Nancy sends us all the news about OWS-Wyoming that's fit to print

Nancy Sindelar (left) at Occupy Casper last Saturday

Nancy Sindelar of Veterans for Peace in Laramie has done all of us a favor by tracking down all of the Occupy Wall Street events planned for Wyoming. Nancy contacted me last night about some ugly rumors circulating on Daily Kos that Wyoming, land of more antelope than humans, was Occupyless. As a long-time but very lazy Kossack, I checked it out and set the record straight. Now I have more info for the state-by-state list on Kos.

Nancy notes in her latest-mail newsletter that “Occupy Wall Street has taken hold here in Wyoming, with five actions planned in the next week.” She also points out a link to the new OWS manifesto:  http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/special-comment-keith-reads-first-collective-statement-of-occupy-wall-street 

Occupy actions will take place in Jackson both Saturday and Sunday. Those in Casper, Cheyenne and Laramie are on Saturday only. A sign-making party is also planned for Cheyenne but no definitive info yet. 


Here’s what we know right now:

Thursday, October 13th, Jackson:  Sign-making party for Occupy Wall Street event this Saturday. 7 PM, Factory Studios.1255-A Gregory Ln.  Info: http://www.facebook.com/groups/242236869158039; http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Jackson-WY.

Saturday, October 15th, Casper:  Occupy Wall Street, week two. A hundred showed up in the rain and wind last Saturday and more are expected this week.  Bring signs, kids, friends & neighbors.  Noon, Pioneer park, Center & B Sts.  Info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=286254034738100&ref=ts; http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Casper-WY. Free.  

Saturday, October 15th, Cheyenne:  Occupy Wall Street, demand a fairer distribution of wealth.  Noon, Depot Plaza.  Support not only of the Wall Street demonstrators but for the 99% of Wyomingites who are not being heard.  Bring creative signs.  Info:  http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Cheyenne-WY/388492; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Cheyenne/188084631268023; Roger McDaniel at http://facebook.com/rodger.mcdaniel. 

Saturday, October 15th, Jackson:  Occupy Wall Street for anyone who is fed up with the way our government is no longer representing the 99%, instead siding with corporate greed. Noon, Town Square, W. Deloney & N. Jackson Sts.  Info: http://www.facebook.com/groups/242236869158039; http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Jackson-WY   

Saturday, October 15th, Laramie:  The corrupt banks and their bought politicians hurt 99% of Americans.  So come stand up for what needs to be done to change the system.  County Courthouse, north side, 526 E Ivinson Ave. Info: http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Laramie-WY/384552. (I'm assuming this is noon.) 

Sunday, October 16th, Jackson:  Occupy Wall Street We are the 99%. Please bring your friends, family, signs, folding chair, spirit and join us for this peaceful protest. Noon, Town Square, W. Deloney & N. Jackson Sts. Info: http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Jackson-WY/393072.  Free.  

If you are aware of a progressive-oriented event in your community, please send it directly to Nancy sindynan@juno.com. You can also sign up to get the newsletter by contacting Nancy via e-mail.

Our unions getting behind Occupy movement

Meg Lanker-Simons at Occupy Casper. Her union supports Occupy Wall Street. I wonder about mine, SEIU. Meg is one of my co-panelists (with Jaren Artery) for the presentation "Snarky Slacktivists of Online Outlaws: Leftie Bloggers in Red-State Wyoming" at the John R. Milton Writers' Conference Oct. 27-29 in Vermillion, S.D. 

Occupy Casper: "Honk if You Share Your Toys!

From Meg Lanker's tumblr site: At Occupy Casper, Kaylee reminds us to share.

"Occupy Casper" at noon Saturday across from the Dick Cheney Federal Building

Pamela RW Kandt announces Occupy Casper on Saturday, Oct. 8, noon-1 p.m., in Pioneer Park, Center & B streets, across from the Dick Cheney Federal Building in Casper, WY.

From Pamela:

Let's stand together and say "No More!" to greed, corruption, inequality, poverty -- politicians no longer work on our behalf or care about our well-being. We are the 99% of Americans stuck with the bill for corporate bailouts, economic shenanigans and bad government. We're old & young, middle class & poor, straight & gay, graduates & dropouts, conservatives & liberals. We are America and we deserve better!

These peaceful gatherings are flowering rapidly across the nation because people are overwhelmingly unhappy with what's happening in this country. Join us on Saturday to share your frustration and express your support for the 99%. Bring signs, kids, family, friends and neighbors. We're all in this together! RSVP at Facebook.

