I have a confession. I am a middle aged muni-ac. "Muni" is short for mountain unicycle. A mountain unicycle is to a regular unicycle what a mountain bike is to a street bike. A muni has a big, knobby tire; a heavy duty frame; durable cranks; and metal studded pedals. In other words, a muni is tough enough to tackle mountain trails, go down stairs and do tricks.
We recently added three munis to our collection that now totals seven unicycles hanging on the garage wall. The others include two 6-foot giraffes, a 20-inch unicycle and my old 24-inch Schwinn, which suffered a bent hub after an untimely "incident" involving my teenage son. I ride a yellow and black 24-inch Onza which Jace found on Craigslist in Madison, Wisconsin, after the "incident." Jace then purchased a new, orange and black 24-inch Nimbus online. Then last Christmas, I found a red and black Torker muni on Craiglist in Spokane for my daughter Hallie.
The Holyoak Collection
What makes unicycling so appealing to me, other than its unique head-turning nature, is that it can be a family affair. And that's certainly the case for me. I first started riding when I was about 12 or 13 years old. My brother had a Schwinn with a 20-inch wheel. He outgrew it so he started riding a 24-inch Schwinn and passed the little one down to me. When I outgrew it, I got a 24-incher and passed the little one down to my sister.
With the kids on Kootenai Creek Trail
Cooling off on the trail
One generation later, I find myself trying to keep up with my son and daughter. I can ride as well as ever, but they are more advanced in trick riding--riding without a seat, riding one-footed, wheel walking (putting both feet on the tire and moving the unicycle forward without touching the pedals), bouncing and jumping over obstacles, etc. But what we really enjoy is trail riding. There's nothing like heading into the mountains and facing the challenges of rugged trails, steep drop-offs, and seeing occasional wildlife along the way. We were a ways up a rugged trail in the Bitterroot Mountains a year ago when we came across some hikers. They looked at us like "What in the heck are you guys doing up here?" It's such a workout, such great bonding time, and such a blast.
But it's not just all Holyoak family, all the time either. Earlier this month, we put out the word in an effort to draw more unicyclists to the Bike for Shelter--a popular bicycling fundraiser for the Watson Children's Shelter in Missoula. It worked. We ended up taking along two friends and met three new friends who also ride. Now we look forward to getting together for some group trail rides this summer.
The Big Sky Muni-acs
I guess what I really enjoy is the adrenaline. Jace and I experienced the ultimate in adrenaline last summer when we took our munis up to the chairlift at Snowbowl Ski Resort above Missoula and rode them five miles to the bottom (see video below). We later paid the price because we were e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y sore for four days to follow, but what a great memory. We plan on making a return trip this summer, but this time with Hallie and perhaps with some of our new one-wheelin' friends too. As for other endeavors this summer--more trail riding and possibly a backpacking trip on one wheel into the back-country. After all, that's what being a muni-ac is all about, right?
There's no way around it. I am getting old. When I was a kid, I thought people my current age would soon drop off and die at any moment. I don't have a problem with getting old. In fact, enjoy it. Well, I enjoy most of it.
I just finished up a month-long odyssey of getting contacts/glasses for the "first" time in my life. (I actually had reading glasses during my college years because I spent so much time studying in the library. No really, I did.) I didn't realize how lucky I was. All three of my siblings got glasses when they were just kids and my parents wore them for years too. I wanted to find contacts I could wear on the news set and when I play sports, but I also knew I'd need glasses.
I was somewhat naive thinking the contacts/glasses would be just the same as my previous 20-20 vision with naked eyes. Distance contacts allowed me to see distant mountain peaks with clarity, but my hands in front of me were fuzzy. I tried three different kinds of multi-focal contact lenses in one eye with distance contacts in the other, but couldn't seem to focus on anything. My best combination ended up being a distance contact in my right eye while putting nothing in my left. That allows me to see the prompter and the scripts on the news desk. My glasses are blended bifocals which are kind of funky, but I'm still getting used to them. The funny thing is when I work at my desk on the computer, I still don't wear contacts or glasses. Making adjustments is just part of getting old I guess.
I did get some interesting comments from friends when I showed up on air wearing glasses for the first time. "You look smarter." "You look more dignified." "You look more distinguished." My personal favorite was "you look more believable." Hey thanks...uh...wait a minute! All nice compliments, but then again, if I now look more dignified, distinguished and believable, what does that mean for how I looked before. Hmmm...
