Dave's Fiction Warehouse

Cottonwoods along the Yellowstone on the day in question I made a lot of memories during my recent sojourn in Montana. I climbed a couple of mountains, had a couple of longish alpine hikes, enjoyed a few sunlit days on the shore of Flathead Lake. I also canoed a stretch of the Yellowstone River near Springdale, which is where I almost drowned. I’m not kidding. On August 31, I came pretty close to shuffling off to Buffalo. They say close only counts in horseshoes, but weeks later I still think about it at night. I still look at the clothes I was wearing that day and imagine them as the clothes of a dead man. It’s the only time in my life where I really thought it was over. The long version: Near the end of the float, my brother Ed and I encountered a bit of rough water. As a result of some miscommunication on the paddling, the canoe turned sideways in some standing waves and swamped. At the moment, I wasn’t that worried about it. I’ve tipped over canoes quite a few times, and the worst ...

I never get too maudlin around Father’s Day. My own dad died when I was 9 years old and I have only a few memories of him. Mom later married a rancher named Glenn P. Wood. We all knew him as him Pat. He died yesterday at the age of 88. I do have a lot of memories of Pat, so maybe this year I’ll make an exception.  I never called him Dad. Neither he nor I would have been comfortable with it. But looking back, the way you do when somebody you’ve known all your life passes on, I guess he was pretty close to that. For a few years there, he was the guy who made the rules, the one who taught me things, some of which I didn’t care to learn. Mostly how to work, the importance of getting the difficult chores done whether you felt like it or not.  I remember when I first met him. Mom was a real estate agent then, and she’d brought me with her to this ranch she had listed up near Thompson River. When we got there a thunderstorm had just knocked the power out. My first glimpse of Pat’s fa...

Disco Don I try to remain interested in politics. After all, I’m technically one of those smiling, engaged seniors as seen on TV, pedaling madly through the commercials for Viagra and Lipitor. I’m active, yes, active as hell and way too young to be jaded by the field of presidential contenders for 2012. Then Donald Trump starts dominating the airwaves and I realize it’s all just a big freaking joke. Inevitably, all of America has become a reality show and we’re powerless to change the channel. There were times when Sarah Palin was the joke. Now Donald Trump comes along and makes her look like Mahatma Gandhi. The man and his peculiar hair are everywhere. To hear Donald Trump tell it, there is nothing Donald Trump doesn’t know. He has looked into every aspect of every problem and has formulated solutions to those problems. On China, for example: “They don’t have the cards. We have the cards.” On the economy: “What do they know, the economists? Most of them are not very smart.” There is ...

Starting today, I'm putting all new posts (and there aren't that many of them) on my new Wordpress site, also known as Dave's Fiction Warehouse . I hope the five or six people who look in here periodically will also start looking in over there. Comment early and often. Thanks.

I finally saw Avatar . My short review: Fabulous effects, pedestrian story. James Cameron has certainly set the bar at a great new height for all future action movies, but he hasn't broken much new ground when it comes to sophisticated writing. Not that it matters. This is not a boring movie, and you won't rue the price of your ticket. It's the first 3D film I've ever seen, and I'm glad I waited this long. For the first few minutes, the 3D effect seems a distracting gimmick, but as the movie unfolds it becomes much more natural. I considered only one scene gratuitous: a machine gun barrel protruding out of the screen. Elsewhere Cameron showed admirable restraint. In the Pandoran jungle, the judicious and subtle use of 3D makes the alien flora and fauna seem vividly real. My only problem with Avatar is that every character is a stereotype drawn from other films. Remember Vasquez in Aliens ? She's back, as Trudy Chacon. Wind in His Hair from Dances With Wolv...