WY Association of Churches presents "Civility Matters!" Oct. 8 in Casper

http://www/uwyo.edu/humanities

I was just at a Civility Matters! forum at Summit E.S. in Casper this past weekend featuring Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye (see my previous post). Here's another one, courtesy of the Casper Star-Tribune:

The Wyoming Association of Churches will host a town-hall style "Civility Matters" forum from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at the First United Methodist Church of Casper, 332 E. Second St.

The forum will focus on three issues: judicial responses for youth offenders in Wyoming, featuring Michael Blonigen and Beth Evans; the definition of marriage and civil unions as they relate to couples' sexual orientation, featuring Rodger McDaniel and Bob Norris; and providing health care for wyoming's poor, featuring Kellie Clausen and Sarah Gorin. Former TV broadcaster and Wyoming state legislator Nimi McConigley will moderate the session.

Each speaker will be allotted 20 minutes, followed by 40 minutes allotted for questions and discussion by the public.

Lunch will be provided at a cost of $10, and advance registration is encouraged. To register in advance, contact Steven Mitchell at stevmitch2002@yahoo.com, write him at 1275 Adams Ave., Rock Springs, Wyoming, 82901, or visit http://www.wyomingassociationofchurches.org.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/local/casper/article_d00c9422-630f-51f8-99c8-7af16e041e4b.html#ixzz1Z1jIzKPs

Want to schmooze with real-live writers? Go no further than Casper & Cheyenne & Laramie

I'm a writer who, in my middle-class youth, never met a living breathing writer until I went off to college at University of South Carolina, met James Dickey at a campus gathering, and said, "Who are you?"

That was after his National Book Award and his stint as poet-in-residence at the U.S. Library of Congress but a few years before "Deliverance."

Pam Houston

Now I'm a writer who works in the arts. I learn something every time a writer speaks. I'm always amazed when people don't take advantage of meeting and hearing from real live writers. Great talents such as Naomi Shihab Nye, Pam Houston, David Madden, Margaret Coel, Lee Ann Roripaugh, Craig Johnson, Mark Spragg, etc.

Next weekend in Casper, you can schmooze with some of these cool writers for free and take some workshops with them for a nominal fee. Here are some details:

You're invited to a free reading by Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowship winners on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2-4 p.m., in the lobby of the Goodstein Foundation Library at Casper College. This is part of the three-day Casper College Literary Conference.

The event gets underway at 2 p.m. Saturday with a presentation by WAC fellowship judge Pam Houston, "A Reading and Conversation about Places and Moving Among Therm." Pam knows a lot about moving among places. Two days before she flies into Casper, she'll be returning from a trip to Hungary. After the conference, she goes off to Colorado and then California. Pam is author of two short-story collections, including "Cowboys are My Weakness." Her new novel, "Contents May Have Shifted," will be out in 2012. 

At 3 p.m., Pam will join me at the podium to introduce fellowship winners Sam Western, Sheridan; Kathy Bjornestad, Sundance; and Stefani Farris, Lander. They will be reading from their award-winning fiction submissions.

At 4 p.m. in the lobby, Kristen Elias Rowley of the University of Nebraska Press will talk about "Book Business: Publishing with a University Press."

At 5 p.m., there will be a free public reception in the library. Everyone is invited to stick around for food and beverages provided by Casper College President Dr. Walt Nolte.

At 9 p.m., the literary conference hosts its closing session -- a raucous open reading and poetry slam at Metro Coffee Company, 241 S. David in downtown Casper. Poet George Vlastos will serve as emcee. Bring your prose and poetry. Musicians are also invited to get up on stage.

There may be slots remaining in some of the workshops. For more info on workshops, contact Jill Hughes at 307-268-2383 orjhughes@caspercollege.edu. For general questions, contact Terry Rasmussen at trasmuss@caspercollege.edu or call 307-268-2480.

For full schedule, go to http://www.caspercollege.edu/events/lit

To RSVP, go to event Facebook page.

If you're in Cheyenne and can't get up to Casper, you will have three fine writers coming to town Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at Laramie County Community College. Margaret Coel, Lee Ann Roripaugh and Ben Mikaelsen will lead a free writing workshop on Friday at LCCC. They will lead a series of paid presentations on Saturday (lunch included). Book singing to follow.

LCCC's Literary Connection got its start a decade ago when faculty member Leif Swanson arranged an appearance by Robert Bly who, in Red-State Wyoming, had a few choice things to say in public about Dark Lord Dick Cheney, wars of convenience and reactionary dimwits in the Republican Party, among other things. Never shy, Robert Bly. He also led a writing workshop for a small group of 300 souls.

Ain't public funding of the arts a glorious thing?

