July 24, 2006
Heard from the girls in Puerto Rico last night. Kathy spent all day on the beach reading (this is her Old West). Unfortunately, Deena left her digital camera in a cab and lost all of her San Francisco photos. She and her boyfriend Frank went to San Fran last Monday (Deena had financial presentations in San Jose, or Sacramento, I can't remember which) and took my suggestion to try out Sam Wo’s in Chinatown for some first class abuse. They did, and called me from there, regaling me with all the abuse and good food, although Deena said they sat next to a woman from Ohio who had heard about this legendary place, but she added cryptically, “Don’t read the health code violations downstairs.” Of course, after dinner, Deena went downstairs and read them (Gee, I wonder where she gets that from?) and she related to me it said things like, “Stop storing raw chicken next to the bleach,” and stuff like that. We laughed.

Lots of catching up in the office. I put the finishing touches on the Caldwell, Kansas Talbot Gang shootout copy, had Meghan Email it to Gus (for some reason my office computer won’t load or send Email), so he can wrap the map. Put three scans in production for CG, came home to do an illustration of Mabel Cason Lang for her obit. Looked up the photo of her in Glenn Boyer’s “Suppressed Murder of Wyatt Earp,” but Glenn doesn’t ID the two Cason daughters. Called Mark Boardman and Neil Carmony for help, but they didn’t know. May have to punt and do a blend of the two sisters, unless any of you know where there’s another pic of Mabel, or which daughter is which in the photo of them with Josephine Earp (Wyatt’s shrew of a “companion”).

Speaking of all things Wyatt, a funny thing happened after my WOLA speech in Sierra Vista last Wednesday. Marshall Trimble introduced me to the crowd and he told a funny story about us deer hunting together east of Ashfork (which we never did), and then he said I had a new book out: “Butch Cassidy, The Daughter That Hopalong Never Talked About.” Decent laughs all around and he always gets the crowd warmed up. My speech went fine, and afterwards I retired to Mark Boardman’s book table to sign books. The third guy in line comes up and says, “I want your new book,” and I said, “Blaze Away: The 25 Gunfights Behind the O.K. Corral?” and he said, “No, the one about Butch Cassidy.” I told him that was a joke, but he sure looked disappointed.

“If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us, we would all be millionaires.”
—Abigail Van Buren