4th of July . . . Gardiner, Montana

Good Morning Folks,


Happy Independence Day all! This day was important to our fore-fathers, and ultimately to us, for what it represents as an achievement other countries have attempted and failed. But, the holiday itself always leaves me a bit ambivalent, as do many we celebrate, especially the summer ones. All this BBQing, over indulgence in drink, fireworks, and such, really do not, nor have they ever, held much excitement for me. As a matter of fact for most of the last few years I have worked on the 4th. When a ranger I liked working because it meant double pay. From Memorial Day to Labor Day when you are working with Park visitors everyday is pretty much the same.


Today in beautiful downtown Gardiner, with the almost full-moon setting at the dawn of this holiday there will be no fireworks this evening. The fire danger has become extreme with temps in the 90s and hot winds blowing everyday for the last few weeks. Funny thing is that here in Montana and in Wyoming I have noticed they are big on fireworks. The booths selling them were up and running in earnest a week and a half ago, but with the ban on setting them off I am not sure how things will work. No one has shut them down so I expect there will be a lot of illicit activity regarding them this evening.


I am beginning to miss being in Flagstaff. Am glad that unlike working for the Park Service, where I was gone for almost 5 months, that this volunteer job has only taken me away for three. Having visited Bozeman several times on my days off I have determined that I could live there, and if I did, I might not miss Arizona as much. I think it is just that where my "stuff" is located is what pretty much defines "home"for me. It is not like I have that many friends in Flag (of course the same is not true for Prescott). Financially, and emotionally I could not move to Montana. I am pretty much stuck with my condo since housing values went down. Plus, the amount it would cost to move, even with my meager belongings, would be too much. On the emotional side, I could not move that far away from my family in southern California. As it is I have missed too much of my grandsons growing up.


As for movies: Yesterday I was in Bozeman again and saw People Like Us, featuring Elizabeth Banks, Chris Pine and Michelle Phifer (sp). It was a very good relationships film where the performances by the actors were excellent. Elizabeth Banks is a very underrated  actor. This movie is not recommended to "summer action movie males" (A.D.D. guys). They will find it slow and boring. Previously I went to see Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, with Steve Carrell and Kiera Knightly. Another "relationship" film posing the question, what would you do if you knew the world was coming to an end in just 3 weeks? It was an interesting and thoughtful film but not a great one, just pretty good. Prometheus was an overly long, and need of editing "fair" prequel to the Alien series of movies. Noomi Rapace took the place of Sigourney Weaver (before her character was born) as the female heroine and did an adequate job. However, she was much better in the Swedish version of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy.



I am looking forward to the brief visit of my niece Kimberley and her family, husband Dennis, and great niece and nephew, Melissa and Kyle on their way through here on Sunday. They will have "bagged" three more, new for them, National Parks in the Pacific Northwest on this trip. I am just sorry that I have to work that day and will not be able to spend much time with them. They, next to my friend Marc, have been my most faithful visitors during my past 12 years, or so, working summers up this way. They will be staying at my favorite lodge cabins in Yellowstone, Roosevelt.  I hope they like it as much as I do.


That's about it for this go round. I have withdrawn from Facebook so this will be one of my only methods by which folks can follow my "exploits" from this point on . . . well, there is e-mail and the phone. In a future blog I will discuss this "Facebook" thing.


Cheers, and have a safe holiday!

Happy Father's Day!

Good Morning Folks,

It looks to be a beautiful day here in downtown Gardiner, MT on "Father's Day." This is my third Saturday (even though it is Sunday) as my daughter Natasha calls it. I work four days and am off four so there are three Saturdays and one Sunday according to her. It just points again to the fact that how we measure time in many many ways is a social construction of reality.




I had the biggest camping debacle of my life the day before yesterday. I had gone down to Norris campground about midway through the two loops in Yellowstone. It is a great campground and I got an excellent tent site . . . but, while putting up my tent I was attacked by swarms of mosquitos. So, after getting my abode for the night up, I headed out for the day. I returned in the evening to no little insects flying around. Had eaten dinner at "Old Faithful" so did not need to do that. The tent was nice and cozy and I retired relatively early. At about 2:30am I awoke freezing. My forty degree bag let me down for the first time. Tossing and turning and awake the rest of the night; as soon as it was light (about 5am) I got up to make some coffee. That is when I found out my fuel canister on the backpacking stove was empty. Still freezing with my down sweater and knit cap on I tore down the tent and headed to "Canyon" for coffee and breakfast.


