New West Network

My Page: Chris La Tray

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>

Stumbling the Walk

How many drunks get into their cars any given night in Missoula?

I don’t think at any point I’ve ever worried about a gun-toting maniac no matter where I am or what I’m doing (except maybe in the front row of a Ted Nugent concert), but once night falls and a loved-one is out and about, I’m nervous for the faceless drunk who just might be en route to causing a ripple effect of shattered hearts. [more]

Stumbling the Walk

It is good to see the Oscar Meyer bologna song is still going strong. Don’t know that one? Let me sing it for you: “My bologna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R. My bologna has a second name it’s M-A-Y-E-R. Oh I love to eat it every day, if you ask me why I’ll saaaaaaaaayy . . . ‘cuz Oscar Meyer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-and-A!”

[more]

Stumbling the Walk

If you’ve ever gone on vacation and realized with a deep sigh how awesome it is to get away from the day-to-day grind of email, up-to-the-minute sports tickers and pop-up ads, then you know how liberating logging off from mass media can be. I think we all owe it to ourselves to make this week something of a mental vacation of sorts; who’s with me? I’m certain I’m not the only one who wants to reclaim my mental environment, even if mine is like something out of a Lovecraft novel. [more]

Stumbling the Walk

The emotions Meat Loaf triggered in 1978 don’t seem to be so relevant for a grizzled old rock warrior like me at 40 who has a pretty damn decent life. Maybe that’s why this birthday isn’t such an albatross around my neck as teasing co-workers would like to make it out to be. Maybe it’s the many ways I don’t think I’ve aged beyond 17 that makes turning 40 not that big of a deal. I mostly think about how weird people are about age. At 20, most are thinking, “Yes, one more year ‘til I can buy my own beer!” 10 years later, 30 hits and most think, “Great, my life is over.” On my 40th, I’m looking forward to “Savage Tales #1” landing at Muse Comics later today; I can’t wait for the “official” celebration that happens Friday, when we roll out to gorge on pizza at Biga’s and then head over to catch the Rodriguez/Tarantino trash flick, Grindhouse. Screw golf and sipping martinis. I’m still the guy who wants to play my guitar until the canyons rock! [more]

Stumbling the Walk

Tomdispatch Jock Culture Correspondent (and former New York Times, CBS and NBC sports journalist) Robert Lipsyte says:

"This is the mud season of the sports calendar. While we await blessed baseball and its promise of renewal, here comes the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Division I Basketball Championship -- the Big Dance for sportswriters, the Bracket Racket for gamblers, a frat-rat party, a racist entertainment, and a subversion of higher education, perhaps democracy as well."

It all boils down to this weekend, and I really couldn't care less. [more]

Stumbling the Walk

According to CNN, 60% of Americans want to end the war; if not immediately, then soon. Less than half of us believe the war can be won, regardless of how long we stay. I'm not up on Missoula's latest population number, but let's say there are 60,000 of us in range of Caras Park. If we are in line with those poll numbers (Missoula being as liberal as it is, my guess is the percentage is probably higher), then that would tell us maybe 36,000 or so want us out. Even if a paltry 5% could be bothered to turn off the TV or steer their gas guzzler off Reserve Street for an hour or two, that is still somewhere in the neighborhood of 1800 people. The 200 bodies at Sunday's rally (my estimate of the body count, including dogs) isn't even 10% of that! [more]

Stumbling the Walk

I’m probably risking a friendship or two by admitting this, but I’m seriously starting to lean vegetarian. If I get that far with both feet, I’m sure it will stop there; I can’t see myself going vegan all the way. That’s like saying I’d become a Mac user. Don’t get me wrong, I love animals as much as anyone, support most of the causes that organizations like PETA champion, and in particular hate how the industrialization of our food supply has left millions and millions of animals treated in horrific ways. Not to mention the effect factory cattle, chicken and hog farms have on the environment. Yet, I also believe that, when approached with respect for the animal, hunting is probably the best way to fill your belly if you choose to be a meat eater, and recognize some of our leading conservationists are from the hook and bullet club. I am not a hunter though, yet, so I don’t know that I have what it takes to walk that walk myself. This is part of the reason I am changing my relationship with meat . . . but there are plenty others. [more]

One Man's Take On All This

On a cold Saturday night I stood in untracked snow and watched the western horizon turn dark through row after row of slender pines. The sky was clear with a few wisps of cloud dusting the striations of orange, yellow, and indigo. It was beautiful, and though the sweatshirt I wore was not nearly adequate to keep me warm for long, the car was just a brisk walk distant; from there a cozy home and hot shower waited only another 15 minutes away. It’s easy to be moved by beauty when one is comfortable. How much beauty would I have appreciated in the same sunset if it heralded a long dark night for me in my thin clothes, with only the slightest hope for warmth at least 10 hours away? Would I have the strength and resourcefulness to survive, not just for the night, but for the rest of my days? Would I even want to? [more]

One Man's Take On All This

I’m loathe to admit that I am one of what I suspect is a multitude of people who consider themselves “activists” who aren’t particularly active. Voting doesn’t count when it comes to earning activist stripes; that is a civic duty that comes with the privilege of living in our democracy that is ignored by far too many people. Writing letters here and there counts, I guess, but somehow it just doesn’t seem like activism, at least not for me. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything unless I’m breaking a sweat, and sitting in a chair changing a couple lines to personalize a prepared email sent from Defenders of Wildlife or Working for Change almost seems like a copout. [more]

Teach Your Children Well

Somewhere around 2000, 2001 or so, my son, Sidney, came to me with a question which bore the weight of shaping our relationship for the foreseeable future. He was seven at the time. “Dad, have you ever heard of a band called ‘The Backstreet Boys’?” [more]

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>