Tuesday, July 15, 2014

LIve By The Gator, Die By The Gator

July 15, 2014
   Found this little painting, in my discard file this morning and gave it a whipout tweak:

 
Daily Whipout: "Madam Katie Fulton"

   Katie got her nose broken in a soiled doves melee in Olympic Park on the outskirts of Denver in August of 1877. In what has since been known as "The Nude Duel That Will Not Die" (okay, at least as long as I have called it that in my Classic Gunfight coverage). Katie went up against fellow madam Mattie Silks and it is believed Mattie's boyfriend, and "kept man," Cortese "Cort" Thomson is the one who did the damage. This fight is covered in Classic Gunfights, Volume I.

    Meanwhile, finished another study of a familiar landscape to the north of my house:

 
Daily Whipout: "Last Light On Morningstar #13"

   I'll get it yet. I have long been a fan of the gator until it almost killed me. Found this photo in my archives this morning. This was at the grand opening of the Country Swing bar—Honkytonk Sue's, north of McDowell Road on Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. I believe this is in the late 70s. A Honkytonk Sue lookalike (who came off of Bill Heywood's morning show) is the vertical dancer, and that's me, on the floor, doing the notorious gator. Hey, I had to break in the club with some ridiculousness.

 
BBB and Honkytonk Sue "dancing" at the grand opening of Honkytonk Sue's niteclub

   This is a lethal dance. My Kingman compadre—Dan Harshberger_wrenched his knee so bad while doing this dance he still limps from it. I, of course, all but died doing it on March 22, 2008.

"Live by the Gator, die by the Gator."
—Old Vaquero Saying