South to Toulouse

Today’s stage of Le Tour de France, the midpoint of this 21-day race, is heading south to Toulouse, which I just learned in my bicycle chat room is the resting place of St. Thomas Aquinas. And Albi, where the race began today, is the birthplace of Henri Marie Raymonde de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (the name that never […]

The Internet Goes to Pot

Our internet went out at work yesterday afternoon. Again. It’s astounding, really, how completely dependent we all have become on the internet’s ability to function. Its not the internet itself so much as the companies that supply it, and the local company we use goes down with a depressing regularity. Kara complained to a friend […]

Which Comes First?

Everyone (I presume) is familiar with the phrase that’s less argument and more cliché about the chicken and the egg, although you really could have a deep philosophical discussion about which preceded whom. Well, Lynn and I don’t have to discuss; we’re starting to live it. After another weekend of not packing nearly as much […]

Vive La France

It’s a beautiful, sunshiney day in France, with a Frenchman leading Le Tour (biggest bicycle race in the world) . . .. it could be a day to celebrate. (Here in the United States, it is Lynn’s birthday, so we will celebrate along with the French, but probably for completely different reasons.) My research today […]

Cattlemen’s Days: Let’s Rodeo

I have this friend named Mark. Well, I have several friends named Mark, but this particular Mark is frequently responsible for changes in my direction, often after he volunteers me for things. He was responsible for my short-term adjunct teaching career, and also my stint as “faculty advisor” for the then-college’s rodeo club. And he […]

Cattlemen’s Days: the 4-H Years

It seems like every town has some sort of festival to celebrate its heritage, and Gunnison is no exception. We have Cattlemen’s Days, and some years back I could tell you it always took place on “the third full weekend of July.” It’s actually more than a week of activities, starting with horse shows the […]

We Have a Plan

Today is July 11, which is good news for you if you are near a 7-11 store. Free Slurpee! If you go from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Get it?) I’ve never had a Slurpee, so I don’t know what I’ll be missing out on, but around here it’s just Trash Day. Our trash service […]

T Minus 25 (Maybe)

Massive technical difficulties: the internet was broken for more than two hours at home; Microsoft Word was uncooperative on one computer at work; and have you ever noticed how slow computers move when you need them to be fast? Here you go — it’s hardly worth the wait. I think, before we believe anything I’m […]

Animal Kingdom

Last week Oz and I went to his overdue annual check-up, and yesterday Marrakesh and I went to his overdue every-other-year check-up. (Na Ki’o, who goes to a different clinic, went to his check-up, on-time, earlier this year.) We received endless notices about Oz’s need for a check-up, but it wasn’t until I asked after […]

Boxed in by Books

I don’t know what I was thinking, but when it was my turn to select a book for my history book group, I picked a book that was two inches thick. Generally people measure their books by page count, and it’s just as daunting there: 657, plus notes. We were supposed to discuss this book […]