THE OPEN RANGE

Reflections, Ruminations & Rhetoric from the Range

Wyoming beckons.

Or what Wyomingites call “The other Wyoming.”

As for me, I’m not sure whether to title this tale The Jackson Abstraction or Jackson Hole-istic.

It’ll come, always does, depends on what happens during the course of a week.

First stop in the Cowboy State: Kemmerer, home to the original J.C. Penney in 1902. Timeless American practicality and ethos, a staple of my childhood.

James Cash Penny called his invention “The Golden Rule Store”: Treat others like you would like to be treated.

Kerouac may have bought a flannel shirt here. (Or maybe from another J.C.Penney. There were 1600 of them back in the 1940s.)

As Time Goes By

Alighting at the center of town, I’m overcome by a wave of nostalgia… even though it’s new to me.

You see, I wanted to visit this town half-a-century ago, ever since my high school sweetheart in London returned stateside for the summer—as most expats do—to visit her grandparents.

I missed her so bad. I remember daydreaming about jumping on a plane and just showing up in Kemmerer. No plan beyond that. No warning. Just wanted to be with her.

Funny how life goes. Decades later, she’s long gone from my story (other than a trace in my heart). But here I am.

A few hours later, I’m finally there: The Tetons, Jackson Hole.

A dream log cabin…

…with a view…

And maybe this is where I was always meant to be.