June 8, 2003
Yesterday T. Bell and I went into Scottsdale and saw “L’auberge Espagnole” which means a Euro Pudding, I think. It was a French film with Spanish, German and English all mixed in a big ball of a plot about seven some odd kids in a flat in Barcelona, Spain. Really enjoyed it (8). Quite original and funny. And, of course, Tommy is going to Spain to study so it was inspiring.

Afterwards we met Kathy, Deena, Debbie and Betty at Taco Villa for dinner. Had the barbacoa (BBQ of goat’s head meat). Really awesome ($77 house account). Fun talking with all the Radinas and devouring the best Mexico City Mexican food in the Southwest..

Got a Billy floating in the sky as half-skeleton and half-buried for 122 years. Verdict still out. Working with good reference, and that always helps.

Got up this morning and bailed into a scratchboard of Billy. I really want a white cover with a stark, silhouette image. Studied several Mexican scratchboard artists, J.G. Posada being the most prominent. He did really cool, Day of The Dead images in stark scratchboard style from about 1880 thru the Mexican Revolution. Got a really strong image of Billy standing with rifle, and his pants are rotted away (from being underground for 122 years) and he looks a little moldy (in fact I rented “Beetlejuice” to study Michael Keaton’s “death” makeup). I think it may be the image. Need to sleep on it.

Finished around 1:30, swam laps, played in pool with kids and Kathy. Celebrated Father’s Day early because both kids are flying to New York tomorrow (T will be gone for 15 months, heading for Spain in fall). Deena got me a book on cover art. What a girl! And Tommy, the Bastard, got me “A Decade of Steely Dan” a group I absolutely despise. He knew it and made sure it was a decade’s worth and not just some random album. Ha. Really laughed over that one.

Steve Sampson came out to my office a couple months ago and pitched me on doing a talk at the Arizona Biltmore Resort on history. Steve wants to encourage Arizona heritage at the hotel and I was flattered and agreed to come speak for free at an event in April. I got there and Steve and his crew had gone to a bunch of trouble, with various speaking alcoves set up around the patio lawn (several authors were invited), with portable lights and microphones, etc. Well, as these things often go, maybe three people showed up (and one was the photographer). But I had a very nice talk and afterwards Steve thanked me and offered me dinner and I said I’d take a rain check. On Friday night Kathy and I showed up and got the royal treatment. It was really a special birthday for Kathy and for that I’m a huge fan of Steve Sampson. Really a class guy.

“When I was losing, they called me nuts. When I was winning they called me eccentric.”
—Al McGuire