SCREEEEEAAAAAAMMMM! A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN, THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA, SCHOOL OF LAW & GRETA SECRIST HYLAND--OH, YEAH, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TALK HER INTO THIS LAW SCHOOL, TOWN AND STATE FOR A YEAR! SHE IS COMING--THANKS TO ALL THE GREAT, FRIENDLY PEOPLE AT THE LAW SCHOOL, EVEN WHEN SHE REGISTERED A BIT LATE, SHE IS WORTH THE WAIT! SHE IS MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE! AND SHE WILL FIT JUST FINE--VERY DEMOCRATIC, WHEN SHE WAS ABOUT 11, DURING 5 OCLOCK TRAFFIC IN SAN FRANCISCO, SHE TOOK A VOTE ON HOW MANY OF THE 4 KIDS LIKE MOM, NONE RAISED THEIR HANDS, AND ALL ABOUT ENDED UP ON THE ROCK OR ALCATRAZ! SOME TIPS ON LAW SCHOOL, IT CAN BE FUN! I LOVED IT!

In Her Mother's Footsteps--Proud Mom, Great Mother's Day Gift!

There is a large poster or picture up in the entry ways of most Walmarts, or at least the one in Missoula and Kalispell, Montana, of a sophisticated 30 something woman, cool, calm, collected, and very smart looking, with her mother, a fatter older versions, of the beautiful daughter, with her arm around the daughter, head on her shoulder, and a gigantic smile . . . that is me and my daughter, only we are white, but same diff. Ever since Greta was a young child, she has had an intellectual bent, a research type personality--when she was six, and just learning to read, some kid in the neighborhood, called the boy, who lived next door, gay . . . Greta was not sure what that meant, so she told me she looked it up in the dictionary, and found it to mean, a person who is overly happy and excited . . . smile.

When another kid in the neighborhood, saw two bugs having sex, he said, look, those two bugs are humping.  Greta could not find that word in the dictionary, so to my horror, she asked her very liberal father who sat all the kids, all four, from about 8 to a baby, and told them the facts, of life, while I busied myself in the kitchen, peeking out, stunned at his bluntness, and waiting for the kids reactions . . . with total disgust on her face, Greta, said, in a reprimanding tone . . . I can't believe you and mom did that 4 times, and got up and walked outside.

That same intellectual curiosity, research ability has continued to this day . . . as well has her, innocence and to her husband's chagrin, purity of thought, and attitudes toward sex, hasn't changed much either.  Obviously, her little brother, Elliot, bass guitarist for God's Revolver & Maraloka, learned his dad's lesson well, as demonstrated on Thanksgiving.  Greta and Dallas, always cooked Thanksgiving Dinner, and Greta makes great, creative, new flavors for the turkey each year, those researching skills have only been perfected with the Internet, having been trained on computers while working in Navy Intelligence, with top security clearance, then working for IBM after getting out of the Navy.

She usually has so many good things to eat before the dinner, crab legs, cheesy spinach dip, brats, etc., that nobody cares about the traditional turkey dinner, by the time we have already dinned on scrumptious food all day . . . so full and ready for an evening of competitive Canasta card games, without old rivalries, everyone drops into bed.  Greta and Dallas lived in an ergonomically operated house, with a loft upstairs, for a bedroom, bathroom and sunny office.  The kids and Elliot and his girlfriend, where all down below, under the loft, but the house is very open.

Baby Brother, Drunk Elliot & Girlfriend Raucous Sex, Totally Oblivious

Greta and Dallas, had just purchased an new king size bed, but the bed squeaked a bit more than Greta thought was appropriate, having sex with guests down below them, rejecting every action of her amorous husband's advances, touched, kisses, until, she finally, said, No, stop it, Elliot and Rachel will hear us.  So frustrated, Dallas, rolled over a bit pissed off, but not half as pissed as he was going to be . . . drunken Elliot & Rachel, are as loud as they could be, laughing, tripping over things, going into the bathroom, and you know the drill . . . Greta is mortified, and Dallas just rolls over and looks at Greta, saying and you were worried about those two?  LOL . . . the difference between a first child, and the fourth, who was raised with Dad, while mom was in law school!  LOL!

My four children span the political and religious spectrum, from the most conservative, to the most liberal, with the researcher and the philosopher in the middle, the good man theory and the evidence and support seeker, all members of the family Geek Squad . . . love it.  Last year, Nicole, my arch conservative, homeschooling extraordinaire, listens to conservative talk radio, and very active Mormon, caught in the family and church, Mormon bubble, sent her sibs, a rather racist joke that would have played well, under the bubble, but not with her more worldly siblings.

Greta,very tactfully, constructed a well though out researched and supported, 5 page email, telling her little sister, that she raised from the second, we showed her a drawing of a baby in her mother's tummy, hanging on the fridge, next to the dinner table, teacher her to talk, walk, taught her Pig Latin, a secret language the two talked in for years, so mom and dad didn't know what they were talking about, to talking her sister into going into the Air Force . . . she researched before giving Nicole advice, the treated them better and boot camp was easier, so this little born mothering spirit, gently coached her little sis, living outside Washington, D.C. to avoid the rancor of the other three and society at large.

