Way back when I was a kid getting through the short nights of summer or the long nights of a North Dakota winter meant listening to radio serials and looking through the Sears, Montgomery Wards and JC Penny catalogs for dreaming of toys that we'd never have but looked so good in the catalogs. The catalogs eventually made their way to the little house on the prairie (outhouse) for the ultimate paper recycling. It seemed there was always something going on to keep us occupied, usually that something was of our own making and imagining. It's a lot easier to sit down in front of a TV set or video game and get lost in mindless programming than it is to use the gray matter between your ears to actually come up with something to entertain yourself. Maybe that's why our kids score so low on exams, the gray matter is underused in the evenings and weekends. If ya don't use it ya loose it.

Now if ya'll will excuse me, I just spotted a perfect "Y" in the chokecherry tree and I do have that flat tire on my bike, plus the dog (Ghillie) needs to have a frisbee thrown about. Gotta keep the mullygrubs at bay.

REE