-
Earth Day 2013: The Papal Edition
April 22, 2013 | 22 comments
-
Is God a Methodist?
April 15, 2013 | 57 comments
-
A Status Quo Budget at Best
April 11, 2013 | 9 comments
-
Marriage Issue Will Not Go Away
April 2, 2013 | 87 comments
-
Shakespeare’s Henry V Commands the Stage
March 11, 2013 | 10 comments
A Further Perspective
Wyoming Bound
Memorial Day weekend in the Equality State.
A combination of family ties and a love of the high country led my wife and me to Cody, Wyoming, this past Memorial Day weekend.
On the flight out of Denver, we had the opportunity to visit with retired Senator Alan K. Simpson (R-WY) who should be drawing combat pay for serving as Co-Chair on the President’s new National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
The Senator was kind enough to look at a recent article of mine for TAS on the current budgetary and entitlement crisis. He, in turn, gave me a copy of an article by a professor from Syracuse University which argues, among other things, that the already miserable budget projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) are based on ridiculously optimistic assumptions in terms of future GDP growth and interest rates.
But we were on vacation, and the conversation soon turned to more important matters: our lovely daughter’s work, just north of Cody, at a working ranch for “at risk” teenage girls; the prospects for a young person in Wyoming; and, of course, Yellowstone and, our favorite, Grand Teton National Parks.
We took a late dinner and slept soundly after a long day of travel. Early the next morning, we met our daughter for Mass at St. Anthony’s Church in Cody, right next to the very impressive Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
Parenthetically, I should note that the Center is actually five museums in one, encompassing firearms, Western art, Plains Indian Peoples, Buffalo Bill and the American West and the nature of the Yellowstone basin. Talk about market segmentation! We were particularly impressed with its collection of paintings and sculptures by Remington, Russell, Bierstadt, Catlin and N.C. Wyeth. It is a very impressive institution and a source of tremendous local pride as one learns after just a few conversations with the good folks working there.
Back at St. Anthony’s our celebrant, Father Joseph, a Nigerian priest of high energy, gave good value with a rousing sermon on the importance of loving one another, especially husbands and wives — and it wasn’t even Sunday. He also offered a heartfelt prayer for the soldiers and police officers “who protect us.” This was certainly appreciated with Memorial Day soon upon us.
Father Joseph insisted that we join him for coffee afterwards in the rectory where the walls were covered with trophy heads of moose, elk and deer with a few bear skins on the floor. The pastor, Father Joseph’s boss, is a serious hunter.
Father Joseph is now assigned to the Cheyenne Diocese and, as with most priests in that part of the world, rides the circuit for those parishes without clergy. He also travels around the country raising money for the Church back in his homeland.
In Jackson and Powell, Wyoming, priests from the Philippines and Detroit celebrated the Eucharist in their respective parishes.
As Yogi Berra said, upon learning that Robert Briscoe, who was Jewish, was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1956, “Only in America.”
Our daughter works and lives north of Cody and east of Yellowstone. This part of Wyoming is not at all gentrified by Hollywood stars or Dotcom moguls. It is working ranch and farm country, amidst spectacular, challenging landscapes, both basin and range. People there know each other well, and many are kinsmen with deep roots in the neighborhood. Protestant, Catholic and Mormon churches are thick on the ground in the few towns in the area.
At a local Baptist Church, near Clark, Wyoming, we saw several horses tethered outside, along with numerous trailers containing even more animals, awaiting worshippers who were probably looking forward to a bit of exercise after services.
On all the farms and ranches, we could see piping strewn across the ground for irrigation purposes. This, along with the numerous reservoirs and canals throughout the region, reminded us that this was very arid country which does not yield its bounty without great toil and effort.
I often recall my father describing Wyoming as the state where men are men and women are governors. It was the first state to elect a woman to that top executive job. Not for nothing is it called the Equality State. The sense of community and egalitarianism is palpable and far removed from the stratified and divided society of Washington, D.C. and its suburbs.
About the Author
G. Tracy Mehan, III served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the administrations of both Presidents Bush. He is a consultant in Arlington, Virginia, and an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (24) | Leave a comment
More Articles by G. Tracy Mehan, III
More Articles From A Further Perspective
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/04/wyoming-bound
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Bill| 6.4.10 @ 9:53AM
Don't forget that Wyoming appears to be the National Pronghorn Antelope Refuge as well! There are more pronghorns to the square foot in Wyoming than anywhere else in the USA.
