wyoming
After years of obscurity, it appears that our remote state of Wyoming is finally on the minds of people across the country.
After traveling over 8,500 miles by car through seven states in the last eight weeks, well, it has been interesting to hear what people say about the Cowboy State.
Probably on the top of the list are Vice President Dick Cheney’s activities and the war in Iraq. Folks are probably 2:1 in opposition to what is going on based on the folks I talked with. However, there were extremely strong feelings by large numbers of people who supported this administration.
One Utah person even said he thought I looked like Dick Cheney? Never had that happen before, although my hair is getting whiter and my jowls seem to be jiggling more these days as I pack on weight from eating the wrong foods while traveling. Sure hope my heart is in better shape than Mr. Cheney’s.
I ran into people in states all around Wyoming who would love to move here for a myriad of reasons. Number-one was our wide open spaces. Number-two was our enviable tax structure.
There also is a perception out there that somehow we are a more “free” people than folks in other states. They envy our tiny population and their eyes glistened at the thought of living in a place with just 500,000 people.
There also is a perception that housing costs are much lower here than other states. Wonder if that is true or not?
Note to Director John Cox and WYDOT: All the rest areas in Iowa feature wireless Internet. What a great idea.
I spent a couple of nice hours sitting in a grassy rest area checking my emails and surfing the Internet. There were three other people sitting in various places, either under a tree or at a picnic table, working on their laptops, too. Doubt it is really that expensive? I actually did some serious work without leaving my car during a typical Iowa gully washer rainstorm.
Such Internet installations could be wonderful additions to our rest areas here in Wyoming.
On a positive note, Wyoming’s highways are as good as any and better than most. Colorado probably had the worst, but then again, they had the nuttiest traffic of any place I toured.
For some reason, Iowa seemed every bit as windy as Wyoming. Two people from different parts of that state complained to me about the wind and blamed me for bringing it to them.
They speculated that so many forests are being cut down in Iowa to make room for corn planting that it has caused the wind patterns to change. Interesting theory.
States that I visited including Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
One thing people across the country agreed upon – gas prices are nuts and highly unfair. Everyone feels they are paying the highest prices in the country.
We are paying $3.29 per gallon in Lander. Paid $3.39 per gallon in Provo, Utah and $3.49 per gallon in Strawberry Point, Iowa.
I had the chance to visit my dad’s grave in Wadena, Iowa, on the 7th anniversary of his death. We had a nice chat. A lifelong Democrat, I am sure that I heard him asking me how I turned out to be a Republican?
After returning home, I bought some items at my local Safeway Store and a nice checker named Luba was running the cash register.
I asked her where she was from? “Russia,” she replied with a smile. She was here on an employee Visa. Just think of how the world has changed in one generation! In 1987, such a thing was unthinkable. Two decades later, a Russian girl is checking groceries in a store in Lander, Wyoming. Amazing.
My sister and her husband operate a weekly newspaper in Winthrop, Iowa. I stopped by to see them during my latest trip. Working in rural Iowa reminded of this old story:
An elderly woman in Iowa farm country goes into the local newspaper office to see that the obituary for her recently deceased husband is written.
The editor informs her that the fee for the obituary is 50 cents a word. She pauses, reflects and then says, "Well, then, let it read, "Tom Jacobs died."
Amused at the woman`s thrift, the editor says, "Sorry ma`am there is a 7-word minimum on all obituaries."
Only a little flustered, she thinks things over and in a few seconds says, "In that case, let it read: ‘Tom Jacobs died - 1983 pickup for sale.’"
|
Sunday, May 20, 2007
721 - The Nation`s Breadbasket
HARLAN, Iowa Despite the presence of huge coal-fired power plants in places like Hastings, Nebraska and Ottumwa, Iowa, when folks in these parts talk about energy – they talk about corn.
We in Wyoming think of ourselves as living in the energy breadbasket of the country. Well, so do these folks.
The lead article in the energy section of the Des Moines Sunday Register was about how biodiesel just was not the energy of the future, despite what singer Willie Nelson says. The article says that the soybeans used to make biodiesel are just too expensive compared to the cost to raise corn for ethanol. Hmm? Do any of my readers care about this? Please bear with me.
