We Are Somewhere Between Autocracy and Democracy

 February 11, 2026

   Got a request from Buckeye Blake to send my Vincent van Gogh vs. Rene Secretan Classic Gunfight coverage to Steve S. in Capitan, New Mexico. So I did.

CG Layout: "A Murder of Crows"

(The true story of how Vincent van Gogh died)

    I had forgotten how good it is.

    I realized today we are all dancing between opposites. Take autocracy and democracy. How do you get efficiency over anarchy? In the olden days chiefdoms answered that question by creating security against roving bands of bandits.       

   Democracy, on the other hand, is granting governing authority to the people or to governing officials through free elections.  A scholar, Mancur Olson introduced the term "stationary bandits," as opposed to the "roaming bandits" that dominate anarchies. Wow. It all makes sense to me now. When democracy seems to be giving away too much power to people who make you uncomfortable, you slide towards autocracy, where a single person tells those upstarts to back off and straighten up and fly right, or else.

   Okay, and here is the second spread of the Van Gogh murder investigation.

CG Layout 2: "A Murder of Crows"

Daily Whip Out: "Freight Train Clouds"

   This is a scene of a storm I witnessed on a trip to New Mexico some years ago. As I was motoring eastward, just around the corner from Magdalena, I soon dropped down into the slot canyon that drains into the town of Socorro,  and it was there I witnessed a fast moving storm that went right over my truck like a freight train. It was so magnificent, I had to pull over and get out and watch it. I imagine some of the passing locals muttered, "Oh, look Honey, another damn Zonie looking skyward and drooling." But, I didn't care.   

"Devote the rest of your life to making progress."

—Epictetus

I Still Seek The Magic From Old Photos

 February 10, 2026

   The art thing that I still seek to this day is, if not mastery, an attempt to capture the vagueness of old photos. This desire and quest no doubt stems from the thousands of old, damaged photos I have looked at and studied ever since I bought my first True West magazine from Desert Drugs in downtown Kingman in 1957. Of course, 42 years later, that obsession took a fortuitous turn.

Our first cover of TW in the fall of 1999

(actually for the January 2000 issue)

   Yes, when I illustrate stories for the magazine, I want them to have an authentic, Old West patina.

Daily Whip Out: "Wyatt On The Phone"

Daily Whip Out: "As Time Went On"

Daily Whip Out: "Vague Tony"

   And, yes, sometimes I miss. I have been accused of doing "finger paintings" in the magazine and I hate to admit it but it has some merit since I am trying to emulate those old damaged images and sometimes the end result is more damaged "finger painting" than authentic.

Daily Whip Out: "Badass Bass"

   Conversely, once in a while I hit the jackpot and the vague distortions and specific detail combine to make an exquisite image. This is one of those rare instances:

Daily Whip Out: "Teresita"

   Once in a blue moon, the magic happens and I get a combo of Old Photo meets Modern Pathos.

Daily Whip Out: "The Baja Hinny"

   I also dig the amber glow of old photos and sometimes I try to blend the obscureness of old photos with the effervescent glow of a modern pop image. Here's a decent example of that:

Daily Whip Out Reworked: "Russian Bill"

   Like Chief Dan George noted in Little Big Man, "Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't."

Daily Whip Out: "Seldom Seen Slim"

  I have long heard of the moniker but I didn't realize this guy was a real person.

Me lonely? Hell no! I'm half coyote and half wild burro." 

—Seldom Seen Slim, these words are the epitaph on his grave at Ballarat, California Cemetery

I Sure Enjoyed The Original Super Bowl Half Time Show

 February 9, 2026

   Yesterday was fun, but I couldn't help but remember the very first Super Bowl half time show I ever saw. It was January 15, 1967 and The University of Arizona marching band, led by the unflappable Jack Lee opened up the show with a rousing "The Sound of Music" while doing intricate, crisscrossing formations. Wow!

The Very First Super Bowl Halftime Show!

   Then my old classmates segued into "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" while forming a giant riverboat with a paddle wheel that spun!