Ed Roberson

Here are a few other upcoming Wyoming events that feature real live writers:

On September 19, at 5 p.m., the UW MFA program in creative writing in Laramie will host a reception welcoming poet Ed Roberson to campus, followed by a reading by Roberson at 5:30 p.m.  The reception and reading will be held at the UW Art Museum. This event is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a book-signing. Tonight, Roberson is giving a reading in Jackson sponsored by the Teton County Public Library. In February, Roberson’s residency will be followed by that of nonfiction writer John D’Agata. D’Agata’s non-fiction book, “About a Mountain,” was one of the best books I’ve read in the past ten years. FMI: Visit the MFA website at www.uwyo.edu/creativewriting or contact Gwynn Lemler at cw@uwyo.edu or 766-6453.

The Laramie County Public Library Foundation’s annual Booklovers’ Bash will be host to mystery writer Craig Johnson. The Bash, to be held on Friday, October 28 at Little America and includes dinner and silent and live auctions. For a preview of Johnson’s books, please visit his web site at craigallenjohnson.com. Craig also will be featured at the Central Wyoming College Library Open House in Riverton on Nov. 2, 4 p.m.

I have enough experience as an arts administrator and arts presenter and writer to know that you can't make people attend arts events.

Craig Johnson

But there is one thing you can do. You can keep creating and arranging and planning. Doing is in the doing, ya'll. The audience does eventually arrive. When that prize-winning poet from Georgia walks in the door to talk about his craft, you might ask, "Who are you?"

He just might answer: "Sit yourself down. Open your mind. You might learn something tonight."

Read a few of Dickey’s best poems at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/james-l-dickey

Looking for Vietnam War chapter in Dick Cheney's memoir? Don't bother...

For a detailed (and timely) wrap-up of the situational patriotism shown by Wyoming favorite former Republican Veep, Dick Cheney, go to http://www.thenation.com/blog/163010/chapter-about-vietnam-went-missing-dick-cheneys-book

House concerts catching on in Cheyenne

Casper musicians Amy Gieske and Cory McDaniel perform at a Cheyenne house concert Sunday evening. Cheyenne organizers snagged the duo on their way back to Casper from a fund-raiser for Habitat for Humanity in Albany County. House concerts are nothing new but catching on in Wyoming as a grassroots way to hear live music in an intimate setting.  Photo by Linda Coatney.

NEA"s "Our Town" grants supports creativity in our towns

Artist's rendering of Casper's Sunshine II development that will include an arts space for resident and neighbors

Here's a whole lot of creative placemaking that will be supported by almost $7 million in "Our Town" grants from the National Endowment for the Arts: http://www.arts.gov/grants/recent/11grants/Our-Town.html

One of those is a $50,000 grant for Casper to develop a public art space alongside the 26-unit Sunshine Apartments II development now under construction. The site is across from the Nicolaysen Art Museum and just west of where the now-demolished KC Apartments were located. Some of you may remember the rundown KC Apartments as a slumlord-run blight on the neighborhood that mercifully was closed down by the city and then demolished.    

The new Sunshine II low-income development feature LEED-certified buildings and now an arts space. 

Project organizers envision the space as a gathering spot for apartment residents and the surrounding community. The museum also intends to create educational and outreach programs for the site. 

“It’s part and parcel with a whole mindset or plan for downtown Casper on how to integrate arts with our everyday lives,” said museum Curator Lisa Hatchadoorian. 

--clip--

Hatchadoorian isn’t aware of any other public art spaces in Wyoming tied to low-income housing. Organizers hope their project will encourage similar efforts in other parts of the state.

“It’s a community-building experience,” she said. “A lot of times, when you have a public art space where people can interact, it just brings everyone ... it makes the community more available to each other. It just makes a better place to live.”

Read more: http://trib.com/news/local/casper/article_b59063b2-7991-51f2-8698-204d1b7b01fc.html#ixzz1RxrMkUst

Another one of the NEA's "Our Town" grants goes to a neat "arts incubator" project just down the road from Cheyenne in Fort Collins, Colo.:

To support the creation of the Rocky Mountain Regional Arts Incubator (RMRAI) in the historic Carnegie building in downtown Fort Collins. The RMRAI will offer students and professionals a multitude of services to assist them in creating, redefining, and sustaining their creative careers in the new economy, including educational courses, internships, continuing education for practicing artists, and gallery and performance spaces.

The project is a collaboration among the non-profit Beet Street, the City of Fort Collins Cultural Services Department and the Colorado State University School of the Arts. The incubator will be located in the Carnegie Building in the city's Library Park.

