Well, it’s been an interesting few weeks, and we got rolling pretty good on some big themes and issues.
But it’s time for me to head for Great Falls, Montana, on a one-week vacation (sort of). I’m attending a Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership summit and then heading to the Milk River country on a sharptail grouse hunt. I can’t hardly wait.
I’ll also fly-fish for trout on the upper Missouri River, which runs right through the heart of American history. I’m crazy about the West, especially Montana and the Rocky Mountain front. I also love Indian lore and history as well; one of the greatest books I’ve ever read was Comanches: The Destruction of a People.
The author, T.R. Fehrenbach, is a formidable interpretive scholar—right up there with another icon, Bernard De Voto, who wrote Across the Wide Missouri and a handful of other distinguished books.
I have to confess that a terrible melancholy grips me sometimes when Little Son Luke and I are just being still, listening to the version of Home, Home on the Range that includes this stanza:
When I get back, I want to post an update on Justine Henin-Hardenne and write a little bit about the sad state of the coaching profession. Of course, other things will pop up, demanding attention. As always, we’ll play it by ear. Chris Chung will keep the home fires burning at TW; he’s told me that the archives are coming along, and he’ll update you while I’m gone on the status of that project.
P.S.—If you’ve ever wondered about the meaning of the word “Houlihan,” (I'm sure thousands of you have!) click here. I take it that it’s a knot used in roping cattle.
Adios, for now. I'll miss y'all!