Out with the fellas tonight
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Monthly Archives: February 2009
What…MORE snow?
Wild horses couldn’t drag me away
While the loop road through the park is still closed, some of the horses stray close enough to the open roads to be worth the short hike to chase them. In this case they didn’t really do anything spectacular. It was neat to get up close to them, though. I’ve hiked a long ways out into the middle of the park in the summer while chasing these beasts, but never in the crusty snow. Before this past weekend, that is. Thankfully they weren’t far away. It was COLD! Trudging through crusted ice and snow in the Badlands’ already uneven terrain is one heck of a workout as well.
Hey, I found your missing pheasants
This is good news for any hunters who worried about the heavy snowfall preventing the pheasants from getting to their food. Apparently they’re still doing quite alright.
Last things first: a trio of contrails
Smoke on the water
What you see rising from power plants these days is steam, not smoke. That’s a really common misconception. That’s also why you rarely see emissions from a power plant on a warm day. A friend of mine told me the other day that since the two power generating units at Heskett are slightly different, sometimes you’ll see steam from one and not the other because of the temperature difference of the two. I’m told I may be doing some more power plant work in the near future, so I look forward to another close look at the process!
Night at the museum — well, capitol actually
We have a really neat capitol building. I’m grateful to have been able to poke around in it from time to time over the years. I’ve been up on the roof, frequent the observation deck, and seen a few other very interesting nooks and crannies, so to speak. Those were all during the daylight hours. To be able to photograph it at night was certainly a treat, one I won’t soon forget. I have other, cooler photos as well, with some funky angles and that sort of thing. Perhaps I’ll share those later. I can’t let ’em all out at once!
Farewell, Gentleman Wade (Updated with tribute)
I’ve known Wade since he joined KFYR back in the 1990s; since then I’ve had many noteworthy memories, even though our opportunities to see each other grew farther and farther apart. Guys get busy, you know…that’s just how it goes. I wish it wasn’t so. It seems like just a short time ago that Wade and I met up at Taco del Mar and chatted it up about what we’ve been up to, fatherhood, and that kind of thing. In reality it was months ago. That’s the last time I got to spend time with Wade.
We did a commercial for a furniture or mattress store many years ago, one where Wade played a guy who snuggled in under the covers of a comfy new mattress. It took a while for the nickname “Snuggly” to wear off. I had a printout of that shot somewhere in my souvenir box, but in my search for it tonight I came up empty handed. Bummer.
The photo above was from the Medora Musical on my honeymoon trip with my wife. I’d booked front row center tickets of course, planning a Medora weekend on our way back from a week in the middle of nowhere back in my beloved Rocky Mountains. We drove past the turn to Wade’s home near Grenora, ND and it prompted me to call his cell phone and say hi. When he heard we were coming, he arranged the VIP treatment and a backstage tour for us, and we got to chat with him and his family briefly before he left to prepare for the night’s show. He then congratulated us during the show. That’s just the kind-hearted, generous guy that Wade’s friends will all remember.
We used to hit the China Wok restaurant in Mandan on Sunday evenings, striking a friendship with the owners over time. When their visas came up for renewal, Wade took it upon himself to get his friends from the Sunday night dinners to sign testimonials to aid in their renewals.
As a guy in my late 30s (ahem), and a new Daddy to boot, it’s a shocker to have a friend and fellow family man snatched away so suddenly and so early. Of course one tries to make sense of it, but there’s no sense to be had. What we can do is take comfort in the message from his CaringBridge page: “Thank you for your love, support and prayers. Wade is at peace with God His Father and Jesus His Savior in the healing presence of the Holy Spirit.” The Bible talks about a peace that passes all understanding…I pray for that peace for his family and everybody who misses Gentleman Wade.
Updated: I remembered that I had a copy of a TV commercial Wade did for KNDX (Channel 26) back when they first went on the air. It was a “dance contest” making fun of contestants with the numbers of other local TV channels. It features Wade being Wade. I attached a brief tribute at the end. It isn’t much, but it’s a token of my respect for a friend. The music is a portion “In the Sweet By and By” performed by my friend Sarah.
I know there are lots of people out there who are touched by Wade’s passing as they were by his personality. Hopefully this will trigger some of your best memories as well.
Bale out
I did venture out of the truck a bit in this area. The snow was drifted in pretty hard, and it was solid enough in most places to keep me from breaking through. Of course, once I got way out there, I’d sink past my knees. Grrrr.