I had planned to camp two nights but that was not going to happen. After a "hardy" breakfast at the "Canyon Cafeteria," I headed down to get some shots of the falls at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. As usual, it was spectacular. I love that area much more than the geysers. From there I went over Dunraven Pass hoping to see a Grizzly or two. But, alas, that was not to be. However, near Roosevelt there was a Black Bear sow and cub. I could only view them from my moving vehicle as there were too many people on, and all over the road to stop. Then it was back to Gardiner to recover  from my ill-fated camping fiasco. Thus ended my endeavor in the "great outdoors."


Time here seems to be flying by. I have a little less than a month and a half left. The job is good and the people are, for the most part, great. As mentioned before it is a lot like working the information counter as a a ranger. It has gotten, by degrees, a lot busier. The plan after departure from here is to head up to Glacier Park for a few days before heading back down to home, Arizona. Perhaps on the way I will hit a couple of plays at the "Utah Shakespeare Festival."


We had a big "to do" here last Thursday. The governor of Montana and the high "mucky mucks" from the park had a ceremony to sign an agreement which will provide for a new gateway into the park for the north entrance. The famous Roosevelt Arch will remain the icon that it is but will be more approachable for photographs with out stopping the traffic through it. They are going to build a bypass road into the park, new entrance stations, and spruce up the area around it. This all took place in front of and across the street from my work position. They even had a stagecoach pulled by horses to take the governor and park superintendent the 100 yards from our building to Arch Park for the "signing" and speeches. There was quite a crowd in attendance. It was "big doings" for Gardiner, MT.


My last thought for this blog is a recognition of the passing of a wonderful man this last week. That was my first father-in-law, Paul Bissonnette. He along with my grandfather Stan Sausser were the most respected male role models in my life. May he rest in peace.


Again, Happy Father's Day to all of you for whom it is relevant.


Thats about it from here in Montana, granted it was "slim pickens" this time.


Adios!

Guess It Is About Time . . .

Good Morning Folks from Gardiner Montana,


It has been awhile. I haven't felt much like "putting pen to paper," as the old saying goes. Yes, I am far from my Flagstaff home for awhile working for the Yellowstone Association just outside the north entrance of the Park.


I arrived here on May 7th and have so far taken a three day "Wolves of Yellowstone" course with the Yellowstone Institute, and begun training and work with the association. Being up here on the Northern Range so early in the season I have seen lots of wildlife. Coming into the Park on my first day I was rewarded with a Grizzly Bear sighting.


The folks who work and volunteer (as I do) for this outfit are very nice. As a group probably the nicest I have ever been around (so far). I share a condo with a woman who is also a volunteer. We go our separate ways and have different shifts and that is good for me. We are very different people but respect each other's space. At this stage of my life it is very difficult living with someone.


The past few days we have had snow here. This is something I like. Most visitors to the Park are not that enthralled with it. To be honest it does inhibit their movement with roads closing and reopening hours later. Guess it is especially distressing this being the "Memorial Day" weekend (usually the unofficial start of summer, even though "real" summer is 2/3 of a month away).


Last Thursday night I stayed in the majestic "Old Faithful Inn." I wanted to get a room in what they call the "old house" and was lucky enough to get a cancellation there. In the "old house" you have to walk down the hall to the bathrooms but it is in the original building (circa 1906). In addition, for no extra price, I got a room with 3 beds, so I invited my friends Bob and Ben Hoyle, both rangers in the Tetons, to join me, and they were able to work it out. I love to stay there when I can. We had a great time even if they had to leave early the next morning. They were worried about getting over Craig Pass and back down to the Tetons with the snowy conditions that had arisen over night.

