One of the most interesting people in eastern Wyoming is Patsy Bixby Parkin of Wheatland.

         Not only is she a wonderful historian; she and her three sons should be in the Guinness Book of World Records.

         Some 40 years ago, Patsy gave birth to the heaviest triplets ever born in the entire world.  Well, here is how she recalls it:

 “I was just notified that Dave, Dan, and Donny hold the record for the heaviest triplet birth in the U.S. - 23 pounds, 4 ounces. As soon as they verify my records, the boys could be listed in Guinness Book of Records! Considering they were a total surprise and were born full-term in a normal birth, they really are a miracle now they`ll be famous!

“I know you`re probably tired of hearing about my kids, but this past weekend my son Donny pulled his girls around the yard in the little yellow Yamaha cart my dad put together for my kids 40 years ago. My good friendwell, everyone`s good friendCharlie Coleman wrote a poem for us when the boys were born and we used it on this tractor and cart when we had the kids in the fair parade. It said, ‘As every poker player knows, and every player`s wife, when you have a pair, then draw 3 of a kind, you have got a full house.’

“Well, my quest for the Guinness record for the biggest triplets might not make it. I spent all afternoon trying to figure out the complicated final application and when I finally hit the submit button, my Internet connection went down (again).  Also, they want the signature of the attending physician who has been dead for several years. My sons are now 40, after all, but still weighed more at birth than the current record holderswhich makes it even more amazing. So they may never show up in Guinness, but you and I will always know the truth about how special they are.”

And speaking of three of a kind, Gov. Matt Mead recently made a trip to San Diego and ran into three Wyoming natives in the oddest of places.

         Matt Mead has a Wyoming connection wherever he goes

         He was invited to visit the Aircraft Carrier Stennis in August. He drove to Denver and flew on Southwest Airlines. The captain of the plane invited him to the cockpit to look around. He was from Star Valley.

Later on the Navy carrier, Mead was able to take off and land, which was an amazing experience.  He went from 0-160 mph in less than two seconds.  Lots of G-forces.  He was only able to stay on the carrier for one night.  The sailor in charge of steering  the giant ship was a small woman, who really knew her stuff, according to Mead.

His pilot on that plane was a Naval Academy graduate from Jackson Hole.

On his Southwest flight back to Denver the co-pilot of the plane was from Cody. Those Wyomingites are everywhere!

         And that includes Hollywood, too.

         Dave Lerner operates a fine Internet Company in Cheyenne called Wyoming Network.com.  He recently shared with me some good news about his son Steve Lerner, a very talented screenwriter, who works in Hollywood.

         The team that created the super successful cable TV show The Americans has announced they are doing a pilot for a new TV show called Breckman Rodeo based on Steve Lerner’s scripts and characters.

         A news story in the showbiz bible Variety recently detailed that the team of Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields (who created The Americans) has teamed with Lerner for the new TV series.

The new show is about a high school rodeo team in Cheyenne.  “It will center on a character named Ashley, described as a rodeo-as-hell sparkplug who refused to stay within the lines that have been drawn for her, and her boyfriend Brant, a rodeo prodigy, torn between a content quiet life and the rocky climb to superstardom. Ashley, Brant and their friends will have to reconcile the traditional values of their sport and their upbringing with the changing realities of the 21st century,” according to the story in Variety.

Young Lerner concluded: “Growing up in Wyoming, I loved going to the rodeo. I’m excited to bring the stories and people of my hometown to the screen.”

Sounds like a great show about Wyoming and the West. It will join Longmire and Yellowstone as recent shows based on our part of the country.