Another sign of getting "old" happens every time I get my haircut. The funny thing is the hair that falls on the floor looks dark, but the hair remaining on my heads looks lighter and lighter. How is that possible?
There are definitely some benefits of getting old. I enjoy aging with my wife, who doesn't seem to show it. I enjoy watching my children grow and learn. I also enjoy "playing" with them. I know I'm not getting too old because they continually say things to me like "Dad, why don't you act your age?" or "Gosh, why don't you grow up?" I'll take those as compliments.
Luckily, I have had a very healthy life and remain quite active. A year in my life is not divided up by "four seasons," but by multiple seasons. There's hunting season, hockey season, basketball season, hiking season, unicycling season, softball season, canoeing season, fly fishing season, floating the river season, etc. Maybe staying active helps keep me "young." A couple of years back, four of my hockey teammates (members of the local Missoula Maulers junior hockey team who I could rarely keep up with) were about a third of my age. I had a rec league hockey teammate recently tell me he thought I was ten years younger than I am. I'll definitely take that as a compliment.
So yeah, I don't have a problem getting old but perhaps Mark Twain said it best: "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." I couldn't agree more.
I don’t know exactly what it is but I find them intriguing, rugged, and yet curiously “cuddly.”
One of my favorite all-time photos is of a black bear sitting at a picnic table. Its ears are erect, as is its posture. The look on its face is priceless–patient, polite and expectant. You can almost read his thoughts: “Okay, I’m ready. Please present me a pot roast or a huckleberry pie.”
Bears have an agility and athleticism I find surprising. How is it a black bear that weighs anywhere from 150 to 250 pounds has the balance to climb across a rope and reach the edible “prize” inside a bird house? The pictures just crack me up.
Maybe my curiosity comes from several close encounters. One morning while canoeing on the Bitterroot River with my wife and two youngest kids not far from my home, we saw something swim across the river about 500 yards downstream. As we got closer, we realized it was a black bear. When we silently floated by, we saw it standing on its hind legs eating berries off a bush. It turned, saw us, got this look of horror on its face and started sprinting up the mountainside at full speed. At that point, we whooped and hollered as it never broke stride until lumbering out of sight. A great memory.
A couple of summers ago, I was fly fishing with my brother on a stream in the Bitterroot Mountains. As I worked hole after hole, I heard a branch snap. I looked up and there was a black bear about 30 feet up a tree some 25 yards from where I stood. I yelled to my brother to come see. The bear’s head shot around, its ears immediately perked up and there was that look of horror again. It flew down that tree like a fireman shooting down a fire pole, snapping off branches along the way. I was fascinated as I watched, then quickly realized I hoped it was spooked and not angry. After all, I don’t think I could fend it off with a 5-weight fly fishing rod. Luckily, when he hit the ground, he bolted the opposite direction from me into the underbrush. Good times!
My job opened the door for several up close experiences. One time I was with wildlife biologists as they transferred a young grizzly who got stuck in a bear resistant garbage container back into the wild, but they made me stay in my truck as it bounded away to freedom.
Several years ago, I accompanied a group of wildlife biologists into the backcountry above Seeley Lake with a camera to get video of their work for a grizzly bear population study. Much like when I hunt in grizzly country, we kept checking over our shoulders to make sure nothing was sneaking up on us.
A couple of years later, as part of that same study, I discovered hilarious motion-sensitive video of grizzly and black bears rubbing up against trees. They became known as the “dancing bears.”
My best memory is one I shared with the world. On September 9, 2003, I grabbed a camera and headed out on my dinner break to check on the report of a black bear up a tree in the Missoula city limits. One thing led to another and the tranquilized bear fell out of the tree, bounced on a trampoline, went airborne, then plummeted back to earth and landed on its face. The video went across the country and around the world in a matter of days.)
I do hope to have more bear encounters and I think my fascination with them will only increase over time. Now, if I could just see a grizzly in the wild–as long as it’s not my final encounter EVER (if you know what I mean.)
Do lawmakers really look out for the taxpayers who elect them? Do they understand where the money comes from that supports public programs and pays their salaries? In this day and age of budget deficits and threats of government shutdowns I really wonder if they do.
