May 27, 2012, Prairie Dog State Park, Norton Kansas

May 27, 2012 - Prairie Dog State Park, Norton, Kansas.  On the road, again; next stop, Haigler, Nebraska. 

I apologize if I've told you this before.  Judge Scott O. Wright was born in a stone farmhouse just outside of Haigler, Nebraska, in 1922.  This year, he will observe his 90th birthday.  Judge Wright is an American legend and a national treasure.  He was a Navy fighter pilot in the Pacific during World War II.  He attended law school on the GI Bill and practiced law in Columbia until his appointment by President Jimmy Carter to the Western District of Missouri District Court in 1979.  He has completed more than 30 years as a District Judge.  He has served with honor and distinction.  He is still active, but doesn't go into the courtroom these days.  He is somewhat frail and uses a cane for stability.  His mind is still sharp and he still drives himself to the courthouse in his Thunderbird convertible.

Scott still talks like you would expect a Marine pilot to talk. He can't string together two sentences without tossing in an expletive or two.  He had a terrible temper when he was younger. However, he has mellowed and is now a very likable senior citizen who happens to have extraordinary power as a federal judge. 

Judges have lunch together on Wednesdays.  A while back, Scott was saying that he planned to have his remains cremated and his ashes tossed to the winds on his birthplace in Nebraska.  I thought back to the scene in Lonesome Dove when Captain Call takes Gus's remains back to Lonesome Dove to be buried in Claire's peach orchard.  

"Scott," I volunteered, "I'll take your ashes back to Haigler."  And, so the promise was made.  I will do that when the time comes. 

In the same conversation, I mentioned that Annie and I could detour a bit on this trip to Colorado, and I would be happy to take some pictures of the stone farmhouse which remains so vivid in his memory.  He talks about riding his horse to the one-room school where he got his early education.  He also muses fondly about the town of Haigler, population 150, where the family would go on Saturdays to shop.  I don't imagine there were a lot of choices.  Haigler is in the middle of nowhere in the southwest corner of Nebraska.

About 7-8 years ago, Scott stopped by the old schoolhouse and was approached by two men, Marv and Stan Carlock.  They told him they had moved the school into town and restored the building.  As they talked, Scott discovered that Marv and Stan were the sons of a little girl who was in his first grade class.

Tomorrow, Annie and I will meet with Marv and Stan in Haigler.  Scott called ahead and arranged for them to take us to the stone farmhouse.  I've talked to Marv on the phone.  He got to know Scott pretty well during that chance meeting years ago.  Marv said fondly and affectionately, "Well, Judge, I am sorry you have to serve on the same court as Scott Wright."  It has never taken Scott Wright long to strike up a friendship.

Today, we saw lots of barns, abandoned houses, dilapidated wind mills and decorated cemeteries on this day before Memorial Day.  Highway 36 is two lanes which sticks pretty close to the old Pony Express trail which began in St. Joseph.  It is a lovely drive, if there is such a thing in Kansas.