Thomas Bleming has fought battles in Panama, attempted to quell uprisings in Rhodesia and even tried his hand at being a cowboy on a punishingly windy patch of land outside Lusk.

But it is in the jungles on the border between Thailand and Myanmar where he feels most comfortable.

To most people, strapping on a rifle, eating rattlesnake in a makeshift camp just a few hundred yards from rifle-toting enemy forces and sleeping under a thatched roof may seem like forced torture.

For Bleming, the chance to fight among the rebels seeking independence from the dominant Burmese government, living half a world away in that environment is his fountain of youth.

Bleming, who journeyed to the Burma-Thailand border last spring to help the people in the fledgling Republic of Kawthoolei in their battle for independence from the junta that rules what's now known as Myanmar, is back in the area, helping fight the good fight once again.

"It felt great," said Bleming, who landed in Mae Sot, Thailand earlier this month. "To me, it's the fountain of youth. I feel exhilarated to be here."

Bleming, who considers himself a "combat photojournalist," brought knives, surplus military kits, cigarettes and ammunition with him to the camp, where the Karen National Liberation Army, the military arm of the Republic of Kawthoolei, is based.

He also brought with him an American and Wyoming state flag.

"The average Wyomingite would never come to a place like this," he said in a dispatch to the Whole Town's Talking. "I can get around fantastically and make myself at home."

Bleming said he's not sure when he'll return to Lusk. To be certain, the good folks of Niobrara County don't often get a chance to eat rattlesnakes, rice and weeds all in the same meal.

Bleming acknowledged that some might think his journey too rare or bizarre to believe.

He has a message for those who don't believe in what he's doing.

"This is the only thing that keeps me going," said Bleming, who spent nearly two years in a Panamanian prison, held captive by Gen. Manuel Noriega. "I have a revolution that I'm fighting for, and if that's to be criticized and condemned, that's fine and dandy."

Paying it forward, indeed

On March 1, the Cody community mourned the loss of 15-year-old Darren Collins, who died from complications due to meningitis.

Collins, who was taken to Denver on Feb. 28 for treatment before he succumbed, never knew that his death would eventually give someone life.

Darren Collins lost his life. On that same day, Garrett Ross gained his back.

Ross, an 8-year-old boy who lives in Colorado, learned that Collins' heart became available. Ross needed a heart transplant because he suffered from irreversible coronary artery disease, the Cody Enterprise reported in its March 17 edition.

"It happened so quickly," Garrett's dad J.D. told the paper. "We hit our knees and prayed for the donor family. We didn't know who it was but we knew someone's life was being shattered. It's a dynamic that's difficult to explain. For our child to have another chance, someone's got to lose their child, and that's a hard thing to swallow."

Both the Collins and Ross families got to meet in the hospital where the transplant took place, the paper reported.

Darren Collins eventually had six of his organs donated to individuals in need of transplants, the paper reported.

"Darren made a profound difference in the lives of six other people," his father Jim Collins told the paper. "Garrett wouldn't be alive today without this. It's just incredible."

Driving 1,000 miles to say thanks

Teachers are often thought of as heroes, and rightfully so. Romeo Munguia waited 36 years to tell one special mentor how he changed Munguia's life.

The Platte County Record-Times reported in its March 26 edition of a meeting between Munguia and his teacher, Jack Daniel, who helped educate the young man, the product of migrant farmworkers.

Munguia traveled to Wheatland in the summers in the late '60s and early '70s to harvest and hoe beets, the paper reported. Daniel was a teacher in the Platte County School District.

"The teachers really did a great job of teaching us life lessons and it was more than just reaching us how to do art or participate in musical programs," Munguia told the paper. "It was about building relationships."

Munguia now lives in Texas, but he thought it fitting that he drive the 1,000 miles to tell his teacher the impact Daniel left.

So moved was Munguia, he now is a principal at a school in Texas.

For his part, Daniel was understated.

"They just wanted to do everything to please us and we wanted to do everything to please them," he said.

Not exactly a dog day afternoon

And now, a hand to the Sweetwater Animal Control and Rock Springs Fire Department.

On Tuesday, they helped rescue a dog trapped in a coal silo.

The (Rock Springs) Daily Rocket-Miner reported in its March 26 edition of the efforts to save a Great Pyrenees stuck in an old coal silo.

They succeeded by luring the dog out with fried chicken and rescue ropes.

Rescuers estimated the dog had been stuck in the 75-foot silo for as long as five days, the paper reported.

The dog suffered no visible injuries, and, according to the paper, was doing well at the animal control shelter.

This is night editor David Mirhadi's last column for The Whole Town's Talking.