Winter Perspectives of “A Reservation Recluse”.

Greetings and a bright good morning!

As I opened the door of my truck this morning, one could feel a change in the morning air.  What was crisp and bitter cold yesterday, was moist and slightly warm this morning.  The clouds hovering close to the ground blanketed the gravel road as it meandered through the woods.

 

The trees once frocked with Chrystal, diamond like moss now dripped, as if sweating after a long mid summer’s day run….  The sun, not yet playing its game in the morning air, did not reflect off the moisture, so there was no shimmer or shine…  Only the mist, which caressed the branches, making them look as if something wicked was hiding within the Scottish moors of the Highlands.

Yet this was not Scotland.. It was Montana and I was high in the Rocky Mountains questioning, “How the hell it was -53 below last night, and 43 above this morning….”  I got into the truck listening as the starter cranked the twin-powered diesel engine to life.  “Yes, life was good this morning.”  If lucky, we would reach close to 50 degrees by mid afternoon.

It does not take one long to adapt to Montana weather….  It is just the shock of the first encounter.  Either extreme, is like running head first into an invisible wall…. It stops you cold In your tracks.   You assess, adapt, and you overcome….  One has no time to adjust…..  Adjustment leaves one complacent and out here, complacency can kill you….

 

You always have to be prepared… 15 minutes away from your vehicle at -53 below and you turn into your favorite Popsicle….  A 100 degree change in the weather can leave one sliding down and over an embankment, trapped until spring thaw, as no one is likely to find you once you are off the mountain road, where there is little traffic anyway.  It leaves one thinking that “today is not really a good time to die.”  So, we take the offence and live….

 

That is what life is about in the Mountains… Living, thriving on what life throws at you, enjoying the moment rather than complaining on what was, could have been or might be;  an old concept in today’s modern world of entitlement and passive complacency, but a concept that still works and is alive here.

The trek down the Mountain was uneventful….  I followed the mist as it hit the blacktop and as I topped a small ridge, I could see the fog as it blanketed the valley below…  Some would say an inversion and bad “air” day, but it was mystical to me.... Life is good...

I am told it will be back to -10 and below soon.  With the change, we will get snow as it approaches freezing….  February is still winter in Montana…. And Spring Time In The Rockies can leave ones tongue stuck on the metal pole of a Grade School Playground.  March I am afraid might not bring us much relief either; only a clearer vision of what maybe to come….

 

Hopefully, that is water, a slow melt and spring run-off that lifts the draught we have had for the past few years….  We do so need the moisture….  But the bitter cold? 

Well, enough of my disorganized thought and rambling mind.. Tonight I head to The Original Montana Club where a quality bourbon and a good steak await….  Then again, maybe just a mineral water with a slice of lime and a vegan salad….  No, just kidding….  That stuff will kill ya..

   

So until later… the choice is yours, adjust or live… be entitled and demand or grab that brass ring with both hands and take some responsibility for yourself, your family, your county…  


All old fashion ideals, but from where I stand they are alive and well.  The world is not standing still and history does repeat itself….  Does one “Stand and Deliver” or does one give way to the tide of social pressure of compromise and complacency…  And, when does compromise eat way at ones basic values until one no long has them….  I forgot, we should not ask those questions.  It just might offend someone...

I have made my choice.  Have you made yours….  I think you have.. Now, can you withstand the consequence of that decision…  I hope so…  I stand by mine….

 

Until next time, keep your tongue off metal poles and your hands to yourself…  Talk less, listen more and for God’s sake remember that something’s are worth fighting for and other things are not for sale, no matter the price….  It’s something we all know but some of us have forgotten….