The Beet Street web site doesn't say, but the org's name probably trades on Fort Collins' aggie reputation, namely its years as a center of sugar beet production. CSU got its start as Colorado A&M, home of a fantastic veterinary school and lots of farming and ranching courses. That's what the big "A" up on the mountain stands for. CSU grew into a place where the arts shared a campus with the aggie arts. What's interesting is that the university (my alma mater) now is investing heavily in green technology and sustainable agriculture, putting the A&M back into the name in new and interesting ways.

Every act of creativity negates an attempt to send humankind back to the Dark Ages

I am always astonished at the many ways people find to be creative.

Building bicycles that make smoothies, to name one small thing. I reported in early June about the "Upcycling 101" festival held in Casper. Local Gen-Y artist, performer and entrepreneur Betsy Bower transformed a cast-off kid's bike into a conveyance that also makes smoothies. She mounted a blender on a wooden platform on the rear bumper, ran a vertical axle to to the top of the rear tire, which drove the blender and made smoothies. Betsy also is taking old bikes and making them new with skills she learned at her father's welding business. Read the full post at http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2011/06/recycling-and-creativity-on-display-at.html

Meanwhile, our two Republican U.S, senators push for a "Save the Edison Light Bulb" bill that would negate energy-saving standards. What's the expression -- don't try to force your past on my future? Our Republican leaders want to turn back the clock and send us back to the horse-and-buggy days. One of these senators is younger than this blogger. Shame on you, college-educated Dr. Sen. John Barrasso, party hack.

So many innovative ideas out there powered by innovative thinkers.

This comes from Grist:

Passengers using a newly retrofitted light-rail station in downtown Phoenix, Ariz., can press a button to be showered in cool air, powered by solar energy and cold water from an efficient district cooling system. The system, which was inspired by similar installations in Dubai, uses solar power to run fans that blow cool air. The cool air itself comes from a system of chilled water that has been running in Phoenix's business district since 2001. It's called district cooling: A central plant run by NRG Thermal cools the water, which is then piped to nearby buildings to be used in lieu of less-efficient conventional air-conditioning systems. Car-free transport, distributed solar power, and district energy: It’s a triple play worthy of the Scandinavians, only it's happening in what would otherwise seem to be one of America's least sustainable cities. What is it about extreme conditions that turns desert communities [such as Phoenix and El Paso]  into hotbeds of efficiency and innovation?

So many other examples. I'll share them as I come across them, with an emphasis on Wyoming and the West, especially the big red states with regressive leaders. You know who you are.

Here's another example, this by British land artist Chris Drury and his new installation at UW in Laramie: http://uwartmuseum.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-sculpture-installation-for.html

Recycling and creativity on display at "Upcycling 101" event in Casper

Abigail Schneider, left, and Kelleen Gilstad spread mortar on an outdoor table to create a mosaic with found items at Upcycling 101 on Saturday afternoon in James Reeb Park in Casper. Little Hands, a local art education group, put on the arts festival to demonstrate what can be done with recycled items. Kerry Huller photo.

While I attended the Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference Saturday in Casper, another arts-oriented event was happening across town.

"Upcycling 101" was held at Winter Memorial Presbyterian Church in north Casper. “Upcycling,” according to a story by Tom Morton in Sunday's Casper Star-Tribune, is "the uptown term for taking trash and making it pretty if not practical, said Kate Schneider, an organizer of the event. 'Upcycling is taking things that normally would be thrown away and creating useful, beautiful, fun stuff.' ”

Morton described one of the upcycling demonstrations:

A portable forge heats tools with large- or medium-size rings at one end and handles at the other.

Meanwhile, Betsy Bower places an empty wine bottle in the corner of a box and seats it in the sand at a playground during the first “Upcycling 101” event at the Winter Memorial Presbyterian Church in north Casper.

An Upcycling participant dons a glove, pulls the tool from the forge, places it over the bottle and holds it flush against the top of the box.

Bower rotates the bottle as the participant pulls the hot tool against the side of the bottle.
The tool is removed after a half-minute of turning; she picks up the bottle and dunks it in a bucket of water, where a slight crack is heard.

Bower retrieves the bottom half of the bottle for the participant to sand smooth the edge, creating a unique drinking glass.

--snip—

Besides the turning-wine-bottles-into-glasses miracle, Bower had on display a creation that wasn’t particularly useful, definitely not beautiful, but certainly fun.

She enhanced a child’s bicycle by mounting a blender on a wooden platform on the rear bumper and running a vertical axle from the blender to the top of the rear tire, which would drive the axle to power the blender. Sort of margaritas on the go.

Betsy actually made smoothies with her upcycled bicycle. Although margaritas-on-the-go may be next.

