June 22, 2008
It was a record high (for this year) 115 degrees yesterday. Scorching hot today as well. Yesterday, Deena picked up the DVD conversion of the Terry Mitchell 8mm film of the Exits playing live in 1964. It appears to me as if the venue is the American Legion in Kingman (this is before sound, so the film is silent). The lineup includes Terry Mitchell, Charlie Waters, Wayne Rutschman and me. The late, great Wendell Havatone is conspicuous by his absence. We are wearing red vests and narrow, black ties and I have my blue, King drum set which I bought out of Montgomery Ward catalogue for $117. The really cool thing about the film is Terry's father, or mother, turned the camera around and filmed the dancers and they are doing Kingman proud, gyrating their little heads off doing the Dirty Dog, the Frug, the Pony and something that looks like the Watusi, but is probably the Oatman Flats Shuffle.

I quickly recognized Kingman beauties Jennie Torres, Linda Young and Mary Kay Hokanson. I'll isolate some of the frames tomorrow on my office computer and post them. I'm sure some of my sharp-eyed classmates will recognize others (yes, that would be you, Michelle).

We lost the little black chick a couple days ago. The little guy fell into the water bowl and drowned. A sad day in Chicksville.

Brad and EJ Radina came out this morning to go over a new website we are developing to feature my artwork. Hope to have something up later this week, in time for the Prescott Co-op Art Show opening on Friday night.

My big opus on the "Cowboy Statesmen" appeared in the Arizona Republic this morning. They bannered it on the front page as well, with my artwork. The layout was very clean and understated and they cleaned up some of my mangled syntax, so it reads well. I am very happy with the result. I got a phone call this afternoon from a woman asking if I was the guy who wrote the article on Cowboy Statesmen in this morning's paper. I told her I was and she said, "You drew my father, Ernie Oliva. How did you get his photo?" She seemed touched and yet a little accusatory. I told Nuvia, his daughter, I was glad she thought it was her father but I was just creating cowboy types. She wasn't convinced. "He was a lawman in Ajo. He dressed exactly like you have him in the article." Then to perhaps nail me, she added, "Are you related to the Charlie Bell from Ajo?" Nope. Sorry. Different guy.

I don't think I convinced her.

"Your own motivational level will always be lifted with humor. Laughter will destroy all limits to your thinking. When you are laughing, you are open to anything."
—Steve Chandler