   From there they morphed into "When The Saints Go Marching In!" all the while marching into a giant musical note thirty yards tall!

   Jack Lee's 8-year-old son, John, stood on the fifty yard line in shiny red cowboy garb and twirling a baton in the air JUST LIKE HIS DAD!

   Then as a nod to me and historians all over Arizona, they did a reenactiment of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, as a tuba player went down in the crossfire, prompting two other band members to rush over with a stretcher and load up the tuba and carry it away!

   For the closer, the band formed two enormous stick figures and walked them to midfield to shake hands, but not before they kicked a pair of oversized footballs, which sent two stunt men in jetpacks rocketing up and out of the stadium! 

   Thanks to Greg Scott for sending me the newspaper account of the very first Super Bowl halftime show put on by The University of Arizona marching band. And, no, I wasn't kidding about the reenactment of the O.K. Corral fight. They really did that! Looking back, it seems even more fantastic to me now.

"Funny how blessings brighten as they take their flight."

—Old Vaquero Saying

The Opening to Beyond Hope BBB On 66, Beale's Strange Camel

February 8. 2026

After a storm and in the twilight, Beale's camel Seid glowed like a ghost.

Daily Whip Out:

"Beale's White Camel Glowed Like A Ghost" 

  I'll soon be out on the road again. Heading for Seligman on April 30 for the celebration of Angel Delgadillo's 99th birthday and Seligman's 100th. Oh, and Route 66's 100th. 

BBB at Home On 66

(photo by Rooster Rob Mathisch) 

   And speaking of which, this photo was taken across the street from the Sno Cap Drive-in last November when Rob and I cruised through Seligman on our way to Music Mountain. Love that place. I will be the MC for the all day event.

   Here's the opening to a dark desert noir I am working on with Stuart Rosebrook.

   A ten-X Beaver Stetson floats upside down in the deep end of the swimming pool at the Westward Ho Hotel. 

   Above, in the gathering darkness, a fiery sunset lights up the sky.

CUT TO:

   A close-up on the license plate of a 1962 Rambler in the parking lot of J.D.’s in the River-bottom. As the camera slowly comes up we notice that the car is rocking. Muffled moans come from inside. The camera does a slow zoom into the back window and we see a Mexican Mariachi bobblehead on the dash with big eyes wobbling in the moonlight. The camera keeps pushing through the windshield and across the hood and we see another car—a 1957 Austin Healey—coming into the packed parking lot and we see the neon lights of J.D.s and on the marquee it says, Waylon Jennings Upstairs & Buffalo Springfield Downstairs. The camera continues it’s slow zoom-pan and we see a long line of patrons snaking out the door. One of them is a gawky kid with big ears and he says, "I turn 21 in five minutes and there's nothing they can do about it. They have to let me in. Man, this is going to be a night to remember!"

Best Poetry Comeback by An American Outlaw

   When Charles Boles, alias Black Bart the Po8 was in prison for his many stage robberies (where he often left doggeral poems) he was asked if he was going to write any more poetry and he answered, "didn't I tell you I have given up my life of crime!" 

"Black Bart Po8"

By Thom Ross

“There is no doubt fiction makes a better job of the truth. Because the truth is never just one thing is it? Life is layered, contradictory, always in flux. To try and pin it down is like trying to catch wind in your hands. But through story, through emotion, we get close to something that feels real.”

—Doris Lessing, “The Golden Notebook” 

Making Out And Aging Out

 February 7, 2026

   Seems like it was just yesterday that I was making out in cars.

Necking 101

   Yes, and if you ask me, I thought I was pretty good at it. True, I practiced the art of it for quite a while, seems like decades but it was probably closer to five years, tops. And you may squirm now, remembering your own perilous adventures on your own personal back seat cage match. 

   Here, as it relates to me, was the scene of the crime.

'57 Merc Makeout Machine

   And, for a time, the movies were all about making out in cars as well. . .

