I am one of the thousands of returned Peace Corps volunteers that Chris Matthews of MSNBC predicted would support Barack Obama after he lit the fuse in Iowa. But I had already been tapped by Harris Wofford, a Kennedy-era warhorse and director of the Peace Corps program in Ethiopia, who is now stumping college campuses […]
Idealism wakes up in America
Posted inWotr
Like it or not, corn is in every meal
For the first time in history, the youngest generation alive today is at risk of a shorter lifespan than their parents. As we begin the 21st century, we have managed to take a great leap backward: We’re living shorter lives. We know why. It’s because of our poor diets, our alarming proclivity for fast food, […]
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The West remains a mysterious region
This was supposed to be “the year of the West” in national politics. States that had been reliably Republican were suddenly competitive. Two Westerners — Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican, and, until he dropped out, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat — were credible candidates for the presidency. The Democrats will hold their […]
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The day the view died
The view of the War Memorial Stadium, seen by westbound drivers barreling down Interstate 80 just east of Laramie, Wyo., died of obstruction in August 2007. The view was 57 years old. It had long been lauded by both newcomers and old timers as the thing that could raise goose bumps as travelers whooshed down […]
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A country cousin visits the big city
Many people dread a call from their mechanic, since it usually means spending more money — perhaps the transmission really is shot or a battery has to be replaced. But recently, after my partner picked up her car, I received a call from our mechanic about a very different subject. Our answering machine picked up […]
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Where do you draw the line?
As a journalist, I’ve watched many forms of civil disobedience in the West. I’ve known EarthFirst! tree-spikers and interviewed armed, tax-evading Freemen. I’ve seen “green” grandmothers lie down before bulldozers to stop the blazing of new logging roads across public land, viewed the carcasses of dead grizzly bears and wolves shot down by opponents of […]
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When you care enough to flush the very best
“Over here,” the salesman said, understanding my wife’s question perfectly, “you can see a top-of-the-line system.” We were in the middle of Remodeling Hell. I had had no idea there were so many decisions that could be made: kitchen cabinets, appliances, countertops, sink, faucets, floors. Wall colors, trim, furniture, accents. Window sizes and trim. Bathroom […]
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Bigfoot, you’re invited to breakfast
A few years before the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington, I worked on a timber-cruising crew near that mountain. We stayed in a barn-like lodge and ate at a nearby diner. During breakfast one morning, Harry R. Truman, who owned Harmony Falls Lodge on Spirit Lake, came in. He was wearing an […]
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Seeing the light in 2008
Two days ago, enlightenment arrived on my doorstep. It came tucked inside a plain little box that looked like it was sized to fit some fancy soaps, and bore a return address for Aspen Ski Co., the Colorado ski-resort giant. For years, a ski-patroller-turned-chef named Bob and I spent our winters skiing Aspen. Each time […]
Posted inDecember 24, 2007: Last chance for the Lobo
Tireless and tenacious storytelling
NAME: Lori Edmo-Suppah AGE: 48 HOME BASE: Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Fort Hall Reservation, Idaho DESCRIBING HERSELF IN A NEWS STORY: “She enjoys her job even though she gets grouchy at her computer when fonts don’t work or files get corrupt. Her camera was stolen at the Festival last year … However, she says life goes on and she’ll eventually […]
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In the presence of stones
The stones were assembled in a loose circle of five, each as huge as a beach house, verdant layers of moss covering them like furs draped from kings’ shoulders. I’d come through the forest quickly, following the meandering logic of a deer trail. When I rounded the a sharp corner, rising from the dry gully […]
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Slow down, you drive too fast
Just for grins, let’s talk about lowering the speed limit on our interstate highways – say, to 65 mph on roads where it’s now 75 mph, and where most people drive 80 mph. Go ahead, roll your eyes. We’ve done this before, and I’ll admit it that it wasn’t much fun. That was in 1974, […]
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Ranching still has a place on our public lands
I found a recent photograph that shows three people in cowboy gear – I’m the one pouring coffee from a thermos into beat-up cups. We’d all just gotten down from our horses, and the guys are leaning on a pickup truck marked U.S. Forest Service. Here’s the surprise: We’re all laughing. I’m a rancher, and […]
Posted inDecember 24, 2007: Last chance for the Lobo
Boodog roasting on an open fire
How to cook a marmot, Spokane’s tastiest resident.
Posted inDecember 24, 2007: Last chance for the Lobo
Selling empanadas, building a community
Can you recall that time in your life when you first encountered the world on your own, when your eagerness fought with your shyness, and friends and books and music and movies seemed vital sources not just of amusement but of new, remarkable, and attainable lives? If you can’t, The Empanada Brotherhood, the 11th novel […]
Posted inDecember 24, 2007: Last chance for the Lobo
No ordinary stroll
One of the most beautiful books of 2007, The Walk, by William deBuys, tells of life, death, crisis and love in northern New Mexico. It’s a poetic book, to be sure, but one that’s entirely down-to-earth. Sometimes, when writers recount their experiences farming or working the land, it’s hard not to see them as dilettantes, […]
Posted inDecember 24, 2007: Last chance for the Lobo
Not Rupert Murdoch, that’s for sure
Matt Jenkins’ update on L.A.’s Metropolitan Water District is a wonderful and necessary piece, taking up slack since the Chicago Tribune gutted the once-proud L.A. Times, which no longer appears capable (HCN, 11/12/07). It gives me little pleasure to note that where mainstream media regularly fails to look out for the public interest, your independent […]
Posted inDecember 24, 2007: Last chance for the Lobo
The cure is worse
While it is always compelling to hear individual anecdotes of the suffering caused by West Nile virus, the danger posed by this disease has been blown out of proportion in the United States (HCN, 11/12/07). In Colorado in 2006, for example, there were 724 suicides, 609 deaths due to influenza and pneumonia, 226 deaths from […]
Posted inDecember 24, 2007: Last chance for the Lobo
Personal freedom, personal responsibility
Our communities have successfully developed smart solutions to avoid foreseeable nightmares from sprawl, traffic and other infrastructure limitations (HCN, 11/26/07). Across the West, new affronts to a legacy of urban planning are now emerging in response to these successes. Arizona’s “wildcat” subdivisions are one remarkable example, and last year’s so-called “takings” initiatives another. Thanks in […]
Posted inDecember 24, 2007: Last chance for the Lobo
Where have all the (exotic) flowers gone?
I enjoyed the article “Beetle Warfare” ( HCN, 11/26/07). However, I disagree with Ruth Hufbauer of Colorado State University when she says, “So we have to hope that today, we have a pretty good understanding of what’s going on, and that we’re not making mistakes that 50 years from now, we’ll look back on and […]