September 19, 2005
Finished the gay makeout session this morning at about nine. Kept it slightly vague and in the background, although Clint’s expression says it all. Also added another coat of fire engine red to the top part of the painting. Took a shower and let it dry, then drove it up to work and gave it to Gus with a rough layout of the verbiage and design I wanted. Gus whipped out a mock cover very quickly and it is posted below.

"That's offensive," my very liberal friend said as soon as she heard my idea for the cover head. "We can’t run that."

"Do me a favor," I challenged her. "Run my proposed headline, ‘HOMOS ON THE RANGE’ by your gay friends and report back to me their response." Jana, I mean, this liberal person, assured me she would but gave me that look, that clearly said, "I hope you don’t expect me to actually say this out loud to gay people."

Fast forward two weeks and my Blue State friend who lives in a Red State is beside herself: "They love it! They all laughed! They think it’s fabulous! You have to run it!"

Sometimes I hate it when people call my bluff. It sounded so good in the staff meeting, but now that we are getting real close (the issue goes to the printer a week from today) I’m getting cold feet. Or, as my wife calls it, "coming to my senses."

Here’s a response from a regular who hasn’t even seen it: "Let me be direct. Forget the gay crap. It's a turn-off. Makes me want to gag up last night's dinner."

And here’s another more sensitive response from a Red Stater: "Of course ‘Bareback Mountain’ is getting rave reviews. By its very nature it turns the genre (and thus America) on its head, and the screenwriter is the author of ‘Lonesome Dove,’ possibly the greatest Western ever made. The leftists are loving that. I think your cover should be two stick figures with one bent over and the other standing behind, with the international sign for no through the two. OK, maybe have them wear cow-boy hats or something."

Went to lunch with Carole Glenn today at Cave Creek Roadhouse. Had an iced tea and a reuben sando ($22, plus $5 tip cash, split it down the middle).

I have been looking for good descriptions of nighttime horseback riding imagery, so naturally I dug out my copy of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. He is so masterful. Now I get word from Alan Huffines (who submitted one of the above gay responses but I won’t say which one because I don’t want to prejudice you against him) regarding a possible movie of the dark novel. More on that tomorrow.

”There is no one luckier than the guy who thinks he is.”
—Old Vaquero Saying