October 7 , 2005
Kathy and I were supposed to be in Roundtop, Texas this week for the big Old West Show we are co-sponsoring, but I had to cancel when Melrose resigned on Monday. I needed to stay close to home and mind the store. Anyway, Kathy had already rescheduled all of her clients so she still had Wednesday thru today off, and she has taken to calling this “vacation time.” It’s funny how much our attitude could be affected by such a simple phrase, but last night Kathy asked me if I would bar-b-que some hamburgers and my first thought was, “I’m tired, I don’t want to do anything, I’ve been at work all day.” But, I quickly realized if I was in Roundtop I’d be chomping at the bit to do something fun in a new place. So my actual response became, “Hey, we’re on vacation, I’ll light up the grill in our rented cabana.” And as I sipped some cabernet wine and looked out over the back fence at the saguaros, the cave and the creek, I remarked to Kath when she came out to join me, “Man, what a great view. I think we’ll come back here.” Although, next time I don’t think I’d rent the hat-eating dog.

“Boze, I must have missed something. What in the heck is a Charrette? (It is not in the dictionary.)”
—Leon Metz

Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger, Leon. I didn't know what it was either until we did the saving Tombstone article and the planning company kept throwing the word around and I finally asked, "What the hell is a charrette?" They told me that a charrette is a fancy, French term for compiling papers for a study. Supposedly, the word comes from the French word for “cart” and refers to the cart that came to collect the architectural works of architectural students in Paris (circa 1869 to 1930). The word came to mean the harried period in which a student’s final drawings were completed.

More Tombstone feedback:
“To hell with Tombstone! You are giving them unappreciated FREE advertising. You and I know the rule. Good, Bad, Ugly, it's all great advertising. I wish you would have written something bad about the bookstore when I owned it. I would have thanked you!”
—Bookcrazy Deb

“I don't get it. I mean, I'm just mystified. I assume it's because you are just a few hours away from them, but obviously they look on the magazine as an extension of their Chamber of Commerce. No, that's not even right; the Chamber in Tombstone is full of quarreling factions who can't agree on how to promote the town. I wonder if it's like this in Deadwood?”
—Wordsmith Bill

“I can walk into most stores in Santa Fe, even art galleries where I can't afford a post card, and generally I get treated with courtesy (mainly because, this being Santa Fe, a guy dressed like a bum could in fact be as rich as Bill Gates). I go into most (but not all) businesses in Tombstone, and they act like they don't want to make a buck, don't want you in their store.”
—Santa Fe Savvy Man

“Tombstone is finally under scrutiny for failure to apply certain standards expected of them in exchange for the perks of being a Historic Town (easier access to federal grants, etc). So what are the Tombstone ‘elite’ doing about this? They are striking out at the people shining the light on the situation. Some of them will try to sidestep the issue of their personal & professional responsibility in the matter by slinging negative attention onto others. Why did these local experts allow this longterm movement away from historic to happen while they sat on their hands? Maybe because more tourists means more book sales?”
—Terry Jo Neff

Took the dogs for a bike run this morning. Very pretty out. Weather and scenery is just gorgeous. Even though we do this twice a day, every day, Buddy Boze Hatkiller lopes and prances up the road like we are exploring new country for the very first time. Paraphrasing Ray Bradbury: every day is a vacation day to a dog.

“Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear.”
—Dave Barry