Hodgepodge And Other 'Impertinent' Stuff

Last week I ran away from home.

I left 1,500 bales of hay in the fields waiting for Donna to pick them up. I cleaned out my fridge of all stuff that would perish in my absence. I packed eight shirts, eight pair of socks, eight pair of shorts, four pair of Wranglers, boots, shaving kit, cell phone plug-in thingie, two guitars and assorted other stuff and hit the open road.

My first stop was in Sapphire Village to visit my Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim before they head south for the winter. Jim promised I wouldn't have to do any work.

Sometimes the truth escapes Uncle Jim’s mouth and I had to help pre-condition 200 calves. Later, just to add insult to perjury, “uncle” caused us to lose three straight pinochle games to Carol and a neighbor. He's “failing” a little in the mentally acuity department you see.

I stayed there overnight, and in the early morning while the chirds were burping, I headed off to Ranchester, Wyo., to attend the wedding of friend Josh and his lovely bride Amanda. It was a beautiful ceremony along the banks of the Tongue River with the circuit ridin' preacher coming on horseback to perform the rites. About 25 or so folks from Hinsdale were in attendance. A couple hundred folks were there from elsewhere or other.

I left before the reception, because I really hate to drive drunk and needed to be in Poncha Springs, Colo., in the morning (Sunday the 5th.)

Four-thirty a.m. and 580 miles later found me in Poncha Springs, and in my bedroll in the new “camper” my son, Jim, had just purchased. I say “camper,” but it's really a 35-foot bumper-pull trailer with two tip-outs and a flat screen TV. See, my daughter-in-law, Amy, doesn't do the “tent” thing when they go camping. She's from New Jersey, you know!

One of the hi-lites of my trip was that I got to visit with Samar Fay. For those of you who have resided under a rock for the past 20 years or so, Samar was the editor and star reporter for The Glasgow Courier before moving to Salida, Colo., where her husband, Dr. Michael Fay, took a job as minister at the Episcopal Church.

Those who know Samar know she's quite a horsewoman, but with Dr. Fay's heart surgery last June, they haven't been able to saddle up and enjoy a ride in the beautiful Colorado Rockies.

My son, Jim, and I took Samar out into the mountains and showed her a multitude of trails she and Mike could try out, probably next summer.

Samar is enjoying life in the “Heart of the Rockies,” and has written a few articles for the local paper. Dr. Fay is on the mend from surgery. Samar sends a big “hello folks” to all her friends here in Valley County and the surrounds.

Other than a great jam session with Jim, Amy's dad, who drove down from Denver, assorted friends, beer drinkers, foot-tappers and singers, and my old buddy, Ray Field, whom I played in a band with 40 years ago, the true hi-lite of the trip was watching my two grandsons, Jon and Josh, play little guy football. Jon is 10 and Josh is 9. Little brother Jacob is a long 3 and anxious to play football just like his big brothers.

Those of you who read my stuff know I'm not all that fond of little guys playing full contact football because of all the evidence coming out about concussions caused by head crashing wrecks on the grid-iron. But as my son said, “Virgil, you can't tightly wrap them up in bubble-wrap their whole lives.”

What I was unaware of is this: in little-guy football when the ball is kicked off the receiving team can't return it. The play stops as soon as they catch the ball and down it. There's no running pell-mell and helter-skelter toward each other, bugles blowing and sabers rattling to end in a bell-ringing crash helmet to helmet. Same thing on a punt. The kicker kicks the ball and the other side catches and downs it right there. Pretty safe as I see it.

Coaches are allowed on the field but well back from the action, and there are zebras blowing wheezles before any real damage can be done.

The Salida Spartans beat the number-one team in their conference, 19 to 13. The game was tied at 13, all at the end of regulation and the Fairplay (Colorado) team got the ball at Salida's 20-yard line in OT and drove to the 5 in three plays.

That's when I was treated to a grandfather's dream. My grandson, Jon, hit the line, dodged around a couple Fairplay players and chased the ball handler down, tackling him on the 2-yard line and ending Fairplay's' chance of scoring.

Salida scored on their third down on an end around. Game over.

After the game I bought a Denver newspaper to read while having a piece of coffee and a cup of pie at the Pancake Patio. I was sorely distressed to read that the friendly folks of Valley County, Mont., had let me down while I was away. Yikes!!

Look what you've done friends. In just the 195 hours I was AWOL from Hinsdale you people have allowed Senator Walsh to be stripped of his War College creds, Ebola has been introduced into the United States and we haven't heard the end of this disaster yet.

A dozen or so malcontent American boys were busted trying to leave the country to go join the bad guys (ISIS) in the middle east. What is WRONG with that picture?

Jess Korman got married. (But that might be a good thing.)

You allowed Darrell Brenna to retire.

You folks slept while Secretary of State John Kerry gave away hundreds of millions of your dollars to foreign countries, and last but certainly NOT least, you have allowed China to surpass the United States as the world's largest economy.

As a loyal, aging, white-haired, guitar-pickin', hairy-legged, slightly over-weight, handsome American, I am truly ashamed by that alarming turn of events. Are you?

That's it for now folks. Thanks for listening.