Elliot, the liberal, sent a one word response . . . bigot.  Nicole was pissed and wrote a blistering response, telling the family that she was just joking and couldn't we all chill out and take a joke?  Greta, again, took the time to kindly lead her sister, to a more politically correct way of speaking and writing.  Elliot, just responded to Nicole's email, again . . . bigot.  Greta, laughed and said, after all the time I took to explain how the more centrist and liberal side of the family felt toward the email, she said, Elliot's one word, probably did more than her well thought out 5 page letter.  LOL!

Why U of M Law School is Lucky to Get Greta

She is former, Navy Intelligence, with an $80,000 security clearance, with investigators going back to her first grade teacher, to every boyfriend, to see if she ever cheated on any of them, none.  She was in an elite division in the Navy, the group that was made up of co-ed, drill, band, and choir . . . performing almost the entire Navy graduation, with top military brass, in a huge airline hanger, with gigantic ships, painted, going all the way up the walls--she was a member of the first co-ed division, with about 9 divisions graduating every week, with only 68 divisions getting that honor, of Navy Hall of Fame, in the 85 years of Naval history . . . I hadn't heard Greta play the saxophone since, junior high, and she rocked it, couldn't stand still!  Fun, Fun, Fun!

Greta proudly served her country, in Crete, the island off of Greece, and served on an Air Force base in Japan, has been to, I believe, 19 other countries, did special missions, after her four years of service, in Bahrain and Washington, D.C.  She is a member of the Golden Key Honor Society, the world's largest, and sworn in, at Constitutional Hall, Washington, D.C., next to the White House . . . she completed her undergraduate degree and master degree with 3 rowdy little boys, that took down her, her Navy SEAL husband, both grandmas, and grandpas . . . future Navy Seal Dream Team, every high school football coach's dream come true . . . 3 beefy Hyland boys!

Greta was asked, as the only student, among 50,000, at the American University, with military members and students all over the world, to speak at a World Wild Life Conference in Hawaii, serving on a panel of world renown professors, on whether students could get as good an education online, as they could in the classroom.  She got all expenses paid, for a week hanging out with highly recognized scholars in the area of Natural Resource Management.  She has been in the hot bed of controversy on the Cliven Bundy, Nevada rancher, stand-off with the BLM, posting up to date, well researched and supported opinions, having worked with the Forest Service and the Utah Division of Natural Resources, defending the management of our public lands, in a rational, objective and scholarly way; see her blog, beautiful, informative, and balanced, at http://www.thesouthwestjournal.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/free-grazing-breaking-clive-bundys-stand-against-the-government. 

You can also check out her articles that have been published in the Utah Adventure Journal, I believe in the October 2013 issue, writing about the climbing communities lessons and reactions to the death of the pioneer in climbing, who fell to his death, died at age 40 and shocked the whole group . . . you can see the guns on this 30 something year old climber, who traded in her ballet toe shoes, for mountain climbing toe shoes . . . beat her husband at his own sport, now he is into mountaineering, but a stable in both communities, as well as the voice of reason, in Mormon, St. George, Utah . . . Dallas is the Christian at the Mormon BBQ!  LOL.  Greta, also has a second article called 3 Point 2 . . . I am a tee toddler, so I think that is what the article is called, on the underground beer creating and beer making parties, thriving in the stifled state of Utah.

Every college dream and mean ticket is publishing, Greta, I believe is now a monthly featured writer for the journal, and she has just been asked to write something short of a novel, but longer than a short story on the situation between the BLM and Bundy . . . working with experts in her area, and Amazon.  And she does all this with three little kids, a demanding relationship with her husband who wants to hang with her all the time, she is gorgeous on to of that, makes homemade bread, dinner every night, and takes off with her husband to deal with other rebels, and militia members, taring up the roads of Moab, and threatening and intimidating other BLM workers . . . there is a book out called The Impossible Life of Greta . . . I don't know how she does it all with style, grace and beauty!

I Saw A Hat The Other Day--It Had A Logo With a Shape of Montana, With the Words--LOCALS ONLY!

Glacier Park is the Crown Jewel of the Continent, and Montana is the crowning glory of life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness . . . need I say more . . . one, kid down, 3 to get here! I fucking love this state!  Sssshhhh . . . one of the coolest signs or billboards, I have ever seen, was just outside of Helena, heading toward Missoula, bright yellow, with a kids rendition of a smiling sun . . . it said, HEALTHY, MONTANA KIDS!

It took me four kids, four colleges, and 12 years to get my undergraduate degree.  My husband, Greta's father attended another 2, and I taught at three . . . all things considered . . . I can't think of a college, community, university atmosphere, community support, fun, activities, campus, bus service and all that beats, the University of Montana, and the Law School lets me hang and write my blogs there too . . . Greta, you can't go wrong here!

Time For Lunch--Food over Advice--Obviously; Tips for Law School Another Time; I have a Ton . . . my first Boss, Mark Nash, at the Utah Attorney Generals Office, Criminal Enforcement Division of the Utah Attorney Generals Office, Asked me how I liked law school, I told him I loved it . . . he said, if I would have known that, I wouldn't have hired YOU!  Easy . . . will share tips!