The bolo thing

By G. George Ostrom

There he was on the upper half front page of the Hungry Horse News last week, yes.. the Governor. It was exciting for me to see the photographer had done an excellent job. Full details of the Governor’s bolo tie could be seen in sharp focus, and there-in lies a tale. Maybe I’ve mentioned it here before? If so, forgive me. I am after all …over 50.

Sometime back Governor Schweitzer was back in Washington D.C. (in the land of Foggy Bottom,) and got to visit with President Bush, whom he would later criticize in a nationally broadcast speech this week. At that earlier time some petty members of the national press criticized Schweitzer for acting like a hick by wearing a bolo tie to the White House. After he came home he agreed to appear as a guest on my daughter Wendy’s KOFI talk show. As he was leaving the station he ran into me and we agreed to trade bolo ties.

The Guv’s custom made bolo is the state seal of Montana with his name across the top and his administration’s motto “It’s a New Day” across the bottom, then that half dollar sized piece of metal art work is attached and framed by a larger and beautifully filigreed base of 900 fine, pure shining silver. As to the one I gave him, it is a silver dollar sized metal with a beautiful grizzly bear sculptured for the National Park Service commemorative by local super artist, Frank Hagel. It too is 900 fine silver, but smaller than the governor’s. Look at last week’s Starvin’ Stud paper and you can see it is nice.

Have run into the Governor two or three times since we traded bolos, and at the Thompson Falls Airport dedication, asked him why he wasn’t wearing my bolo. He said, “For cryin’ out loud Ostrom, I can’t wear your tie day and night.” Saw him again at U of M homecoming in October. Didn’t ask him why he wasn’t wearing the griz bolo, but did sort of stare for awhile at his shirt collar.

If any of you good folks bump into the Governor, tell him I really appreciate his wearing the grizzly bear tie at the Canadian coal mine hearing in Kalispell last week.

I suspect Governor Schweitzer made a deliberate point to wear that tie because he was afraid of who he might run into and didn’t want me pouting around if he didn’t have it on. Thanks Brian!

On a different subject- have often quoted wise thoughts from philosophers like Socrates, Mark Twain, and Dean Martin. Thought about Twain this week and his belief that “Water will not hurt you, if taken in moderation.”

In a bizarre occurrence at Sacramento, Calif., a 28-year-old woman entered a water-drinking contest sponsored by an FM radio station. The winner was to get a Nintendo Wii gaming console. The idea was to see who could drink the most without going to the bathroom. Jennifer Lea Strange died after consuming “well over a half gallon” of water during the “Morning Rave” program.

Don’t know for sure what is going to happen down there in Sacramento as a result of this tragic event, but we all know one thing for sure, no matter what happens there are going to be several lawyers involved.