Fight the insidious homosexual agenda’s advance in North Dakota
I would gladly have given testimony at the Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, but couldn’t make it. I have, however, sent emails to my legislators. I urge you to do the same. It wouldn’t hurt to follow up with a phone call. The text of my email is below, and you can feel free to cut/paste relevant portions of it for your own email.
–Begin message–
I’m a constituent of District 30, and unfortunately was unable to attend the judicial committee meeting on SB 2278 this week. This is the bill to amend state law regarding discrimination by adding the term “sexual orientation”. I’m writing to voice my strong opposition to this bill. I have tried to find information on the status of this bill, but have been unable to do so. If it continues to the floor for a vote, I must urge you to vote NO on this bill, and to urge your fellow Representatives to do so as well.
Like those who founded our country, I’m a Christian. Because I believe the Bible, I believe that homosexuality and its variants are wrong. It’s my Constitutionally protected right to think so, and to exercise my beliefs freely. The people behind SB 2278 don’t agree with that; in fact, they want to legitimize their sinful act at the expense of the religious freedoms of others.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those wacky Westboro types that pickets funerals and the like. I actually joined the Patriot Guard to oppose those people. But I don’t appreciate having someone try to ram their sexual agenda down the throats of North Dakotans. I believe that homosexuality is an abomination according to the Bible, but so is ALL sin. That includes theft, adultery, lying, etc. Just because the physical manifestation of homosexuality is more offensive than the others doesn’t mean we’re singling it out. By the same token, we don’t have “thieves advocacy groups” pushing legislation trying to legitimize their sin, do we? There aren’t any “Liars’ Pride” parades that I know of. But there is a very strong pro-homosexual lobby; they seek to be legitimized by passing legislation guaranteeing that they get special status above other citizens, and that’s wrong.
One reason why legislation like this has been labeled “insidious” by legislators in other states such as Indiana which are evaluating “hate crimes” legislation is the “aid ,abet, or induce” part of it. If “sexual orientation” is added to this law, and a pastor preaches out of the Bible that homosexuality is wrong, these groups intend for the pastor to be prosecuted for any perceived “hate cimes” or “discrimination” against homosexuals by anyone who heard his sermon. They are not really interested in equal rights; their goal is to silence all opposition to their sin. They know that it is frowned upon by most Americans, so they wish to legislate the opposition into silence by fear of prosecution.
Case in point: my wife and I own a duplex. For years we have rented the other half of it to help make our house payment. We’ve rented to friends or acquaintances the whole time. If I wanted to list it as an available rental property, but declined to rent it to a homosexual couple because I don’t want this sin entering my home, the proponents of this bill would have me face legal penalty. My religious objections, guaranteed by the Free Exercise clause of the 1st Amendment as well as the section of ND state law that SB 2278 attempts to amend, would be irrelevant if these people had their way. I am not seeking legislation to hang Bible verses on the wall in their house; yet they are seeking the force of government to force me to allow their sin into mine.
People who chose homosexuality deserve no more protection under the law than the rest of us. They don’t want “equality” per se; if that was the case, they would not be trying to use the force of law to trump my freedom of religion. I believe that seemingly innocuous legislation like SB 2278 is the beginning of a slippery slope where the “rights” of people with deviant sexual practices take priority over the Constitutional freedoms guaranteed to all Americans. That’s the hidden agenda behind SB 2278, and the reason why I believe it deserves a resounding defeat.
Thank you for your time.
Clint F
Bismarck, ND
–End message–
I could add more to this post, but that email sums it up. Here are some resources for you in finding your legislators and making your voice heard. That’s the system of government we enjoy, folks…let’s make use of it!
These links will open in a new window. The PDF link will launch Adobe Reader on your computer.
Full text of SB 2278 (PDF format)
Find your legislative district, if you don’t know it already
Senate member directory, where you can find Senators for your legislative district
House member directory, where you can find Representatives for your legislative district
North Dakota Family Alliance, who fights the good fight while the rest of us neglect our duty to influence our government.
It’s time to get active, folks! Activist groups emboldened by their party’s success at the national level are going to be pushing their agendas harder than ever. It’s up to us to stop them. We have a form of government that only works if the people get involved in it. Our opposition has no problem getting their activists going; we need to do the same. If we don’t care enough to send an email or place a phone call, we get the government we deserve.