What Exactly Is Discovered When You Study History?

 February 28, 2026

   I have always been struck by how close the lawful and the lawless were in The Old West. Especially along the Mexican border. This is the theme of a story I am noodling about an American outlaw and a Rurale who confront both sides of redemption in the foothills of the Sierra Madre.

   Come to think of it, I have never been at a loss for story ideas. It's the finishing of them that has been the problem.

   He rode a mammoth jack sixteen hands high and when he crossed at Nogal, the buzzards followed along.

   At Window Rock the Apache Kid and Beauty barely escaped as a 45/70 zinged near their feet.

Daily Whip Out: "Killer Angel"

"When you study history you realize people have been this stupid for thousands of years."
—Old Vaquero Saying

Daily Whip Out: "Old Vaquero Side Glance"

Sugarloaf Culture And Zapata Brims

 February 27, 2026

  As you may know it's not hard for me to get enthusiastic about Sugarloaf hat culture.

Daily Whip Out:

"Barefoot Sonoran Paisano con Sugarloaf"

   Yes, I love those old sugarloafs and bemoan the lack of them in Western films In my opinion, every single film about the Old West should at least have a version of this hat style on a variety of characters.

Under The Hondo Brim

   Even films made in Mexico seem to have a hard time replicating the very hats they made so famous.

Low Crowns All Around

   But, at least the latest bio-pic on Doroteo Arango went to the trouble to include a big, ol' sugarloaf, or two.

Pancho meets Emilio Zapata in the film.

And, that would be this film.

At least it is a step in the right direction.

Viva Mexico Cabrone, Indeed!

   One of these days I am going to pull the trigger on this little book project and then the big, tall sugarloafs will get their due.

Custom lettering by Bob Steinhilber

"Nothing happens in Mexico, until it does."

—Porfirio Diaz

A Cacti Dream Come True

Total Freedom In Art Is A Dangerous Mirage

 February 25 , 2026

   If you are like me, you find wisdom in the strangest places.

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"Old Vaquero In Dust II"

"I can understand your anger at me, but what could you possibly have against the horse I rode in on?"

—Old Vaquero Saying

Radio Heads Break Bread

   Thanks to Jeanne Sedello, I had lunch today with a radio legend.

Knives Out

Bob Pugh and BBB at The Capital Grille 

(with Barry Goldwater looking on)

We were on opposite sides of the table as KSLX (he was management and I was "talent") but we both survived and prospered and it was fun to catch up with him.

Hitting The Road This Summer On Route 66

According to the nationwide survey, 41% of U.S. adults plan to visit some part of Route 66, with another 15% expressing interest after learning about the centennial. I'll see you in Seligman on April 30. Art Vs. Commerce    Perhaps you have heard of the films The Godfather and Dances With Wolves?    Both were made under duress with stressful contraints put upon the artists who made them and according to insiders they were constantly battling "the suits." Everyone wondered what Francis Ford Coppala and Kevin Costner could do if they had total freedom to make art. Well, eventually, They both got their wish.  Costner reportedly spent $38 million of his own money on Horizon and Francis Ford spent a staggering $120 million of his own dough (he owns a winery) on Megalopolis and both projects bombed horribly. Audiences claim they were both laughably awful, with a rambling narrative, no center, just half-baked subplots and a ton of mega hubris. And they both lost a boatload of money.

   So, what is the lesson?

"Art lives by constraint and dies from freedom."

—Andre Gide

Tim Prythero Delivers On A Route 66 Dream

 February 24, 2026

   Well, my father didn't live to see it, but I think of him every day when I walk by this in the living room.

Tim Prythero's miniature of Al Bell's Flying A

   And, here is the day Tim presented me the commissioned piece in 2016.

Me and Tim Prythero with his wonderful miniature of Al Bell's Flying A

   And here is the detail in the review I read about him that just knocked me out:

The green is under the window cooler.

"So keen is his eye that when gallery owner Lise Hoshour pointed out to him that one of the bits of shrubbery behind the motel appeared greener weed Prythero explained that the greener weed was under the dripping air conditioner “

—Karen Evans, Saturday Review, August 1985

The Influence of A Windshield Wiper And Tim Prythero Captures The Route 66 Era Perfectly

February 23, 2026

   I have washed my share of windshields in my time, but here is another perspective on the history of the whole squeegee task. . . 

   "I pulled into an Arco gas station in Apache Junction. Gas was cheap so I thought I’d fill it up. While waiting, I got out to wash my windows. I grabbed the squeegee with the sponge on the back, got the windows wet and was in the process of squeegeeing off the water when I noticed a particularly tenacious dead bug. I was paying attention to how I was using the mesh covered sponge and scrubbing the bug off. It dawned on me that this technology was probably about 50 years old.

