October 5

At 4PM today I’ll pick Dad and Chap up from the Bozeman airport. The three of us will go bird hunting together for a few days. Dad and I will shoot, and Chap will point birds, because he is a dog and that’s what every instinct tells him to do (unless a nearby female is in heat, in which case the fool’s mind wanders). Then we’ll go fly fishing someplace – Chap will probably swim – and then take a day just to wander, maybe down into Yellowstone again. Chap can ride on the console, where he prefers to sit. I look forward to spending some time with the Old Man and his best bird dog. We’ll watch the Vice Presidential debates tonight, and hope John Edwards whips that crotchety curmudgeon. He probably will. Edwards was a hell of a trial lawyer. Chap will watch with us.

It’s a little past midnight now, so it is only technically the 5th of October. Yesterday seems to have taken a long time, but I enjoyed it. Spent it running around Billings. Internet, ammo, clearing space in the truck for dad and dog, cooking, laundry, beer and Monday Night Football. I watched the second quarter of the Ravens-Chiefs game and then grew bored. It was 17-17 when I left the bar. Football is something I enjoy in a more intimate setting. Either that or in a stadium with thousands of whooping fans.

So it’s on to bed, and maybe a little reading. The USA Today – I still can’t find the Times – and Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. I’ll see Gannet Publishing lead informed Americans all over the current events map by the eyes and see Lady Brett lead Jake Barnes all over Paris by the – well, you know.