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During a power outage a few weeks ago, my kids and I spent some time talking about how strange it was that we kept flipping light switches when we entered rooms. They weren’t going to do anything, and we knew it. Still, after laughing over flipping the switch in the kitchen, we’d walk into the next room and try to turn the lights on without even thinking about it. The habit of turning on lights has become so ingrained into each of us that it is simply automatic. There are thousands of these beh...
Here on the river, it is always a benefit to get through January with decent weather; this year has been exceptionally nice, we are enjoying it. With the thawing and water running, then freezing, we have to deal with icy situations, still certainly better than the deep snows of 2018! Life is much more enjoyable when Mother Nature is being kind; we can do some catch up on remodeling projects that weren't finished when we planned. We continue the daily chores of feeding, keeping the waters...
I have, in the last six months, received several requests for the paper. I want to address these comments. People want more pictures. Legally I have the right to take a picture of anyone in a public arena, but I always ask. Some are wonderful; they don’t want their photo taken but allow me to anyway. For those of you who have graced the pages of the Mountaineer, I thank you very much. It is true; everyone wants pictures! However, if a person is reluctant, I don’t take their photograph, and I respect their decision. One of the most sig...
The planet earth is a being made of land, water, and air. We all know this. Every living thing has its own perspective on what the earth is like. How we define our environment depends on whether we walk on the land, swim in the sea, or fly in the sky. It is easy at times to forget this simple fact. Christmas has come and gone, and I think I am always introspective at this time of year. Living in Seattle, we see a lot of cloudy skies, and it makes me think about the nature of clouds. We all spend our lives trying to see what is beyond the clouds...
Over the last few weeks, I have been reading about New Year’s Resolutions. One of the most common suggestions for folks to apply in order to succeed in their life changes is that you find a group of people to associate with that are doing the same thing. This is a powerful idea because it is well supported by human behavior studies. We are influenced by our environment and peer group. For example, children are more likely to read regularly if they are raised in a household with parents who r...
We had friends from Pennsylvania visiting as we were making plans and preparing to market our 2019 calves at auction. They are also farmers and ranchers; they had brought their local Lancaster Farming paper with them to show us their markets and sales. What a difference from our auction yards in Montana where mostly cattle are sold, sometimes a horse, pigs, sheep, or goats. At their auctions, they sell the usual livestock; then, they sell alpacas, yaks, chickens, rabbits, parakeets, guineas,...
I was born in 1956, so somebody cut my hair before George Ament and his wife Penny moved to town and took over the barbershop. Somebody cut it, but I don't remember who it was. My first memory of a haircut is my first memory of George. For me, he was the Big Sandy barber. I could look it up somewhere, but since I am more about anecdotes than accuracy, I am not going to bother: I think George came to Big Sandy in about 1962. I believe he came from Minnesota. He probably thought he was going to...
In 2001, a study was done in England that looked at motivation to exercise. A large group of subjects was divided into three groups. One was the control group, which was told to simply track how often they worked out. Another group was exposed to motivational talks about the benefits of exercise and told to track their exercising. The final group received the same motivational materials, but were instructed to make a plan for working out. Specifically they were to complete the following...
The holiday seasons are here and going fast. Virgelle Christmas Sale was a blast. For me, the Virgelle Christmas weekend isn’t about what you buy; it’s about saying high. I get to greet all and hand out a little cheer in the snack nook. Friends old and new to meet. This is a great time to laugh, swap a recipe or two, and tell stories of the past. Everyone is excited because of the warm feeling in the air talking, and laughing with care. Virgelle Mercantile’s Christmas sale is my trigger to start my holiday decorating. Driving into my yard...
Christmas is more than a family gift-giving holiday. When my mother passed away from cancer close to Christmas, my fear was Christmas would never be magically again, but as I pondered the birth of Christ that Christmas was more powerful than any other. These lyrics by Andrew Peterson from Labor of Love tell the real story! "It was not a silent night. There was blood on the ground. You could hear a woman cry in the alleyways that night on the streets of David's town. The stable was not clean,...
In Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, the reader is introduced to John the Baptist early in the story. John the Baptist was a popular preacher in ancient Israel whose messages prepared the ancient Jewish people for Jesus’ coming. In Luke’s gospel, John’s birth is an important part of the story of Christmas and includes some interesting elements. My favorite is a prophetic speech from John’s father that was probably adapted as a first century church hymn. In it, he describes the coming of God...
Peace It was like most days. I am driving to work never really at the same time. It de3pends on when I wake up and how do I want to move that day. Living 25 miles from town, or how we say it in Montana, "half an hour out." I live between the Missouri River and the Bears Paw Mountains. So there are a few hills. The shadows in the morning are beautiful, with the sun getting up. Usually, the sun is brilliant, with a wide variety of gold, pink, and orange. But some mornings, the sun is still...