Here's a prime example. On April 1 (yeah, April Fool's Day), Missoula County Commissioners joined three environmental groups by filing a lawsuit against the Montana Department of Transportation. They are concerned about MDOT's decision to approve a plan by Imperial Oil Company to ship 207 massive shipments of oil refinery equipment through Montana into Canada. Let's see, the Missoula County Commission is funded by taxpayer money. The Montana Department of Transportation is funded by taxpayer money. Am I missing something here? Why in the heck would a county government use taxpayer money to knowingly sue another public organization funded by taxpayer money? Why?!? The National Wildlife Federation, Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Montana Environmental Information Center were already filing suit on their own. Why did Missoula County join in? Is this a belligerent, all-knowing, chest-pounding stand of "we know what's better for your money than you do?"
You can agree or disagree with allowing "megaloads" to travel through Missoula County, but that's NOT the issue. The issue is our elected government leaders consciously made a decision to use taxpayer money in a lawsuit against another public organization that also uses taxpayer money. We interviewed Missoula County Chairperson Jean Curtiss. She explained the commissioners' actions by saying, "This was kind of a last resort. It wasn't something that we weighed lightly, but we decided that we needed to get these questions answered and this was the only way to get it done." Really?
When our reporter asked Curtiss how much this suit will cost the taxpayer, her response was nothing because the county will use existing resources the county attorney is already paid for his work for the county. Really? It costs the county nothing? Time is money! And in this case, time dedicated to an environmental suit by the county commission is time the county attorney does not dedicate to working with law enforcement to prosecute criminals. Besides, commissioners are using our money to sue the state, which also uses our money.
It's only fitting Missoula County filed suit on April Fool's Day because this is a joke! But the thing is, I don't think any of us taxpayers are laughing. Are you? The bottom line is the joke is on us!
"It's the most wonderful time of the year." Ah yes, Andy Williams certainly got that right when he released his classic song in 1963, but why did he wait so long to record it when the NCAA Tournament actually began more than two decades earlier.
March Madness truly is a wonderful time of the year. For me, it holds many wonderful memories. Watching the tournament was a family affair at my house. My two older brothers, my parents, younger sister and I would bust out the popcorn and enjoy evening after evening of hoops.
Cliff & Antoine
I grew up in Wichita, Kansas following the Wichita State Shockers as a teenager. In 1980-81, the Shocks rode the excitement of bookend forwards Antoine Carr and Cliff Levingston, who helped WSU lead the nation in dunks, into the NCAA Tournament. The great thing that year is that the University of Kansas was in the same bracket. At that time, "big bad" KU would not agree to play Wichita State during the regular season. In fact, the Kansas legislature even talked about passing a bill that would require in-state schools to play each other. As it turned out, both teams advanced to the Midwest Regional in New Orleans. Mike Jones hit a bomb in the final seconds and the "Battle of New Orleans" went to the Shockers. Gold and black billboards went up all over town that simply read "66-65." WSU ended up losing in the Midwest Region final to Louisiana State, but finished the season with a 26-7 record and major bragging rights over the Jayhawks.
In that same tournament, I watched my then "future" Alma mater in one of the greatest NCAA finishes nobody every talks about. Danny Ainge, recently passed as BYU's all-time leading scorer by Jimmer Fredette, went coast-to-coast against in the final seconds as the Cougars knocked Notre Dame out of the tournament. It was also the last time since this year that BYU advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
Watching March Madness on TV is one thing, but being there in person is much, much better. While I attended BYU during the mid 1980s, I had the chance to attend first and second round NCAA Tournament games for several years at either the University of Utah or Weber State University. It was truly glorious--skip out of class and watch basketball all day for days with my brothers and roommates. Among the highlights was watching St. John's University with Chris Mullin, Walter Berry and Bill Wennington roll through the West bracket and eventually into the Final Four. I remember another year watching a well-tanned white forward at Central Michigan University who did it all--long jumpers, spin moves inside and impressive dunks. He was Dan Marjle, who went on to be a first-round draft pick and played 14 years in the NBA.
Kimble, Gathers & Fryer
But the most impressive performance, by far, was by Loyola-Marymount in the 1988 NCAA Tournament. The Lions started the season with a 2-3 record, but then rolled into the NCAA Tournament with 22 consecutive victories behind the "run and gun" style preached by former Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Paul Westhead. Hank Gathers was the inside force while Bo Kimble and Jeff Fryer bombed away from the outside. Incredibly, LMU averaged 110 points a game, topped the 100-point mark 20 times, and scored a season-high 164 points versus Azusa Pacific earlier in the season! Westhead was all about having his players push the tempo to an almost incomprehensibly frantic pace, and they excelled at it.
