I promise, I’m trying to get back into regular posting. I can blame my slovenly writing pattern on jet lag, but that only goes so far, right? Or how about this excuse: With fair skies yesterday and only a bit of blustery March wind, Ted, Rick Reese and I rode our bikes up Salt Lake City’s Emigration Canyon. This is a routine “stay in shape” ride for devoted SLC road cyclists and typically not difficult at all.

Nevertheless, I absolutely bonked about two-thirds of the way up, begging off and turning around just short of The Sun and Moon Cafe. My legs felt heavier than two redwood tree trunks and my breath came in hard gasps (Ted later told me I’m recovering from more than two weeks at low-altitude life in India, but I’m skeptical of the science behind that. My Calvinist/Mormon upbringing would tell me I was just being lazy).

So I rode home — fast — against a nasty headwind. That was my day’s exercise challenge.

Anyway, my point is I’m finding all kinds of creative excuses for not posting regularly on Mullentown, not the least of which is spring fever. I’ll try to fight through it.

This brings me to one of the features I love most about floating around the blogosphere: Contributions from readers. You see them routinely in the form of posted comments. And sometimes I get e-mails that flesh out a certain topic even more, or provide a glimpse into a fellow blogger’s life.

One of those people is Larry O. Miller. Regular visitors to Mullentown will recognize Larry’s name. We’ve never met, though Larry and I go way back. See, he’s a “Mullenista,” which is the nickname one of the first fans of my former Salt Lake Tribune column bestowed on loyal readers. When I left the paper three months ago and started this blog, I e-mailed all Mullenistas and encouraged them to visit here. So when you see the names Larry O. Miller, Chardonnay and Oregon Pinot Noir you now know they are faithful electronic FOH (friends of Holly)!

Larry first e-mailed me years ago. He signed his name exactly like this: “Larry O. Miller (no, not THAT Larry Miller).” I’ve loved him ever since. He lives in Ventura County, California and loves to ski at Powder Mountain. He and his family are building an environmentally green home in the Ogden Valley about 70 miles from Salt Lake City.

Larry is an unabashed liberal. He joined his brother Paul, a Korean War veteran, last month at the March on the Pentagon to protest George W. Bush and his war policies. With Larry’s permission, I include a news story on the event, in which he and his brother play prominently. (Way to go with the 15 minutes of fame thing, Larry-O!)

Here is a photo Larry sent me, as well. He wondered if blog readers might be offended and gave me permission to decide. I told him I didn’t think so, but then, I’m a First Amendment purist. I appreciate anyone’s sensibilities, but if you don’t like this photo then feel free to sign out and turn the page.

To see Larry and a new friend, go here.

Finally, please go here for a thoughtful essay by my friend Chip Ward, recently retired assistant director of the downtown Salt Lake City Library. The same essay appears in the Los Angeles Times opinion section today.I saw Chip last week at a staff dinner of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), where he serves on the board of directors with my husband, Ted. One of Chip’s greatest concerns has been the plight of the urban homeless. His essay cuts right to the heart of the matter.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2007 at 8:35 am and is filed under All, Politics, Community, Culture, One World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.