Two-Lane Bird Eyes The Driver

   

   At the end of the day, I can't complain though. I ended up with a couple momentos from the experience.

Dos BBB Bambinos!

   Those times are long gone and now even the cars we made out in, are headed for the scrap heap.  

Crawling Out From The Wreckage

"Crawling from the wreckage, crawling from the wreckage

You'd think by now at least that half a brain would get the message

Crawling from the wreckage, crawling from the wreckage

Into a brand new car"

—Dave Edmunds

One More Bravado Beale Backstory

 February 6, 2026

   Just when some of you were hoping I was finished with Beal? Here is another Beale on the brain drain.

Daily Whip Out: "Beale Washed"

   When to stop? That is the question. Here is an earlier wash version, born from the online slam that "all my paintings are too dark and overworked."

Daily Whip Out: "Beale Light"

“A camel’s back is broken by the last straw, but it bears many before.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

   And, speaking of last straws, just got this comment about my recent obsession with Ned Beale:

"The 'last straw' will be another blog post on Beale. Folks, see what happens when you whine about too much Wyatt or Billy?"

—Unknown

The Father of The Mother Road

   He crossed the country thirteen times in his storied career. He was the hero of the Battle of San Pasqual during the Mexican War. He carried the first proof of California gold to Congress and President Polk, toting a seven-pound gold nugget he purchased with his own money. He was in the Navy and rose to the rank of Lieutenant. After that he became a millionaire businessman in California. He served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and surveyed possible railroad routes across Colorado and Utah. Oh, and then he became a brigadier general in the Californian militia. And then, after all that, President James Buchanan appointed him to survey and build a 1,000 mile wagon road from Arizona to California. And, on top of that, he was ordered to test a group of camels brought in from Tunis for the purpose of seeing if they could be of use in the American West.

   Kit Carson was quoted as saying, "I can't believe this guy Ned Beale."

On June 25, 1857, Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale departed San Antonio with mules, horses, freight wagons, camels and a bright red ambulance wagon used primarily for supplies Among his crew was Hadju Ali, a Greek-Syrian who would become known to Americans as Hi Jolly.

The hardships of the journey were relentless.

His subsequent report, titled Wagon Road from Fort Defiance to the Colorado River, covers the road he surveyed, tested and proved and that later evolved into Route 66.

   How's THAT tease for the next issue of True West?

One More For The Road

   On second thought, given that Beale was a brigadier general in the California militia prior to the Camel Corps, he just might have worn a more military outfit on the expedition and perhaps he looked more like this.

Daily Whip Out: "Beale In Uniform"

“The more I see of them, the more I am convinced of their usefulness. Their perfect docility and patience under difficulties renders them invaluable.”

—Ned Beale on his camels

Beale On Seid Leads The Way

 February 5, 2026

   You might say I've got Beale on the brain. I am still pursuing the idea that Ned was the Father of the Mother Road. How do you take the image of an Old West guy and give it a design element that pays off everything he begat?

Daily Whip Out:

"Beale Begat A Neon Highway"

   Not a bad idea. Needs work. I may flip him horizontally, looking to the right. Need to tweak those car lights a bit. Meanwhile, we know that Beale rode a white camel.

Daily Whip Out:

"Beale On Seid Leads The Way"

   After the outbreak of the Civil War, the Camel Corps was totally scrapped. It didn't help that the project was the brainchild of Jefferson Davis, who was the Secretary of War, but when the war broke out and he became the president of the Confederacy, anything he had anything to do with was suddenly tainted. Ed Beale even offered to keep the camels on his property but the Union Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, rejected the offer. Many of the camels were sold to private owners. Others were taken across the border and sold to Mexican circuses. Even others escaped into the desert and roamed, like wild burros. Beale's favorite white camel "Seid" got into a fight with another male camel during rutting season and was killed by a blow to the head. His bones were sent to the Smithsonian. Reportedly, the last reported sighting of one of Beale's camels was near Douglas, Texas in 1941.

