January 6, 2005
The power of Google is so amazing. I watched the Sixty Minutes profile on the company last Sunday and it is almost scary what their search engines can accomplish. Case in point: I got an Email from Mike Johnson from Cody, Wyomng several days ago. This is what it said:

"So I'm looking for info about the Meeteetse (WY) Mercantile in Google and I come across a link to your publication. Next thing I know, I'm reading your blog about the True West trials and tribulations. Man did it bring back memories."

Mike is a guy with vision who survived a near-death publishing experience in Florida, then decided to start a trolley car tour business in Cody, Wyoming. When a small-minded-stuck-in-the-mud local sniped, “Who’s going to pay $11 to ride around Cody?” Mike’s answer was “Ten thousand people and now it’s $15, thankyou very much.” Ha. I love stuff like that. By the way, the Meeteetsie Mercantile store reference was in a blog I wrote when I went up to Cody for the Western Design Conference almost two years ago. On the last day I drove down to visit my mama in Douglas, saw the Meeteetsie Mercantile store empty, and commented on it. And now someone Googles the store and my blog reference comes up. That is quite amazing (and now there'll be two references). Here's Mike’s link if you'd like to check out his blog:

www.MikeLeeJohnson.com

Working hard to finish the Drew Station artwork and layout. Whipped out a scratchboard this morning of Leonard, Crane & Head firing at the disappearing stage. We can see poor Bud Philpot lying in the roadway and it's all in a dark and dusty, murky swirl.

Melrose took me to lunch at the Bad Donkey (he bought!). He's working so hard to be a positive guy but there are some in the office who don't want to believe it. My advice to him is to keep faking it, because, many people actually like him when he's not snapping their heads off.

Going over in an hour to shoot some reference photos with Dave Daiss at his ranch. Need some good shotgun reference for Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce gunfight, and also for the Drew's Station fight. Dave is such a ham, and I love him for it.

"The buying of a self-help book is the most desperate of all human acts.  It means you've lost your mind completely: You've entrusted your mental health to a self-aggrandizing twit with a psychology degree and a yen for a yacht."
—Cynthia Heimel