Thousands of Wyoming fans stuffed the upper bowl at the University of Utah arena, but they were silenced in an unbelievable, jaw-dropping performance. LMU would sprint down court, chuck up a long jumper and swish! Kimble...swish! Gathers...dunk! Fryer....swish! Swish! Dunk! Swish! Swish! Layup! Swish! There's really no way to describe what we saw that day. My two brothers, two roommates and I cheered and cheered and cheered. At times, we were so amazed all we could do is look at each other and laugh. Wyoming fans weren't laughing. The Cowboys were so out of sinc that off the opening tip of the second half, Wyoming had a 3-on-1 break, but stopped at the free throw line and pulled the ball out in an attempt to slow the pace. The crowd roared in disbelief. At the end of the 119-115 LMU victory, the entire crowd rose to its feet as one for an extended standing ovation. The final stat line told the story. The Lions took an amazing 82 shots and hit 42 of them, including seven 3-pointers. Gaines, Gathers and Fryer combined for 65 points themselves. It was truly the most amazing game I have ever seen in person. Two weeks later, a group of us Kansans huddled in our house and watched the University of Kansas beat Oklahoma for the NCAA Championship. (Two years later, on March 4, 1990, Gathers tragically collapsed and died during a game with a heart muscle disorder.)
Fresh out of college, I took a job as a television sportscaster in Topeka, Kansas. Little did I know then, but that began a streak of covering at least one college team in 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including nine straight appearances for the Kansas Jayhawks, four trips for the Kansas State Wildcats and two trips to the NCAA Division II tournament quarterfinals for the Washburn Ichabods. I later took another job as a sportscaster in Spokane, Washington in 1998 where I witnessed Gonzaga thrust itself onto the NCAA scene in a big way as the Zags made their first of 13 (and still counting) trips to the NCAAs.
Mark's March Madness Resume
1989 KSU lost to Minnesota (in Greensboro, NC*)
1990 KSU lost to Xavier
KU defeated Robert Morris, lost to UCLA
1991 KU def New Orleans, Pitt, Indiana, Arkansas, N Carolina, lost to Duke in national championship (Sweet 16 & Elite Eight in Charlotte*)
1992 KU def Howard, lost to UTEP
1993 KU def Ball State, BYU, Cal, Indiana, lost to N Carolina in national semifinal (Final Four in New Orleans*)
KSU lost to Tulane
Washburn in Division II tournament (in Springfield, MA*)
1994 Washburn in Division II tournament (in Springfield, MA*)
KU def Chattanooga, Wake Forest, lost to Purdue
1995 KU def Colgate, W Kentucky, lost to Virginia (Dayton, OH*)
1996 KU def S Carolina St, Santa Clara, Arizona, lost to Syracuse (Tempe, AZ*)
KSU lost to N Mexico
1997 KU def Jackson St, Purdue, lost to Arizona
1998 KU def Prairie View A&M, lost to Rhode Island
1999 Gonzaga def Minnesota, Stanford, Florida, lost to UConn (Seattle & Phoenix*)
2000 Gonzaga def Louisville, St. Johns, lost to Purdue (Albuquerque & Tucson*)
2001 Gonzaga def Virginia, Indiana St, lost to Michigan St (Memphis & Atlanta*)
2002 Gonzaga lost to Wyoming
(Mark's NCAA Tournament road trips)
So many live shots, so many interviews, so many stories told, so many extremely long days, yet so many memories....
In 1989, I traveled with the Kansas State Wildcats to Greensboro, North Carolina. While sitting on press row, the official game day scorecard listed the Kansas State "Jayhawks." Ouch!
In 1991, the real Jayhawks upset Arkansas and North Carolina to earn a berth into the Final Four. The flight home was a real kick. The radio crew played the rebroadcast of the final minutes over the airplane speakers. As the team charter approached Topeka, we could see throngs of people on the ground. They held huge banners. Thousands stuffed themselves into the terminal. There was a band, cheerleaders and throngs of screaming fans. It was like a rock concert, yet we were on center stage as we came off the plane. I walked right off the plane, into the terminal, and went right on the air.
