Just thinking...

I remember how simple voting was 69 years ago when I cast my first vote.  Go into the precinct house  (for years local homes in Greybull were used as voting precinct), show ID, get a ballot, mark your choices, turn it in and walk out, content to know you had done your civic duty. 
Then listen to the radio (no TV) into the early hours to see how the candidates fared.
Easy as pie.
I remember Ed and Eula Williamson’s home on the south side of Greybull was a precinct house. Mother was on the election board and would leave early in the morning, get home late at night, but think it was a pleasant “vacation” from “life as usual.”
I called for an absentee ballot this year. A first. Haven’t gotten it yet, but rain or shine, the mail will come through.
And I think summer and autumn have been at war in the past few weeks.  Hot, hot, hot, then very cool.  I think it has confused the veggies in the garden.  And isn’t autumn a better word for the season than fall?
When “The Merles” (Merle Bryan married Merle Brown so they became “the Merles) came to visit from Oregon, Uncle Merle always said, “Guests are like fish - after three days they begin to smell.” So, sure enough, they always left the morning of the fourth day.
  Well, we had plenty of guests Aug. 1-4 — from Montana, Idaho, Virginia — whom we hadn’t seen in half a decade, and our families from and other parts of Wyoming. They stayed the entire four days, left on the fifth day, and nary a hint of a smell. Just fun.
The Virginia guests took in everything they could of the Big Horn County Fair, fished at the Ranger Creek pond then on private property of relatives. And Jeb went fishing for carp in the Greybull River on Sunday. It was catch and release, but he caught a big one.
Fun meeting our niece Jenny’s son, Rio. Yup, named after grandson Rio.  He was a blond-haired youngster, almost 2 years old, who enjoyed nothing more than going out to help Scott irrigate the back yard — and sitting down in the small irrigation ditch.
 Jenny asked if he was like Rio #1 and I told her he had the blond hair, the impish grin, and insatiable curiosity — so yes, there was a family resemblance.  Was fun to sit on the deck and hear, “Rio, come look at this ... “
The Virginia niece and nephew, ages 10 and 8, taught us their version of Hearts, and in turn, wanted Lucille and me to teach them “Down at the River,” which we did and they were quite proficient.
It was four days of laughs, memories, good food, sharing recent events - and ended all too soon.
So, I would tell Uncle Merle he was wrong. Good visitors are welcome any time.
And watching the Denver Broncos Sunday night was the high note of the week.  Didn’t know many of the players - which is what I expected with pre-season and with so many hopefuls getting a good look from the coaches.  But the quarterback — I think it was Bo — has a future with the Broncos.  Nice to see the ,  27-2, when last year they usually just had field goals. 
Much more exciting than endless election information and disinformation. How are we to tell the difference?