'Tis the Season

I realized upon entering the state Capitol last week that I had never seen the rotunda filled with the majestic giant.  We are lucky to have such a classy capitol.  It's nearly empty this time of year, all the staff tucked away in their offices off the main hallways of each floor. 

Winter is Upon Us

After endless weeks of smoke filled air due to record breaking Montana fires, we've taken a sharp turn into winter. No "Indian Summer" this year I'm afraid. Two days of snow mandated I shovel my corner lot sidewalk and methinks I'll get to break out the shovel again in the morning.

It feels as though the bad karma brought upon us all by the collective stupidity of a large enough number of dolts to elect Donald Trump is raining on us all.  And we in Montana are the lucky ones, just smoke and early snowstorms, spared from the waist deep floodwaters and catastrophic hurricanes suffered by so many recently.

The bar of acceptable behavior is so low as to be buried deep underground near the core of the earth.  While the #metoo rallying cries have caused some rotten fruit to be banished to the outer limits, the giant turd in the White House, the scummiest scumbag of them all, still reigns...for now.

Robert Mueller....help us Obi-Wan Kenobi...you're our only hope.

Eclipse 2017

Words cannot describe the experience of viewing the full solar eclipse, and photos certainly do not do justice to witnessing the actual phenomenon.  That being said, I shall post some of mine from today, in Idaho.  Clear blue skies, mountain ranges on both sides of the rural two lane, and a few scattered revelers sharing the morning adventure with us.  And then, since we were in the neighborhood, we were compelled to take a quick run through Craters of the Moon.

Big Sky Country

Hiking the high country.  I'm afraid the word is out on Montana.  Spectacular vistas, wide open expansive spaces not soiled by mankind's droppings.  These things are becoming rarer and are in danger of becoming extinct. Best to get out there and enjoy it all while we still can.  I love living in Montana.

Water Lilies

I can see why Monet obsessed over water lilies.  They are so strange with their long tentacles reaching beneath the surface, outstretched palms facing the sky, bobbing among the ripples.  I had no idea they were bright red before they turned green, never having visited their habitat in early summer apparently.  Such a surprising sight to see, hundreds of red and yellow circles spread out before us when we finally exited the canoe trail into the lake's main body.

The lush greenery was a sight to behold as well.  After a very snowy winter and rainy spring, the florescent shades of greens seemed to glow along the path back to our vehicles. I'm not sure I recall a spring quite as green in Montana.  Later, after the 90 degree days and perennial winds, the summer/fall fires will come; but for now, the pungent damp greenery fills the air. 

This was my first sojourn with my brand new, economy model, kayak.  The trek is 100 miles, quite a stretch for a two hour paddle.  But it is a special place, complete with rusty headed merganser and five little ones trailing on the edge of the canal, the multitude of hidden chirpers within the willows lining the banks, and the giant, silent great blue heron flying overhead. 

It rained steady as we neared the put in, some grumbling was heard of not paddling in the rain, but lo and behold, not a drop fell on our heads on our journey.  In fact, we had a good solid 10 minutes of sunshine, which was no less than divine.  My thanks to my good pals who carted my kayak, and me, for my maiden voyage, some great travel conversation, and the wrap up stop at our favorite Blackfoot Brewery upon our return to town.  Good friends are priceless, and nature is mandatory to nourish the soul.

Theater

I have many passions; live theater is not, or at least up to this point, has not occupied my list.  Live music, films, travel, fitness...these make up some of my vital passions.   Small  town, local theater is not known for its overflowing talent pools.  This week, however, I have turned a corner on my stance, after witnessing two stellar performances of My Fair Lady at our local classic, historic Grand Street Theater.  It is notorious for its sold out performances each season, and years ago when my school age daughter took part in two performances, of course I attended.  Additionally, more recently, I attended a performance of Hitchcock's 39 Steps, which I enjoyed immensely, although it was not enough to tip my scale towards live theater. 

The sets, costumes, and flawless execution of scene changes all combined into the supporting structure to launch a wealth of talent, riveting singing, smart, funny dialogue and a fascinating intuitive interaction between the players on stage. 

Talent, even when not presented within one of your favorite genres, demands your undivided attention and appreciation.  Seeing more live theater is now on my to-do list and I look forward to many more heartwarming, funny, poignant performances.

Life

2017 has been a wild ride so far.  Our crazed president pushes the boundaries of sanity on a daily basis, and still, there is no outrage calling for his immediate ouster.

How can this be 2017 America?  The rich don't just keep getting richer, they hope to annihilate the poor and struggling masses by removing health care, scrapping any oversight of the financial giants providing them unfettered freedom from the government regulations enacted to keep them honest and ethical.  Just this week the health secretary was replaced because he declared gun violence a threat to public safety, a stance not favored by the NRA and therefore our puppet president.