Not much happened during the time period in which I did not Blog. It was pretty much a routine spring in  Flagstaff. My friends Marc and Carol came-up to see me off and buy a farewell dinner. I went to a party/BBQ at a relatively new friend's house before leaving. Also, there was the quick trip to San Diego County to see family. I was lucky that my niece Kimberley and her family were there for their Spring Break so got to see them. I went to a couple of my grandson's baseball games. It is always a pleasure watching and seeing them. Again, with my daughter and her family's hectic schedule I did not get to see as much of them as I would have liked, but such is life. Norma and Scott were perfect hosts as usual.


My job here in Gardiner is as volunteer information specialist. Basically, I do what I did as a ranger when working a visitor center info counter. The main differences are that I do not work for the Park Service nor do I have to give programs. The latter is nice in that I have no late nights, 8-5 is my shift, and am on 4 days and off 4. I get free housing and a small stipend. The biggest bonus is that I get to be in this beautiful part of the country.


As for movies, I will not go through all that I saw during my hiatus from blogging, but only those I have seen lately. Most have been just OK. I saw The 5 Year Engagement in Utah on the way up, and thought it a terrible movie and only went because I love Emily Blunt.  I have traveled to Bozeman, Montana (closest relatively big city) and seen three films. Best of these was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It has a very fine cast of older icon British actors, including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Celia Imbrie. All characters are elderly people looking to get out of England and go to India for various reasons. The ensemble cast is great. A "super hero" film fan I am not but did enjoy The Avengers, especially Mark Ruffalo's characterization of "the Hulk." And of course Scarlett Johannson looks great in her outfit playing her "kick-ass" character. Battleship was entertaining but not great. Guess it was based on the board game, kinda of weird. As is usually the case the "pickin's" have been pretty slim in the start of the so-called summer film season. I hope there will be a little "gem" buried amongst them.


That's it for now from Montana.

Adios Amigas y Amigos

Vernal Equinox . . . Spring has Sprung!

Good Morning Folks,

This early morning awakening got me thinking how my blog is much like one of my favorite periodicals, Mountain Gazette. This magazine is anxiously awaited each month but is very erratic in its appearance, sometimes first of the month, others, the middle, and as seems to be the case this month not to be seen yet. Now, this is not to say my blog is of the same quality, nor is it anxiously awaited, just variable in timing. This morning it just seemed like it was "time" again.

Funny thing about "timing," we had our biggest snow storm the last two days of official winter. At my condo there were 24 inches of the white stuff measured on the top of our carports. Most of the this winter we have had "piddling" little 1 1/2 inch storms. My XC skiing endeavors were severely curtailed, limited to a couple of sessions before Christmas, and a couple more earlier this week. Since our big storm, temps have arisen to the mid-50s and beyond. After my last skiing session on Wednesday morning I removed my ski racks from the car and stored them and the equipment away for the year. And so it goes . . .

A couple of weeks ago I got to go down to Goodyear, AZ and visit my good friends Bob and Cindy Henry. I spent some time with Cindy last summer in Yellowstone but had not seen Ranger Bob in over a year. Bob was down on furlough from his ranger job at Denali National Park. We "hung out," drank "Margaritas' (as usual), and went to an MLB spring training game. We always have a good time together. It makes we wish I could see them more often.

Today I "hit the road" again to first stop off and see my friends in Prescott, Carol and Marc Hammond, then head on to southern California to visit family. I guess this would be my Spring Break if such designations were still relevant in my life. After eleven year of retirement from the academic world dividing my life into segments of an academic year have finally departed my consciousness

This trip to my old hometown is the last for awhile. I head up to Yellowstone to work May through the first of August. I had decided to forego working for the Park Service as a seasonal ranger this year but got an opportunity to take a volunteer position with the Yellowstone Association. I will be working at their visitor center in Gardiner, Montana as an Information Assistant. Basically, I will be doing what I did as a Ranger in the Tetons giving out Park information to visitors (for Yellowstone Park). I get free housing and a daily stipend. It will be a different experience for me and the season is not as long as the last few years as a ranger. I am very much looking forward to it.

