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As I get older, I appreciate my upbringing in Montana more and more. I have always felt wildly fortunate at being exposed to big chunks of wide-open spaces; high-mountains; streams and rivers with native trout and whitefish; animals, some dangerous; ruined mining operations with stuff still in the cabins; and the freedom to experience it all. Moreover, learning these things as one learns their native tongue: gradually, relentlessly, fluently.

To be sure, I chose to make my life away from the solitude and grandness of Montana. Instead, I chose big cities; heavy traffic, some of it on the wrong side of the road; strange customs; people babbling in incomprehensible tongues; and loved every minute of it. And I appreciate this second life more, because I understand my early life so well.

There is a tension between my two lives that has never gone away. I can live both ways; I prefer both; I gain from both. I am a lucky man.