Opinion: 35 years of columns

Another year in the books. As usual all forms of the media are reviewing the top stories of 2020. Not me. At 83, stories of the past are so many that when I look back I want to savor the memories, good and bad. That takes time both to enjoy the good memories and regret past mistakes and how to avoid repeating them.

Instead, when a new year arrives I like to look forward to making new memories, enjoying the folks I know and the terrific place I live. At 83, that is not as easy as it was when I was 15 with an entire life ahead. Just yesterday I heard on TV that the lifespan of American males is 83.5 years. I passed that mark last November. Does that mean I might croak any day? No, at least no more likely than anyone else.

I fully intend to contribute as much as possible to raising the lifespan of American males. There are so many things I enjoy to keep myself putting along and my mind active. Writing this column is just one way I like to look forward.

My first North Fork column appeared in this paper on April 1, 1985 which I have always thought was appropriate. My number one goal has always been to make people think. Sometimes I have proven my own opinions to be wrong, and once in a while, I have been proven right. The important thing is to share our own opinions and listen to the opinions of others. We all have different perceptions about factual matters. Those differing perceptions depend on our training, how we earn a living, who we know and listen to and many more. What we always have to remember is that an opinion is not a fact. Try and let facts help you form your opinions, and even then you won’t always be right.

I also enjoy serving on the School District 6 Board of Trustees. It is much more fun being a member as opposed to being chairman. Being involved in the education of students keeps you thinking and acting for their benefit.

Finally, I still enjoy just being on the North Fork. Even though it has almost totally changed from when I was a boy. The people are great even if there are too many. Plus, the majority of today’s North Fork landowners are transplants from other places, but they all love the same things I do. Namely the river and creeks, the ever-changing weather, and the wildlife, birds and the living forest, all of them slowly evolving, changing, and full of life and excitement.

I expect all of these things to keep me involved and excited; maybe I’ll write this column for another seventeen years!

Next week we will journey into the past, and readers will understand a little better why I worry about North Forkers loving the area to death.

What do you think?

Larry Wilson's North Fork Views appears weekly in the Hungry Horse News.