As for movies . . . A Woody Harrelson film about a "bent" LA cop in 1999, Rampart, was a great acting performance on his part. The movie is very "gritty," and disturbing. It is one of those I liked, thought was very good, but never want to see again. A definite waste of time was Wanderlust, with Paul Rudd and Jen Anniston. I should of known, most Paul Rudd movies are crap. Act of Valor billed as starring real Navy Seals was just what I thought it would be, a live action video game and recruiting film. 21 Jump Street got some good reviews so I went to it. It had some laughs but was not a very good film. The cinematic pickings have been very lean to say the least. I am hoping the trip to San Diego will afford the opportunity to get to see some good "Indie" movies.

Adios Amigas y Amigos

February 2/3 Over, Wow!

Good Last Few Minutes of the Morning Folks,

The groundhog may have seen his shadow, and there were supposed to be 6 weeks more of winter, but snow wise it has been a "piss poor" one here in Flag. We have the freezing nights, just not much of the white stuff. My hope is that there is still a chance for March, much like 6 years ago when I returned from my 60th birthday XC ski trip to Wyoming. We got very little that year until March, then it was every week. Here's hoping . . .

This morning I have been thinking about the anthropological concepts of Ideal and Real Culture. I am not sure whether these are even current in the field. They were formulated by several different anthropologists during the 1940s & 50s. Margaret Mead, Clyde Kluckhohn and others were proponents. Ideal Culture is what people believe guides their behavior, the rules, the beliefs. While Real Culture has to do with their actually observed behavior. Cultural Anthropologist go to the field to live and study with a group of people (traditionally). Often times actual observed behavior is at odds with that which people say guides it. It is not that people are hypocritical per se, at least not usually consciously. Often the dissonance is found in belief systems, i.e., religion vs. actual behavior. Other aspects of culture, or even most of them in many cultures may have a closer relationship between ideal and real culture. This is often the case in small scale homogeneous groups. In larger, multi-cultural societies this may not be the case, or the dominate culture may try to enforce it's on its minorities.

What has gotten me reflecting on this is the consideration of an individual's life, mine to be specific and how these concepts apply. Maybe even more specifically, how I thought my life would turn-out when I was a lot younger, as a child, and how it has actually turned-out! Granted culture has dictated much of what is expected along the way. In our society socio-economic class, race and ethnicity are filters through which the "larger culture" has determined my "ideal culture." Television and media, and even religion (before I discarded it) played a big part in defining how we thought it "should be." TV shows like "Leave it to Beaver," Father Knows Best,", etc. presented an ideal view of family life as it should be (Ideal culture) . . . at least for white middle-classes. There were no real presentations of other races, except in stereo-types of the period.

I loved all those shows. Too bad my life did not turn out in the manner of those "Rosy" views presented at that time. That "ideal" of our culture crumbled for me with my mother's divorce. This was not her fault and I mean in no way to demean her memory. We had not the knowledge to know what goes on between our parents, only what we saw on TV. Our view of the culture was skewed by what was "supposed to be." Society was beginning to change and my family was at the forefront of it. Only now do I know how much my mother was shunned by neighbors who thought it a scandal to be divorced. Today struggling single mothers, at least in the white community, are not something rare. Children are growing up with that as part of their "real culture."

My real culture was at odds with the ideal and has continued to shape my life. American culture experienced rapid cultural dissonance during the 1960s. These were my "formative" years. My ability to cope with my life in the manner that I do was shaped during that time period. Many of us in that post World War II period grew up with those rapid changes. Maybe a lot of what we see today was going on in earlier time periods but we can only reflect on what we see as ours. So, on this eve of my 66th birthday I think a lot about what was supposed to be as presented to me as a child, and where I've gotten to at this point. It is no where near my childhood conceptions of who I would become.

And so it goes . . .

