Day of Rest

In these 21-day Grand Tour bicycle races, organizers plant two, sometimes three, “rest days,” where they call a halt to racing for a day. I’m not sure why they call it “rest,” because the cyclists all still go out and ride a hundred kilometers or more, and mostly what it seems to do is let […]

Space Food for Thought

Fifty years ago today, Neil Armstrong took that one small step that was a “giant leap for mankind,” and while I was around for this, I don’t remember it at all. I was just shy of 7, old enough to be retaining memories, and my parents were big into their current events, so I’m sure […]

Feeling the Heat

If you’re a human being somewhere on Planet Earth, chances are it’s been hot where you live, so I doubt I’m getting much sympathy when I complain about the temperature here in Gunnison. But gosh darn has it been hot. As I mentioned the other day, most of us who live here are cold-weather people. […]

Thousands of Words

A house update, mostly in pictures: Oz inspects the new deck. At left is the new door hardware, round on this and the garage door for bear-proofing, levers everywhere else. Note the box of rocks in the background. Work on that and the stucco is scheduled to commence the third week in June. The Monday […]

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 […]