   "Suddenly, I found myself thinking about my friend, Bob Bell, who told me about when you pulled into his father's gas station—Al Bell's Flying A—you got air in the tires, your oil checked, and your windows washed. Suddenly, in my mind, I realized that in an odd way Al Bell was standing right beside me looking at how I was removing that bug… Would he have advice? Would he approve… Disapprove… interesting that work wise, Al probably washed his last windshield sometime in the 70s and it was over 50 years later but he was still part of that story!"

—Mad Coyote Joe

Ralph Stayner washing a windshield at Al Bell's Phillips 66, 1963. That's the El Trovatore Motel across the street.

(this is an 8mm film screen grab)

  Meanwhile, another artist, this one from Albuquerque, has captured the old Route 66 world in a very cool way. His name is Tim Prythero and I have been a fan since the eighties when I read about his incredible attention to detail in creating his miniature roadside attractions, mostly along old Route 66.

   Ha. The green street sign at lower left says, "Yah Ta Hey"

   I made a vow that someday I would commission Tim to do a miniature of my father's Flying A in Kingman. You know, this one. . .

 

Al Bell's Flying A

   And, I am happy to say that in 2016 I fulfilled that dream. A photo of that little treasure tomorrow.

 "Tim Prythero's miniature world draws us in, attracting us to a place where the future has closed down, and where the uncountable details of anonymous lives have slowly accumulated in the weight of gravity of time. Each tiny meticulously constructed tableau provides a heart-breaking description of America's indeluctable loneliness."

—William Peterson

Legendary Zonies Mickey Free And Wonderful Russ

 February 22, 2026

   Circling back to a certain one-eyed, red-headed captivo.

Daily Whip Out:

"Mickey Cuts Through The Blinding Dust"

   And, if it wasn't the damn dust, it was the incessant fires, dogging his trail.

Daily Whip Out:

"Mickey On His Mammoth Jack 

Jumps Through The Flames"

   Random fires burned along the ridges and down into the border canyons. Picking his way along, around the edges when possible, Mickey pushed on to the south. From there the fires dissapated, but here and there flames still swirled along the edges.

Daily Whip Out: "The Coyote Returns"

   This went on for miles, but finally. . .

Daily Whip Out:

"Mickey Finally Escapes The Valley of Fire"

  Mickey Free, finally found a route out of the valley inferno and crossed over into Bacanora. Everyone agreed that all in all, he did not have the most pleasant visage.

Daily Whip Out: "Mickey's Dead Eye Stare"

alternative title:

"Displeasure Was Stamped Upon His Features"

   So, that is one of my favorite Arizona's legends and here is another.

One Truly Irregular Arizonan

Dan Harshberger and I started the Razz Revue "Magazomic" in 1972 and in the spring of '73 we were inspired to do 103 Irregular Arizonans and we had our friends and friends of friends nominate people who they believed were different, or, ahem, Irregular. One of the nominees was Wonderful Russ who was, at the time doing zany moving company ads on KDKB radio and his crazy delivery and voice timber made him a legend. When I tracked him down, he agreed to came over to the Park Lee Apartments just south of Camelback and 15th Ave where we were renting and had our office (in the living room!) and Dan and I interviewed Russ and he was a total laugh riot. Afterwards, I walked him out to his car and took this now classic photo of Russ Shaw, Jr. Major Humor Master And Zane Bro Number One!

Zane Bro Number 1—Wonderful Russ

April, 1973

   And here's the cover, designed by Dan The Man and notice Wonderful Russ made the cover blurbs, as did Matt Siegel's Dog!

   Not long after this we pitched him on running for governor and the rest is Arizona history!

"If I am elected we will be blasting California off into the ocean so Arizona will have a sea port at Yuma."

—Wonderful Russ campaign promise

Red Head Redemption

 February  21, 2026

  Everyone knows black loves red.

Daily Whip Out:

"Red Head Redemption #21"

Daily Whip Out:

"Red Head Redemption #22"

Daily Whip Out:

"Red Head (Skeletor) Redemption #23"

   Yes, I am always amazed at how the combination of black and red creates a dynamic-pop-poster effect. And, speaking of poster boys. . .

Three Bell Boys In Long Beach

That's my dad on the left, Allen P. Bell, age 40. And that's me, on the right, age 16. And in the middle—doing a jig—is my farmer grandfather, Carl Marvin Bell, age 76. He's three years younger than I am now. Wow.

