Judge William Clancy, who presided over a state district court in Butte, Mont., was a heavy drinker who often dozed off during lawyers’ arguments; when awake, he showered a spittoon with tobacco juice gobs. Another Butte judge, Edward Harney, cheated on his wife with an employee of a mining company that was a defendant in […]
Rebecca Stanfel
Posted inWotr
Going down the road feeling bad
It’s the morning after surgery. My chest throbs. Is it time for pain medicine? I grit my teeth and roll over to check the clock on the bedside table. Except there is no clock on the bedside table, just a blocky beige phone on an unrecognizable bureau. I remember where I am just before I […]
Posted inDecember 10, 2007: Rebels with a Lost Cause
In Montana, a festival of light
Turn off all the other lights!” my almost-3-year-old son, Andrew, hollered, once we had kindled the candles in our Hanukah menorahs. It was the last night of the eight-day holiday, so we had eight candles, plus the shamash, or helper candle, in three menorahs. This made for 27 candles glowing in our otherwise pitch-dark living […]
Posted inMay 14, 2007: Two Views of the Verde
Wilderness Lost
My husband, Jay, and I planned our child’s outdoor life before he was conceived. We knew any child of ours would love to hike. How could he not? Spending time in the wilderness was fundamental to who we were. Jay and I have always connected with one another on the trail. Whenever we had troubles, […]