My sources in Iowa worry that the price is corn is going through the roof and an average acre of farmland in western Iowa is now going for $6,000 per acre.
Despite everyone pushing the future of ethanol, they thought the cost and the amount of water needed to create it did not make it viable.
In spite of carbon emissions, a few of my more learned Iowa friends thought coal would be providing Midwest electricity for the near future. And where does that coal come from? Why, Wyoming, of course. There are 19 coal-fired power plants in Iowa, eight in Nebraska.
Despite all that coal smoke, May is truly an ideal time to visit the heartland. Both Nebraska and Iowa are as green as a Grant Wood painting. And as I clenched my teeth while paying $3.55 per gallon for gasoline in Kearney, well, you began to root for anyone who wants to bring more energy on line.
The reason for the trip was a semi-annual trek east to visit my wife’s 88-year old mother and various siblings, nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters-law, etc. Luckily, I get along well with my in-laws. I used to be news editor of the newspaper there in Harlan. It is where I got my start.
But my secret reason for looking forward to the trip was the chance to actually see a presidential candidate or two.
Because of Iowa’s unique caucus schedule, all the major candidates have been trekking across this little state. Chris Dodd, one of the presidential candidates, bombarded me on my mother-in-law’s TV with ads. Chris Dodd?
The media panned former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani when he reportedly set up big press availability on an eastern Iowa farm. He was going to tout the owners as examples of people who would be hurt when their valuable assets could not be passed along to their heirs without hurtful estate taxes.
When Giuliani’s staff heard the owners had few assets he cancelled the visit, but not before hordes of press and a few followers were pretty disappointed. An example of how crazy politics can be in a small, rural state.
Another political pundit bemoaned how the candidates had quit doing the living room visits that used to be the staple of the Iowa campaigns. Reportedly Hillary Clinton won’t go to an event unless she can address 3,000 people. And she has been doing just that, too.
I asked my friends at the local newspaper, Steve and Alan Mores, if they had gotten the chance to see many candidates? They said that usually, the candidates bypass little Harlan (pop. 5,000) and stump around nearby Council Bluffs. Oh well.
Some real no-names are getting lots of press here in the Midwest. The aforementioned Dodd, U. S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado and former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas are all over the pages of the state newspapers.
Not sure I need to see any of them, but would sure like a peek at Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. Hillary has been drawing big crowds and the event might be fun.
The candidate who interests me the most is Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico because he is from the west. I just missed him. He was leaving Council Bluffs as I was passing through it.
Mitt Romney was leading the polls in Iowa on the GOP side last week. People there were pretty darned impressed with him. Without sounding too parochial, I like the fact that Mr. Romney has an affinity for the west.
When the Bush-Cheney reign ends, we westerners will really miss the influence we will have had for eight years.
It’s just too bad that a national energy policy that made sense was not put into place during their time at the helm.
|
Saturday, May 19, 2007
720 - High school grads facing a `warp speed world`
I am idealist. I don’t know where I’m going, but I am on my way. – Carl Sandburg.
Young Wyoming people graduating from high school or college this month are heading out into a world full of change. Just about the only thing that is predictable is that things are not predictable.
Grads across the state, from Cheyenne to Jackson and from Newcastle to Evanston will be given an abundance of advice at this time of year.
So what one would say to a recent graduate? What message would you give if asked to speak at a high school or college graduation?
I would talk about three things: continuing your education, locating mentors and protecting your backside:
• Education - Most people just completing an education milestone are tired of the grind and wish they could just relax. Sorry, but the 21st century world just does not work that way.
We have never lived in a time where the need to constantly be re-educated has been more important.
As an aging baby boomer, I literally groan out loud when having to learn a new computer program, figure out how my cell phone works or try to download music from ITunes. But these things can be done. And it really is not that difficult. It just looks difficult when you are looking at it through old eyes.
These folks with young Wyoming eyes will find out soon enough that they are tired of learning, too. But my admonition here is that the future belongs to the swift, and that does not have anything to do with foot speed or fast cars. It has everything to do with your mind’s ability to embrace rapid change.
• Mentors – Unless you are Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, you could use a mentor. And just about every job or vocation you aspire to is full of wonderful men and women who know a lot about what they do.
