One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
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It is a little over a month since the 2016 Election and it seems as though big surprise… Liberals and Conservatives are still arguing. Big surprise, right? I don’t know what it is about the human psyche that makes people think that they are better than the other. Whether race, neighborhood, religion, career, social status, political belief or whatever, people tend to think that they are not only better than the other but also have to voice their opinion saying so. What gives one the entitlement...
So, for the second consecutive year, my wife, PJ and I went Black Friday shopping in Havre and escaped safely. We go mainly for the DVD’s, so shout out to all of the local merchants. We still love you. I don’t know what makes people so aggressive. I’ve seen more people pushed by carts in that short 30 minute period than I have in my life. Maybe it was related to hunger. As many know, certain stores start their sales at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. So we headed out on Thursday afternoon to get r...
Before I moved here I had no idea that people had Thanksgiving parties before the week of Thanksgiving. I used to take pride in eating anyone under the table but when Susan, PJ and I went to my in-law’s Thanksgiving party I noticed I no longer hold the crown. I got through my first plate with a full head of steam, like old times … then the unexpected happened. My stomach signaled to my brain that I was full! In years past, I could make it through two or three plates of food and still have room for cherry cheesecake and/or peach cobbler. Thi...
I have bitten my tongue on politics this political season mostly because I don’t agree with the major parties running our country. Somewhere between all the posts of the lies and secrets of the Clinton administration and the racism, sexism and lies of the Trump administration, I was able to find an escape though barbeque. After such a sideshow of an election, I think America needs to chill out and there’s no better way to chill out than a barbeque. I was able to find solace in a couple of thi...
I’m a White Sox fan, so I had lukewarm feelings about the Cubs winning the World Series last Wednesday night. I found myself honestly wanting to cheer for the Cubs throughout the MLB post-season, but I couldn’t do it. I remember thinking that they would just blow it like they have in past seasons. I’ll admit it I was wrong. There was no better team than the Cubs in 2016 and even though they fell behind 3-1 to Cleveland in the World Series, they seemed destined to win. It took a rain delay in gam...
So, I’m going home or have already been home. As I sit at my office typing this I am dreading this 24 hour trip I am about to take my family on. Though I love the destination, the long drive is more than undesirable. The fact that we are making the drive with a two-year-old that needs his fair share of exercise on any given day, concerns me. Our boy isn’t quite potty trained yet, so he doesn’t voice his opinion of when he needs to go to the bathroom and when he does go to the bathroom findi...
When I was a kid, I wasn’t into scary movies. I thought it was pointless and dumb to be tormented by images on the television screen that often times ruled over your dreams as well. Then came high school. I don’t know if it was because I grew bolder or because my friends were talking so much about them but I decided to watch a scary movie called Thirteen Ghosts. For some reason, that movie almost made me excuse myself to the men’s room, but I kept watching. Then I had a brief hiatus with scary...
Often times I forget how many hours of my life I’ve sat behind a drum set. Whether it was a few hours on a Sunday morning or shows with my traveling band or simply practicing, I have spent a lot of time behind a drum set. For the first time I realized just how little I’ve played since I moved here to Montana. It has been a couple of years since I’ve played in a Sunday service and I haven’t practiced for months. I had a dream the other night that I was playing at a large indoor venue, but the...
No, I’m not voting for Hillary. I’m not voting for Trump either and I met the guy once. Several years ago, I had an opportunity to work at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship in Queens, N.Y. About 60 missionary students and I were food runners for Levy restaurants at the event. Though tennis isn’t my first choice for a sporting event, I have to admit the experience was pretty cool. It didn’t hurt that I met the future love of my life, Susan Bibbs at the event. One of the best parts of working thos...
A couple of weeks ago my wife Susan and I decided to go out of town. We thought maybe we would go to Billings. Then we changed our destination to Great Falls. About the time we got to Dodson, we decided that a drive to Great Falls would be too long and we changed it to a trip to Havre. It was a good trip. By some miracle our son decided to take a nap rather than make the loud and obnoxious noises that two year olds do when they are bored. We shopped around for a couple of hours and then we were about to head home, when I thought we should...
I was almost a fugitive the other day. I had no idea if it was because I was super tired or if it was because the pump didn’t have a card reader but last Tuesday I put $19.01 worth of unleaded plus in my gas tank and proceeded to drive off from the Sinclair Gas Station in Havre. I was about 15 miles east of town when it dawned on me that I didn’t pay for my gas. I freaked out a little bit and frantically pulled over thinking, I have to make it back before they call it in and I become ano...
I’ve never understood bandwagon fans. Is the more appropriate title sore loser? Since I started paying attention to pro football as a kid and a Chicagoan, I have been a Bears fan. Growing up a Chicagoan, I was lucky enough to see Michael Jordan and the Bulls dominate the league. I have been a White Sox fan since the early 90’s as well. I say pick a team and stick with them. That would be too easy. Instead we live in a society where people just quit. I know in the grand scheme of things it...