“A camel’s back is broken by the last straw, but it bears many before.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

A Better Beale Rides A White Camel If I Can Get to The Printer On Time

 February 4, 2026

    We are making our last minute additions to a very fine issue.

   Yes, we are finishing up the March-April issue this week and all of the heavy lifting is over, but there are always those pesky little hangouts that drive our production manager crazy, and that would be requests like this:

   My frantic layout sketch to change the last spread of the cover story to include copy that wasn't in the original piece. As I reread the layouts I realized we needed to know about how one of the last camels cashed out. Dan turned my sketch into this:

The Final Demise of Red Ghost

   Also, one of my regrets on this issue is that I kind of missed on the portrait of Ned Beale on the cover. I actually think he resembles this attempt which I did today, but it's too late to do anything about it now. 

Daily Whip Out: "A Better Beale"

   I also wanted the cover back to put Beale on his favorite white camel "Seid" which would have made for a stronger cover image, but that is also water under the bridge. I often have to let these things go or I'd be following the plate makers into the dark room in Liberty, Kansas to "improve" an image, or two, before they went on press. Believe me, I have considered it!

"If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done."

—Old Vaquero Saying

A Collage of Difficult Western Historians

 February 3, 2026

   Sometimes I get very constructive and inspiring suggestions from this blog: "How about a collage of difficult western historians?" That is a very funny twist on the History of Difficult Women, which I intend to use as a title for an upcoming art show.

   Okay, so if I was going to execute a cascading collage of difficult Western historians, what would that look like? Here's a start.

Daily Whip Outs:

"A Cascading Collage of Difficult Western Historians"

   So, for starters the collage would be color-coded with the real difficult historians in red and the counter-historians who were helpful and did battle with the difficult ones, would be in blue. And, if you'll hang around I'll ID all these "difficult" cats and explain why they were so damn difficult, as we go along. Yes, I have a story for each of them.

   Meanwhile, here is the ad Dan The Man came up with for the inside back cover of the next issue of True West magazine which goes to press a week from today.

Your mileage may vary. . .

   "Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing."

—Wernher von Braun

Red Ghost Reign of Terror Comes to A Hilarous End

 February 2, 2026

   One of the enduring, outrageous legends in Arizona is that a demonic, rogue camel with a skeleton on its back, killed and terrorized the countryside for a decade in the 1880s.

Daily Whip Out: "The Legend of Red Ghost"

Here are just a few of the alleged "sightings":

• A ranch woman heard women screaming and rushed to a window to see a "huge, reddish colored beast," ridden by a "devilish-looking creature." She locked her doors and waited for the men to return. When they did they found another ranch woman had been trampled to death and they found red hair in a nearby bush.

• A group of prospectors reported a beast tearing through their campground and one witness said it was "30-feet tall" and knocked over two wagons.

• Another report claimed this same red creature ate a grizzly bear.

• Still another report claimed it disappeared into thin air when they tried to approach it.

• Two men were sleeping in a tent when they were jolted awake with their tent crashing down on them and were horrified when giant legs were stomping down on them. They thought it "was a giant horse" which galloped away.

• In 1893, a farmer, Mizoo Hastings found the creature in his garden eating his precious tomatoes and got his rifle and shot the beast dead. When he approached the dead body he noticed leather straps on the side with much scarring.

The “Red Ghost” demonic camel was allegedly finally killed in a farmer’s garden in eastern Arizona for eating prized tomatoes.

  I also asked Kathy if she would like to blurb our book, The 66 Kids, for an ad Dan The Man is creating and she said:

"Please don't encourage them."

—Kathy Radina

Ten Sleep Cowgirls, The Surveyors Who Wrecked Everthing And Joe Banana's Retirement Plan

 February 1, 2026

   Hard to beat a quartet of cowgirls posing near a cryptic cowtown name:

Ten Sleep Cowgirls

(as in Ten Sleep, Wyoming) 

   So called because to the Native Americans it was ten sleeps—ten days—from Fort Laramie (Hub Whitt says it's Casper), Wyoming.

