Shelton-Mason County Journal - Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886

I spent the summer of my 19th year working outside the northern Washington town of Republic on a cattle and alfalfa ranch along the Sanpoil River, a river that drains into the Columbia. It was there that the ranch owner, Stephen Konz, told me one sunny day to build a ladder, with rungs 12 inches apart.

When I finished the ladder, a couple of the rungs were 12 inches apart, but other rungs were more and less than 12 inches apart. Rung uniformity matters in ladders, as it turns out. Mr. Konz was a patient man, so when he looked at that misbegotten ladder lying on the foundation of the log hou...