And surprise, they love to tell people about what they do. If a young person approaches them with honesty and enthusiasm, well, it is easy to get them to share with you incredibly important information that you will need now and later in life.
These folks often become your mentors. I do not know a single older person who does not relish serving as a mentor to bright young people.
And besides all the advice they can give you, they also can help you avoid critical mistakes that can derail a future. Perhaps the biggest plus is that they can help you find a good job or advance your career.
You can also find important mentors outside of your work, too. Sometimes these are relatives. Sometimes they are family friends. Sometimes they are just people you admire.
Not all the critical decisions you make in your life will be career-related. Sometimes the most important decisions you make are emotional, financial or philosophical. Find your mentors and ask for their help during those times when you are in desperate need of some good advice.
• Protect your backside – This younger generation is the first generation to come along where everyone truly has the chance to live to be 100 years old.
Drive safely, don’t smoke, don’t use drugs or abuse alcohol. Watch out for prescription drugs. And be skeptical when someone personally tells you they have something that won’t hurt you. Or if you see something on TV or the Internet that appears to be too good to be true, well, it usually is too good to be true.
Although I am an optimist, I believe the next 50 years could be very dangerous times, both in local street crime and large-scale terrorist attacks. My advice is for people to be prudent.
And finally, I think the message presented here is not just for young people. People of all ages who want to maximize the quality of their lives should keep themselves educated, should constantly locate new mentors and, yes, watch their backs as they move forward into a time when the chance for mistakes can be high.
The only joke I could recall about graduates is the following. My apologies, especially to the philosophers:
The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with a Philosophy degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"
|
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
719 - There are gadgets and there are even more gadgets
And then there are gadgets. I have written before about how difficult it is for us oldsters to stay caught up with all the new computers, ipods, TV stuff, etc.
One Riverton guy, though, is really behind. He has been feeling left out when he sees everyone walking around with their cell phones attached to their belts. He does not have a cell phone, but lately has been wearing his garage door opener on his belt. Looks sharp, too.
My older brother Tom who is fully retired and somewhat gadget challenged claims he attaches an old fat fountain pen to his ear and walks through the mall holding imaginary conversations in a very loud manner.
* * *
Former Gov. Jim Geringer was on campus at the University of Wyoming recently, speaking to classes taught by Pete Simpson and Phil Roberts. Mr. Geringer now works in the telecommunications and computer industry and he commented that his “office” is contained in his backpack, as long as he is close enough to connect wirelessly to the Internet.
* * *
Not sure many women care, but a man named Robert Adler recently died at the age of 93. He was the inventor of the TV remote. Perhaps men would want a national holiday named for him?
* * *
We found ourselves stumbling into a crowd of hundreds of young people late one recent night at a movie theater in Provo, Utah. It was the night of the movie premier for the movie Spider-Man 3 and it was quite a sight to behold.
On the subject of gadgets, I have never been in a crowd of people with more high-techs items. The kids had laptop computers, phones of all size and shapes and other devices, which I assumed were MP3 players and DVD players. They were chattering, text messaging each other and watching earlier versions of Spider-Man movies.
About half of them were dressed up in some sort of Spider-Man garb with the most modest wearing tee shirts and most extreme appearing in full uniforms.
As I looked out at the long line of people the screens from the various devices illuminated the darkened hall. The cacophony of noise, which came from many of them, was partially subdued as many of them used earphones, thankfully.
* *
During a recent speech where Fr. Bob Cook, the president of Wyoming Catholic College, was talking about how students at the new four-year Lander school would not have cell phones in class – well, his talk was interrupted by a cell phone beeping.
It was his.
“This cannot be true,” he sputtered, with a pained look on his face. He paused and then he removed it and turned it off and then went on with his talk.
* *
I was in Cheyenne this past week and saw the gigantic Wal Mart distribution center continuing to grow. Randy Bruns of LEADS says they have 500 of their 650 workers already hired. On the other end of Cheyenne is the huge Lowe’s Distribution Center, which employs 1,000 people.
And speaking of high tech, most people do not realize that computers and bar codes and other innovative coding mechanisms control every single item in these stores’ inventory. Amazing.
* * *
There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. A popular email message circulating now claims that your cell phone can actually be a lifesaver or an emergency tool for survival.
