Don Meike

To set the scene, we need to introduce you to our friends, Nadine and Mickey. Longtime Glendale residents, they moved in to the Manor just a few months after we did. 

 As sometimes happens, the 4 of us resonated. I'm the only one of us who drives which is handy if we get the urge to eat Mexican food or if Mickey needs some items from the market. 

Came the day when a new librarian was needed. Neither Nadine nor I wanted to take on the full responsibilities, so we agreed to co-chair the position. It's working very well. 


These are
people who are very generous about
sharing their family and friends. I know
the feeling of wanting my loved ones
to get acquainted with one another.
Not everyone feels that way. To each
his own. We've met and dined with the daughter and son-in-law of these friends........on their way between Portland, Oregon and New Zealand.......they travel endlessly back
and forth. We've been introduced to
some of their former neighbors, one of whom assisted Mr. Bob in contacting the right person at the Department of Motor Vehicles to help in the process of regaining his driver license. Special people, all.

This week Nadine had a telephone conversation with a longtime friend of theirs in Wyoming, who seemingly on the spur of the moment decided to fly down to visit. Too much time had gone by since they were last together. Two days later he appeared at the Manor. We were invited to join them at dinner yesterday.

The friend's name is Don Meike and he's a sheep rancher in Wyoming. His brother had to stay home this time to oversee the 4500 sheep.

As usual I was full of questions. Did the sheepdogs arrive as trained animals? (No.....most of the tendencies are inherent, the training hones the skill of how it's to be done) Does a dog ever fail the test? (Yes, they have one right now that is too friendly to herd sheep) How big is the town of Kaycee? (250 people) Would you mind terribly if I photographed your belt buckle? (Go right ahead)

Mr. Bob, just the other evening, had watched a documentary on wolves, so that provided a subject of conversation and produced a story that made me want to share our experience with you. He told us that wolves had not always been the problem that they are now for livestock and that somehow the government had been involved (just how, I don't recall......perhaps in naming the wolf as an endangered species.) And Don told the story about the time he was addressing Congress and trying to get across a point. In trying to convince the legislative assembly that a national plan doesn't necessarily work for all states, he used the following example. In his small town of Kaycee, WY when a traffic problem arose, it was solved by putting in a 4 way STOP sign. He questioned whether the same solution would work in Washington DC's traffic congestion. Not one Congressman "got" it, not even enough to smile at the absurdity of the idea. Politics.

I wish I'd asked to take a picture of his boots. He leaves for home tomorrow.