Had a True West Maniac come in the office with a carload of Canadians. Duane Horner of Albert City, Iowa has original True West issues going all the way back to the early 1950s.
Gave Duane, his wife and the Canucks the official office tour and then Duane bought $120 worth of books and I signed them for him. Great guy. Always a thrill to meet the people who love the magazine.
I then commandeered Duane into the conference room and asked him to help us choose a cover for the next issue of True West. Duane picked a winner and you'll see it soon (hint, it's the one behind his ear).
Yesterday my son celebrated his 30th birthday and I posted a series of photos from one of our family photo albums, including this one:
Thomas Charles Bell, "The Knight-In-Shining Short Shorts"
Went for a walk this morning up Old Stage Road in a fine mist. It's actually a warm rain. Temperatures in the mid fifties (it was 81 yesterday). On the way back, took this photo of Ratcliff Ridge in the rain:
Ratcliff Ridge In The Rain
I sure am obsessed with this outcropping. i must have a hundred photos of this saguaro studded ridge which I look at every day (it's straight away from our house).
Jim Hatzell sent me a great photo yesterday of a mountain man flying off a shale ridge. Check this out:
"Mountain Man Jumps Off Cliff: Figures It Out On Way Down"
Finished the second pass at "On The Road: The Historic Scroll Version" this morning at 7:30. Took copious notes, underlined like crazy. Of course, my study of the real Jack Kerouac produced an undertow of deep sadness. The brilliant guy went out in a booze-addled haze and so did his hero Neil Cassady. I think this disappointment in Kerouac and heroes in general (Wyatt Earp anyone?) is best summed up by ol' Gaston:
"We begin in admiration and we end by organizing our disappointment.'
—Gaston Bachelard
