June 27, 2007

If She's Missin'...She's Fishin!

Juni Fisher concedes that she's always adored Roy Rogers. And I reckon if Roy had come along a generation later and had never met Dale Evans, he'd have been smitten by Juni Fisher. She's pretty. She writes great music. And she has a voice to die for.

A packed house at the High Plains Western Heritage Center near Spearfish, South Dakota gave Juni a warm "welcome back" last night (June 27, 2007). For those of us in the audience, it was very easy to see why Juni Fisher was selected 2006 Western Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year. She's a terrific performer.

Her warm and charming vocal styling is surpassed only by an uncanny ability to mesmerize her audience with great stories. From Calamity Jane to Chinaman Jack, Juni Fisher brings to life a wide range of western characters using a rare blend of good yarns set to her own original music. She is a master lyricist and a great storyteller.

Although she grew up in the central San Joaquin Valley of California, Juni now hangs her hat in Tennessee. That is, when she's not on the road. In the past six months, she's performed at some 33 locations across the west. She's had little time to enjoy her Louis L'Amour books. But she does try to take along her fly rod and get a little stream time. Fishing has been a passion since she was seven years old, and she readily confesses that "if she's missin'......she's probably fishin'." Keep an eye on Spearfish Creek the next couple of days, you just might see her.

Juni and her husband (sorry, Roy, she's already spoken for) make their home at Franklin, Tennessee -- just outside Nashville, and she plays Bluegrass and old time music for the sheer fun of it! If you want to know more about this talented country gal, check out her web site or give a listen to the Wednesday (June 27, 2007) edition of the "Live With Jim Thompson" radio program on the web.

My old friend Terry Lickona at Austin City Limits should book this talented lady. I believe Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky said it best. "Though she is one of Nashville's great undiscovered secrets, she won't be for long."

And Ranger Doug wouldn't lie. It's not the cowboy way.

June 24, 2007

"Field Day" at Spearfish

During the fourth weekend of every June, amateur radio operators take leave of yards that need mowed and fences that need painted in order to participate in "Field Day."

Simulating conditions that often occur during hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters, these "ham" operators crank up gasoline-powered generators, erect temporary antennas, and begin a 24-hour quest to communicate with as many other kindred souls as they can.

While it's something of a contest, it's also an important exercise that helps them hone their skill as communicators -- preparing for that next terrible circumstance that will require their help. Amateur radio operators were there to help communcate in the aftermath of 9-11. And they provided vital communications assistance in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

With makeshift antennas, a generator, and a solar panel, a handful of ham operators gathered last Saturday, June 23rd, in a field west of Spearfish on the edge of the Black Hills. With chirps of morse code messages echoing through the surrounding hills, these folks contacted more than 900 other operators before pulling the plug at noon Sunday. I was there for some of it -- and it was fun.

Ham radio has been a hobby of mine for nearly 50 years, but it always took a back seat to family and work. I looked forward to more time in retirement in order to pursue this fascinating hobby, but other activities have encroached upon it. Between computers, digital photography, and genealogy, my old Yaesue radio hasn't seen much action. But joining the activities of Field Day near Spearfish has helped spark a renewed interest in amateur radio.

Take a look at a few Field Day photos.

For folks with an interest in ham radio, a good place to start for getting information is the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). But I reckon just about any amateur radio operator would be willing to help mentor newcomers to this most fascinating hobby. A hobby that can become a vital resource during times of disaster.

73!

June 23, 2007

Don't Sweat It!

Retired newspaper columnist Charley Reese hasn’t really retired, he’s just not on the payroll of the Orlando Sentinel anymore. Fortunately for us, his columns keep popping up on the internet.

I was delighted when I saw Charley’s piece Don’t sweat over cries about global warming, because it so closely reflects my views on the subject. Basically, Charley reminds us that there’s nothing we human beings can do to alter the climate.

He writes, “It takes a monstrously large ego to presume to see into the future and to pretend that one can change the course of Earth’s climate. We have no control over the amount of energy the sun radiates; we have no control over Earth’s magnetic field; and we have no control over Earth’s volcanoes. We have no control over the Earth’s atmosphere. What humans inject into it amounts to little more than a cosmic passing of gas.


Bravo! And right on! Of course, this doesn't mean we should be oblivious to the impact we have on the environment. Less pollution is good. More re-cycling is good. Let's just not get silly about how much we really affect the environment.

Charley suggests that we’d do better to pay attention to our families, work in our gardens, read some good books, and listen to some beautiful music.

Alas, my only beef with Charley’s column of June 7, 2007, was his cynicism when he wrote, “…Earth’s climate will be the same. Most everything will be the same. The babble will go on. The decayed culture of America will continue to rot.”

While I share Charley’s concern about a decaying culture in America, that IS something we can affect. We Americans would do well to re-focus our concerns from fears of global warming to finding ways to stem the tide of a decaying culture and help restore the U.S.A. to the greatness our country enjoyed not so very long ago.

June 21, 2007

Tomek anchors at OETA

I was pleasantly surprised this week to see that long-time friend George Tomek has signed on to do some work with the Oklahoma ETV network (OETA). A veteran television anchorman with WKY-TV (now KFOR) in Oklahoma City, I first knew George when he and I served together in the Naval Reserve back in the 1970s. I was a new Lieutenant (jg) and George was our unit Executive Officer.

Those were special years, and our small group (Office of Information 411) drilled together for several years, including a variety of "Special Active Duty for Training" assignments. Folks like Jack Raskopf, Gean Atkinson, Greg Slavonic, Bill Hickman, and Ed Klecka, were a talented group of Naval officers who came from a variety of backgrounds. I had been teaching and managing the public radio station at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, but later went to work at OETA as Assistant Director and then Manager of KOED-TV/Channel 11 in Tulsa. In the 1980s, George and I served together in OI-1018 in Kansas City. Of course, all my old colleagues at OETA are retired, dead or working elsewhere. But it was good to see the photo of George's smiling face in OETA web photos. It brought back fond memories of a great group of shipmates -- and of some good years at OETA.