Category: Uncategorized
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‘Learning to fly’ — and feeling right at home
At a recent gathering in eastern Montana I ran into friend and lead guitar player Mark Iwaniak, who lives in Butte. I’d been looking forward to seeing Mark – with whom I’ve played shows through the years – to tell him I’d taken a job as editor of the Boulder Monitor and was now in…
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Remembering Jim “Mighty Big” Devine
The passing of Jim Devine has been a tremendously difficult loss for me, as we were brothers in harmony. We were songwriters and performers together. We were kindred spirits. These are the hardest friends to lose. I’m still processing his death, and will be doing so by continuing on our passion. I’ll be finishing the…
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Why I’m returning to journalism
It’s good to be back. For more than a decade I was a reporter for twice-weekly Montana newspapers in Glendive and Lewistown. Before that, I was regularly contributing to one publication or another. Journalism consumed me. Looking back, it was a no-brainer for me to pursue this career path. I’d always had a passion for…
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Show stoppers
“You pretend I’m Laura and I’ll pretend you’re Christian,” Jamie said, putting her hand on my thigh and leaning into me as we watched a production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at an outdoor theater on the coast of St. Ives, England. The Atlantic was calm, but brought with it a cool breeze perfect…
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Remembering (and celebrating) Kobe’s greatness
On May 15, 2021, Kobe Bryant was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Below is an entry I wrote in my journal shortly before the coronavirus changed all our lives. Here is updated version of a journal entry I wrote on Kobe, one of the best we’ll ever see. It was a…
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All aboard the “Zhu Choo”
During the pandemic, ZHU, an electronic dance musician and Grammy-nominated recording artist, has made it a mission to “bring people to a place where they’ve never been.” He’s streamed from the mountains of western Japan, the sand dunes of southwestern Utah, and now Central Montana’s Charlie Russell Chew Choo. In the 49-minute video called “Billings…
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Choosing happiness in a time of uncertainty
Looking for something upbeat? Based on the novel by French writer Francois Lelord, “Hector and the Search for Happiness” is a fitting watch for the moment, as it takes the viewer on a journey to discover what it means to be happy. Hector (Simon Pegg), a London psychiatrist struggling both personally and professionally, impulsively goes…
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Paying tribute to Grandpa, the most grateful man I’ve known
On Saturday, April 18, my grandfather Marshall Cheek Kidd passed away. He had just turned 97, and, for the first time, was really starting to feel his age. The life of the party was slowing down, both physically and mentally. It was hard to believe, but the man with the gift of gab suddenly had…
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Local musicians, artists go “live” to lift spirits
It was February of 2007. I was in New Orleans with my friend Daniel – a native – celebrating his first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the impassioned city, its impact still widely spread. Daniel’s home had significant water damage and some of his friends were still crashing in FEMA trailers. New Orleans,…
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Be pleasant this holiday season
“Years ago my mother used to say, “In this world you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.” – Elwood P. Dowd, “Harvey” Sixty-nine years after its release, there’s still a lot we can learn from “Harvey,” especially Elwood P. Dowd, one of Jimmy Stewart’s…
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