Opinion

Los Angeles is a wake-up call for the West — especially Durango

After fierce winds whipped fire out of brush-covered hills on Jan. 7, entire Los Angeles neighborhoods burned down. Within a few days, more than 12,000 homes and businesses had been destroyed as …

George Washington Carver: human being extraordinaire

“Love anything enough and it will reveal its secrets to you.” So said George Washington Carver, one of the world’s greatest of scientists, yet most modest of men. Glenn Clark, …

The broken hallelujah

Hello, 2025. Take a deep breath. The sun came up just like the Lord promised it would. Start this year with a clean slate. Leave behind all the trouble that consumed you in 2024. It’s time to …

Varied ways to cook with rice

If you really love rice like I do, your theme song could be “Rice Is Nice” from the ‘60s band The Lemon Pipers. When it comes to eating white or brown rice, just having it plain can …

Savoring the darkness in Alaska

In my part of Alaska, not far from Anchorage, winter solstice is always a dark day, but not because of the lack of light. Instead, I lament the impending loss of winter’s long nights, with all …

Stay true to yourself

Does anyone remember the old Victoria Magazine? In the ‘80s, I could hardly wait for the next issue. Every word, watercolor and poem drew me in. The vintage handwriting, the soft pastel …

Replacing yearly resolutions with daily declarations

My father died on Sept. 15, 2013. Waiting for him to “declare himself,” as the neurologist described his comatose state, was the most exhausting experience in my life. As I dodged an …

Aunt Judy, a beautiful human

My Aunt Judy passed away the other day. She was a favorite with me and my brothers, and her passing brought up many memories. Many years ago — I’m guessing I was in eighth grade and …

The heart of truth

“Back behind me on the trail of time, there is a place that is sacred to me. Sometimes I go there in my mind and I look upon it thankfully,” Steve Chapman wrote in one of his lyrics. …

What Westerners cared about in 2024

Writers on the Range, an independent opinion service based in western Colorado, sent out close to 50 weekly opinion columns this year. They were provided free of charge to about 150 subscribing …

The old oak tree wept

This morning, sitting in front of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, my attention turned to the daily Bible study from a hunting devotional book I read to my Sweet Al every morning. An avid …

A new Christmas perspective

My early age perspective of Christmas was skewed as much as most every child’s is today. The premise that Christmas is nothing more than getting goodies and gifts overshadowed the story of the …

Imagine a river more exciting than football

Imagine a best-selling, 900-page novel using “a sad, bewildered nothing of a river” as its centerpiece, connecting the earth’s geologic origin and dinosaur age to 1970s rural …

A Christmas message: We are all of value

This holiday season is the most colorful time of the year. Decorating with evergreens, bright colorful lights, sparkly decorations and poinsettia flowers is meant to brighten the darkest time and …

From a sow’s ear to a silk purse

“We comin’.” “We don’t want you.” “We comin’ anyway. We here.” Deion Sanders dug his feet into Colorado soil and planted them on the CU …

‘Get in this truck, now’

In the spring of 1957, after being discharged from active duty in the Army, I took a job as a rodman for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).   As a rodman, it was my job to assist a field …

Observations of a fire lookout

The writers Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder and Norman McLean all staffed high-elevation fire lookouts in the West — their experiences rich fuel for …

Let’s scrap the stigma of mental illness

Even though one in five Americans is estimated to suffer from mental health illness, talk about mental health in the rural West remains muted.   I’d like to talk about it this …

Thanksgiving: cultivating gratitude and gaining happiness

Thanksgiving is more than a national holiday. As the names implies, thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude. Unfortunately, according to history.org, in many American households, “the …

How to live in unity God’s way

Unity is on my mind. Jesus is in my heart.

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