What's happening with Carey McWilliams, the Fargo guy who hunts and fishes with the best of them even though he's blind?
Carey, who has bagged big game in many regions, headed for Nevada in January in hopes of nailing a mountain lion.
"Well," he writes, "even with a small army of lion hunters sometimes with nine trucks with dogs to catch the scent, and sometimes going out before 3 in the morning, no dice.
"Trail cameras were placed at spots that had game movement, but the drought conditions were just too much to overcome."
So, with no snow to help his guides track the lions, the team gave up. But, Carey says, "The outfitter will call me when the snow flies and sticks, making the hunt easier."
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But Carey said that while he didn't bag a mountain lion, he did have the experience of catching Navy Seals training on a bombing range next to where he was camping. He says he heard the jets having mock dog fights above him.
"It reminded me of the good old days here in Fargo," he writes.
Anyhow, for now Carey is sitting tight, waiting for word that the time is right to go after big game.
Big show biz names
A while ago, Neighbors asked its readers to tell of the big-name musical entertainers they heard in the Fargo-Moorhead region and elsewhere.
Eugene Lee, formerly of Moorhead and now of Dallas, says he "was fortunate to have seen three.
"I saw Kaye Starr and Frankie Carle in Chicago in 1946. I was in the Navy at that time, stationed at Navy Pier.
"Chicago had a serviceman's center that provided shows on Sunday afternoons that featured entertainers from Chicago nightclub acts. Kaye and Frankie were the best I saw.
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"I also saw (orchestra leader-trumpet player) Harry James in Dallas in the late '60s," Gene says, "but he was well past his prime and not particularly good."
Ronnie Krueger, McClusky, N.D., saw Nat "King" Cole in the Fargo Civic Center in the early 1960s.
"That was the first time I had seen a high class show like that," Ronnie says.
"He even had quite a few dancing girls with him. It was a little like a Las Vegas show.
"It was a very good show and he was even a better singer than I had thought he was."
And then Alex Stoffel, who lives on Lake Lida near Pelican Rapids, Minn., but in the winter lives near Nogales, Ariz., writes of two concerts he took in during, he says, his "first college years between September of 1950 and June of 1953. They were in the then-called NDAC Fieldhouse, on the basketball floor and the stage.
"The first was (orchestra leader) Duke Ellington who the next day, I believe, played the pavilion between Breckenridge, Minn., and Wahpeton, N.D.
"The other memory was of a touring group from the Met (Metropolitan Opera) that performed 'Fledermaus' in English. Both were wonderful to me, then a music student."
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Alex also remembers seeing pianist Arthur Rubenstein play in NDAC's original wooden Festival Hall, but he's not sure when. "Being not very bright," Alex says, "I thought he was too old and made too many mistakes."
Another concert he took in was by comedy band leader Spike Jones, who Alex says provided "a delightful evening. How's that for variety-Rubenstein and Spike Jones?"
Alex concludes by saying he can't be sure of the details because, he says, "My nearly 83-year-old memory is not known for accuracy."
If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, ND 58107; fax it to 241-5487; or e-mail blind@forumcomm.com
