VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
By Muncie
2/14/18

VALENTINE’S DAY
Happy Valentine’s Day. What a happy day it is with all that love being spread around. Cards are everywhere and back in my day some of them were not signed. Kids didn’t want you to know that they liked you. Today it is quite different especially those who do not like you. They want you to know.

So this is my opportunity to let all of you know that I like you. You are a very caring and loving community and I would not want to be anywhere else in the world. Well maybe I have thought about being someplace warmer and with less snow. It is just a thought. I would not miss the basketball season for anything. I’ll just keep thinking about how hot our summers have become. I’ll also think about how exciting it is to watch the Missouri and the huge ice chunks along both sides. Everything looks so white and clean. I am not to the point of making “ice angels” yet, but I have been tempted when I see them in a movie on TV. I forget about it when I realize that they are not making those “angels in real snow. Brrrrr!

RANDOM ACTS
Next Saturday, the 17th, is “RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY.’ It is probably not on your calendar but it is a good start for the rest of the year and beyond.

Years ago I read a: Chicken Soup for the Soul” book that had a story about “Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty.” Someone saw it written on a wall like graffiti and took it to heart. It spread all over the world.     

Here are some suggestions.
1.  Be Kind
2.  Be thoughtful
3.  Use your manners as a form of kindness
4.  Give compliments generously
5.  Think about people who quietly make a difference in your community. Thank them. 

If everyone would practice one act of kindness and one act of beauty each day, what a wonderful world this would be.

Of course, you cannot tell anyone what you have done. So, give it a try and see what happens. Just start small and let it grow. You will feel better just knowing that you are trying.

BASKETBALL DISTRICTS
How exciting that this week brings on the district tournaments. They are in Havre and hopefully the roads are clear by then so the fans will be able to get there.

After the last two weeks of games, the Boys and Girls teams are in good position for the games. They need good hearty support with loud cheering and loud singing of the school song.

What about those Cheerleaders!  Did you see their performance in preparation for the tournaments? Did you ever hear of the Radio City Rockettes? Well, our Cheerleaders are even better than those dancers. Go Cheerleaders!

I am looking forward to the schedule in the River Press and watching some great basketball games. See you there.

VETERANS PHOTO PROGRAM
Our biggest supporter for this program passed away last Friday. It was Madeline Ragland whose granddaughter gave me a $500.00 grant for the program.

Madeline worked with me and I accounted to her where I spent the money. Most of it went for picture frames and finally for the picture rails. The photos are a bright spot in the hallway at Sunrise Bluffs and if you have not seen the new arrangement…you should.  With Memorial Day coming up in May, it would be a good time to check it out. You young people might have grandfathers and great grandfathers whose pictures are hanging there. They are in alphabetical order and should be easy to locate. Be sure to sign the guest book and thank Karla, the manager of the Bluffs, for the space to put the photos.

GERALDINE
I would love to visit this creative little town more often but once a year for the Geraldine’s Action Committee Dinner Theatre is a once a year must.

Last Saturday 7 friends and I enjoyed a splendid afternoon feasting on a great dinner and being amazed at the actors, actresses, costumes, and the storyline of the play. Jo Alice is outstanding in her writing. All the twists and turns in the story line had us all guessing as to” who done it.”

I like the way the program is set up with a break in the play to feed the hungry crowd. It was a wonderful time and I hope that you were one of the theatre goers. Thank you to Jo Alice, Lila, the actors and actresses, the behind the scenes workers, the chefs, and the server for making the play a success. I am sorry if I missed anyone. I am looking forward to next year for another great dinner theatre.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, POLICE OFFICERS, FIRE FIGHTERS and EMT VOLUNTEERS.

View From The Bridge 12/2/15

VIEW from the BRIDGE

By Muncie

12/2/15

BIG WEEKEND

The WOW FACTOR hits you when you read the schedule for this coming weekend. I hope that you hit all the great events that will be happening so close to home. Make a day of it from early morning to late in the evening. Walk Front Street and stop for treats and hot drinks at the stores. Have lunch with friends at Bridgeport Station while being entertained.  Shop until you drop and follow the national trend of “BUY LOCAL.” Try your best to visit our Sister-Cities. And please, please attend the Christmas Tree lightening. Bring your children and grandchildren. Make it a tradition. There will be treats and lots of excitement when Santa arrives and the lights are turned on.

