The “Happy” Pillow

I sleep with two pillows. One is somewhat firm; the kind you rest your head on as you’re drawn into your dreams. The other is soft and squishy. I call this my “hugging” pillow, and I rather abuse it nightly. I punch and squash it into shape before finally hugging it or sprawling over the top of it.

And then there’s the “happy” pillow. Technically, I share this one with Desiree. It doesn’t serve any practical purpose. I don’t sleep with it. It’s more of a “show” pillow. It just sits there and tells us to be happy. And somehow, looking at it makes me happy.

The Happy Pillow

—Mitchell Hegman

The Good Apprentice

Yesterday, I taught a class filled with a dozen apprentice electricians in their fourth year of training. These are the finest young men and women you can imagine. They proved both intelligent and attentive as we waded through some technical material related to the use of digital multimeters.

I enjoy teaching the willing.

At present, there exists great demand for electricians. And we will need many more as we surge into our electrified future. I found myself particularly impressed when I engaged in side conversations with the students. These are highly motivated people, and all of them revealed how much they enjoy their craft.

It warmed me to hear that. We need these young people on our side. And here we have them.

—Mitchell Hegman

Self-Assessment

Clearly, my thinking is too small to fill even the tiniest crack in the face of a mountain. The slowest-growing pine will reach higher than me. Though both silent and fleeting, the shadow of a passing cloud has a broader impact. But I can out-frenzy the best of them. And if need be, I can raise enough dust to baffle everyone.

—Mitchell Hegman

The Cattle Drive

Montana is known for perpetually supporting a larger population of cattle than people. Though the cow-to-person ratio has narrowed a bit in recent years, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in early 2024 reveal 2.12 million cattle roaming the state alongside 1.14 million people.

As we might say in my hometown of East Helena, Montana, that’s a plethora of cows. Just kidding. We would never say that. First, we call them cattle around these parts. Second, saying “plethora” might earn you a disciplinary punch in the shoulder.

The other afternoon, as Desiree and I were driving home, we fell in behind—of all things—an old-fashioned cattle drive just as we reached the causeway.

Droving cattle from place to place is no small task. Pushing them in the desired direction can be about as effective as shoveling dirt with a pitchfork. In this instance, two sheriff’s officers and about a dozen cowboys and cowgirls—some on horseback, others in trucks or bouncing along on ATVs—strove to move the herd and keep them together at the same time.

The causeway confounded the cattle. They didn’t appreciate crossing that narrow strip of pavement with water jostling on both sides. The drovers frenzied around the knot of restless animals to keep the herd from blowing up or turning back. In the end, the process of urging them on cost us about a half hour, but Desiree and I enjoyed the event all the same.

Vehicles and Cattle on the Causeway and Strung Along Lake Helena Drive

Cattle Milling on an Open Hillside

A Cowgirl Watching Over the Herd

—Mitchell Hegman

An Alchemist’s Dream

In simpler times, alchemists spent endless hours trying to turn base metals into gold. Their attempts failed, of course. But yesterday, Desiree and I drove a country road and discovered a place where autumn had turned the trees into tall stands of fluttering gold.

A Golden Country Lane

Desiree Under a Shroud of Gold

—Mitchell Hegman

Stacking “Junk” Sounds Together

Watch and listen to the video I’ve shared today. After this, you’ll never carelessly cast aside another “junk” sound again.

—Mitchell Hegman

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jQCurDh9yrQ

My Reincarnation

If reincarnation is a thing, I’ve decided how I want to come back. I want to be that one bird in a string of twenty perched on a wire, facing the wrong direction.

—Mitchell Hegman