November 12, 2006
A crazy last two days. A film crew from the Outdoor Channel taped me all Friday morning for their Cowboy Show, and then I drove into the Beast to do the voiceover commentary on the forthcoming DVD release of True Grit. Came back out to Cave Creek at five, and met the Outdoor Channel guys again for another setup, this time at my studio. Got finished at eight.

Got up Saturday morning and met another film crew at the True West offices to film a history segment for the True Grit DVD, then set up in the parking lot for our Wild West Days celebration, and at five, came home and cooked burgers out on the Spanish Driveway for a staff party. We were celebrating the success of our first Resource Book which goes out to subscribers in about two weeks.

Now I Know How Ted Turner Must Have Felt When He Sought to Colorize Old Movies
“I really love Honkytonk Sue, please do not . . DO NOT . . DO NOT colorize her !”
—A Real Fan.

Stop The Presses And Hold Your Horses (From Either Side)!
“No no no. Brits use the left or near side [to mount]. Spanish and Indians used the right side.”
—Alan Huffines

Ouch! Well, this is a wrench in our left-side mounting segement for True West Moments which we filmed last Monday at Old Tucson. I don't want to duck this, or ignore it. I need to contact Jeff at the Westerns Channel and come up with some sort of save, because I don't want it to air, if it's true that both the Spanish and Indians mounted on the right. If true, I assume the Indians did it because they more or less got their horses from the Spanish and copied them? Are there other examples, say cossacks, or gauchos, mounting on different sides?

This is painful, but on the other hand, exciting. I love to learn about something that everyone sort of takes for granted, like I did. Has anyone in movies ever adhered to this disparity? (showing Apaches mounting and dismounting on the right?). Also, do Mexican vaqueros mount on the right? A very interesting devlopment. Last night around the campfire, I asked Marshall Trimble about this and he didn't know. He also assumed the left-side was the law.

“My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people.”
—Orson Welles