We have a shipmate who made the Mountain West the family home after retiring from the Service. We had been all over in the course of working in Asia, Europe and several smaller places.We have been working in both loose and direct contact since we met in 1981, so we share a fair amount of the joy and surprise that go along with the prime and dregs of life. A note from him in the morning is sufficient to jump-start the course of the daay. Topics are broad ranging, and were part of a decision that included purchasing decent farmland in the case of the Big Pink group of Old Salts.

We had to give up the farm due to lack of medical infrastructure and return to Big Pink. Our shipmate decided to move from one square state to another with more palatable social orientation. We took a poll and then a vote out on The Patio as to whether the move was recommended. Then Splash stirred from his corner of the circle.

“Remember 1974? We were living in a mostly square state just southwest of there. There is a religious aspect to that state which requires some adaptation. In this case, we had been exploring Alpine Skiing destinations, since our roomate was going with a lady a year older, and she had an academic year to kill before we were all free to start the rest of our lives. They are still together, and the relationship was aided by full-strength suds and hot

An example of Western living? “Sure, a real beer would be refreshing this morning! Of course, they only sell 3.2% alcohol content in their state. Sometimes we would drive NE from Park City to a border town called Evanston, which having a different legislature, permitted full strength beverages to be sold by volume.

So that was the start of the discussion this morning as we winnowed through the morning headlines. We talked about some of them yesterday, and they are startling. As best we can tell, we appear to be in some sort of Constitutional crisis that is building. This morning we ignored the headlines and considered having a regular strength beverage before lunch and unscramble the prospects for a Congressional district in the square state well west of the Big River the drains the Middle. The issue at hand was the size of the Congressional District. There isa number for that. The square state in question has an anemic population so small that one Congressional Representative is all they are allocated, and lady that has served her square state since 2017, leaving office last year when 2023 expired.

The question this morning was about whether she would return to the West now that we are in an election year. Her family has national-level history, and the contretemps about her next job is tinged with her alliance with the other party to arrest protestors at the Capitol a couple years ago. The size of most districts, intended to keep the House Chamber at 435 Representatives. That number is a little short of the entire population of that Square State.
We took a poll this morning indicates the Congresswoman may be from a square State, but her Father was influential here in Washington, and this town, bisected by our Big River, is where she was raised, far away from the mountains.

The numbers for that issue came up in the context of the now-boiling Border crisis. The Square State we are talking about has a population of 586,492. DeMille, our Writer’s Section Chief, said the Border deal under consideration by the House at the moment would allow undocumented entry of three times the population of the whole Square State every year. There is talk about some mass conversion of the undocumented to legal status and that has some folks concerned.

We think the former Congresswoman should find herself a DC-based position and not claim to represent people living in broad areas of the still-pristine high plains. We don’t know if she visits, or will run for election this year for a seat representing the state in which she does not live. Mostly.

Our assumption is that she will stay in DC. There are regular opportunities for the “Other Party’s Views” to be represented on the flatscreens across the country. That class of contribution is naturally intended to chastise the opposition, and that is where the Congresswoman In Between Electoral Cycles comes in. She is a perfect contributor to offer mild critiques of this Administration on shows like “The View.” Do they know her Out West any more? She has not been seen at the Black Bear Diner in years!

A word about breakfast is appropriate here to give you some context. One of our favorite places to break our fast in the morning is the County Seat in Hot Springs County. The town population is just a little shy of three thousand people, so you can see that if you want some eggs/sausage/hash-browns and steaming coffee, we have the place for you and the Congresswoman. It isn’t that hard to get a good meal, even if it takes a fair amount of greenhouse gas to get there.

The town has a Greek name that translates to “Hot City.” It is not a social sizzle warmth but warm water. , but It is home to a plethora of natural hot springs, in which mineral-laden waters are heated by geothermal processes. The town is named for the hot springs located there, and claims title to the world’s largest mineral hot spring. It is located in the Hot Springs State Park. It is worth a plunge, but we would only be in that little town to visit friends, get full-strength beer or a delightful breakfast. The springs are open for free as part of an 1896 treaty signed with the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes.

We are already leaving breakfast behind, and if we were going to dine at the Black Bear, we would have to get going. You can see what you are missing if you click through the comments at the place we enjoy when the winds blow hard, the trucks on I-80 get blown over and the snow piles up. Our polling was not without dispute. Why don’t we go get loaded up and take a dive to breakfast? Lunch? Maybe get there before the Black Bear closes.

Here is what some guests from South Africa said in October in last year: “Sunday morning breakfast…the waitress was very friendly & competent. The French Toast & breakfast sandwiches were really good…very flexible menu so you could pick & choose what was on your plate…” We are hoping that goes for lunch as well, and maybe a full-strength beverage or two to keep things rolling amid the bubbling hot water. In that regard, the Black Bear cannot be beat.

Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com