Dear HCN,
Tom Reed’s article about
how life is tough in Wyoming (HCN, 4/13/98) spoke in perfect
cadence with my own heartbeat. There are not many of us left; the
“Westerners,” like the bighorn sheep and the mule man, are singing
that sad and forlorn refrain of a vanishing
time.
Up until a few years ago, Idaho was like
Wyoming, an old Western state with mule men, buckaroos, sourdoughs,
etc. Then we changed our religion and became “greenback”
worshippers. We hired California and Yankee developers to be our
state and local leaders and immediately began our own destruction.
None of our lakes, rivers, deserts or mountains are now free from
modern pollution. Resorts, condominiums, noisy vehicles, trash and
wandering, lost dudes are everywhere. We can’t blame the dudes for
wanting to come here and we would even welcome them with Western
hospitality if only they would leave behind their silly,
soft-bellied and destructive lifestyles.
We can
only blame ourselves, of course; we were royally duped by the bogus
concept of happiness – rapid economic growth. Here is another
thought, Tom Reed – years ago our grandfathers did the same sort of
thing to the Sioux and Cheyenne, so maybe we have it coming.
Justice does come around sooner or later.
I can
hear the old chiefs saying: “Now you know.” Will we, too, wind up
on reservations or concentration camps? Keep trying, Tom; maybe
Wyoming still has a chance. She’s the last cowboy stop. Good
luck.
Mont M.
Warner
Boise,
Idaho
P.S. I hope the old mule
man got his bighorn sheep.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline ‘In perfect cadence with my heartbeat’.
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