My physician recently told me; "You have really big hands". He may be right for his data comes from observing academics, computer people, accountants, and lawyers. But compared with those with whom I worked a generation ago, he's flat wrong. However, his observation is a useful benchmark of our changing West.

We used to move stuff; hay, timbers, fencing, iron. Now we manipulate symbols, electrons on a screen, images on the airwaves, and spreadsheets. No blisters here. No blood or calluses, no stitches, no subcutaneous repairs that make our hands huge.

Fifteen years ago my wife and I would be preparing for an annual ritual, shearing before lambing. This was a high point of the year, a big deal for us and our small crew.

We ran 500 ewes with peak lambing during spring break. With excitement, we set up the chutes, gathered wool sack sacks and fleece ties, and arranged every convenience for the shearers.

Their leader, and the best among them was Jim Carr. Born in 1931, Jim died on the last Saturday in January while on a 1500 ewe shearing job at Bud Lode's ranch near Harlowton. In Montana, shearing runs from January through May. When he wasn't shearing, Jim worked in the woods as a timber faller.

I've just returned from his funeral. First the pews filled, then the folding chairs, and finally the halls. I saw people who drove six hours to attend. I noted that among the men at the service, my hands verged on delicate.

But the young doc who commented on my hands only knew the new West. He hadn't encountered many patients like Jim Carr. And he never will for we're not making them anymore. Montana sheep numbers are one tenth of their high and loggers have emptied the woods. To appreciate the values he exemplified, you must understand the demands of his work, how they test character, and why Jim excelled.

Traditionally, westerners had great respect for those good at shearing sheep and falling timber. To do these jobs well requires great strength, stamina, and skill. Justly, those good at their job earned good money. And they can't fake competence. Reality checks are clear.

Most wool growers shear a month before lambing. Heavy with lamb, a range ewe will weigh about the same as the shearer, 160 pounds. An electric motor powers the shears through a steel shaft. This tool can do tremendous damage to the sheep and the operator.

If the shearer is good, the fleece comes off in one piece and the ewe is not bleeding. If he is not good, the ewe is cut up and maybe ruined with a teat cut off. One can't hide blood on the stubble of white wool--nor exaggerate output. A shearer is paid by the sheep shorn, $1.65 per fleece. In his prime, Jim averaged 180 fleeces a day. He was a considerate, helpful, soft and well spoken gentleman. It was a pleasure to have him lead his crew to our dinner table.

Falling timber meshes well with shearing sheep. Physical requirements and tolerance for risk are similar and the seasons follow one another. When heavy snows drive loggers from the woods, it's shearing time. After the snow melts and the lower mountains opened for logging, Jim traded his shears for saws.

My friend, Gary Olson, was a woods boss for seven years. Jim was one of his contract cutters, among the best ever. Jim sawed clean with low stumps and logs laid out for the easiest skidding. No "pigs ears" on Jim's logs and his production was consistently high. Jim did hard work well and earned respect which filled the church from near and afar.

Jerry Iverson, a shearing partner of Jim's for nearly twenty years, gave the eulogy, a testimony to caring, competence, and honor. Only two words, he proclaimed, made Jim see red, "Bill Clinton". It's the first time I heard people laugh in a Lutheran service. They knew Jim's character, and Bill Clinton's, and they understood.

Jim and Bill are polar opposites. Jim expected our presidents to exemplify and amplify nationally the character he expressed each day. Clinton's dishonesty, opportunistic exploitation of others, and violations of oaths, visibly disturbed Jim. Clinton's behavior assaulted Jim's moral sense. This helps explain why working folk drove six hours to honor him. He deserved it. The testimony by people who knew him best demonstrates that character shown in life determines memory there after.