However, an email going around that says you can open your locked car by someone clicking your automatic door opener over the cell phone is an urban legend. Not true.
Other ideas about unique ways to disable stolen phones and worldwide emergency numbers are also not true.
Cell phones are great and in the right hands, do marvelous things. But they do not open locked car doors or have secret battery reserve power supplies.
* *
The most high tech person I know is my daughter Shelli, who just had a baby. And one of the most tech-challenged persons I know is my wife Nancy. I want to wish them both Happy Mothers Day today (along with Shelli’s two sisters, plus my mom and mom-in-law, and sisters and sisters in laws) and I am hoping Nancy won’t mind the high-tech thingie that I bought her for this special day!
Nancy once tried to turn a CD over in its player and complained why it would not play. She hates my cell phone. But the good news is that she has totally mastered shopping on the Internet. That’s good news?
|
Thursday, May 10, 2007
718 - Bedonkadonk Bears! Are we fat or what?
The obesity epidemic that is affecting Americans has also hit Wyoming.
I have been thinking of starting a group called “Buffets Anonymous.” Whenever I feel the urge to go a buffet, I will call my sponsor and try to get talked out it.
We recently spent a week in Denver and it seemed like we ate either fast food or buffets with every meal. Gained 10 pounds. It reminded me of that Subway TV commercial where people are ordering “Blubber” and the wife wants some “thunder thighs and some badonkadonk butt.” What the heck does that mean? It is hilarious, but few people in the Cowboy State get it.
Well, I looked it up. Badonkadonk butt is a hip-hop term for giant booty and this type of anatomy comes from guess what? Eating too much at buffets and fast food.
I definitely need to reduce my badonkadonk, that is for sure.
* * *
Big headlines in Wyoming papers this past week were about the delisting of the grizzly bear. Well, it is about time
When grizzlies were first designated as endangered in Yellowstone almost 20 years ago, I worried that someday we would have them on our doorsteps here in Fremont County, some 150 miles from the YNP boundary.
Well, they are getting closer every day. In the meantime, we have seen a resurgence of black bears in our part of the woods because the grizzlies are chasing them out. Meanwhile, the Dubois area is full of the huge critters.
Somehow the idea of coexisting with a creature that would like to eat me makes my camping experience a little too daring in my old age. Would prefer it not to happen on the Loop Road above Lander that is for sure.
It is hard to believe that grizzlies have been considered endangered for two decades now. I used to be a part owner of newspapers in northern Montana and every year our reporters covered grisly stories about hikers getting mauled to death by grizzlies. It sure seemed odd to me how a grizzly could be endangered in one part of the country and few hundred miles north, be so common, the biggest sellers at convenience stores were pepper spray and “bear bells.”
Defenders of the grizzly oppose the delisting because of the huge amount of land in which such a bear likes to roam. Yet this is the very reason why it never made much sense. And now hikers are in great peril in the Cody, Dubois and Jackson areas because of this behemoth killer that has been allowed to roam free for far too long.
One thing for sure, a grizzly definitely qualifies as a creature with a badonkadonk butt.
* * *
The columnist Sagebrush Sven in the Buffalo Bulletin featured a sort of badonkadonk story concerning a procedure called a colonoscopy, which we all need to have.
A Dr. Gardner was the local surgeon who also owns and operates the Muddy Creek Angus Ranch near Buffalo.
When the patient was sedated, they lifted the sheet and found a message on one cheek. It said "Muddy Creek Anus" with an arrow pointing an interesting direction.
On the other cheek was a big heart with the name of the nurse (Elaine), who was assisting with the test.
* * *
And switching subjects:
Congratulations to Cara Eastwood, the fine outdoor writer for the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in Cheyenne. Gov. Dave Freudenthal named her his new press secretary to replace Lara Azar.
Ms. Azar, also a former WTE staffer, moved on to work for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in California.
Rumor has it that WTE Managing Editor Reed Eckhardt asked the governor for a workforce-training grant so he can apply it to training the governor’s next press secretary.
* * *
Saw an editorial cartoon about our own Dick Cheney, which was titled: “Dick Cheney Retirement plan.” It showed him sitting on a rocking chair near a swimming pool in Dubai.
To those who do not know it, the Dallas-based Halliburton Company, which Mr. Cheney headed for several years, recently announced it was moving its worldwide headquarters to that Arab country.
