I might as well admit it.
This will probably surprise a lot of you, but I’m not a native-born Montanan. I was born and raised in that concrete jungle known as Los Angeles.
But you’d think after 46 years of living here I would have acquired some of the traits and skills of a true resident of the Big Sky Country.
You know, things like hunting, fishing, and riding horses across the vast plains.
Stuff like that.
But that isn’t the case.
Hunting
The fact is, I don’t hunt.
The idea of going out in the wilderness, shooting a large animal, gutting it, and hauling the carcass for miles just isn’t that appealing to me. Especially the gutting thing.
And if you consider that out in the wilderness there are very large animals that would just as soon hunt you, then you probably understand why I haven’t tried to master that particular skill.
Fishing
And then there’s fishing.
I don’t fish.
Well, that’s not exactly true. There were times when I ventured out to a lake or river with rod and reel in hand.
So technically, I have gone fishing.
It’s just that when I go fishing, I don’t catch fish.
In Southern California when I went fishing, it usually meant I went out on a pier and dropped a line over the side of that pier and waited for something to happen.
And waited.
And waited.
My fishing attempts were just as successful in Southern California as they have been in Montana.
However, I have to admit it is more fun not to catch fish in Montana than it was not to catch fish from the pier in Southern California.
Montana has beautiful lakes and rivers.
It’s very relaxing not catching fish in Montana.
Horseback Riding
Then there are horses.
Horses and I go way back.
Yep, all the way back to my Southern California days.
I can remember my first ride on a real horse. I was just a little guy and they took me to a stable at Griffith Park. This stable had special rides for children. The child — in this case me — would be placed on the horse, secured to the saddle, then a handler would walk the horse for a couple of laps around the ring.
That was the horse ride.
It looked okay to me. Other children were “riding” horses by being walked slowly around the area. Yeah, it looked okay. In fact, it looked kind of fun.
My handler secured me on the saddle and started to walk the horse.
I’m not sure what exactly happened next, but something spooked the horse.
The horse responded by taking off on a full speed gallop around the ring. The handler tried to control the horse, but the horse won the battle and ended up dragging the handler around the ring.
People were screaming and yelling.
We made a couple of complete laps around the ring in this way until other handlers were able to help out and stop the horse.
That was my first horse ride.
So, horse riding hasn’t been high on my list of skills I need to master.
But I understand that some people are a little better with horses than I am.
I’ve included a video below showing one such person.
I’m pretty sure he didn’t have an initial horse-riding experience like I did, or he might have needed to pursue a different career.
Here are a couple of links I think you might like.
“Survivor of communist concentration camp makes peace with dying in US prison over peaceful pro-life protest” by Joseph MacKinnon.
“A Stellar Breakthrough in Fusion” by Jeff Brown.
This is only for those of you who enjoy reading about scientific advancements. Nuclear fusion offers great hope for creating clean energy in the future.
The Great Adventure by Clint Morey.
Okay, this is a novel I wrote a few years ago, but it’s on sale today and I thought you might want to check it out.
Before I go, I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today
Confessions of the Big Sky Writer