Author: CharliesTrail
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Still Smiling: 94-year-old cowboy loving ranch life
Sitting in a wheelchair by his wood stove at his cabin on Gilt Edge Stage, 94-year-old Eldon Snyder reads Louis L’amour’s “The Riders of High Rock,” entering the world of Hopalong Cassidy. “I’ve read a lot of books since I quit riding two years ago,” he said. “That’s one of the main things I do:…
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Seeing the Rolling Stones with my father – a trip of a lifetime
My dad is well known for his surprises. About two months before his 60th birthday, he Facetimed with a wild proposition. Drinking his Fresca, we locked eyes through the phone screen and he said, “You know how I have been thinking of doing something wild and crazy for my 60th birthday? Well, I think I…
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Keeping the New Year tradition alive, sort of
Read more. Exercise more. Get a girlfriend. Every year, Trevor and I would put our New Year’s resolutions under the shed behind his house on Madden Place. We were crazy then. Before we put the resolutions under the shed, we’d do the “polar bear club” lap of shame and run around Trevor’s house in our…
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It Truly Is A Wonderful Life: Lessons learned from a Christmas classic
On Christmas Eve this year, instead of going to church, I went to a different kind of service. My fiancée, her older sister, their mother and I went to the Art House Cinema and Pub in Billings to see Frank Capra’s 1946 classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I’d never seen this movie on the big…
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“Inner City Blues” experienced firsthand by rural reporter
“Hey, call the cops. I’ve just been shot,” the man said. He walked slow, appearing tired, worn and shocked. Had he been shot? The man held his arm and walked haltingly and uncomfortably to the nearest seat in the lobby of the Cincinnati Greyhound Station. I was there waiting to board a bus to Asheville,…
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Six days alone: Lewistown man found in Little Belts
Monday, Oct. 30 was just another day for 83-year-old Tacoma, Washington native Donald Maesner, but it would lead to six days of desolation and near starvation on an isolated road in the Little Belts. An avid hunter who just moved from Moore to Lewistown about two months ago, Maesner thought he’d go explore the Little…
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Wibaux band rocks the Gem at album-release party
“Versatile, talented and entertaining, Mighty Big Jim and the Tall Boys are exactly what you want for a house band. In a town of 600 just miles out from the North Dakota border, they’re especially rare, and, on Feb. 17, they were very much appreciated.”
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“100 Happy Days” a worthwhile challenge
A few months ago, I noticed a friend of mine in Louisville, Kentucky taking a different approach to Facebook. Instead of complaining about politics or venting about something else that bothered her, like so many of her friends were doing, she thought she’d focus on the positive, challenging herself to post something upbeat for 100…
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Learning to live with a cat…again
Despite growing up with a cat named Phil, I’ve always considered myself more of a dog person. Don’t get me wrong: Phil was great (rest in peace, buddy). However, I found myself bonding more with our Labradors. Phil and I were cool, but the dogs were always up for attention and always excited to see…
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Why I Love the NBA
Editor’s note: Yesterday, Indiana Pacers star Paul George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for former IU standout Victor Oladipo and Arvydas Sabonis’ son, Domantas. This is the end of an era for the Pacers…again, and, sadly, one that only brought us to the Eastern Conference Finals a couple times (against LeBron’s Heat, and…
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