July 26, 2006
I'm on the second "E" in Deadline. Hanging out bigtime. Worked all day on seven illustrations for the Caldwell Talbot Gang shootout for the October issue. Goes to press tomorrow. Fortunately Robert Ray has cleared the decks and can work with me on it today. Wanted to get a good handle on what those Texas cowboys looked like (there are no known photos of any of them). Finished at two, got back into the office as soon as I could. Robert scanned them and we got to work. Lots of massaging. Gus's map came in last night and we shoe-horned that in. Rod Cook sent us the actual location of the Goddell house, where Talbot had his supper (midwestern talk for the noon meal, pretty much in eclipse today by the modern term "lunch"). Had to change that on the Mapinator's map, because when he did it in Alabama we didn't know where the house was. Now we do. Exactly. Thanks Rod.

Picked Thomas Charles up at Happy Valley Road and I-17 yesterday. He got a ride, and I was supposed to meet him at Carefree Highway but he went to sleep on the drive down and the Orme Ranch girl driving went right past the exit. After about five minutes I called him, which woke him up and he sheepishly called me and asked me to drive another five miles to Happy Valley Road. I was bugged. He made up for it by coming home and washing the dishes. I am so amazed. If someone had polled me I would have declared that Kathy and I split the household chores 50-50. What a joke that is. Bookoo dishes in the sink, laundry on the floor, bed unmade, ants on the kitchen counter, milk gone sour AND THERE'S NOBODY TO BLAME!!! This ain't right, Man. Well, I hate to admit it but I feel like an ass. What a self-righteous goober I am. Called Kathy's cell and basically left that message. She called this afternoon, from Puerto Rico and wanted me to repeat it, and when I did, she admitted she had gotten the message but just wanted to hear me say it again. (Women—I don't know what I did to deserve one, but thankyou Jesus).

Tomas also drove my Ranger down to get it emissions tested. This is also a joke (the testing, that is), but enough ranting for one day. Oh, here's a photo (see above) of Tomas in his BBB sugarloaf sombrero at Orme Ranch. Nice shade, eh?

"I sincerely believe blogging can save America."
—John Jay Hooker (sorry John, but you're going to have to leave your house to save America.)