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Thursday, May 30, 2013

More Reading

All right, I'll 'fess up. I jist cain't pass up a book store and yesterday I picked up three more books to add to my readin' pile.

1. A new author to make my readin' acquaintance is Rod Miller and his Gallows for a Gunman. If that ain't a great title, I don't know what is and it promises to hang 'em high and use a strong rope. He's done roped me in for this un. "Harlow had been sentenced to die at dawn. For the town of Los Santos, dawn couldn't come soon enough," it says on the back kivver. I cain't wait to dig into it, but all things considered, it'll have to go on the file pile to be read as I git time.

2. And, by golly, I just finished two books on Butch Cassidy when I ran across Will Henry's Alias Butch Cassidy and jist gotta have a go at this for comparison's sake. Where do I put it on the file pile, near the top ahead of some of the other greats or on the bottom and hope I git to it before the unwanted guest comes knockin'?  Or, sneak it into the middle of the pile, where it'll have a better chance of bein' read? I'm not goin' to draw straws or play high card, I'll just toss it into the box, knowing the odds are even. I'm needin' a li'l more Wild Bunch, Hole in the Wall, and Robber's Roost to put me to sleep.

3.Whoopee! Another one of Louis L'Amour's shoot-'em ups, Rivers West. "A dream and a deadly conspiracy" it yells from the Back kivver. Tryin' to take over Louisiana is whut they're tryin' to do. Hmm-mph! I doubt they can wrench it away from them swamp dogs that got it already.  Ya nivver know aboot thet "brazen Baron Torville" though. Hate to throw that on the pile, but jist got to. I cain't git at thet one before Cassidy and Gallows er can I?.

(He leans back in his chair with thet satisfied grin on his face and sighs with contentment.)     

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Cowboy Joke

I thought this one was funny when I posted it in June 2009, so here it is again:

You have lived to be 71 and know who you are, then along comes someone and blows it all to Hell.

An old cowboy sat down at the local lunch counter and ordered a cup of coffee. As he was sipping his coffee, a young woman sat down next to him. She turned to the cowboy and asked, "Are you a real cowboy?"

He replied, "Well, I've spent my whole life breaking colts, working cows, going to rodeos, fixing fences, pulling calves, bailing hay, doctoring calves, cleaning my barn, fixing flats, working on tractors, and feeding my dogs, so I guess I am a cowboy."


She said, "I'm a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower, I think about women. When I watch TV, I think about women and even when I eat. It seems that everything makes me think of women."

The two sat sipping in silence.

A man came in and sat down by the cowboy. He, too, asked, "Are you a real cowboy?"

To which the cowboy replied, "Well, I always thought I was, but I just found out that I'm a lesbian."

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL!!













Sunday, May 19, 2013

A Pome

In 1999 I conceived the following "pome" (not poem, since I'm not a poet) that sizes up things in early Utah from my perspective. Here goes:

IN EARLY UTAH

Horses, cattle, chickens, sheep, and hogs,
Along with the crops, the land and the dogs,
Made up the farms in early Utah.
'Twas what God looked down and saw.

The brave men and women who worked the farms,
And watched over their crops during bad storms,
Rode their horses all the day and night,
And prayed to God that they did right.

The Indians revered the rocks, plants, and sand,
Through the centuries as if it were planned,
And through the Rockies their history plods,
As they paid homage to their almighty gods.

So here's to the Cowboys, Indians, and Sheepherders,
And to their women who loined-up their girders,
I mean girded up their loins and opened their arms,
And to God for providing them all with beauty and charms.

Amen.

(NOTE: Copyright 1999, Oscar Case)

I was writing a book on my family's genealogy and history and started each chapter with a "pome" as an introduction to what was coming up and to lighten it up. Some of it has been written about in my blog from time to time you may have noticed.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Hardin Movie

True West says there will be a movie on John Wesley Hardin before too long. Mr. Hardin didn't get the publicity that Billy the Kid did, but he was just as much a killer if not more. In an article by C. Courtney Joyner, he sez the movie's producer "wanted an entirely real approach to the outlaw's life with no compromises." If it turns out to be anything like the book by Lewis Nordyke, it'll be a barn-burner of a movie. "Beside him, Billy the Kid was a rank amateur," said the Kansas City Star about John Wesley Hardin, Texas Gunman, the book. Who will play Hardin in the movie hasn't yet been determined, but "will be a major name."

I can hardly wait to see this one. I just hope it doesn't take years to complete. 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Some Upcoming Events in Arizona

Here are some more events taking place in the wonderful State of Arizona the next month or so:

May 18 - Jerome Historic Home and Building Tour, in the old mining town that sits on the side of a mountain. Always a good time in Jerome.

May 19 - Skirting Traditions Lecture Series, Prescott, with Brenda Kimsey Warneka, writer and editor, in the Sharlot Hall Museum.

May 25, June 8, and June 22 - The Grape Train Escape in Clarkdale. Wine-tasting and finger foods while riding the Verde Canyon Railroad. A chance to get high on the locally grown grapes in the high country.

May 25-26 - Zuni Festival of Arts and Culture, Flagstaff. The Zuni people share language, lifeways, music and dances at the Museum of Northern Arizona.

May 25-27 - Wyatt Earp Days in Tombstone. Celebrate the Old West's most famous lawman whee he gained fame at the OK Corral, etc. Yee-haw!

May 27 - Memorial Day Parade in downtown Concho in the White Mountains.

June 1-2 - 2 Deuces Wild Triathlon at Foot Hollow Lake, Show Low.

June 7-9 - Show Low Days in Show Low.  Western-themed festival, parade, rodeo, and beer garden among other festivities. Y'all come.

(Courtesy of the High Roads Magazine of AAA with comments by bloggincurly.)

Saturday, May 4, 2013

I wanna go home, I wanna go home

We started on a road trip to Topeka, Kansas, Wednesday, the first of May, the occasion being my wife's high school reunion. We arrived in Albaquerque about 4 PM, unpacked for the night, and went to dinner. The next morning at breakfast in the motel, we overheard some travelers talking about all the snow falling in Minnesota and that it was snowing in Topeka. The wife looked at me and said, "I wanna go home. I'm not going to travel in the rain and snow in Kansas!" I agreed and we packed up and headed for Phoenix. We had good laugh over it, saying "It was a long way to travel for a good Mexican dinner."

On the way back we ventured through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest and took some pics:

                                                                Gettin' off the highway

                                                              Our greeting committee
                             This old crow was a friendly cuss, just hanging around waiting for a snack.

                                          The floor of the Painted Desert has hills of solid rock
                                                                     More rock hills

                                                            A distant view from the road

                

                                                    And on to the Petrified Forest

                                                                      Audience seating

                                                      There was firewood on the hillside
                                            
                                                                Petrified logs everywhere

                                       This old tree has the colors of a Jackson Pollock painting

                                                        And this one is almost pure white

The people getting in the car were Californians, the car across the parking lot is ours, the mountain of clay in the background used to belong to the Navajos.

We continued on to the Gift Shop, of course, and bought some rocks to help out the Indians. And then on to Payson and Scottsdale, where we ate dinner at Mimi's and went home.

Congrats to Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner!