Hangin' with Jim B in Hailey

Sometimes when you live in a place for twenty years, you meet the most cherished friend in just the last few years of a long stay in one spot. I worked as an Account Exec. with Express Publishing (display ad sales) and at the office, got to know the "very thorough" Express Pub. Circulation Director, Jim B. We became friends at the dawn of the new century.

We were also "side-project" guys for awhile, outside the realm of our full-time jobs. My "rodeo dough" came from assisting him in small ways with the colossal task of Idaho Mountain Express Newspaper distribution, and also from cash jobs Jim would garner based on his random connections, sealed by his hard-working straight-shooting demeanor. We'd occasionally pack up for folks, or deliver to them expensive high-end furniture up through tight stairwells with nary a scratch (but sometimes sore backs). But that wasn't the sole goal of the  weekends....

 We took many trips to "funtown" which is "code" for any pleasurable pursuit without boundaries. It may be a backroad natural hot springs destination (tagged on to a magazine distribution run), or just a spontaneous hike with another friend's dog somewhere around a nook or cranny buried in the unexpected folds of the Wood River Valley topography, Central Idaho, USA.

 Jim always created "welcoming spaces" in the places he chose to live, and that's no exception these days. He's lived in rustic cabins near rushing rivers in Ketchum, 70s homes with a comfy hot tub in the rear, and other little cozy quarters ferreted out in old classic Ketchum or Hailey neighborhoods. These are places with a unique but undefined history, places of character that had hung on longer than expected. I call them the "David" habitation sites, holding up defiantly, against the swath of  "Goliath Real Estate Development, LLC". In at least one location, Jim was squeezing out some riverside peace from a Ketchum, Idaho cabin right up until nearly it's last month standing (before being scraped off for somebody's luxury condo development project.)

Jim's few chosen homes in about a dozen years, always seemed to be on the cherished land, whether based on the MLS marketing criteria, or simply by the nearness to the river or proximity to shopping without driving. He always made each of the few, a decent place to relax, feel comfortable, stay warm or cool; usually with a porch or patio on which to combine beers with BBQ morsels; a spot to talk about that day's afternoon excursion, or tomorrow's.
And judging by this photo taken at Galena Summit about an hour north, when visiting Jim, you have the best of Idaho available for exploration.

Whether other roommates were with him or not, Jim always had at least a couch with plenty of blankets and pillows available, if you needed a place to stay to hide out from the demons of the day. His current residence is clean, with decent storage, seemed comfy, and was definitely built more solidly than most other pricier homes around it. It's not far from the river or a Croy Canyon escape, and still, you don't really even need a car to fetch most of the daily supplies from the nearby downtown stores. Location, location, right?

When Layli and I stopped by, while dealing with trailer wheel complications,  Jim was reliably around after work with cold beverage on the ready, a snack, and then it wasn't but a few moments more before some smart, witty and intelligent conversation was also bubbling up. And yes, he made available his place for us to crash for the night if we desired. (He was gonna switch to the couch that night.)

 We ended up setting up camp two miles south near the Wood River in Bellevue, but during the following evening, as the chill of the evening crept in, and as our campfire percolated hot glowing coals, we were fortunate enough to have coaxed Jim out for a couple of hours on a worknight, for some laughs and pontifications, and determinations about life, (to be modified later at some future campfire). He even presented a very definite "10" rating to a passing stranger of our generation, and she received that compliment genuinely, because it was so given. We may never see her again, but she won't forget her random moment passing by our campsite with her dog.

 A dependable friend he is to me, and so we continue to be pale riders across the Boulder Mountain ranges of life. May our vistas be as expansive as the photo above, taken as Layli and I "crossed over" at Galena Summit. (Heh! .... they took down the restrooms up there ! Who authorized that ???)

Thanks Jim! Catch you back in Idaho.  Yup, I know you'll have a place for us to stay if we need it......

 ABOVE: Layli, Riley at Hemingway's favorite Fall spot.

In Case you wanted to read the Hemingway Memorial message, here's a closer angle. Ernest loved to hunt, and fish Silver Creek, near Picabo, Idaho.