Last weekend was busy for me, but it was definitely one of the best I’ve had in the last months. I am proud to say that I am back to operating a manual transmission vehicle. The other day my wife Susan and I purchased a new to us vehicle. It kind of came out of nowhere. As I was driving my beautiful wife to work, she pointed out a vehicle that has been on sale for a while. I wasn’t looking for a vehicle but as soon as she mentioned it was a 6-speed my ears perked up. I also like that the veh...
I could almost label each year based on some type of wild intruder that gets into our house. The first year wasn’t so much an inside intruder as much as it was mosquitoes. The second year however, we found a couple of mice (that we know of) and after some d-Con, a couple of traps and some foam the problem was solved. This year unfortunately we have found out that the native bumble bee or more specifically a group of Hunt’s Bumble Bees have made residence under our front door. I did see one go...
I don’t know how the start of football season could be so exhilarating and heart-breaking at the same time. It’s the life of a Bears fan I suppose. The only end zone my team sniffed was either when our defensive backs got torched for a touchdown pass or when our quarterback was sacked for a safety. It was bad. While the preseason isn’t a complete measuring stick of a football team, it was depressing seeing every other team playing last Thursday score touchdowns and field goals, while the Bears f...
Last year the Co-Ed softball league was made to gauge the interest of those around town that were interested in starting a softball league. Though I wasn’t in the group photo, I played for two of the four weeks. Immediately I was put in the outfield as a floater. That didn’t go so well and I found out really quick that I’m out of shape. This season I’m still tipping the scale in the high 200s. Lucky for me I wasn’t put in the outfield in my first game of the season. This year I was thrown on...
Last week our editor was out of town, which can be a daunting task for anyone that has little to no experience being an editor of a small town newspaper. A lot goes into making a weekly newspaper when you have only a few reporters that have to help with every aspect of a newspaper. But I have to say I am really proud of our staff. Everyone stepped up, including Evie our intern who wrote her first column in this very space last week. Sarah and Deb were very proactive and for that I am grateful....
In this age, some people believe bigotry and racism doesn’t still exist. But in some places it does. I’m extremely thankful for Phillips County because I’ve seen nothing but love for me and my family. Obviously not trying to stir any trouble, I will try to briefly tell a story of me being in a bigoted situation. If you’re not into it, turn the page. Once upon a time I lived in Florida. One of my band mates and I were hanging out with a youth group pastor and a few of his friends. Later that ni...
The summer of 2005 was the last time I had a haircut and because of that fact, I have a lot of hair. There have been perks to having this much hair. It hides the fact I have an enormous head, well kind of. My hair has been the topic of quite a few conversations over the past ten years, which has been interesting. For those who don’t know. My hair is a style called dreadlocks… Not braids. Not cornrows. You can’t unravel my hair. I would have to cut them out. It takes about three hours to twist my...
And I’m an overeater. Shows like my 600 pound life and The Biggest Loser should inspire one to live a healthy lifestyle. It should inspire viewers at home to get up off the couch, put down the pizza and get active. For me it seems to do the opposite and it has been that way for years. I remember watching The Biggest Loser ten years ago and at the same time smashing a large oven pizza. This wasn’t a onetime thing. In fact it became a weekly ritual. There were times I rode a stationary bike whi...
Last Wednesday I was shocked to the core when an era ended in Chicago. For those of you that haven’t heard, the Bulls got rid of hometown hero Derrick Rose, who they drafted with the first pick of 2008. Rose went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year in the 2008-09 season. He also be-came the first and only Chicago Bull since Michael Jordan to become the league’s Most Valuable Player in the 2010-11 season, while leading the Bulls to the first seed in the NBA playoffs. The following season Rose tor...
The other day I had a flashback moment. I was in my living room waiting for my wife and son while playing a pretty intense game of NBA 2k15. Every once in a while my wife likes to make PJ the subject of a grand appearance. This time to my surprise my son was to my surprise on a bicycle with training wheels. In that instance I had a flashback of my first bicycle, a blue racing themed bike with training wheels. I’m 50 percent sure I got my first bike at Christmas time. The occasion that netted P...
I sold my soul to the local dish company the other day. That should come as no surprise after my great disdain for the local cable TV provider. Going from only having five channels to close to 200 has given me something new to do with my self-diagnosed attention deficit disorder. Having a four year hiatus from satellite television has allowed the network to come up with some great television. I have been recording nearly every show that sounds interesting to me, my wife or even PJ. The only sad thing is that PJ has gone from wanting to go...
I wasn’t going to do it. I really wasn’t going to. But I need to vent. I have lived about a dozen years of my life without cable or satellite television. The last four years I’ve lived here, my wife and I have only had broadcast TV. The five or six channels that we do get have been good to us but we’ve decided it is time for a change. So we bit the bullet and have pursued the various companies for a more enhanced television experience, which will bring us the glorious channels of ESPN, NFL Net...
When buying our house there were a lot of details I didn’t pay extremely close attention to. Over time I’ve come to find simple things have enhanced our experience living there. One of these details that I have found is that the lighting in our kitchen was really dim. I assumed it was simply because of the bulky light fixture but as the bulbs were nearly going out the other night, I knew I had to change it out for fear of trying to cook in the dark. I opened up the fixture, which required two...
