The rest of the country, at least out West, is broiling with drought and wildfires – so why was I cold this morning? After dropping off our dog Henry for one of his twice-weekly play dates at Furry Farms doggie daycare, I went down to Tacoma Narrows park to chase…

I first visited Yellowstone National Park (YNP) in early October 1975, when I was training at the Naval Nuclear Prototype facility that was  50 miles west of Idaho Falls. I qualified there to operate nuclear power plants on submarines. That first visit was memorable. Almost nothing was open and traffic…

This Memorial Day I’ve decided to post a photograph I have of the young men from The Hill, the Italian area of south St. Louis where I grew up, who were killed in World War II. Their last names are all familiar as I went to elementary school with kids…

Most people, if they have any self-awareness, take time at life’s transitions to reflect on their experiences and those with whom they shared those experiences. As they get to the point in life where the days ahead are much, much fewer than the days left behind, there is a poignancy…

Yesterday, Orvis posted the above letter on its Fly Fishing Page on Facebook. There were over  1,500 posts in response. From a very rough count, I estimate that anti-Orvis posts were running about three to one over those thanking Orvis for their letter. I assume that’s to be expected: there’s…

And, of course, the other pandemic is that of mass shootings in the United States. After the last year of shutdowns, social isolation, and fear of the COVID-19 virus, there were no mass shootings in public places in 2020; mass shootings are defined by the FBI as four or more…

Andy Rooney is credited with saying that “life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.” There is a good deal of truth in that statement whether he said it or not, but there is a big “but” – and…

The second day of the impeachment trial of ex-President Donald Trump focused on recreating the events and timeline of the insurrection on January 6th, 2021. The House managers presentations contained many shocking and terrifying images. But among the elements of those presentations the one that has chilled me most were…

For a civil society to exist, there has to be agreement on some facts. There can be no democracy without a civil society. So here are a number of facts. Joe Biden was elected as President on November 3rd, 2020 – there was no steal. Without the government and other…

Robert Traver, whose real name was John D. Voelker, was a lawyer, author, and fly fisherman from Upper Michigan. He is best known for the novel, Anatomy of a Murder, that was turned into a critically praised and popularly successful movie that starred Jimmy Stewart – it is considered one…