17/09/2025
I wanted to be a cowboy. I wore corduroys, plaid shirts, boots and that red and white kid’s cowboy hat. I rode the tree branches in our Eugene, Oregon laurelwood trees (each branch had a name, thank you Reba and Cass). My first inspirations were Spin & Marty on the Mickey Mouse Club. But Then… when I was 7, my mom took me to the Bijou Theatre to see The Electric Horseman. I fell in Love. Sonny Steele, Bob Redford, captured my heart and so did the wild horses he loved. That TEH vinyl record got more play than Free to Be You and Me ever saw. W***y Nelson’s songs about cowboys were my theme songs. In some ways, the life that came later was similar, chasing herds of athletes through weather and injuries is a little bit cowboy. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid is in my top 3 movies and life loves. Almost named my daughter Cassidy (for Butch, and Neil). I’ve travelled into the depths of the deserts of Utah imagining how difficult the rides to Robbers Roost must have been. When I landed in my hOMe of Crested Butte, my favorite old timer (Uncle Joe Somrak) told me the story of Butch and Sundance getting in near miss with a posse on a Sunday morning from the poker table out the back door of Kochevars. Story goes, they holed up in the CB South caves before riding on to rob the First Bank of Telluride. (Ask me for the longer version another time.) when I moved to Park City, many a night was spent eating at Zoom (thank you ) hoping to catch a glimpse of my forever love, Robert Redford (Newman a close second). I met him once, briefly, and he was everything I hoped, sweet, smiling and legendary. I don’t think I would have loved writing and journalism as much without All The Presidents Men, and I certainly fished with more soul after A River Runs Through It (FU plunkers). Like all skiers, Downhill Racer was always a goto (w/Dumb & Dumber, of course). Thank you, Bobby. My life, my travels through it, wouldn’t have been the same without the influence of your art, your heart, your dedication to the environment, especially Bears Ears, and Sundance the place, and the Festival. I still want to be a cowboy…💫🏔️🐴🎥🎣⛷️♥️
