Three Billys at The Back Door & J. R. R. Tolkein at The Front Door

 April 21, 2024

   As mentioned yesterday, we are in the planning stages of a Billy the Kid Art Show & Confab in Lincoln on July 12. I found out from the new owner of the Ellis Store, Amy, that because of severe termite damage they had to refurbish the room the Kid allegedly stayed in and she wanted to know if I might like some of the salvageable wood for an art frame?

Daily Reworked Whip Out:

"Billy at The Backdoor of The Ellis Store"

(I added a period vest and a smirk)

   Now imagine this piece framed with the floorboards that Bonney actually walked on. If you ask me, I think that is a couple steps beyond groovamente!

   Meanwhile, my favorite Aussie Bastard, James B. Mills, who is as much of a period snob as I am, weighs in, saying, "I'd go with the painted visage [below]. It has some shadowy enigma about it, which is appropriate for Bonney." Or, as one BtK tintype expert phrased it, it looks like  "enraged mud turtles crawling on a ferrotype wash." Or, something like that.

Daily Reworked Whip Out:

"The Shadowy Enigma of Billy

at The Backdoor of The Ellis Store"

   Meanwhile, my grandson Weston prefers this one:

Daily Reworked Whip Out:

"Billy In An Above Ground Swimming Pool

at The Backdoor of the Ellis Store"

   Yes, my Canon printer ran out of ink in the middle of the run and, well, that's what it looks like: Billy the Kid up to his waist in an above ground swimming pool, at the back door of the Ellis Store.

Every hat I love is in this picture.

Mexican Revolution Soldados, circa 1915

   I especially dig the guy, at lower left with the swept back surgarloaf and the spoiler backfin and black shirt. I want to see this guy move, in a film about the true story of Pedro Pasqual.

Daily Whip Out:

"Pedro Pasqual's Sugarloaf"

Daily Whip Out:

"Pedro Heads Out to Meet His Fate"

      And, I don't see this as some fruity allegory either. This will not be a story that reveals a hidden meaning. With this I am on the side of Tolkein.

". . .I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varired applicability to the thought and experience of readers."

—J.R.R. Tolkein in the foreword to "The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring"