August 15, 2004
It’s my mother’s birthday today. She’s 83. Called her and had a nice talk. They’re moving back to Cody today.

Wrestled quite a bit with crappy art skills. Get pretty down on myself. Thankfully I’m married to a therapist and this morning I had a nice session ($75 for one hour). Just kidding (about the fee). Too scattered. Too many commitments. Too many goals, Not enough focus. She’s heard it a thousand times. Like I said, in two years she’s going to be eligible for sainthood.

Worked on finishing a scratchboard of a Big Fifty Sharp’s rifle, then switched gears and worked on two potential cover illustrations. Rescued a portrait of George Parsons, and reworked a painting of “The Deadline,” a painting of Wyatt Earp and Virgil guarding Curly Bill in Tombstone’s makeshift jail after the killing of Marshal White. More of a nocturne. Not done. Better mood, but may ruin it yet.

Watched half of Cold Mountain last night. Not a very good movie. The story is so obviously a knockoff of Ullyses and “The Odyssey,” it’s not even funny. A least in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, they had the decency to admit it. I recall Miramax and the participants complaining that Americans were upset because they filmed in Romania (and, by extension, that’s why the movie didn’t do well), and my theory is most Americans didn’t even know it, and don’t care. It just isn’t a very good movie.

Kathy said the book is somewhat better.

Big monsoon blew in about five. Deena got hit by hail down on Cave Creek Road. Had to pull over. Most people trudge on, speeding and going into the darkness. We had a huge pile-up wreck out on I-10 recently One or two dead, fifty injured. People get in a dust storm and even though the visibility goes down to 10 feet they keep going 70, right into the back of people who have slowed down or stopped. In fact, one of the tragedies of our frequent dust storms is people often pull off to the right and stop but keep their foot on the brake and semis coming through the low visibility see the tail lights, assume that’s where the road goes, and pile right into the parked car at fifty miles and hour. It’s not funny, if you’ve been in one. They are quite scary.

Lots of things to do tomorrow. Going over list, and going to watch the last half of Cold Mountain. Hope it gets better. Not counting on much.

“A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.”
—Old Vaquero Sayings?