It’s back up to the Heritage this evening

I'm always glad when Tuesdays roll around. For one thing, it's reminds me of my favorite group, The Moody Blues and their infamous "Tuesday Afternoon" song. Besides thinking about the Moodys, I'm looking forward to returning to the Marias Heritage Center this evening at 6 and reading some more Montana History to the Heritage Center residents. We'll be finishing "The Doctor Wore Petticoats" this evening...we've got three chapters left and then we'll commence "Bound Like Grass". "Bound Like Grass" is a memoir from the Western High Plains written by a friend of mine's wife, Ruth McLaughlin, down in Great Falls. Ruth has won the stellar "Montana Book Award" on this tome and it's looks like my kind of story. That is to say, it's not all sunshine and lollipops and shouldn't be confused with a Lesley Gore tune. Rather, this appears to me to be REALITY! Ruth recounts her family's stubborn will to survive over in Eastern Montana out on the plains despite hardships that included droughts, hunger, and mental illness. And I think I have problems! Ruth McLaughlin is alive and well these days, lives in Great Falls where she teaches literacy and writing. Her stories and essays have appeared in magazines and anthologies. Mike McLaughlin's always been one of the smartest people I know so I'm wondering "just who is the brains" in this family? Ruth seems to know a lot but I always found Mike to be some kind of genius. At least that's what I thought after a few drinks at our 1994 high school reunion. And Ruth, if you're reading this, my apologies again for spilling my drink and dumping my cheese plate on your gown that evening. See you tonight at six in the sun room at the Marias Heritage Center for some more Montana History.