One Nation, Under God

I hope they find their special place

When I arrived in Montana I knew nary a soul here.

It didn’t matter. I was searching for adventure, not familiarity. I reveled in the wild country and open spaces, the vastness of it all.

Nearly 48 years later I’m still in awe, although I must admit it’s a lot more familiar than it used to be. I know what’s on the other side of the mountains now. I have friends and acquaintances from the Flathead to Baker, and a growing number of young folk refer to me as Grandpa.

The arrival of twins Mason and Samuel earlier this week brought that total to a dozen. Only one lives in another state.

I doubt they’ll all stay. There’s a big, wide world out there to explore, and I hope they see all they can.

I grew up always wishing I lived somewhere grander, wilder, less settled than southern Indiana. The best view I had as a kid was from high up the oak tree in our backyard where I could see the rolling, timbered hills of Kentucky to the south across the Ohio River.

My grandchildren are growing up in the shadow of snow-capped mountains where grizzly bears roam.

The Ohio was my river growing up. I camped on its banks, swam in its slow, muddy waters, and learned to water ski there.

My grandchildren have the Yellowstone — the longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 — practically out the back door.

I hope they all grow up appreciating where they live. No doubt some will leave in search of the hustle and bustle of a city somewhere, and some will chase high-paying jobs that take them hither and yon. But wherever they go they’ll have a Montanan’s perspective on the world.

Few other places will measure up.

The world is more crowded, dangerous, and dirtier than what they know. Traffic is far worse, and hunting and fishing not nearly as good outside the borders of the Treasure State.

Maybe one of them will find a special place like their grandfather did, fall in love with it, and never leave. But if none of them do, and they all decide to stay in Montana, I doubt they’ll be disappointed.

They certainly won’t be lonely.

There are more of them all the time.

Another grandson is due in June.

It feels like a very long time ago that I arrived here by myself.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected].

 

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