February 28, 2010
Last night Kathy and I joined Lew and Tara Jones and attended a concert, actually a guitar and cello gig, at the C4 (Cave Creek Coffee Co.). After a dinner here at the house with the Joneses and Deena and her friend Aaron, we motored up to C4 at about seven. However, according to the manager, because of a 100% chance of rain in the forecast (the gig was outdoors), the venue was moved up the street to the Buffalo Chip. The headliner, Mike Doughty, is a fave of Kathy's, since she discovered him in a dance class at Black Mountain Gym about four years ago.

"I know that you're in love with him cause I saw you dancin' in the gym. . ."
—Don McLean, American Pie

The cowboy bar was packed. We both kicked off our shoes, man I love those honkytonk blues! No, wait, that's still "American Pie." Actually, I sat in the back and since I was probably the second oldest guy in the room (Lew Jones being the oldest) I laid low and took in the cleavage.

Which reminds me, Marshall Trimble attended the premiere of a documentary on a winery owned by a rock star. Marshall is in the film and afterwards he said he was swarmed by a bevvy of babes for no apparent reason (this according to Marshall). He said, "I haven't seen that much cleavage since I was born."

Anyway, enjoyed the Mike Doughty show. He sang Kathy's favorite song, "Unsingable Name." Live music is really a tonic and a soul massager. Too bad it happens so late at night. Got home at 11! Ha.

Lots of news to catch up on. Got a great photo from Bill Dunn, Allen Barra and Henry Beck are sparring over Clint Eastwood, Army bomb tech guys are dissing The Hurt Locker characters as being "too cowboy," and my Kingman cowboy cousins are dissing bomb techies for being "too cowgirl". And so it goes.

Lots of new art to share, more debate on the politics of Doonesbury and finally, the belated cartoons from my Orme students and a photo of Don Imus on his parent's ranch east of Kingman in the 1950s.

Plus, Lew Jones tuned up the '49 Ford and I actually pulled it out of the garage today and washed it. When I went back in to sweep out the pack rat mess I noticed one of our dresser drawers stored along the walls was open a tad with a cactus spine inside. Ouch! That means only one thing: packrats have gotten inside and put the spines at the entrance to ward off predators. I opened it slowly and found, much to my dismay, a whole bunch of family photos eaten to shreds (see debate on this site about why so many Fly photos are missing). But, one photo, although it had a big bite taken out of it, survives. And it is of the Exits on New Year's Eve 1963 in the Girl's Gym in Kingman. It's a classic and shows Wendell Havatone in all his glory and my Montgomery Ward drum set ($117).

I'll post that puppy tomorrow.

"I was a teenage bronking cowboy buck, jacked up in a '53 Ford pickup truck, in a coat I borrowed from Jesse James, I was dancin' slow with Karen J. but thanks to Arnold D., I went down in flames. I'm on a highway to Crusher Hill. . ."
—Kingman Pie