Well, Hunting season is over, and the hills and roads have become settled once again. I can walk outside to watch the beautiful rising sun and hear the geese getting ready for their flight up to the fields for the day. I can listen to a car driving on the roads above the valley; I can hear this for miles. You can even tell if it is coming or going, with the end of hunting peace and quiet is reinstated. As I sit out drinking coffee greeting the morning, these sounds always give me comfort and joy...
Before coming to Big Sandy, I worked with kids in a mental health facility. Most of the kids were pretty ordinary but had abusive or difficult upbringings. The result of their terrible life experiences was often a great deal of anger and disfunction. It was a difficult job because we worked with kids lived at the facility. Their parents weren’t there to care for them, so we had to fill in the best we could. The hardest part of the job was that we had to deal with clients at their worst. It b...
Over the last few weeks, I have read a handful of articles in various publications on how to start an argument over politics with your family at Thanksgiving Dinner. The authors of these helpful guides included catchphrases and tricks you could play to bait your family into expressing a viewpoint about one side of the political spectrum or another just so you can argue about why they’re are wrong. This included such petty acts as changing the WiFi password to something they will hate so that t...
I pray everyone had a Blessed Thanksgiving, as another month slides into the sunsets of times gone. I reflect on reasons to be thankful living here by the beautiful Missouri River. We appreciate being apart of the broader community of Big Sandy. A relevant source of food supplies of grains, beef, and numerous variety of other crops to feed the people in our glorious state of Montana as well as the 50 United States we are proudly apart. God Bless our country, home of the brave and the free! God...
This week my positive praise is for our Instructional Aids, Paraprofessionals, Teacher Aids, or what I really like to call them- “the glue that holds us all together”. We have 7 of these amazing people on our staff and we couldn’t be successful without them. They do so many different jobs that if I were to begin to make a list it would fill up the whole paper! What makes them all so valuable to us at school is their willingness to help in whatever situation, with whatever students at whatever time. I never find any of them sitting still, I mor...
Every Saturday morning, my family and I enjoy a pancake breakfast, then sit down together to watch our favorite travel shows. In the middle of one of the videos, a commercial for Calgary appeared. It was sponsored by their local tourism board and was about two minutes long, showcasing some adrenaline-filled, fun, winter activities. My husband Chris and I were hooked at first sight! I immediately jumped on my computer to make the necessary reservations. I was especially excited about the close...
In 1929, Calvin Coolidge traveled to the Black Hills in North Dakota for a vacation. While there, he was photographed many times dressed in cowboy attire. The one catch being that it isn’t actually cowboy attire. It’s a very fancy, almost silly version of it. At the time, the press mocked the president mercilessly. He responded that it was ok for them to laugh, but that he was living out a childhood dream. Looking at the pictures, there is no way anyone would think that the president was a rea...
The past couple of weeks have brought many hunters and fishermen down to the ferry. Some hunters I see every year, and they have nicknamed me the "River Queen." It makes me smile and helps me remember who I am talking to. This year I haven't seen many animals riding in the back of trucks. However, I did see an impressive five-point atypical mule deer. Horns were straight on one side and laying over massive thickness on the other side. It was an impressive rack! I had another encounter with a...
The treadmill was originally invented as a torture device for prisoners. Prisoners were chained in place on a cycling belt that simply continued to move. The prisoners were forced to run or walk in place for hours at a time as a form of torture. It’s a pretty ingenious torture device, if you think about it. You work all day, exhausting yourself, but never accomplish anything for your efforts. After sweating and straining all day, you are still standing in the same place you were when you s...
As I was processing the last of the ripe tomatoes that I picked green before the first snowstorm of the season, I got thinking about my mom, how she kept ten people fed, clean, and healthy. Amazing how she canned hundreds of quarts of vegetables and meats for the year. I was having trouble with one sick little boy, and getting anything done. The ferry was my first priority after taking care of my grandson. Then the chickens because I have food and water set-up so they can go for days without...
As a young child, I developed a love for travel from road trips with my family. The destination was always predictable. We would either visit family in San Diego or my family in Baja California, Mexico. Being as I grew up in Central California in the predominantly agricultural town of Bakersfield, the final destinations were not distant, but were vastly different from home! San Diego was my favorite in that there were many beaches to walk and play in, as well as delicious restaurants, outlet malls, and it always seemed to have the most ideal...
This week my positive praise is for our TEACHERS! We have 19 certified teachers in our K-12 district, 7 teachers in the elementary and 12 in the high school, six of those teachers travel between both buildings. Together they have more than 250 years of experience! They each hold a 4 year degree. Among them they have 14 minor degrees or concentrations and 6 masters. They have spent 24,960 minutes with your children so far this year, that number being based on their contracted hours. Although I would estimate that they have put in an extra...
I needed to prepare for Thanksgiving for a holiday, which allows us to express our gratitude. Although when asked what we are most thankful for, we always say something like, my family, my health, my home, my job. Ok, those are, of course, what we are all most thankful for, but gratitude should be more profound than that. It should penetrate our lives by the hour. One of the greatest truths I have discovered is you find what you are looking for. I started keeping a gratitude journal; I called...