Movies: As is usually the case February is the doldrums for movie releases. I did see a couple that I found entertaining. Safe House with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds is a Bourne- like international/CIA thriller. The acting is pretty good and the movie moves along well with a lot of action. Big Miracle was a bit of surprisingly nice little movie. It kept my attention and was enjoyable. It chronicled the plight of three whales caught in the ice near Barrow, Alaska during the Regan administration days. This was based on a true story and the cast was very good. It was a good film, not a great one. Chronicles was a different kind of "science fiction" film, not big and overblown. The cast are pretty much no names but did a credible job presenting how three young men come in contact with some supernatural force which changes there bodies and allows them to have supernatural abilities. The film explores the dark side of their evolution into dealing with them. This is not a Superman kind of film; it is more down to earth, so to speak. Lastly, The Grey, with Liam Neeson was appalling in its unrealistic portrayal of wolf behavior. The wolves were mutant like larger than life, and their aggressiveness toward humans uncharacteristic. Had they written the script to make them somehow exposed to radiation and become those mutants it might have had more believability.

That's about it from Northern Arizona as I mark the passing of another year in my life.

Cheers All!

A Winter Without Much Snow!

Afternoon Folks,

We are well into the New Year and winter. Here in Flagstaff it has been wintry cold most nights but most days have been warm. We had a little snow on Monday and yesterday, a very small amount. The Nordic Center closed right after the New Year. Quite a few people who reside here love it. That is not my feeling. I wanted more ski time.

I have been thinking about friendship a lot lately. Friendship in my life has been limited by me. My feeling has been to have a few "real" friends and not like those folks who think of acquaintances as friends. It has been my contention that we make only a few, very few "good" friends in our life. This was reinforced by sociological research on which I based a few lectures while still teaching.

So, here goes . . . There is a continuum of commitment to social interaction involved in our lives. At one end are folks we meet but have superficial interactions with . . . these kind of relations are called "instrumental," or secondary. Most of the time this type of interaction is functional. It is the way most of our everyday "business" is conducted.

As you move along the continuum line you get more commitment to interaction therefore, closer acquaintances. Finally, at the other end you have friends and family. These relationships are called primary, marking their importance to the individual. While not all family members share a primary relationship there is an institutional framework here, as in you may theoretically love all your siblings (or maybe not) but you may be closer to some than others. Friends are high commitment, high interaction people in your lives. This is crucial to friendship. If these attributes do not survive time then neither does the friendship. Those people move back along the continuum to acquaintances.

This is where my thoughts have taken me today as regards my friends. Because of my solitary nature I have left a lot of "friends" behind, or relegated them to "acquaintances." Other people in my life who I have diligently attempted to maintain "friendships" have, in my opinion, moved me to that other category. For some of these folks they seem to have layers of what they call friends but are really acquaintances. What I mean by layers is that some friends have lower priority than others in descending rank for these individuals, hence lesser commitment to interaction.

In my case I have felt this with those who I have considered my friends. In the case of one individual in particular it was patently evident last summer when another "friend" was around I played "second fiddle." It is not that I am jealous but have spent my life analyzing relationships and my observations are just that.

For any friendship to be maintained all channels of communication have to be open between those who share that relationship. For example, ideally spouses should share a primary relationship. But in some cases they begin not to communicate openly any longer. Their's becomes a functional relationship communicating only about those attributes necessary for each in their lives. Once you say to yourself, "Oh I cannot tell him (her) that, they will get upset," then you have withdrawn from that deep interaction level which measures, sociologically, "friendship."

This may be how some of my "friends" view me these days. Possibly, I am no longer a friend, or have moved down a tier in their pantheon, which means the same thing. But maybe it is just me since none of those I call "friends" live in Flagstaff, out of sight, out of mind. And remember, a lot of friends move out of your life over time for whatever reasons. You may not even know why. They do not have time for you anymore. They have higher, and other priorities. I have no excuse for my lack of communication with some but others that I have attempted to maintain do not necessarily reciprocate.

Probably the biggest misnomer in the use of the term "friend" has been promulgated by Facebook! So, all of you out there counting your "friends" on Facebook in the hundreds, get real!

These are just a few thoughts mixed with sociological analysis for your cold, or not so cold winter afternoon.

Movies: Since last I blogged I left you with a list of my ranking of top films of 2011. Therein lies a problem since many movies that are up for awards do not come out in general release until January. A case in point is the wonderful film, The Artist, a silent one at that. I viewed this one yesterday with some trepidation because of the lack of dialog. But, once I got into it, it became enthralling. Another aspect that might throw many off is that is in "black and white." Give it a chance. It is an excellent film.

