July 12, 2008
We had to cancel the Flag high altitude test run. Kathy has some salmonella deal with major bathroom visits (every ten minutes). Not sure what she ate, but we do have tomatoes and we do have chili peppers, two of the suspects, although Kathy washed our tomatoes in bleach and vinegar.

Meanwhile, Janet Childress called this morning and said Craig S. came back to the gallery and bought another painting: "Billy Breaks Out" which was a cover painting for an issue of True West several years ago.

I'm going up to Prescott tomorrow to take down the show. It's always nice to have less paintings to bring home.

What's It Like to Get Caught In the Rain On Horseback?
"I can tell you what it's like to be in a Cavalry Column and have a 'gully washer' come down on you.....you get wet! Despite your best efforts what with putting on your 'gum poncho' and all. It happened on most films I've worked on where I'm on set for a week or more. The wettest I ever got was on the set of Touched By an Angel filmed in Salt Lake City where they used a rain machine to create a storm. We were playing the Cavalry hunting down John Wilkes Booth (don't ask) and I was wearing a bummer cap and the rain went down the back of my shell jacket. That was miserable!!!!! If you are going to be in the rain mounted....always wear a slouch hat!

"I'll tell the boys at The Little Big Horn Battlefield that George Armstrong Custer will be a character in Night At the Museum 2 They'll get a kick out of that.

By the way.....I'm gearing up for the ARTIST RIDE next month, August 14,15,16,&17 and if you have anything that you need to finish your graphic novel......let me know soon and I'll see what I can do. It's going to be another good one!"
—Jim Hatzell

Kathy ordered me a special watch by Polar (get it?) that monitors my heart rate. She got it for me to wear in Peru next month so we can check on how the high altitude affects my heart rate. I have to wear a special band around my chest and when I click on the watch it starts giving me a running tab on my exertion rates. For example, reading the paper, my heart cruises at 61. Walking out to the studio rates a 68. Feeding the chickens gives my heart a 73 rating.

After I got done walking around rating everything, I went into the bathroom where Kathy was washing her face. As I started to see a man about a horse, Kathy asked me what my heart rate was.

"83," I told her.

"I wonder why it's so high?" she said. "You're just standing there."

"It's undoubtedly the heavy lifting," I said, feigning shortness of breath.

I didn't time it, even though I could have with my new watch, but Kathy laughed very hard for about five minutes.

"On the American Humor Membership card it says you can exaggerate like crazy."
—David Sedaris