I find it disappointing but not surprising to read that Vice President Cheney has just a 9 percent national approval rating. We even saw Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refer to him as President George Bush’s “attack dog” in a recent press conference.
Whew. Things are getting a little testy back there in DC.
* * *
Another interesting political cartoon showed Sen. John McCain listed as a “POW of Iraq,” implying that his continued support of the Iraq war will cost him his chance as the nominee for president in November, 2008, on the Republican ticket.
Mr. McCain is famous for being a long-time POW during the Viet Nam era.
|
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
717 - A big mountain for little Finis
Our telephone rang in the wee hours of the morning. “Oh no,” a person thinks at this hour. This call cannot be good news.
With four children and nine grandchildren, both my wife Nancy and I cringe when that kind of call occurs. And this was one of those occasions.
Our 18-hour old grandson, Finis Johnson, was going to need to be life-flighted to Denver for intensive neonatal care, our daughter Shelli Johnson said. Her voice was rattled and she was scared. She had had a C-section the previous morning and was not feeling so hot herself. The jet had already left Denver.
Just a short time before we had all been rejoicing about this extra-large boy who had joined his two older brothers in the Johnson family. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Heck, he was the biggest of any of our grandkids. How could he be having difficulty? Especially a difficulty that resulted in flying him 400 miles away to Denver?
Apparently, big baby boys sometimes have problems after C-sections, we were told, and his problems were with his lungs and getting enough oxygen into his bloodstream.
Shelli’s doctor decided it would be better if she rode in the plane with the baby rather than endure the six-hour drive.
Soon, they were gone. Shelli said her first ride in a private jet was not in the style that she thought someday she might find it to be.
Meanwhile, we loaded up son-in-law Jerry, and their other boys, Wolf and Hayden, and my wife Nancy into my recently acquired SUV and headed to Denver, thinking we would only be there 2-3 days.
This is my first vehicle with a navigation system. “Miss Nag,” as my wife called the disembodied voice, was programmed to get us through Denver traffic to the busy medical center known as St. Luke’s-Presbyterian.
Outside of high winds and fleets of semi-trailers to deal with, our car trip was uneventful. In fact, Shelli got to Denver before we actually were able to leave town.
Coincidentally, we were dealing with another of Shelli’s “babies” during this time, too.
Her web site, yellowstonepark.com, was named one of the five best tourism sites in the world by the prestigious Webby Awards. The New York Times has called the Webbys the Internet’s Oscars.
More than 8,000 sites had been entered and Shelli’s site was named along with sites from the countries of Australia and New Zealand, and the site for Sydney, Australia plus the site for Vail.
Right up to the boy’s delivery on April 19, she had been promoting her site for the prestigious People’s Choice Award, which goes to the site with the most votes from Internet users.
But all that was forgotten for now.
Once young Finis was at Denver, things got serious. The neonatal wing is a busy place and they ended up inserting a breathing tube down into his lungs with some miracle drugs and put him on ventilator. This sure sounded ominous to all of us and the mood could only be described as somber.
I recall waking up at 1 a. m. and not being able to sleep. All I could think of was this little boy struggling to live. Struggling to get enough air.
The next morning he appeared to be on his way to recovery. Nancy and I watched the boys, who I dub “Johnson and Johnson” as Shelli and Jerry made commutes to the medical center. Once the initial scare was past, it was an exciting time for all of us to witness this boy’s recovery.
Young Finis is named after the famed mountain explorer Finis Mitchell of Rock Springs, who mapped early trails in the Wind River Mountains,. He wrote the earliest trail guide for the Winds and stocked 300 lakes in the upper part of the range.
Today, our little grand boy appears to be doing well. Although he’s not completely out of the woods and may be hospitalized for another week, he’s improving every hour.
The hotel we stayed at was in the midst of the redevelopment of the old Stapleton Airport. The area contains expansion housing subdivisions, big shopping areas and a hotel district. It was odd as I could still point out of the main buildings in the old terminal that are still in place, although Denver International displaced Stapleton over 12 years ago.
Viewing Stapleton’s transition made me feel somewhat old. On the other hand, watching a grandson feel his oats made me feel young.
|
|
 |
|
|