After the writing conference ended on Sunday, I had a chance to visit with Betsy at her family's business, Bower Welding & Ornamental Iron, located in an industrial section of Casper several blocks northeast of downtown. Betsy's father Tom built the business over the course of several decades. He moved to Casper in the 1970s from Douglas with his wife Cindy, who is a board member of Wyoming Writers, Inc. Tom had some welding experience and he went to work in the oil patch. Casper was -- and still is -- a good place for a welder. He estimates there are at least a thousand welders working out of this city of 55,000 souls. It's mostly oil field work. There's one big company that manufactures truck bodies. And there is lots of residential welding to do. The work is functional and decorative. Tom showed off a fanciful stairway railing that is one of Betsy's projects. Imagine a series of intertwined steel rods, fashioned to look like tree limbs.

While Betsy's father and I spoke, Betsy rode up on her customized bike. Not the blender bike. This was a "fat-tire" style bicycle with various artistic elements welded by Betsy. I noticed the bike had no gears, which makes riding in hilly Casper a challenge.

Betsy learned her craft at her father's shop. Over time, her interests turned more toward the performing arts. She spent some time with a traveling circus, learning skills on the trapeze and twirling flaming batons. She's performed a number of times around Casper. Last summer, we had a chance to perform together during ARTCORE'S "Poetry & Music" Series. It was at the old Jazz Spot downtown. I read the first part of my short story and then Betsy performed yoga movements on the trapeze to original music. I read the second half of my story. Betsy wrapped up the evening with a dance featuring flaming batons. I will let you decide which parts of the evening got the most attention.

It was Betsy's need for a sturdy trapeze platform that led her back to the welding shop. She was rehearsing in a building where the trapeze was hung from the ceiling. As you might guess, performers need dependable equipment or they wind up on their noggins on the floor. So Betsy decided to build her own dependable and portable metal structure. She hauls it to her gigs and assembles it on site.

Besides unique bikes, Betsy builds metal tables and decorative items. Some of her work is on display in her father's business office. A twisted metal sculpture supports a thick glass table top. On the table is a welded metal flower pot with metal flowers.

Betsy plans to hit the road in the near future as a metal artist. I asked if she was going to incorporate her performance skills with her metal work. She thought that the title of "performing metal artist" had a nice ring. There are many traveling metal bands. Maybe she could be a metal metal artist?

I digress. Obviously we'll be hearing more from Betsy Bower.

Saturday's "Upcycling 101" was also a fund-raiser for an historic park.

Besides fun, the Upcycling event raised awareness for the Casper Young Professionals Network to resurrect the 1970s-era James Reeb Memorial Community Playground adjacent to the church. The Rev. James Reeb, who moved from Casper to Washington, D.C., then Boston, was beaten to death in Selma, Ala., in March 1965, and is regarded as the first white Protestant minister martyr of the civil rights movement.

The Young Professionals Network is applying for grants to redo the playground by replacing the run-down and fenced-in basketball court with a community garden and chess tables, new playground equipment, a gazebo, trees, horseshoe pits and landscaping, Brandon Daigle said.
Daigle, a member of the network and an architecture student, drafted the general plans for the park, he said. 

But he wanted the children who attended the Upcycling event to imagine what they would like and draw their ideas with the crayons and paper he made available, he said.

Even the basketball court and gravel in the park will be given new lives, Daigle said.

“The asphalt will be recycled; the gravel will be used as a [pavement] base,” he said.

Rehabbing a park named after a martyr for Civil Rights in the U.S. seems like an amazingly good cause. If you want to donate or find out more, go to www.casperyoungprofessionals.org

Encountering ghosts in my imagination and along the North Platte River

I take lots of notes at any gathering I attend. Old habit from my days as a reporter. And, as a writer, I never know when or where I might find ideas for the next story.

This weekend at the Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference in Casper, I heard many good stories. Historical novelist Lucia St. Clair Robson has parlayed her background as a librarian into a career where she researches and writes novels about the Apaches' "Apacheria," Comanches, the U.S.-Mexico War, Episcopalian settlers to The New World, warlords in feudal Japan and many others. She finds many fascinating facts while conducting research. Facts are important but it is the real people she attempts to portray.

I was drawn to her opening session on Saturday because she named it after a James Thurber short story: "The Night the Ghost Got in." Thurber, she said, didn't believe in ghosts. Neither does she, but she lives with the ghosts of people she's met in her research and the characters who have sprung from it. During a school residency a few years ago, Lucia admitted that she lived with ghosts. One student warily asked: "They're not here with you now, are they?"