  Way back in the nineteen-hundreds, I was a land surveyor and I worked on a variety of Arizona projects that turned into sprawling subdivisions and an infamous interstate highway.

A Survey Crew Slightly Before My Time

(but the surly attitude is timeless)

   Our efforts may not have wrecked our present time, but the end results sure did take a sledge hammer to so many of the things I loved and thought were inviolate.

"66 Wreckage"

   So, it has been with some effort that I have tried to save as much as I can from those old times.

The old A-1 Sign off of The Nogales Cafe

Wyatt Earp in a rocking chair

on the door to my studio

A Victorian Beauty With Airborne Skirts

In Old Arizona

   One of the first mafioso to immigrate to Arizona was Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno who landed in Tucson from New York in 1943. He claimed he came to Arizona to retire but he almost immediately invested in land, a parking lot and an Italian bakery. 

Joe smiling near Arizona Savings in Tucson

   In the late sixties, when I drove by his modest house in the Catalina Vista neighborhood just off Speedway and Campbell Avenue he held, with his wife, some $329,823 in Pima County real estate. Some estimate he was worth $1 billion. Not a bad retirement plan.

   In the late seventies, a good friend of ours was engaged to a guy who got busted for drugs and was doing time at a minimum security prison near Safford, Arizona. One weekend, I agreed to drive her to visit her fiance, and as we were standing in line to check in, a short woman with a cane, ahead of me, was asked for her ID and the woman seethed, "You know damn well who I am." Turns out it was Mrs. Joe Bonanno, visiting her son Bill, who, according to my friend's fiance who was spending quality time there, ran the place. Small world, no.

"I'm sorry I had to cut your hand off at the wrist, but you reached for your chips."

—Robert Ringer, Winning Through Intimidation

The History of Difficult Women

 January 31, 2026

   In case you were wondering, at the end of the day I am still drawn to difficult women.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Outs:

"Old West Females Galore"

   Maybe not exclusively "drawn" but certainly rendered—in this case "scratched"—into semi-immortality. This is assuming these scratchboards survive the coming world-wide meltdown.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Outs:

"Old West Females Galore II"

   Back in the summer of 2022, during the production of our book "Hellraisers & Trailblazers: The Real Women of The Wild West", which I co-wrote with the late, great Jana Bommersbach, I got this idea to do a cascading collage of Wild Women. Here is one of the first sketches I did of the concept.

Daily Whip Out:

"Sketches for The Early Cascading Concept"

   I shared the above sketch with the boys down at Cattletrack Arts Compound and that led us to here.

One-Half of The Cascading Collage

Held Up By Brent Bond And Mark McDowell

      Then we got serious and started to nail down and permanently adhere the images to two giant boards. . .

   And, after we got the bigger version collected and mounted. we hauled it outside and Uno helped me add some finishing touches to tie it all together.

Uno Gives That "Whatever" Look

He's So Famous For

   When we finished it, the Cattletrack boys then motored the whole thing up to The Phippen Museum outside of Prescott where they put it on the wall for an art show we held to premiere the Hellraisers book.

Real Women of The Wild West

Cascading Collage

   The premiere of the book and the opening of the art show came off on November 5, 2022 at the Phippen Art Museum in Prescott, Arizona and the show was a roaring success. We sold six cases of books and almost all of the artwork.

Thanks to the curator, Tricia Loscher, the Cascading Collage was unanimously accepted into the Sigler Art Museum's permanent collection in Wickenburg, Arizona. The massive piece will appear in a forthcoming art show to open the new wing of the museum in the fall of 2027. I intend to add some more pertinent subject matter to that show, like this work in progress:

Daily Whip Out:

"Writing In The Eye of The Storm"

 

   Inspired by the life of Jana. Meanwhile, let's give the last word to someone who knows a thing or two about the subject.

"It actually doesn't take much to be considered a difficult women. That's why there are so many of us."

—Jane Goodall

Daily Whip Out: "Cascading Collage of Women"
as it appears in the "Hellraisers" book.