Tom Ryan

4 days ago | tomryan.substack.com | Tom Ryan

In a world where disinformation is incubating even more hatred and divisiveness, our faith is even more essential to keep us afloat above willful ignorance and fetid prejudices. It makes me smile that today, both Easter and the culmination of Passover come together. Some questions for you. Do you celebrate Passover or Easter in a faith-based way? What family memories—either religious or secular—do you have about Easter or Passover?

5 days ago | tomryan.substack.com | Tom Ryan

Can you believe these baby bison were born just hours ago? They are amazing creatures. This is from Michael Punke’s Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West:“Buffalo calves are born ready to run. Within two minutes of birth, a buffalo calf tries to raise itself. Within seven minutes, it is standing. Within an hour, a buffalo calf can run after the herd.

5 days ago | tomryan.substack.com | Tom Ryan

We come to Theodore Roosevelt National Park primarily for our intimate interactions with the bison, numbering upward of 600. Compared to Yellowstone, TRNP is tiny and quiet; there is an intimacy to it, especially this time of year. This allows the three of us to have up-close and personal interactions with the Wilds, unlike any other place we’ve visited. However, there are other reasons we love this park, which, in the summer, is the loveliest we’ve ever visited.

1 week ago | tomryan.substack.com | Tom Ryan

We made the drive up from Rexburg, Idaho, in time to spend two hours along the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. It was a sweet start to bison week with no other humans around. And then there were the elk, who are always out in force, even before you enter the park, and the stunning pronghorns soaked up the late sun. They have the most gorgeous markings.

1 week ago | tomryan.substack.com | Tom Ryan

My mother died when I was seven years old. It was Christmas week. My father, like any father would be, was ill-equipped to handle nine kids on his own. I cannot imagine all he had to endure. He’d gone from a breadwinner married to a wheelchair-bound wife who was a good, but at times abusive, mother to a single father struggling with anger issues. Until then, Jack Ryan’s most loving thing he ever did was shower us with Christmas and birthday gifts and summer vacations around the Northeast.