For writers, the ghosts are always with us. My characters live with me while I'm writing about them. They are with me now. This gives me the distracted, absent-minded professor persona that my wife Chris loves so dearly. They feed my dreams. In fact, I don't dream if I'm not writing. If I'm writing well, the dreams become vivid and strange. They've led to a few nightmares.

Speaking of nightmares, they happen regularly in real life. During a break in yesterday's action, I walked the Casper riverwalk along the North Platte. The water is high and flowing fast. It was a warm, sunny afternoon. On the far bank, some teens were swimming in the pools created by the rising water. Probably not a great idea but it was hot and the water was cool. On my side of the river, a group of volunteers was putting up tents and stringing banners for Sunday's Casper Marathon. Over at Mike Lansing Field, home of the Casper Ghosts, the grounds crew was preparing the field for Saturday night's Legion Baseball games. The Ghosts, the Class A farm team of the Colorado Rockies, don't start their schedule for a couple more weeks.

Lots of people on the path. Families and cyclists and couples with dogs. I passed the ballfield on my left and walked by the park and playground. In the picnic shelter, a woman sat on the floor cavorting with two miniature chihuahuas. The dogs headed for me and the woman got up to follow.

Meanwhile, I looked to my right and saw a man standing on a fallen tree trunk. The man wore a ballcap, T-shirt, baggy shorts and black sneakers. He clutched something in his right hand as he stood staring at the river.  At first I thought it was a brown bag. But the way he held it -- it looked like a grip on the stock of a rifle. Not unusual to see people with rifles in Wyoming. But it seemed all wrong on a sunny June Saturday along the Casper Riverwalk.

As I got closer, he looked over and the grip on the object changed. His hand slipped a bit and he caught the object that wasn't a gun but something inside a brown bag. I suddenly understood.

The woman was now closing in on me, she and her two tiny dogs. She had black hair and wore a colorful blouse, leggings and sandals. I said hello and she responded the same. Couldn't tell if she was happy or sad or mad. The dogs negotiated the tall grass, their pointy brown ears and tail tips about the only things visible.

I walked another 10 yards when I heard this from the woman: "Are you going to carry that around all day? Or drink it and fall down?"

Now things were more clear than ever. The man's voice wasn't. He responsed with something that sounded like "gribble, grabble, mumf."

"Then drink it and throw up."

More "gribble, grabble, mumf." The words hit me hard. I realized that I was in the midst of a domestic drama that had no happy ending. I turned. The man was off the log and on the path facing the woman. They seemed calm. No wild gesturing or -- what I feared most -- punching or kicking or even shooting. The dogs carried on in their hyper way, not paying attention to either human.

I walked on. Could not keep those people out of my mind as I walked until the path was blocked by the rising river and I turned around. The couple wasn't there when I passed their confrontation site. I wondered if they had driven away and if they had, was the drunken man at the wheel? Of had he actually puked or maybe even fallen down in the parking lot.

The two people and their dogs are now part of the crowd of ghosts swirling in my imagination. I may use this scene in a story or I may not. I may use the dialog in a story but different characters. I may use the scene in a new place or time. Time will tell.

Ghosts. I may not believe in them. They are real, just the same.

Wyoming writers and poets meet-up this weekend in Casper

Leaving tomorrow for the annual conference of Wyoming Writers, Inc., in Casper. Doesn't seem as if it's been a year since last year's gathering in Cody. It's a great opportunity to learn about new trends in writing and publishing. Also just a good time to visit with old friends and meet new ones.

One of the best events are open mic readings on Friday and Saturday nights. Attendees get to hear some great writing in five-minute segments. Lit bytes. It's fast-paced and fun. I am the keeper of the timer and take my job seriously. For the first time, my WAC colleague and I, Linda Coatney, will be filming the open mics. So come on our to the Ramada Riverside and join the fun. Rumor has it that the conference may be available by boat. Snow melt is getting serious along the North Platte that flows adjacent to the hotel. I ain't worried. I'm packing my water wings.

Here are all the links you need for information about the June 3-5 WWInc conference in Casper:

2011 Wyoming Writers, Inc. Conference

June 3-5 in Casper, Wyoming

Ramada Plaza Riverside.

Presenters:

Author Lucia St. Clair Robson

Poet Chris Fischbach

Peter McCarthy, V.P. of Marketing, Random House.

Editor Katie Dublinski, Graywolf Press

Agent Peter Steinberg, The Steinberg Agency

Go to the WWInc web site for conference brochure

Republicans make up their own stats about Medicaid in Wyoming

Great article on the Equality State Policy Center blog by Barb Rea about the May 9-10 Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee meeting in Evanston.