Last week I saw Contraband with Mark Wahlberg. It was entertaining but not a great cinematic offering. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy I went to for the second time. I love spy movies. I had read John Le'Carre's novel years ago on which this was based and seen the BBC mini-series with Alec Guinness in the title role now played by Gary Oldman. I wanted to pick-up detail I had missed during my Christmas Eve viewing. I liked it even more this time. However, I must caution you. This is an "old-fashioned" spy thriller with twists and turns in the plot without the over the top, and unrealistic action of a Mission Impossible.

It is time to close another of these mundane blogs and get you back to your regularly scheduled lives.

Adios from very moderately snowy Flagstaff.

A New Year

Good Morning Folks

I guess a "Happy New Year" is in order for this morning. You go to sleep one night and awaken the next morning in a new time period. Of course there are those who stay up to greet the arrival of this purely culturally defined, and somewhat arbitrary marking of time. I think the last time it was celebrated by me was when I was in my late 20s, or early 30s (a good half my life ago). Guess having been trained as an anthropologist to look at customs as relative to their culture has made me skeptical of the social construction of time. And of course, if you are a follower of the Mayan calendar then you are convinced of the "world's" end next December. But, in any case,"Happy New Year" anyway!

My annual California trip to renew kinship obligations (another anthropological term) for the holiday period was successful in that regard. However, it does not lessen my distaste for my birth state and city. There are just too many people causing a glut of traffic everywhere you go, and that is not to mention the crowding involved in attempting to circumnavigate the parking lots of all the shopping centers. The drivers themselves are atrocious, seeming to drive as if they are playing a video game with no sense of courtesy to one another.

However, the family was good and I got "quality time" with my grandsons, daughter, and sister Norma. There was a fleeting couple of hours on Christmas Day where both sisters, one brother and a niece all got together for a sumptuous early dinner of Mexican food (Norma not liking turkey has benefited us in this regard). Later, in the early evening I drove up to spend a couple of hours with my daughter's family. Christmas Day was a pleasant and very full day.

As for New Year's resolutions, I have long since given them up. It seems in all my years the only one I ever accomplished was giving up biting my nails, and that took place about 30 years ago. There are activities that I am planning and excited about for this coming year. After two years absence (in seeing me) my youngest daughter will be back for a visit from Japan in April. I look forward to that event with great anticipation. There are plans in the works to go to Alaska with my friend Cindy to visit her husband, and my friend Ranger Bob in June. Upon my return from there the plan is to make a car camping trip through Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah in July or August. On that trip I am going to visit my two nieces in Littleton, CO and their families, my friends in Wyoming, and see a couple of plays at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. And, of course, I am hoping for more snow in Flagstaff to Cross-country ski. So, this new year may bring some great things.

As is the case for me each year I rank movies and performances that I have viewed in theaters (no DVDs). They are as follows:

1. Descendants

2. The Help

3. Midnight in Paris

4. Whistle Blower

5. Sarah's Key

6. My Week with Marylyn

7. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

8. 50-50

9. Super 8

10. War Horse

Honorable Mentions: Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows II, Money Ball, We Bought a Zoo, The Way, & Bridesmaids.

Best Actors: George Clooney, Descendants & Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50-50

Best Actors in a Female Role: Michelle Williams, My Week with Marylyn & Rooney Mara, Girl with Dragon Tattoo. Honorable mention: Rachel Weitz, Whistle Blower, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Sarah's Key, & Viola Davis, The Help.

Supporting Actor Male: Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marylyn

Supporting Actor Female: Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Directors: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris & Alexander Payne, Descendants

I watched 64 films in theaters this year. Needless to say many of the best movies come out at the end of the year and some are not even released to general distribution until January. I cannot rank films or roles for a year, such as Meryl Streep's performance in Iron Lady, if I did not view them in this calendar year.

That is about it for this first blog of the new year from Flagstaff, AZ, USA.

Cheers all for 2012!