Bad things do happen to good people

The phrase “bad things happen to good people” is something that sticks in my mind. It was the subject of a well-written book, and serves as a thought-provoking phrase when the tide gets too high or I seem to run into one person after another who is mean-spirited and uncaring.

You see, it was one year ago Aug. 3 when the hard-working and dedicated Panguitch, Utah real estate agent Tracy Armstrong was shot four times in his office at the Blue Springs Lodge by a crazed 24-year-old Las Vegas man named Jasson Hines, who was sentenced from four years to life for a senseless crime.

The 45-year-old Armstrong was simply doing his job readying rental cabins when the man walked into the office, opened fire in front of his father and turned the life of a good man into one challenge after another.

And we wonder day after day about why bad things happen to good people like Tracy Armstrong. We wonder why the mean side of society continually thieves and pillages our country without consequences.
Why is it that bad people prosper and continue to hurt people, while good people like Tracy Armstrong are victimized? Compassion is something that people use to have.

Bad people keep right on hurting while walking to the bank with their profits, as the rest of us struggle from day to day to avoid the hurt and the ambush.

Any where. Any time. We are all potential targets of mean people and bad setbacks in a nation rife with chaos, thievery and vandalism. It is happening in churches and it is happening in tiny towns in Southern Utah.

The fact that this happened at all remains mind-boggling to begin with, but when we heard that it happened in Panguitch, it reminded me that the world has indeed gone haywire. A couple with nine children in a quaint little community from Panguitch was the victim of a horrific act of violence that will undoubtedly change the family forever.

Just when we start to get comfortable, someone like Tracy Armstrong is taken down and all at once, we good people are starting to feel like the minority in a world dominated by bad people. Meanwhile, many of the bad people seem to go on without paying the consequences.

Even more amazing is that good people keep on being good and dealing with the everyday struggles and ambushes. People like Armstrong’s wife, Lynn, keep telling the world they’re gonna make it no matter what the challenge while the rest of us worry about the slightest issue.

I mean, talk about getting your priorities in order. I cannot imagine a more dedicated person on earth than Lynn Armstrong, who celebrated her 24th anniversary with Tracy July 13. Her husband has been hurt, and she is determined to help in every way possible whether it means making sure he takes his meds, soothing him with good conversation or simply just being by his side.

Reading the family blog (www.tracyarmstrong.blogspot.com) is like attending a church service seven days a week considering that the family maintains a positive attitude no matter what the latest set back presented. It is inspiring and brings faith to a nation rocked by marital break-ups considering that this particular couple works through daily challenges with a situation that is far from normal.

We complain about the weather being too hot, and Lynn Armstrong deals with the fact that her husband has been paralyzed – and she never waivers. She keeps going because she can’t give up, and in writing her blog she inspires the rest of us to do the same.

“Everyone has different challenges that they have to face, and other people have it hard, too,’’ Mrs. Armstrong said recently. “Just from the comments that have been written, people say they have been inspired by my blog. But their comments inspire me at the same time.”

Thankfully, good people never give up. They get knocked down and they get back up waiting for a right-cross to stagger them again.

They live with the fact that the next vacation probably won’t happen for awhile, and they accept the reality that tomorrow will bring yet another issue. You begin to feel like a soldier in Iraq hoping that the next field has no land mines while also knowing that you had better watch where you step.

At the risk of sounding like a qualified psychologist (which I am not), I have to believe the drug culture has finally caught up with us. We have become victims of mind-altering drugs both legal and illegal that are causing people to shoot others or rip them off of their life savings.

Indeed, it’s true that bad things happen to good people. With all of their problems, Lynn and Tracy Armstrong keep holding the rest of us together.

And we’re not gonna give up either, because Lynn and Tracy Armstrong won’t let us.

Mike Henle is a Las Vegas based freelance writer and the author of “Through the Darkness: One Man’s Fight to Overcome Epilepsy.” He can be contacted via email at mhenle@aol.com or through his web site www.mikehenle.com.

Polygamy Porter beer proves a marketing genius is at work

Smith’s Food King in Cedar City has become the family pit stop each time we head for Duck Creek. When we are traveling through Cedar City, Utah, we stop to purchase food and supplies en route to Highway 14.

And on one particular pit stop at Smith’s, I was reminded that the beer purchased there was different than the brew purchased in Vegas.

In short, the majority of the beer in Utah is 3.2 in alcohol content, so I mentioned the fact to my friendly checker since Nevada’s alcohol count is higher.

“Go over to the refrigerator and find yourself some Polygamy Porter,” the checker responded as my face immediately produced a “say what?” look. “It’s four-point beer brewed in northern Utah.”

Surely, the clerk was kidding, I thought. He was simply being funny while also expressing a unique wit.

But the guy reiterated that there actually was a beer called Polygamy Porter in the store, so I wandered back to the refrigerator to look for something I was certain was simply a big joke.

Upon opening the refrigerator door, there in plain sight was Polygamy Porter beer. On the label was a guy with his arms around a naked woman. Behind him were several other half-clad women with the line “Why have just one!” along the bottom of the label.

I stood there holding one of the bottles with a look on my face that had to be priceless. So stunned at what I was viewing, I must have looked like a statue as I attempted to make sense of what I had discovered.

But Polygamy Porter beer is the real deal. It is the result of an uncanny campaign by a genius from Milwaukee named Greg Schirf, whose ability to draw attention should be the topic of every marketing campaign in America.

Schirf set up shop in Park City, unleashed his Polygamy Porter Beer and plopped his feet on the desk as the publicity gained unstoppable momentum.

Once we arrived back in our home of Las Vegas, I immediately got on the phone and started telling everyone I knew about my discovery. We assembled a group of knowledgeable experts for a taste test.

