OMG, yet another new blog????
yes.
If I were reading this brand new blog for the first time, I know I’d ask the question, “What in hell does this guy have to say that several thousand others across the country can’t say, or haven’t already said?”
Easy. How many of you live in the mountains of Montana? C’mon, raise your hands. I see no hands. How many of you have even a clue as to what life is like in Montana? I see no hands. How many of you have ever ridden a snowmobile? Hmm, still no hands. How many of you have fished for trout, or camped along a mountain stream in the past year? Where are the hands?? How many of you have heard a bear growl in the wild, or had to back up your 4-wheeler in order to avoid a confrontation with a moose? Do you people even HAVE hands??? How many of you would love to write a song, but have no idea how, and think you don’t have the creative ability? Oh, NOW I’m seeing hands. Finally.
The Sagebrush Chronicles is going to deal with a bunch of stuff. That’s the good news. The bad news is, it will usually come from only one perspective… mine. ‘Course, that could change. I have some *very* interesting friends these days, and if they’ll allow me, I’ll occasionally publish their thoughts and feelings on life, love and the pursuit of whatever.
The underlying themes here, I hope, will deal with ideas about what life really is, and what it can be. For all of us. I don’t expect young people to read this blog. Hell, they already know everything. Joke. But just in case they don’t, I welcome them, and their input. Their perspective is always valuable, often invaluable. And this blog should be a little something for everyone. I will go from the *fun* of an occasional night in a local bar, to a discussion on parallel dimensions. Bet you have an opinion on which of the two I know more about… heh heh. Be careful here. I might surprise you.
Life in Montana is so damn good, you might enjoy reading this from time to time as a vicarious resident of Montana. I’ll tell you right now, Montana doesn’t want you here, except as a vicarious reader, a tourist, or occasional visitor. Don’t take it personally… Montana loves that it’s the 4th lowest population per size in America. We have room to breathe here, we have the Big Sky. Our nearest stoplight is 47 miles away. We want it to stay that way.
If you’ve lived anywhere in the South for a part of your life, you probably don’t want to live here, anyway. It’s cold for seven months of the year. You have to love the cold, embrace it, get out in it and defeat it. We do. Life is fairly rugged here if you’re not rich, and most of us aren’t. So we have to cut wood seven months a year, load it, haul it, chop it, carry it in, and find ways to keep it dry. We do. The Forest Service and the BLM continually try to limit the uses of our public lands out here. There’d be no multi-use land left if we didn’t fight them. So we do. After all, the land, and the people who love this particular land, are the reasons we live here. Folks, we’re definitely not here for the money. Come see for yourselves sometime. We’re here for the inspirational beauty we get simply by rolling out of bed and looking outside. Waking up in Montana each morning is one of my favorite things in the whole world.
Do I have an attitude here? No. Am I passionate about Montana, its beauty, its problems, its future? Absolutely. Do I want this blog to be instructional, inspirational, introspective and entertaining for all who read it? Sure, that’s the idea. Do I want lots of people from around the country, and perhaps around the world, checking in on it every so often and reading what’s shakin’ in this little part of the world? Yes! Wait… no! No I don’t! What I really want is for half the people on the entire planet to check in with it until they find their link… their link to their own lives, their link to themselves and the great outdoors, their link to a better, deeper, more meaningful life, a happier, more joyful life, a life which was initially designed for us… a life of love, laughter, deep and lasting friendships, of self-confidence. I would hope my reader would have, or gain, an enduring understanding of the world – and of nature – that we live in, and of ourselves in the process. And when all those people find their “link” my wish is that they leave their computers, and my blog, and go out into their world and really live in it. If I am totally successful, I will have legions reading this blog for awhile, and then, finally, I’ll have no one… I’ll be writing for no one but myself. That is my wish.
Welcome to The Sagebrush Chronicles. I hope you love it, and leave it.
Steve Hulse