Blog
Johnny Cafe Knowledge
For many years on the Railroad I worked into Glasgow, Montana and spent more hours than I care to think about in the Johnny Café, eating and drinking coffee. Amazing what you learn in a Greasy Spoon on the other end of the Railroad line. The café had a lot of booths and some 2 person booths were attached to 4 person booths, so it was very hard not to overhear the next booth’s conversation even for a deaf person. One particular day I sat adjacent to an older man and a younger one. The younger one was from back East and visiting the older...
read moreMy Ma
My mother, as my youngest son Casey said was probably the strongest person who ever walked the face of the earth. She survived two husbands, raised 5 kids and had 3 more die almost at childbirth. She survived T.B. when everyone on her ward died of the disease. She always attributed her survival to not listening to the Dr. who told her to lay still in her bed for 6 months. When he left the room she crawled around and around her bed 20 or 30 times all day long till he came the next day. She had a hole in her lung the size of a pear from the...
read moreThe Beautiful Bitterroot
I started going to the Bitterroot Valley in Western Montana when I was 7 years old, so that adds up to about 55 years ago. Many wonderful memories over all those years. Some of the best are from hunting trips and summer adventures. My dad and mother built a cabin over in this beautiful area in 1981. My dad who loved to hunt was in hog-heaven, a cabin right next to a wonderful mountainous area. He always said when you came in at night from a long day of hunting that “the hard assed hunters are out of the hills.” This country will...
read moreGrandpa Abe’s cure for the Acne
The only Grandpa I knew was my Grandpa Abe who married my Dad’s mom and took on the responsibility of her 3 kids and his own one. He was a big imposing man with very large hands. My dad said when he was 18 years old Grandpa took both of my dad’s wrists in one hand and made him holler Uncle. An athlete in his youth in Kansas he pitched a good baseball game. When my dad was a teenager the subject of acne came up. Grandpa Abe said he had the sure fire cure for the Acne. My dad passed this on to me when I was very small and I surely...
read moreChocolate Brown Dog
One of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my life is adopting a dog. I decided to stop at our local vet one day and asked if they knew anyone who had a small, adult dog for adoption. The vet only hesitated a bit and told his assistant to go get Chocolate out of the back. When I first saw her I was a little disappointed account she was a bit bigger than I was looking for. I’d sat down in a chair and she came over got on her hind legs and put her paws on my thigh, then she looked at me with her big brown eyes. My heart melted,...
read moreWay out in the sticks
My wife’s cousin Carol who was raised around Ledger, Montana wrote the other day about rural Montana. She said she figures with Montana there’s rural, very rural, and way the hell out in the sticks rural. I know what she is talking about. …with Montana there’s rural, very rural, and way the hell out in the sticks rural. When I tell my kids we had running water out on the farm, I meant we went to the pump house about 75 yards from the house and we pumped water into pails and we ran to the house with the pails. I carried...
read moreOld Dogs
I’ve had dogs since I can remember. When I was little my Dad would say we will make a good dog out of him, cut his tail off right behind his ears. Took quite awhile to figure that one out when I was young. Whenever you would ask my Dad about how many friends he had he would always raise his index finger and point at the dog. I know how he feels some days, when everything and everyone seems far away or distant all I have to do is reach out my hand and there is a dog. My, my I miss some of my old dogs. Old Mookie, a crippled up Peke, who...
read moreVisiting
My son reminded me the other day when we where in Helena for a wedding about my dad and visiting. Whenever we went someplace to visit relatives or friends he would say,” It’s always nice to go, but it’s twicet as nice to come home.” No I did not spell the word twicet wrong that is the way he said it. If you tried to correct him, he ignored you and went on about his business. His business apparently I’ve discovered after all these years was to make sure you were paying attention. He loved to scramble words and...
read moreElongated Livers
When I was about 5 or 6 my mother had her old picture album out. One picture in particular held my attention it was a very old man with a long beard, his complexion was pasty white, and his eyes were closed. The caption underneath read, “A Dead Man.” I asked my mom what the heck was this all about. She explained that in the early times, they did that when someone died they took their picture, because they probably hadn’t had a picture taken for years. She said this was something they just did as a matter of course years ago....
read morePop’s Day
Thinking about my old Dad today. Since Fathers Day is the middle of summer we never had a big celebration. It was always right in the middle of summer work on the farm. Always something to do, whether it was pick rock, or summer fallow, tend to animals, not a lot of time to celebrate. My Dad never had his Dad around so he always said he didn’t know what to do as far as being a Dad went. I’m here to tell you Dad you did great. Funny how when you’re little you put them right up there with the Gods and then while you are a teen...
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My newest book, The Dread, has just been published! Click the book cover below to read more.
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