Afternoon Folks (if there are any of you still out there),
I know, I know it has been since February when last I blogged (is that the right terminology for what this is?). There are no excuses, just did not feel like it. I suppose we could say a lot has happened, or not. Had kind of decided to "bag" this blog thing but here I am.
The biggest news is that I am returning to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem once more after saying I'd probably not work up there yet again. Don't worry I have been called on that statement many times by fellow "workoutees" at Flagstaff Athletic Club. "Hey I thought you weren't going to do that anymore" is the common refrain. So, guess what? Not only am I doing it again, but am back with the Park Service working Interp. (what we use to call Ranger Naturalist) out of the visitor center at Mammoth Hot Springs. I leave Monday. My tour of duty is about three and three quarters months. My last day is Labor Day.
It is difficult for me (it seems) not to head up to Wyoming and Montana in the spring and summer. Have been doing so as a visitor, ranger and volunteer for over 24 years, starting out taking Natasha, my youngest on summer camping trips that I never got to do as a kid. After my years as a college instructor this has been the most influential part of my life, especially the latter phases of it so far. For a guy whose family never took him, or his siblings on any vacations this has been it for me.
Had been thinking about doing a blog around the theme of an old Bob Dylan song from my younger days, "The Times They Are a Changing." It is difficult to get a grasp on this as a concept because change has been so exponential in my lifetime. I think about my grandfather who died many years ago but who had spanned a time frame in which the Wright Brothers invented actual human flight and men walked on the moon. That is a lot to comprehend in a lifetime.
I would guess that the information revolution has been at the forefront of my life. I was in my formative years when we watched our first war on TV, Viet Nam. Now, I can talk to my youngest daughter who lives in Okinawa face to face on Skype for free! When I was stationed in Alaska in the army in the 1960s it cost me $50 to talk for ten minutes to my Mom long distance on the phone. At the time I was making $75 a month. With this change has come the concept that nothing is private, or sacred any longer. It all comes out now that everyone has a camera on their phone and "Twits" (haven't succumbed to that yet).
With the danger of being called the "old fogey" that I probably am, am not sure I think all this is good for us. It was nice in the past that there was a little "mystery" to life. Not that I really care about who is "doing who" but think it was a lot nicer when we did not have to hear all the sordid details of our past President's sex lives. Still think that our secret services, i.e., CIA, etc. should be able to keep some secrets. Really do not know what I am trying to say here. Yes it is good that some things are more clear for us, but maybe everything need not be. And, if congress wants to know everything, then maybe they ought to get off their collective asses and get something done rather than constantly working only for their next reelection!
As for films . . . Have seen many since my last blog so will only mention a few that I liked. Most notably was the most recent, Mud, with Matthew McConnaghy. It is an excellent character study. It doesn't have any major explosions or CGI but very good acting and character development. It is a modern day "Huck Finn" of sorts. It will in all likelihood be too slow for most. Another good movie is directed by and stars Robert Redford, The Company You Keep. It deals with the FBI finally catching up with the 60s "weatherman" terrorists, or trying to. Susan Sarandon turns herself in after her children are grown and it snowballs from there. It is an especially interesting film for we of that generation. Place Beyond the Pines is another film with extraordinary performances by actors Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. This is a slow developing dramatic experience, not for those who are "action junkies." Of course there is the biographic film 42, about Jackie Robinson, the first black player in major league baseball. It was very well done. Again the performances are excellent. I liked it quite a bit. I saw numerous other films during my hiatus from blogging but choose not to mention them here.
That's about it from Flagstaff, AZ. The next edition of this blog, if there is another, will come from Yellowstone National Park.
Cheers all!
