Remarkable

It's remarkable that it's been 10 years already since those "At least our cows are sane" T-shirts began selling across the eastside of the state. Actually, the T-shirts were a marketing campaign to divert people's joking about the fact that suspected Unabomber Ted Kaczynski was arrested at his remote cabin near Lincoln.

Actually the joking was taking the tone "What's wrong with Montana."

The closest we — here at The Western News — got to report on the arrest was a phone call we received from a prominent news agency back East — as in East Coast — wanting a story and photos from us. It took more explaining than it should have that Lincoln County was nearly 300 miles west of the town of Lincoln. They still wanted to know what we had that they could use. I wish I would have had one of those T-shirts to send 'em. But they came a little later.

Of course, the cow thing wasn't just the Unabomber. When Kaczynski was arrested, we were already three days into the standoff between federal law enforcment and the anti-government Freeman at Jordan.

Not our best moment but it was a funny T-shirt.

Another remarkable thing these days is that the baseball season has started.

Barry Bonds, accused by everyone in a some book or another of taking steroids, was booed wildly in San Diego on Monday. Perhaps Bonds and the steroid issue will keep John Kratofil from seeking his revenge on me for my comments after his New York Yankees lost in the playoffs last year. I doubt it, John is a serious baseball fan and even more serious about the Yanks. It's a tough job but somebody has to do it.

Myself, I'll keep rooting for the Rockies — even when they begin losing again; for the Mariners, who seem as hopeless as ever, and for my childhood Mets, who continue to play second fiddle to you know who.

I love spring. There's so much expectation. This year there are those who hope Bond retires and spares us the anguish of more talk about sterioids. That's not going to happen before number 25 breaks Babe Ruth's career home run record and makes a good run at Hank Aaron's mark. Injury might be the only thing to slow down Bonds. It's certainly not going to be that half-wit baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

There's hope the White Sox can repeat; that the Cubs can hold it together to get into a World Series and for many of us, that anybody but those Yankees get to the fall classic.

Enjoy. We even have an hour more daylight this week. — Roger Morris