Somehow 'Once bitten, twice shy' never sunk its teeth

What are those old axioms: “Once bitten, twice shy,” or “Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on me?”

They came to mind as I was trying to figure out what to write in this space. I was racing to get a week’s worth of writing — plus a string of stories for the Cheney Rodeo — completed so I could have yet another week of vacation, after just returning from one.

When you read this, I’ll hopefully be on the home stretch of another “bucket-list” check-off, running the Rogue River down in the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon.

That will have meant our party has successfully negotiated...