On Sunday is the best of all…the Christmas Concert. It is really going to be special with all of our local talent. Let’s fill the Elementary School auditorium to capacity and enjoy the treats at intermission. I can hardly wait.

Invite your family and friends that live out of town. I heard on the evening news tonight, (Sunday) that it is supposed to be up in the 50 degrees. Who could ask for anything more?  See you there and let me know by wishing me a Merry Christmas.

THANKSGIVING

One of the happenings during the Thanksgiving week was the return of the birds to my feeders. I began filling them two weeks ago and it takes a while for the word to get around bird world. It only takes a couple of days for them to empty the 5 feeders. When I open my shade in the morning, it is a great feeling to see the yard full of birds. I do have two problems with this “free kitchen,” is that the deer came in and knocked the suet feeder to the ground and it opened up. They ate the entire contents. There were also cat tracks in the snow that led directly to under my deck. I truly feel compassion for that animal. How can it survive in the kind of weather we are having now?

Another exciting event that occurred last week was that a squirrel returned to my yard. It has been a couple of years since I had two fun-to-watch playmate squirrels in my yard. I had even given my squirrel feeder away, to a friend who lives at the north end of town. She had squirrels in her yard but the minute she put out the feeder, they disappeared.

I know that there is a 50% chance that you do not like squirrels, but we had many happy breakfast hours watching them frolic about the yard chasing each other. They also would climb in the lilac trees, outside the back window, jumping from branch to branch.  They were having so much fun. Do you remember when Tim Burmeister took a photo of the two squirrels taking a bath in our bird bath? It was quite a while back. We found one in the leaf compost pile and have no idea what happened to it. The other one was around for a while and then it disappeared.

Back to the present day, I made a phone call and retrieved the feeder along with the peanuts and squirrel feed I had given away. I filled the feeder just as it began to snow and found today (Sunday,) that it was empty. It was a tad difficult to get to the feeders today because I had 6 inches of snow to plow through.  

The bright side of the snow was the way the full moon lid up our deck. It was one of the most beautiful sights ever. I wish I had a picture of it but I have to happy with the memory.

50”s Home Schooled

I have run out of those bits of wisdom. There were some that were not printable. I will move on this week to another category.

OBSERVATIONS

Observed in a grocery store in the 6-Item express lane a customer was quietly fuming as a person slipped into the line ahead of the customer, pushing a cart piled high with groceries.  Image the surprise and delight when the cashier beckoned the person to come forward and looked into the cart and asked sweetly, “So which 6 items would you like to buy? (Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that happened more often? Actually, we do not have to worry about that in Fort Benton. If I have just a few items in my basket, I am always sent to the front of the line. On the other hand, perhaps they think because I am old that I cannot stand in line any length of time.)

GERALDINE

I know more of what is going on in Geraldine because of the “Over the River to Geraldine” column by Robyn Scribner. I met Robyn several months ago. She is the Kindergarten teacher and took over writing the column every week. I have always envied teachers because they knew so many people. Robyn apparently knows everyone in Geraldine. It makes for very interesting reading.  Keep up the great news. (My excuse is that Fort Benton is larger than Geraldine and I couldn’t possibly know everyone. When Randy Morger and I publish our book, “What Changes We Would Make as Co-Presidents,” the first item would be…Everyone would have to wear a name-tag when they are outside the home.”)

LIONS CLUB

The Lions Club also has a new reporter. Miriam Smith gave a great update on Lions Club projects. She just moved here from Bozeman and is already quickly into volunteering. I now know everything I ever wanted to know about The Lions. As stated so many times on all the pages in the River Press…every organization needs volunteers. Please make an effort to help out one of them.  

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

Have you installed your green porch light yet? You really need to do that. It doesn’t take much effort for a show of support. I cannot help but think about our Troops, thousands of miles away; when in a few weeks it will be Christmas. We Americans are so fortunate to have the protection that we have. Even with what we have there are great dangers. What would it be like if we didn’t have those Troops doing what they are doing?   

GOD BLESS AMERICA, MONTANA, FORT BENTON, OUR TROOPS, WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS, and PUT A GREEN BULB ON YOUR FRONT PORCH LIGHT.