June 25, 2009
I finally heard a different tune this morning, on my visit to the heart doctor (the usual tune I have heard is chocked full of haranguing and hectoring). In fact, I was praised by the doctor and the nurses, with smiles, even. The doctor marveled at my cholesterol levels: Lipid panel: cholesterol (114); triglyceride (62); HDL cholesterol (44); percent HDL (39); LDL Cholesterol, Calc. (60). My blood pressure is very good (100/60). When the assistant M.S.N. asked the doc if he wanted me back in three months, he scoffed and said, "No, I don't need to see this guy for six months." He told me, my Chol/HDL Ratio is 2.6 and that is half of what a normal man my age would clock in at. Pretty impressive. And what do I attribute this to? Put simply: the love of a stubborn woman. And, speaking of which:

Behind Every Successful Man Is A Surprised Woman

Dear Mr. Bell,
I watch Encore Westerns every evening. I’ve seen many of your pieces, but have never heard any about the women of the west. I think it’s safe to say that without the strength and determination of the women who moved west, there would be no west. What do you think?
—Jackie Sturr

Jackie,
You need to watch closer, I've done several women pieces, including Ma'am Jones of the Pecos, who had 11 kids and sewed her youngest son's eyelid back on. But you are correct that women really settled the West. The first wave is all men, with wide open communities, anything goes, then the first wives arrive and don't cotton to that kind of depravity and they cajole and convince their husbands to do something about it. And, when you stop to think about it, that is the exact arc the internet has taken.
—Bob Boze Bell
Executive Editor, True West magazine

"There are people who can talk sensibly about a controversial issue; they're called humorists."
—Cullen Hightower