Category: History
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The End Of The Line
Like, wow…I can’t believe we’re in California. What a magical and special state this is. It’s no wonder that all the famous people live here. It’s the “land of opportunity”, where an anybody like me can become a somebody like…George Clooney. We weren’t here an hour when I drove to a service station to get…
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Unfortunate Souls
One afternoon, in the late 19th Century, the fifteen year old brother of Maria Moreno complained about the way she was dancing. She got angry. His response was to say: “So, shoot me.” Maria, who was sixteen went into her house and brought her father’s rifle. She shot and killed her brother. He should have…
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Honky Tonks, Bordellos And Celery
[This soiled dove was from Cripple Creek, CO.] We watched January turn into February in Silver City, New Mexico. A former mining town from the 19th Century, was a place where miners, tired and in need of a drink and a little love to purchase, would come up from the valleys and down the mountains…and…
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I Heard The Secrets Of The Grackle’s Song
[Image: Google search] A short time ago, perhaps a week, maybe more, I spent a few days in Austin, Texas. We were visiting with a gentleman, William, that I had met during a writers workshop in Westport, New York in October, 2012. He has been a good friend and faithful follower of my blogs since…
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Mix Mesquite, Sage, Fire, Oil And A Dash Of White-Line Fever
You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst. You shall wander far in safety, though you do not know the way. –From Be Not Alone, a hymn commonly sung at funerals. Words by John Michael Talbot. “Somewhere on a desert highway, she rides a Harley-Davidson…her long blonde hair flying in…
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My Moonlight Sonata
“Moonlight becomes you, it goes with your hair. You certainly know the right thing to wear…” –Popular song For many years, the Full Moon has fascinated me. In the North Country, in the death-like silence of the mid-winter, and the snow on the ground is seven inches deep, and bending the branches of the cedar…
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At The Alamo: All The History I Needed Was On My Pajamas
[Source: Google search] I grew up in a time when kids had heroes. Mythic heroes. These days, it seems like anyone who performs his or her duties is a “hero”. It’s fair to say that most children, throughout history, had their own heroes. The ancient Greek boys had their Spartans and the Irish youth had…
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Don’t Mess With Texas
All the tired horses in the sun How am I going to get any riding done? –Bob Dylan “All The Tired Horses” Well this is a fine howdy-do. There is some good news and some bad news in this here posting. The good news is that we joined Cosco and promptly spent $139.95 ( +…
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Out On Highway 61
You leave todays newspaper unread on the table next to your front door. A dozen flies buzz around the hole in your window screen next to the formica table in your kitchen. They get in despite the wad of toilet paper you use to plug the hole. You walk home from a bar. You weren’t…
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