The swamp is quickly drowning out any trace that we are a nation guided by that esteemed document, the U.S. Constitution.  Lies, corruption and outright evil have taken its place.  No more is there a slight memory of the "do the right thing" mentality.  Pollution controls, protections of public land and providing a safety net for the disadvantaged citizens in our society have all been replaced with conflicts of interest, enrichment of the richest and deportation of those individuals that are a symbol of the ideals this country was built on.  Opportunity for all and a guarantee that with hard work and determination, a successful, happy, healthful life was within reach of all.

This is how a dictatorship begins.  Squelching your critics, creating chaos on a daily basis, and recruiting your friends and business associates to surround you in your bubble.  Any dissenting opinionator is promptly dumped out on his/her ass.  Trump resembles Putin and Kim Jung Un infinitely more than any prior U.S. President.  God help us all to survive his presidency without a world wide nuclear catastrophe.

Sundance 2017

Another Sundance under my belt, and this time it was a shared affair with a long time gal pal, and fellow film enthusiast. Truncated to a four day weekend, including two days consumed by the 465 mile drive from Helena, we nonetheless squeezed in Wilson on Friday night after collecting our festival passes and film tickets. The 80 mph speed limit and bare roads enabled efficient travel, complemented by good conversation and a batch of newly downloaded podcasts.  Aided by carefully chosen snacks, we reduced our stops to the bare minimum of required rest areas.  We spent Saturday and Sunday focused on our films, three each day, but managed to intersperse a quick shopping excursion for undergarments, and stops at a pair of local microbreweries sampling the smartly named, hop heavy, craft brews and companion grub. A total of seven films in all, we easily could have taken in more of the many buzz-worthy flicks, had time and money allowed a more extensive trip. 

Mostly strong, we viewed some very memorable films among our choreographed weekend selections, which we deemed a success by the time we wrapped and headed home. The standouts included the often funny and entertaining Wilson, with Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern; 78/52 the Hitchcock Psycho shower scene documentary; and Call Me By Your Name, the tale of a moderately heartwrenching Italian summer romance with Armie Hammer.  Shirley MacLaine as a cantakerous "difficult woman" directing the final edit on her own obituary in The Last Word and The New Radicals which begs the question at what point does a personal rights/freedom/privacy advocate cross the line and morph into a terrorist, both stood on their own merit as well.

Sadly, Where Is Kyra fell on its face due to a heavy handed treatment of the homeless epidemic in America.  The film managed to portray an unsympathetic character as the poster girl for a very serious issue in America, and failed to either provoke a deeper understanding of, or provide any viable solution to the problem.  An overwrought sound track, similar to fingernails scratching a blackboard each time our main character waded into questionable moral territory, made it close to unwatchable.  Treating audience members as idiots, who need to be clubbed over the head to see a point, casts a dark shadow onto the director, those watching, and the subject matter in general.  Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland are wasted in this film.

Of course in the midst of this movielicious weekend occurred the epic Australian Open final between Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, meeting for the first time in a grand slam final since 2011.  Long time rivals and great friends, it was a match for the ages which no one in the world of tennis, neither talking heads nor hard core fans, ever anticipated.  Another mind-blowing 5-setter, naturally, Roger prevailed in the end, but both played their hearts out with peak performances of exquisite proportions. 

I thank the tennis gods for bestowing the fans with one last (??) monumental match between these two greats.  Alas, even as I continue to root, as always, for Rafa, it was clearly a win-win for both of them, replicating the skills evident at the height of their careers.  No sane person thought such a match possible as Rafa and Roger edge near the sunset of their professional careers.  Bravo...and on to the next tournament!

 

2017

It's finally here.  A fresh new year.  A clean slate.  So full of promise, yet still dragging all the oversized baggage of 2016 like a ball and chain.  A ginormous ball, with a massive chain.  No matter, we can still face the new year with bright eyes and an optimistic attitude.  It's our survivalist, buoyant nature to expect great things along with our never ending faith in the innate goodness of humankind.  A true testament, yet against all obvious evidence to the contrary.

Still, we soldier on.  See the goodness in every day and each, or nearly each, person we encounter.  Never before has a year shoved the fact of our mortality so vividly in our faces.  Yet with that realization comes understanding and wisdom.  And acceptance.  In the end, we can only love each other and express that love, openly and without boundaries.  A life without regrets for the things left unsaid is a life well lived.  A life lived honestly and as true to ourselves and others as possible, along with self-reflection of the motives for each action we take, deliberate or otherwise, culminates into a fulfilling life filled with calm confidence.

My wish for 2017 is to continue to thrive and learn and elevate my thoughts and actions and be a positive force in the lives of those I come in contact with each day, however briefly.  For the world at large, I wish for knowledge, truth, wisdom, understanding and acceptance.  And a generous supply of joy.  Happy New Year.