Alan Brooks| 6.4.10 @ 11:33PM
Don't forget Casper.
A great energy city-- or town.
I don't know when a town becomes big enough to be called a city.
mike| 6.4.10 @ 11:05AM
You might like the series of novels by CJ Box (if you haven't already read them). His main character is a Wyoming state wildlife officer who gets into all sorts of situations there.
Bill Croke| 6.4.10 @ 11:39AM
A great piece about a place very dear to my heart, Obama publicist Big Al notwithstanding. I used to work in security at the BBHC and hike in Clarks Fork Canyon. It was all there. Well done.
Connie Patterson| 6.4.10 @ 11:58AM
The following quote accurately describes MOST of Wyoming...not just the part visited by the author:
"This part of Wyoming is not at all gentrified by Hollywood stars or Dotcom moguls. It is working ranch and farm country, amidst spectacular, challenging landscapes, both basin and range. People there know each other well, and many are kinsmen with deep roots in the neighborhood. Protestant, Catholic and Mormon churches are thick on the ground in the few towns in the area."
Mary| 6.4.10 @ 3:08PM
In a land of breathtakingly beautiful scenery, it's moving to note that it was the people that you encountered that told the story of your trip to Wyoming. How encouraging it is to hear about your daughter and Father Joseph, who left their homes and families to care for others. And regarding Bill's comment, we also had quite a few pronghorn in rural Colorado, too!
Walden| 6.4.10 @ 3:14PM
Obama would be wise to visit places such as Wyoming. It is places like Wyoming where America "happens." Not Chicago, not DC, not San Francisco. His idea of America is so vastly distorted. If he only knew of the tens of millions of us who like our good old Country just as it is, are proud of it's heritage. You know, people who take personal responsibility, don't look to others (or the govt) for a handout, go to church, work hard, toil on the land. Oh, but I digress.
Ann| 6.4.10 @ 6:09PM
This piece brought tears to my eyes. Al;though I love Maine, where I live, its' gotten so hard to be a Catholic here I wish I'd moved to WY 25 years ago when I had an opportunity.
Marcus Boyd | 6.4.10 @ 6:40PM
I worked in Wyoming for a few years on Pipeline projects for CONOCO. The country folks are Gold. I am retired now and may move to Cheyenne some day.
Eddie| 6.4.10 @ 7:53PM
Wyoming and a couple other states are on my Bucket List to visit. My cousin flies out there 2 or 3 times a year and if there ever was a true God's Country, Wyoming is it and those Tetons reach to touch His face. Thanks for the nice article. Makes this Tennessee boy want to roam!
Walden| 6.4.10 @ 9:04PM
Eddie-
I'm a Tennessee boy myself, and believe me, Wyoming will do your heart good!
ReNae| 6.5.10 @ 2:44AM
Your column makes me smile. Wyoming has been my home for 45 years and I love it. Thanks for the tribute and for you and your daughters. This really is one of the best places on Earth.
Jeff Jacques | 6.5.10 @ 4:42PM
Thank you so much for this very good portrait of what Wyoming is all about. I grew up in Powell, WY and I’m proud of what the State, the people and what the great outdoors taught me there. Most of the people from Wyoming are tough, independent and conservative people. It’s what America use to be. I’ll be passing this along to all the great people I know in Wyoming. Thank you again for the awesome write-up on my home State.
Angie| 6.5.10 @ 8:09PM
Awesome writeup of Big Wonderful Wyoming!
I grew up aboout 60 miles from Cody and have family there still. I'm sorry you had to miss the rodeo in Cody but that makes a good excuse to visit your daughter again soon :)
I have a great fondness for the Wyoming bucking bronc license plates; to me it's symbolic of the wild land that's hard to tame.
Wyoming is still about individual responsibility in the pursuit of your own happiness. Most people think of it as a hick state but it was ahead of the pack in women's rights. Wyoming allowed women the vote even before it became a state - about 50 years before any other state passed "suffrage". Wyoming also recognized a woman's right to own property and seated them on juries.
Cliffdweller| 6.6.10 @ 7:36PM
Ah, life in the wide open spaces. "For those who like that sort of thing, that's the sort of thing they would like" - A. Lincoln
fdjk| 7.1.10 @ 4:28AM
beijing massage
guo | 7.1.10 @ 5:20AM
www.wmvconverterformac.com