March of 1993 was madness as its most intense level. First, I flew by myself as a "one man band" to Springfield, Massachusetts to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals with Washburn University. While the Ichabods (yes, that's their mascot) lost their opener, I had the chance to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame. Wow, what an incredible place.
Later that same month, the Jayhawks made another run to the Final Four. This time, I got to the call to cover it in my hometown of New Orleans. It was my first trip there since we moved away when I was six. Again, I went by myself but I hooked up with a reporter and photographer from our sister station in Wichita. Again, many live shots and many long hours. One evening, we ate in the French Quarter. I had crayfish, crocodile and other Cajun goodies that were scary looking, but oh so yummy. The game was intriguing. KU, coached by North Carolina grad and North Carolina native Roy Williams, going up against North Carolina, coached by Kansas grad and Kansas native Dean Smith. Plus Coach Roy was an assistant under Smith before he came to Kansas. The game was in the Superdome. Carolina won so our stay was shorter than we and the Jayhawks hoped.
In 1994, another trip to Springfield with Washburn. I visited Holyoke College, an all girls school, where I really wanted to get a sweatshirt, but the school was closed for spring break. I settled for a Holyoke Sporting Goods t-shirt instead. The Ichabods won their opener but lost in the national semifinals.
In 1995, I accompanied the Jayhawks to Dayton, Ohio. We got up early on game day and had some time to burn so a photographer and I visited the Air Force Museum. Wow! I am not really a museum kind of guy, but this was fascinating. We saw everything from the Wright Brothers first plane to space capsules that landed on the moon. We probably spent 3 to 4 hours there and could have spent at least that much longer there.
In 1996, we drove from Topeka to Tempe to cover the Jayhawks in the Sweet 16. We shot a road trip story along the way. As we drove through Flagstaff, heavy snow fell. Just hours later, we were in the desert and loving 80 degree temperatures.
In 1999, Gonzaga made the most thrilling NCAA run in school history. When we were in Seattle, it did NOT rain there for the first time in three months. The Zags fired up a huge pro-Gonzaga crowd with wins over favorites Minnesota and Stanford. Then we traveled to Phoenix for the Sweet 16 and perhaps the greatest finish in school history. GU beat Florida in a game that gives me the chills every time I watch it (see video link below--crummy quality, but the best I could find). The Bullodgs just came up short to eventual national champion Connecticut in the Elite Eight.
2000 and 2001 featured return trips to the Sweet 16 for Gonzaga. For me, that meant trips to Albuquerque and Tucson, and then Memphis and Atlanta. In Memphis, we did not have time to visit Graceland but we did drive by at night. We did enjoy some late night music downtown. In Atlanta, we were exhausted because of the time difference. We did satellite live shots for all of our newscasts--morning, noon, 5, 6, 10, and 11. When I did a live shot for our late news, it was 2 a.m. local time. Once again, the Zags lost to the eventual champion. This time it was Michigan State.
My work as a sportscaster gave me the opportunity to forge solid working relationships with many fine basketball coaches. Among them are Bob Chipman, Roy Williams, Mark Few, Lon Kruger, Dan Monson, Dana Altman and Tom Asbury.
Bob Chipman, Roy Williams, Mark Few, Lon Kruger
The list of players is much, much longer and includes Paul Pierce, Matt Santangelo, Dan Dickau, Jacque Vaughn, Greg Ostertag, Scot Pollard, Steve and Brian Henson, Raef LaFrentz, Casey Calvary, Mike Nilson and on and on.
Paul Pierce, Matt Santangelo, Steve Henson, Casey Calvary
So here's to the memories. Here's to March Madness. I just hope my brackets don't get too busted.
Polarized. Politicized. Self-serving? Special interest? Public interest? Lack of interest?
What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on at our state legislatures? Lawmakers across the nation are debating on and voting on issues that are drawing the ire of their constituents, and it doesn't seem to bother them one bit. Now, just because citizens disagree or protest does not mean legislators should immediately change course, but they should at least pause and listen. We have some real problems that need real, and often, painful solutions so we can all move forward. Still, some of our lawmakers seem totally out of touch with the will of the people.
