Reducing Tonnage

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Many of you are probably unaware that Ol' Dutch  has quite a storied past. Not only has he been West and “seen the elephant,” but for some time he worked for the railroad.

That fact often conjures visions of western vistas, bright shining days and the sound of a lonesome whistle on a distant locomotive wailing its movement across an endless landscape for folks. The reality of that job is long, lonely shifts riding endless rails, sleeping in dirty motels, eating bad food in nasty diners and having no sleep.

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Aliens Among Us

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This summer has brought a plethora of visitors all dragging children along for an outdoor vacation. In case you don't know what plethora means it’s a gaggle, clatch, herd, flock, drove, swarm, pile or, in layman’s terms, a bunch.

The parents arrive with great expectations about all the neat things they are going to do to bond with their children who have been cooped up in the big city for the past year. Things like hiking, fishing, ATVing, and singing around the campfire while toasting marshmallows and making s’mores all swim through their heads like salmon heading upstream.

What actually occurs seems to be a strange departure from when I was growing up and is shocking in fact.

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Worming Her Way In

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This week while Trixie and I were fishing in the high meadows surrounding the San Luis Valley, I was reminded again how she was able to snag Ol' Dutch.

It all started so innocently three summers ago when as friends, we got so far afield that the call of nature came calling and the only facilities available was a tree in the forest. Having been married o a woman who only answered those calls on a porcelain throne, Trixie's ability to "get 'er done" while afield quickly caught my eye. Having said that, I wish now I hadn't as that just doesn't sound right. But, you all know what I mean anyway.

But regardless, it did allow us to spend more time together and that led to, well, more time together.

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