Bear Paw Meanderings

First an update about the length of what is left of winter. As most readers know, in the west our ground hogs are marmots. We are fortunate living where we do because in the Bear Paw Mountains, on Clear Creek and far up White Pine Gulch lives a resident predictor of winter named Marmaduke Marmot. Sure enough there was a gathering in front of his instinctively through crevice and burrow, February 2, when he came out to see if he would see his shadow or not. Well, gentle readers up White Pine that morning there was a terrible blizzard raging and all of White Pine was in a dreadful whiteout.

Marmaduke took one look out of his door and saw only white, no shadow, proclaimed winter to be over and went back to bed for another two months. And that is the way it is so far as winter is concerned in our neck of the woods. It might not be Gobbler’s Neck but it is a pretty good neck at that.

I see that this week is Flag Day. That is the day that many people hang their United States flag out on the front porch. You don’t see that nearly as much as you once did for many, many people keep a flag out with a light on it night and day all year long to show that they are proud of their country and proud of their flag.

I love our National Anthem because it starts out, “Oh say can you see if our flag is still there.”

And all these days later it has remained there through thick and thin, guarding this great nation.

We are a dreadfully split nation these days. I wonder if we will ever get to be these United States again. It seems to me that so many people who get elected are just so worried about getting reelected that they can’t do anything that disturbs their base in the slightest way!

That is not how it happens in a representative democracy. Elected officials represent all the people and they have to realize that government has to work and can only work when they get together, not when they stand apart.

So, if this Flag Day brings us together for just a few hours to honor our flag and to honor our great nation, maybe those silly people will get together for a few more hours and get something done!

Hope springs eternal!