Letter from the editor

If at first you don't succeed, tri again

Over the weekend I finally fulfilled one of my New Year's Resolutions. And the fact that it was a resolution I made in 2006 in no way lessens the accomplishment.

On Sunday, after years and years of threatening to do it, I competed in a triathlon. Sure I was a member of a two-person team, therefore not really getting a "tri" event experience, but you have to start somewhere.

And despite the performance by team "Live. Local. Late Breaking." (we are both members of the local press corps), the most impressive thing I saw was the race's last-place finisher.

He was a big fella', paddling a short, cheap, slow kayak; riding a junker mountain bike; and shuffling his way through the four-mile trail run, but he completed all three legs of the race solo. He looked like he might die when he crossed the line, but it was striking to watch a guy — who was by no one's definition "fit-looking" — complete a triathlon. Not only that, but his time wasn't that bad, certainly not much worse than our team's pace.

The point was; why on earth had I been so hesitant to saddle up for one of these races? Why would anyone be? That guy is a triathlete, which is still more than I can say.

This much I know, I will never again silently scoff at a big, goofy-looking guy on a $5,000 mountain bike like I did in Bigfork on Saturday. He may well pass me in a race the next morning.

Health care feeling the crunch

I hope you'll take the time to read the story on today's front page about the state of in-home health care workers in the Flathead. In speaking with the professionals who operate these private health care companies, it was clear that things are reaching a critical point.

Michelle Christensen, one of the company's branch directors, told me that the average age of an in-home health care assistant is 47, and that people ranging from college-aged to retirees found the flexible hours accommodating and the work satisfying, especially if they weren't trying to put food on the table for a family of five.

Bigfork may not be a college town, but it's certainly full of plenty of big-hearted people who have left the working world behind. Some of those folks must be looking for a way to help the community, and giving assistance to some of Bigfork's most seasoned citizens seems a noble part-time vocation.

These people made no bones about it: Times are tough and they're asking for Bigfork's help.

—Alex Strickland