Heeeeeeeeeere's (to you,) Johnny

Johnny Carson has been widely praised since his death Sunday from emphysema at the age of 79, and rightly so.

He was the legitimate king of comedy and had a long peaceful reign in times that were tumultuous at best. Somehow, his wry smile and deadpan delivery made us comfortable with chaos. Our leaders were assassinated; our boys were killed in combat; our politicians let us down - but every night, Monday through Friday, there was Johnny, dapper and bemused.

And his universal charm may have played a larger role than we will ever know in holding together a country that seemed always to be split by differences of race, age and gender. He could make fun of anybody, but he could also talk to anybody - with respect and dignity. He made us listen to each other, and learn that we had more in common than we thought.

Snowmobilers tempted to venture into closed areas might want to think twice about trespassing this winter.

Beefed-up enforcement efforts by the Flathead National Forest await snowmobilers who go into closed areas, particularly in the Mission Mountain Wilderness and the Jewel Basin Hiking Area on the Swan Mountain Range.

More ground and air patrols are planned to catch snowmobilers who have crossed boundaries, and fines that have averaged $200 may go up to $500.

The toughest punishment, however, is that snowmobiles will be impounded until cases are adjudicated and fines are paid.

So unless you want to lose the use of your snow machine, it might be wise to stay in snow areas that are legal.

When money starts raining on your windshield, what do you do?

An alert - and honest - driver in April 2004 dutifully collected the flying cash (about $3,000) and an old pair of shoes on the road and turned them in to the police.

It turns out there was a cache of cash hidden in one of the shoes for a total of $6,400.

The months went by and no one claimed the money, which police believed was "from some type of illegal means."

After six months, then, the found fortune was turned over to the roadside finder.

Most of us would probably like to be in a situation where money is drifting around our driving lane, but it's nice to see in this case that honesty was rewarded.