March 26, 2010
All we are is dust in the wind. I don't know why I'm quoting Journey (or, is "Dust In The Wind" by some other crappy eighties band?) but it is quite windy here in Buddy Holly's hometown. Had a speech tonight at the Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock. Great crowd. Sold every book we had (I think the gift shop person told me they ordered 8 of each of my titles, that would be seven, so that's 56 books). Need to order more. Sent them to this site if they want to get theirs.

Judy, who reads this blog, came to the speech and at the reception asked me about my quotes. I gave her the inside skinny on how I amass them (hint: I have help from Carole Glenn, for one).

Wore my brand new, white 20X Beaver Brand Custom Hat on the plane today and to the speech tonight. The damn X-ray machine at Sky Harbor gigged it, as did the wind when I got out of the car at the hotel, which sent it tumbling in the Lubbock dirt and scuffed it plenty. Gives it character, they all told me. Ha.

Speaking of hats, when I was at J.W. Brooks yesterday getting my Beaver Brand creased with a Will James crease, his wife Jody told me they are watching the new TV show Justified, the Timothy Oliphant Western/Eastern on FX and that J.W. almost gave up on the first episode because Timothy's hatband buckle was on the wrong side. He finally said, "If they don't fix that hatband, I can't watch this show." They fixed it on the second episode.

Whew!

This speaks to all of us and our intense attention to detail. We all watch Westerns, half because we love them and half for the little details: the quirts, the chaps, the hat brims, the hatbands, the mocassin beading, the saddle tree, the gun stock boners, the quarter horse dilemma, the modern bodice, the saloon girl fantasy fanfare, the buckboard cheaters, the Indian saddle blanket cheaters (with a saddle underneath). Nothing escapes our attention because, dammit, we are watching to see if you are doing your homework. And if you haven't, then get out of town!

You have no business making Westerns.

Speaking of getting out of town, we're driving out tomorrow an hour and a half from here to film new True West Moments at a jail. With the wind being a consistent tomorrow, I'm concerned but Jeff Hildebrandt and a five man crew out of San Antonio think they can handle it. We'll see.

Gee, I wonder what ol' Bob Collier has to say about this?

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."
—Robert Collier