Committee Co-Chairman Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, felt the need to add his personal interpretation to almost every piece of information presented. He painted Medicaid as a perennial problem in the state, and assured the committee that the new federal health care law, which he dismissively terms “Obamacare,” will be repealed or at least defunded. He also continues to portray his pet project, Healthy Frontiers, as a viable program which could be used to replace both Medicaid and the benefits offered in the new legislation.

First, one has to wonder why so many wacko Republican legislators come from Casper. Second, one has to wonder why Sen. Scott feels he has to bully other members of the committee. Third, why does Sen. Scott have such an unhealthy interest in the very flawed Health Frontiers program? Right, it’s his pet project and he is single-minded in pursuing that over any other alternative to rising health care costs and the stone-cold fact that thousands of Wyomingites are uninsured.

But Scott wasn’t the only one with a suspicious agenda.

The state’s new Director of the Department of Family Services, Steve Corsi, who made a stunning assertion that 30% to 40% of people who enroll in Medicaid in Wyoming, come dressed like he was (black suit and new haircut) and driving an Escalade, “and there is nothing we can do about it.”

Senator Scott let the committee’s disgust percolate until Wyoming’s Medicaid Director, Teri Green, was able to question the validity of Mr. Corsi’s numbers. Mr. Corsi later apologized for using an inflammatory example and a “guesstimate.”

Later we learned from another presenter, that nationally less than 10% of Medicaid payments are claimed fraudulently, and in Wyoming the figure is less than 6%. Moreover, research tells us most of the fraud by far (80%) is committed by providers (primarily medical-device and pharmaceutical companies). Less than 10% of the fraud is committed by patients.

Mr. Corsi’s hysterical assertions seem to be cut from the same cloth as the “Welfare Queens” of the 1980s, those mythical creatures who drove up to welfare offices in their Cadillacs to rake in the big welfare bucks. What nonsense. A director of a state agency should know better.

At this point, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that our family has benefited from the Wyoming Medicaid Children’s Waiver. This program fills in the insurance holes when your son or daughter needs long-term care for mental health diagnoses or drug and alcohol treatment.

Our daughter benefited from the tax-supported program on several occasions. I will have to note that she is now 18 and a healthy contributing member of society and is currently working and her taxes go to help other young people in Wyoming who have experience health care emergencies. She doesn’t seem to mind.

And I also have to admit that I had a new haircut the last time I filled out the paperwork for the Medicaid Waiver. I have always admired Mr. Corsi’s tonsorial discipline and thus was inspired to follow his example. I wasn’t wearing a black suit as I didn’t want to be mistaken for a bureaucratic blockhead (note to self: no name-calling) such as Mr. Corsi. And I left my Escalade at home. Mr. Corsi may be able to afford to Escalade on his director’s salary, but most of us state employees have to make do with four-year-old Fords and Chevy compacts.

UPDATE: AT last night's Laramie County Democratic Party meeting, I learned that Mr. Corsi was referring specifically to the state's S-CHIP program in his good haircut/dark suit/Escalade remarks. Our family has never been involved in the S-CHIP program. A good thing, considering my lack of attention to hair, clothes and gas-guzzling personal mobility devices.

Read the entire Equality State Policy Center post at http://equalitystatewatch.blogspot.com/2011/05/medicaid-is-helpful-and-should-be.html

Casper Journal op-ed: Stimulus money a success

Kimberly Holloway, member of the Casper City Council, chastises Dr. Sen. John Barrasso about his recent disparaging remarks regarding Pres. Obama's stimulus spending in Wyoming. Barrasso is from Casper. Read Halloway's remarks here

Casper Star-Trib: "Wyoming can provide shots for needy children"

We agree with the Casper Star-Tribune editorial, "Wyoming can provide shots for needy children."

Wyoming Department of Health has cited budget constraints as the reason it will no longer provide free vaccinations against influenza, meningitis, Hepatitis A and human papilomavirus to needy children. The change will take effect in July. 

Undoubtedly there are places where the state needs to trim its budget and cut unnecessary spending. The vaccination program isn’t one of them. 

When it comes to providing for the public health needs of children whose parents can’t afford the immunizations, we think most Wyomingites would agree that we could sock away a little less into our state’s rainy-day accounts to pay for it.

Fortunately, the state will still provide vaccinations required for children to attend public school. But that still leaves families with children who don’t qualify for a federal vaccination program unable to pay for immunizations against four diseases.