Front and center in the "us versus them" fight is Wisconsin. Facing a significant budget deficit, the Republican-led legislature voted to roll back pay, benefits and bargaining rights for government and state workers. Democratic Senators protested, but not in person. Rather than digging in for a fight, they made what proved to be an unsuccessful run for the Illinois border. Governor Scott Walker eventually signed the budget-cutting, union-rights-stripping measure into law. Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and other states have similar proposals before them. Seeing how unions are the largest contributors to the Democratic Party, this should set up the 2012 presidential election to be a real dandy.
Utah lawmakers just wrapped up one of their most contentious 45 day sessions ever by passing a bill limiting public access to public records. Huh? So much for transparency. Governor Gary Herbert quickly signed it into law meaning lawmakers can shield their voicemail, text and instant messages, and possibly even their emails, from the public. “With one scribble of a pen, the governor made his state the most secretive in the nation, as well as more backward than most countries, including Mexico and Albania,” said David Cuillier of the Utah Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Citizens protested, but the new law stands.
Tom Luna (on left)
In Idaho, lawmakers considered a measure to eliminate 770 teacher positions over two years to generate millions of dollars in savings toward technology boosts like providing laptop computers for every high school student. Yeah, like that makes a lot of sense--increase class sizes and cut teachers for the sake of "technology." Luckily, that eventually got voted down but legislators did pass a bill that removes seniority and collective bargaining for teachers. Idaho State Superintendent Tom Luna called it "a great step forward." My brother, a teacher himself, called it "the beginning of the end of education in Idaho as we know it." Aren't superintendents supposed to support their teachers? Apparently, there's now a movement underway in Idaho to get Luna recalled.
Governor Rick Snyder
In Michigan, lawmakers are on the verge of approving a bill giving the governor power to appoint "emergency managers" to take over towns or school districts the state deems in financial distress. In other words, these managers could declare an emergency and then swoop in to fire local elected officials, break contracts, seize and sell assets and eliminate services without any public input. Republican Governor Rick Snyder says if it passes, he'll sign it into law. Wow, this sounds like something more fitting out of Leningrad instead of Lansing.
Montana is not immune to proposals many deem bizarre. One of them called for the formation of a committee, to nullify all federal laws. I know some Montanans don't like medical marijuana or wolf laws, but nullifying all federal law? My personal favorite is legalizing hunting with a hand-thrown spear. So how does that work exactly? First, you first throw a spear at an elk or deer or bear, then you jump on its back with your knife drawn and hang on like it's a bucking bronco until you can finish the kill? I'm even a hunter but that's too weird. Another House bill would give every Monana town the right to create its own fully-armed militia. Now there's a great idea. I can hear the conversation now, "Man I can't believe Drummond High beat us in football again. Let's take the boys from the town militia over to their football field and hold target practice on their scoreboard." Another proposal would eliminate a law that requires landlords to install carbon monoxide detectors. And the reasoning for that is...what?
Courtesy Great Falls Tribune
Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer, ever the "show man," is anything but thrilled with the the Republican-controlled legislature. The proposals, among other things, prompted him to pay $100 to the Montana Department of Livestock to register the "veto" brand, which he proudly displays in his office. (Wonder if he'll ever actually use it on his political rivals? That would be some great video.)
While I'm on my soapbox, why don't you legislators put your spears down and do something about our crummy DUI laws? They're weak, ineffective and do nothing to deter drinking and driving.
The "We" in "We the People" means everyday citizens like you and I. We need our elected lawmakers to represent us to enforce meaningful, effective and common sense law.
Agree or disagree with the legislative wackiness across the country, at least Americans are paying attention. And as far as the political process goes, that can only be a good thing, right?
All my life, I wanted a dog. As kids, we had different pets growing up--guinea pigs, hamsters, a cat, a turtle, a bird and others, but never a dog.
In January of 2003, I took a job at KPAX-TV in Missoula, Montana, as a news anchor. The move from Spokane, Washington was a difficult one--mostly for my oldest daughter who was a freshman in high school. Among the things we told her to try to comfort her was "When we move to Montana, we'll get a dog." After commuting back and forth from Washington to Montana for three months, we finally sold our home in Spokane so the entire family moved to the mouth of the Bitterroot Valley. Soon afterwards, we went "dog shopping."