The group of experts included Nevada State Senator Mike Schneider; former Doc Severinsen lead trumpet player Tony Scodwell; and Tony’s friend and fellow musician Larry Jess, who was visiting from Spokane.

Once our trusty trio of brew crew critics got done laughing at Schirf’s bottle and the carton, the caps were removed and the first swigs were taken. At the top of each bottle is “Bring some home for the wives.”

“This is my first beer since my heart surgery in February, and I love it!” exclaimed Jess, who added that he was going to look for Polygamy Porter as soon as he returned to Spokane.

The 65-year-old Scodwell, a native of Wisconsin who has actually made a living taste-testing liquor, was quick to concur with his friend.

“As is the case with all Wasatch brewed beers, Polygamy Porter has a bit of chocolate and coffee in the initial taste without the heaviness of some of the darker porters,” said Scodwell. “It’s very refreshing for our summertime but not without a substantial amount of heft. This is something that only someone from Milwaukee could dream up.”

Schneider joined the chorus of plaudits showering Polygamy Porter, which is being sold as the controversy related to polygamist Warren Jeffs has gained national attention.

“It’s a good beer,” said Schneider. “What an absolutely brilliant idea.”

Ironically, Schneider and the rest of the legislators in Nevada have been thrust into a controversy surrounding Gov. Jim Gibbons, whose reported womanizing has gained headlines in virtually every gossip rag in the country.

In fact, while I don’t claim to know marketing like Schirf, I think we have all come up with an idea based on the controversies created by Gibbons.

Yeh, a bottle of beer with Gibbons on the front surrounded by six half-clad women would be another marketing masterpiece.
I mean, considering that Nevada is the hotbed of new ideas, this one would make people forget the line “What happens here stays here.”

Sharon Ramquist of Milwaukee, contacted during the taste test, said it best when she proclaimed “They should have the line ‘You can’t have just one’ on the new Nevada beer with Gibbons on the label.”

Somebody needs to get hold of Schirf. Tell him it is time to expand his idea especially considering that I got the last two six-packs at Smith’s last weekend.

Mike Henle is a Las Vegas-based freelance writer and the author of “Through the Darkness: One Man’s Fight to Overcome Epilepsy.” He can be contacted via email at mhenle@aol.com, or through his web site www.mikehenle.com

ATVs and morons add up to money for Kane County

Quick – somebody get me a radar gun and a ticket book

At 57, I am entering a phase of my life when most people reflect on where they have been and where they are going.

In our case, we have found time to have a second home in Southern Utah, where the people are friendly and the country is beautiful. And exploring the many areas of Southern Utah can be done via relaxing and slow rides on ATVs, which almost offer a level of therapy.

However, yet another benefit as it relates to ATVs is that while Kane County is reportedly running short on funds, I have the ideal solution to correct the deficit. We have all noticed that while property values decline, property taxes are going up, which leads us to believe that Southern Utah needs money.

But the political types need not worry. While the economy has continued to decline, Kane County could be on the verge of record revenues.

You see, while many of us value our time outdoors and respect the feelings of others, there is a growing number of morons who think ATVs are ideal for running at Mach I speeds while generating unnerving noise levels and putting others in danger.

If you’re a law enforcement officer, all you need is a ticket book and a tow truck for impounding dirt bikes, quads and three-wheelers piloted by buffoons. Get yourself an impound yard to start counting the funds generated through the auction of ATVs.

One particular incident sticks in my mind. While standing on a dirt road in Duck Creek, I was horrified by the sight of a man on a three-wheeler running at least 50 mph – with a four-year-old little boy on the front of the ATV (no helmet).

It was at that point that I knew instantly I should have been a law enforcement officer since I instantly began waving my arms to make the guy slow down. Stunned that the little boy had no helmet while the rider attempted to set land speed records, I couldn’t wait to interrogate the offender.

The guy actually stopped the ATV and apologized for his actions as the little boy sat terrified atop the three-wheeler. If I had been a Kane County
deputy sheriff, the bill for this guy to get out of hawk would have added hundreds of dollars to a coffer crying for help.

Simply put, the violations of ATV riders are plaguing areas of Southern Utah, especially Duck Creek and the surrounding area. Those who enjoy a nice quiet ATV ride are being victimized by frustrated motocross competitors who seem more intent on not only ruining the environment but putting people’s lives in jeopardy at the same time.

And it’s only a matter of time before all of us are forced to park our ATVs thanks to environmentalists who are going to eliminate our fun. Unfortunately, tree-huggers who have already shut down wilderness areas are about to padlock the gates of Southern Utah – and you can thank those who have abused Southern Utah for the latest possible move.

But before we’re all forced to sell our ATVs and replace our recreation with nature walks, somebody needs to encourage Kane County to first capitalize on the situation. I mean, with a declining economy, Kane County has the opportunity to capitalize on a financial windfall thanks to the brainless bastion of ATV riders hell-bent on ruining the environment and killing people at the same time.

Quick, somebody get me a radar gun, a ticket book and one of those badges that make me look like one of those big, mean highway patrolmen who arrive at your vehicle with “cha-ching” written all over their lapels.

You see, in some communities in Las Vegas, citizen patrols ticket everything from pizza deliverymen to postal workers and residents – and the homeowners associations happily collect the fines.

We don’t need to increase our dues when ATV riders can offset our need for funding. The only urgency is based on the fact that we had better get started before the tree-huggers take away our ability to generate revenue.

Mike Henle is a Las Vegas-based freelance writer and the author of “Through the Darkness: One Man’s Fight to Overcome Epilepsy.” He can be contacted via email at mhenle@aol.com or through his web site www.mikehenle.com