The CST urges Gov. Mead to use some of his discretionary funds to fill in the gap until the legislature can address this issue in 2012. It's a public health issue. It's also the right thing to do. Read the entire editorial at http://trib.com/opinion/editorial/article_97d5faa8-ea58-5b6b-8824-05a7974015ba.html

Dems gather in scary Casper to plan future

The population of Democrats in Natrona County will increase dramatically this weekend as the Central Committee of the Wyoming Democratic Party gathers April 29-30 in Casper. We hope that this influx of Progressives can influence the bad juju inflicted on the State Legislature this past year by Regressive Know Nothings from Natrona County. You know who I mean -- Gerald Gay, Kit Jennings, Bob Brechtel, etc. Get to know them now as they will return to Cheyenne in 2012 to promote their anti-gay, anti-worker, anti-Obama agendas. So, if you feel like attending, here's the info from Bill Luckett, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party:

The Central Committee of the Wyoming Democratic Party meets in Casper on Saturday, April 30, at Casper College, in the Sharon Nichols Auditorium in the McMurry Career Studies Building. 

Members of the Central Committee include county chairs, vice chairs, state committeemen and state committeewomen. But note that this meeting, like all of our meetings, is open to the public, AND we are going to focus heavily on training for county party leaders, so you may want to encourage others from your county who are not technically members of the Central Committee to attend. They’ll be most welcome. We also especially hope any members of the Legislature who are not technically members of the Central Committee will attend.

In addition to the training, the major orders of business will be to elect state party officers for the next two years and to approve our state party’s Delegate Selection Plan for the 2012 Democratic National Convention. 

The Leadership Group of the Wyoming Democratic Party will meet in Casper on the previous day, Friday, April 29, for a session on party strategy, as previously announced. That meeting is planned for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday the 29th in the downstairs conference room of the Stratton Real Estate/Blue Cross Blue Shield building at 231 E. Midwest Ave., which is between Wolcott and Durbin streets just a half block south of 2nd Street. The Leadership Group and others who’ve indicated interest in attending will get further information on this session early next week.

E-mail Bill at luckett@wyomingdemocrats.com

Summit for Equality April 30 in Casper

This announcement comes from Pamela RW Kandt of the Wyoming GLBT News:

You are invited to participate in the first-ever SUMMIT FOR EQUALITY in Wyoming!

On the heels of this past legislative session, it is clear we have a lot of work to do toward achieving Equality for Wyoming's GLBT community. It's also clear from our success in defeating some very ugly legislation that those of us who are committed to Equality -- when we work together -- can overcome formidable odds. That's why a group of us from around the state want to gather to meet each other and brainstorm our political and community strategies in advance of the next elections and legislative sessions.

Because you were a part of our winning team, we hope you will join us for a half-day meeting in Casper to our plan next steps.

EQUALITY SUMMIT
10am-3pm / Saturday, April 30
North Casper Clubhouse
$10 registration fee
(covers rent, lunch & snacks)

Already committed to participating in this historic event are members of the loose-knit coalition who lobbied in Cheyenne during the session and provided us with insight and legislative intelligence to help us defeat bills that attacked the GLBT community. We have a lot of issues and ideas to discuss and your input is important.

Please RSVP right away to the email address below. Once you are registered, we'll send you a draft agenda for your perusal and comments, along with directions to the meeting site. If you need a recommendation for lodging, let us know. Call or email if you have any questions.

We're looking forward to seeing you on the 30th!

PAMELA RW KANDT
Wyoming GLBT News
307.377.7763
WyomingGLBTnews@gmail.com

Keeping you informed about Wyoming's gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender communities, including allies & allied organizations such as PFLAG. Check out Wyoming GLBT News on Facebook!

CST: Council delays mixed-use change on conspiracy allegations

Remember that these wingnuts don't care how crazy they look or sound. They are loud and keep showing up for meetings. Rule No. 1 for Progressives: Show up for important meetings! No more slacktivism!

Council delays mixed-use change on conspiracy allegations

Mark your calendars for Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference June 3-5 in Casper

I'm a member of this great writing organization. A fantastic summer conference is planned and I urge you to attend.

Here are some details:

Don't miss the 2011 Wyoming Writers, Inc., Conference

Ramada Plaza Riverside Hotel and Conference Center along the North Platte River in Casper, June 3–5

Presentations, Workshops, Agent Pitch Sessions, Contest, Book Signings, Open Mic! In case you're wondering, I'm the emcee for the open mic sessions on Friday and Saturday. 

Presenters:
Author Lucia St. Clair Robson
Poet Chris Fischbach
Peter McCarthy, Vice President of Marketing at Random House
Editor Katie Dublinski, Graywolf Press
Agent Peter Steinberg, Steinberg Agency

Register or get more info at http://www.wyowriters.org. Sign up by May 9 and pay only $155 for the conference ($170 for non-members). 

Conference: bowercorner@juno.com
Contest: phdugan@silverstar.com

Supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.