We visited the Humane Society, pet stores, and hit shelters in Missoula and in Hamilton. After searching for a couple of weeks, we returned to the Missoula Humane Society where we again walked a dog named "Verde" and wanted to adopt him. As we started to do the paperwork, we were told the organization only released its dogs as "indoor dogs." I guess that disqualified us since we said we planned to keep the dog outside during most of the day. The kids were heartbroken.
We also monitored the newspaper where we noticed an ad for puppies in the "free section." It was a rainy day but we loaded the kids into the minivan and headed into Missoula. The mother was a skinny Australian Shepard with different colored eyes. To be honest, she wasn't much to look at but her puppies were beautiful. There were about eight little fur balls of all different colors--black, white, black and white and other spotted combinations-- in a dog house. The kids were in puppy heaven. Each of them pulled out a different puppy to love. Now it was decision time. As each of the three of them stated why we should take their favorite puppy home, my wife saw a chocolate-colored brown fur ball still in the dog house. He was a good looking little fella. Instantly, he stole our hearts. We thanked the owners for their hospitality, piled back into the van and headed for home. I don't remember how quickly it happened but before we knew it "Snickers" was his name. The kids took him to the downstairs bathroom, bathed him, wrapped him in a warm towel and loved him. When big sister got home from school, she too fell in love with Snickers.
We kept Snickers in a big box upstairs during his potty training time. I still remember hearing his baby barking in the night so I'd take him outside and sit on the front steps at 4 a.m. until he did his "business." Whenever we left the house, he went with us. We took him to ball games, to the park, on walks and on out-of-state vacation trips. As he got older, he spent most of his days in the back yard, but did not play or even walk in the garden. (What a good boy.) At night, he snuggled up to the back of the couch in "his room"--the downstairs family room. Snickers truly was a member of the family.
Two of my daughters took him to dog training classes. Snickers learned how to sit, lay, and how to be obedient while on a walk. We also taught him how to roll over, shake, and how to fall dead after pointing a finger at him and saying "bang." What's funny is, even to this day, he treats my son as a sort of overgrown chew toy. When Snickers was smaller, he would chase a sprintingJace across the yard, tackle him, jump on and start tugging at his clothes. Snickers got his own presents on Christmas and received lots of love.
(courtesy Sandy)
He ran alongside while jogging with family members. While he never, ever enjoyed getting a bath (see picture) we later discovered he LOVES to play in the water. One day while talking a walk along the Bitterroot River, we played fetch with him in the shallow reaches of the water. He tentatively started going in a little deeper and deeper until we threw the stick almost across the river. We could see the joy on his face as he almost seemed to say "Hey, look at me! I can swim!" That first time out, he must have fetched the stick on about 50 tosses. He also loves to ride in the back of my pickup and have the wind blow on his face. We take him into the mountains where we pick huckleberries. We like having him with us so he can both explore and serve as a protector if any bears show up in the same huckleberry patch. Usually, after exploring a bit, he just plops down among the bushes nearby as we pick, but the last couple of times we took him with us, we witnessed that he is indeed a huckleberry house. As we would pick, we'd see him grazing among the bushes eating as he went. Too funny!
When it is cold out, he will curl up on his pad or, better yet lay at our feet if we're on the computer or watching television in his room. Like his Montana family, he loves the outdoors, especially trips into the mountains to find a Christmas tree in the snow.
Snickers, defender of his backyard domain
Snickers is a prime example of "man's best friend." And my good friend Snickers turns eight years old (56 in dog years) this week. Happy birthday Snickers! Thanks for eight great years and here's to many more to come.
We recently added three munis to our collection that now totals seven unicycles hanging on the garage wall. The others include two 6-foot giraffes, a 20-inch unicycle and my old 24-inch Schwinn, which suffered a bent hub after an untimely "incident" involving my teenage son. I ride a yellow and black 24-inch Onza which Jace found on Craigslist in Madison, Wisconsin, after the "incident." Jace then purchased a new, orange and black 24-inch Nimbus online. Then last Christmas, I found a red and black Torker muni on Craiglist in Spokane for my daughter Hallie. 
What makes unicycling so appealing to me, other than its unique head-turning nature, is that it can be a family affair. And that's certainly the case for me. I first started riding when I was about 12 or 13 years old. My brother had a Schwinn with a 20-inch wheel. He outgrew it so he started riding a 24-inch Schwinn and passed the little one down to me. When I outgrew it, I got a 24-incher and passed the little one down to my sister. 
