One of the most interesting people in eastern Wyoming is
Patsy Bixby Parkin of Wheatland.
Not only is
she a wonderful historian; she and her three sons should be in the Guinness
Book of World Records.
Some 40 years
ago, Patsy gave birth to the heaviest triplets ever born in the entire
world. Well, here is how she recalls it:
“I was just notified
that Dave, Dan, and Donny hold the record for the heaviest triplet birth in the
U.S. - 23 pounds, 4 ounces. As soon as they verify my records, the boys could
be listed in Guinness Book of Records! Considering they were a total surprise
and were born full-term in a normal birth, they really are a miracle now
they`ll be famous!
“I know you`re probably tired of
hearing about my kids, but this past weekend my son Donny pulled his girls
around the yard in the little yellow Yamaha cart my dad put together for my
kids 40 years ago. My good friendwell, everyone`s good friendCharlie
Coleman wrote a poem for us when the boys were born and we used it on this
tractor and cart when we had the kids in the fair parade. It said, ‘As every
poker player knows, and every player`s wife, when you have a pair, then draw 3
of a kind, you have got a full house.’
“Well, my quest for the Guinness
record for the biggest triplets might not make it. I spent all afternoon trying
to figure out the complicated final application and when I finally hit the
submit button, my Internet connection went down (again). Also, they want the signature of the
attending physician who has been dead for several years. My sons are now 40,
after all, but still weighed more at birth than the current record
holderswhich makes it even more amazing. So they may never show up in
Guinness, but you and I will always know the truth about how special they are.”
And speaking of three of a kind,
Gov. Matt Mead recently made a trip to San Diego and ran into three Wyoming
natives in the oddest of places.
Matt Mead has
a Wyoming connection wherever he goes
He was invited
to visit the Aircraft Carrier Stennis in August. He drove to Denver and flew on
Southwest Airlines. The captain of the plane invited him to the cockpit to look
around. He was from Star Valley.
Later on the Navy carrier, Mead was
able to take off and land, which was an amazing experience. He went from 0-160 mph in less than two
seconds. Lots of G-forces. He was only able to stay on the carrier for
one night. The sailor in charge of steering
the giant ship was a small woman, who
really knew her stuff, according to Mead.
His pilot on that plane was a Naval
Academy graduate from Jackson Hole.
On his Southwest flight back to
Denver the co-pilot of the plane was from Cody. Those Wyomingites are
everywhere!
And that
includes Hollywood, too.
Dave Lerner
operates a fine Internet Company in Cheyenne called Wyoming Network.com. He recently shared with me some good news
about his son Steve Lerner, a very talented screenwriter, who works in
Hollywood.
The team that
created the super successful cable TV show The
Americans has announced they are doing a pilot for a new TV show called Breckman Rodeo based on Steve Lerner’s scripts
and characters.
A news story
in the showbiz bible Variety recently
detailed that the team of Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields (who created The Americans) has teamed with Lerner
for the new TV series.
The new show is about a high school
rodeo team in Cheyenne. “It will center
on a character named Ashley, described as a rodeo-as-hell sparkplug who refused
to stay within the lines that have been drawn for her, and her boyfriend Brant,
a rodeo prodigy, torn between a content quiet life and the rocky climb to
superstardom. Ashley, Brant and their friends will have to reconcile the
traditional values of their sport and their upbringing with the changing
realities of the 21st century,” according to the story in Variety.
Young Lerner concluded: “Growing up
in Wyoming, I loved going to the rodeo. I’m excited to bring the stories and
people of my hometown to the screen.”
Sounds like a great show about
Wyoming and the West. It will join Longmire
and Yellowstone as recent shows based
on our part of the country.
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