June 20, 2004
Kathy spent the night at the hospital with her mother. Kathy slept on a chair and got a badge as a dedicated caregiver. She gets 20% off in the cafeteria.

At 1:30 I met Deena for lunch at AJ’s down at Pinnacle Peak and Pima. She was going to come all the way up for Father’s Day but she had to go to work at three, so I went down part way to save her some of the long drive. Sat outside and had half-sandos and iced tea ($14.57 cash). She gave me a cool quote book. Good talking to my daughter about angst, lack of patience, paying dues and frustration with a crappy, still-born career. And then we talked about her life.

Worked all day on scratchboard and gouaches. Had fun. Swam, took a nap, went to the creek. Other than Kathy not being here it was delightful.

Mad Coyote Joe called and asked if I heard that Kaolin Cummings got bit in the hand by a rattlesnake yesterday. Kaolin is a friend and schoolmate of Deena’s and I asked if he survived. Joe said they rushed him down to the nearest hospital and he was in a lot of pain. When Joe asked his son Joey (who was at the hospital with Kaolin) if he had learned his lesson, he said, “Yes, Kaolin told me that’s the last time he’ll pick up a rattler with his left hand.”

Like I’ve said many times, Experience is the best teacher but she sends in such hefty bills.

Also on the Mad front, Joe is working hard on his next book, “On The Chile Trail,” and he asked me if I could confirm two quotes he got off the internet. The first is from Kit Carson and Joe asked me “Is it true Kit’s last words were, ‘I wish I had time for another bowl of chile.’”

I laughed. I thought he was joking, but when it became apparent by his silence this was not the reaction he was seeking I said, “I can’t remember the actual quote, but that isn’t it. What‘s the other quote?”

"Is it true Jesse James once refused to rob a bank in McKinney, Texas because that was the location of his favorite chile parlor?”

This time I howled. I heard a “Damn!” on Joe’s end. I’m afraid Google hooked Mad up with a menu writer, probably at a certain chile parlor in McKinney, Texas. Menu writers are the biggest liars and whores in the business and they have absolutely no credibility. I know because I’ve written a menu or two.

Oh, and here’s another one. Clark Gable’s last meal was allegedly a bowl of chile from Chasin’s (sp?) in Hollywood. Don’t know if that one’s true or not. Do you?

“You don’t know anything about a woman until you meet her in court.”
—Norman Mailer (from the book Deena gave me, “The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said: Many Amusingly Illustrated” by Robert Byrne))