|
Rivers Rise, Content
Falls
By Josh Mahan
|
Spring
creeps into the mountains of Montana with snow
squalls and leaves of green. The cramped studio known as Lowbagger
World
Headquarters seems a little bigger these days. The crotchety Montana writer formerly
known as Mike Roselle has left the building.
He
said something about sea air and salt water being necessary to fully
heal his
wounded knee. I figured that the ambiance of being a Montana writer had
finally worn off, seeing how Mike was going to have to start peeling
logs
between his downtown coffee shop visits. If you start showing up in Missoula coffee shops
with a work shirt on and calloused hands, the hippies get nervous. And
nobody
likes to work, or eat for that matter, with a bunch of nervous hippies
staring
at you. So we sent Roselle on the road
after promising him that he could still retain Montana writer status
while flirting with women in Birmingham bars. He’s on
a Lowbattical, if you will.
I’ve
only talked to him a few times since dropping him off at Missoula
International
last week. Apparently he and Floyd are criss-crossing the eastern
seaboard in
search of adventure and adventurers. Mountain Justice Summer looms and Appalachia is abuzz with
ways to stop these dastard coal-mining dogs before they raze every
hill, butte,
and knob in the range in the name of short-term energy solutions and
the
almighty buck. If you’re in the region, you don’t want to snooze on
this one.
Out
in Montana, spring will
bring business as usual with Healthy Forest shams and
categorical exclusion timber sales. There’s even talk of punching cuts
just off
of the much celebrated Lolo Trail, a classic example of resource
extraction and
tourism development colliding head-to-head in the post-resource war
west. By
default the war is almost over. There’s not much left to fight over.
Still
there is beauty and sanctity left in this world. This Lowbagger just
got off of
five days on the Salmon
River. If you
don’t know the place,
you should. It’s one of the last bastions of large wilderness and wild,
free-flowing
rivers. It had been awhile since I had gotten away from the computer
and out of
town. For anyone else who is overdue for a walkabout, don’t delay.
I will
tell
you though, between Mike’s wanderings through the south and east, and
my own
rambles on the river, Lowbagger production has suffered a bit. Not to
worry
friends of Lowbagger, we shall keep plugging away with stories you’ll
find nowhere
else on the internet, in the mainstream media or even those
phony-independent
papers. I never miss an opportunity to plead for fresh, original
content from the many talented
writers that honor Lowbagger by reading our drivel from time to time.
You know
who you are. We look forward to your next piece.
Hell,
we might even get a piece from Mike sometime soon.
As
for this weekend, you can find me out on the rising waters of the
Lochsa.
Email
Lowbagger editor Josh Mahan at editor@lowbagger.org.
