Snippets - Tragedy on the Yellowstone River.

 The year was around 1967, and we lived on a farm just outside Billings, Montana. My dad worked as the hired hand, doing everything from milking cows to planting cornfields. Mom was always busy taking care of us kids, cooking, and feeding the chickens. For us kids, the farm was like a giant playground filled with endless fun and adventure. There was never a dull moment. The farm was bordered by the Yellowstone River, about a mile away, but Dad gave us strict orders to stay far from it. The Yellowstone River, though it appeared calm and leisurely, was notorious for its treacherous undertows and strong currents. Mom and Dad warned us that we’d face the spanking of our lives if we even thought about heading toward the river.

One day, while we were playing on a haystack, I noticed a man in orange running across the field toward us from the direction of the river. It was unusual because the farm was far from Billings, and we rarely saw anyone out there—most people drove up the road. I had never seen someone running across a field like that. I think my dad saw him at the same time because he yelled for us kids to get into the yard and tell Mom. We all ran into the yard, and my sister told Mom. When Mom saw the man, she made us go inside the house. Before going in, I peeked back and noticed the man was wearing nothing but an orange vest. Dad talked to him for a few minutes before rushing into the house to tell Mom there had been an accident in the river. That day, we learned how dangerous the Yellowstone River could be. The man and his friend had been rafting when they hit rough currents and capsized. The man in the orange life jacket survived, but his friend went under. The sheriff and emergency teams came to drag the river and eventually found the body caught on the rocks in the deep water. That image haunted us for days, and we talked about it a lot. To this day, I still think about it, remembering the fear and sadness I felt as a child. Our once-innocent playground had been shattered by tragedy, and it was never the same again.