   In 1963 my uncle Glenn Marvin Bell (my dad's younger brother) married a pretty girl from Council Bluffs, Iowa, and moved to Long Beach, California to teach school. So, my grandparents, still on the family farm north of Thompson, Iowa, drove out to Kingman and stayed with us a few days and then my dad drove us all to Long Beach in his new '62 Olds to visit those other Bells. I had just received an 8mm camera which my dad traded for a tank of gas to some broke people trying to make it the Promised Land (California) and we had just gone to a Lutheran church on Sunday in Long Beach and we were all dressed up waiting to go to a restaurant for a sitdown Sunday breakfast and we were standing on their patio, and my uncle Glenn took my movie camera and started filming. My grandfather started doing a jig (a show off Bell? What are the odds?), which I thought was hilarious and that's how this frame from the movie came about.

   Speaking of show-off Bells, here is a semi-painful photo from out of my radio past.

The Razz Band opening for the Beach Boys

May 20, 1988

   (Alternate title) I could'ah been a contender, if only I hadn't worn those muy dorky jammies! One of our zany contributors to the Jones, Boze & Jeanne Show on KSLX was Brian Richards who portrayed Paul McCartney on our April Fool's Show and fooled the whole Valley. Meanwhile, Brian hired the Beach Boys to open a subdivision he was doing out in Mesa called Val Vista Lakes. He paid $98,000 for the privilege and he tapped us, The Razz Band, to be the opening act. Well, actually, that's too strong. He granted us the spot to open for the openers, meaning we got out on the stage and the Beach Boys had 95% of the stage locked down, and the opening act took about 4% of the remaining stage and we took what was left, which was maybe a half foot at the very edge of the stage. Not one of my favorite gigs, but then it was probably the biggest crowd we ever played for, some 30,000 Zonies who didn't quite understand why we were there. Ha.

"Well, east coast kids are hip I really dig those styles they wear. . .but I can't wait to get back in the sticks where the goobers from Kingman dress like dorks. . ."

—The Beach Boys, a paraphrasing of California Girls

When The Old Vauqeros Offend The Wrong People

 February 20, 2026

   Let's start with some good news:

   And, yes, you are invited. Going to be a fun one. I'll see you there at the White Stallion Ranch, just north of Tucson and as an added bonus, this is during the Tucson Festival of Books.

The More Things Change. . .

   I read this with a smile on my face.

A Way Forward for Print

Daily Whip Out: "Buckeye Furred Out"

(from a photograph, of course)

   As you probably can guess, sometimes the old vaqueros are too clever by half and find themselves offending the wrong people.

Daily Whip Out: "Old Vaquero In Chains"

"Ruling is simple. You only have to avoid offending the ruling families."

—Old Vaquero In Jail Saying

   Also, in the handwringing department. . .

"My Brothers of the Gun is in its second printing, so clearly people are not tired of reading about Wyatt Earp. Please, enough with the handwringing."

—Mark Lee Gardner

Arizona Rainbow Proves There Is A God

 February19, 2026

   Yesterday, Kathy was in the kitchen and she said to me, "There is a partial rainbow in the front yard." I replied from the living room, "Tell me when it's a full one," and not twenty seconds later, she replied:"You better come look at this." And, so I did.

A Full Arizona Rainbow 

   Meanwhile, just a few miles south of here. . .

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"Tres Bandidos En Remolino de Polvo"

(Three Outlaws In A Dust Storm)

"There's a fine line between catching an outlaw and becoming one.,"

—Old Vaquero Saying

Feedback On The Passing of The Torch

   "I know you have done more than your share in this battle to make history understandable, colorful and meaningful.  But we still need your guidance BBB. I really wonder if any group or person wants to do half the work you  and the TW team have done to make TW cutting edge in so many ways.  Your stories make people think?  They challenge the norm.  They also repeat a lot about the past like the Earp story etc.  over and over.  We need a steady hand, we need hard copy and digital too.  New blood, yes, but with an ancient memory to help us sort through the good, the bad and the ugly."

—Lynda Sanchez

    Good feedback on me stepping down in December as Executive Editor of True West magazine, although I must admit that nobody is more guilty of repeating the Wyatt Earp story over and over more than I am.

Daily Revised Whip Out: "Vaquero Dust Up"

"When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear."

—Thomas Sowell

What's Good for The Goose Is Good For The Gander Explained

 February 18, 2026

   Since we're all about full disclosure, skanky digital delights have always been a thing for me.

Sexy Sadie

(Mrs. Wyatt Earp? Dream on, Sucker)

What Is The Technical Difference Between A Goose And A Gander?

   A goose is any bird of the waterfowl family, the Anatidae, which includes ducks, swans and geese. The males are called ganders.

What Is The Euphemistic Difference Between A Goose And A Gander?

   When Bill Clinton got caught receiving a hummer in the White House, conservatives claimed that "Character Matters." When Donald Trump got caught on a live microphone saying he recommends grabbing women by the privates, the same conservatives said, "I'm not hiring him to be my pastor."

   So now you know how an old gander—who is the same age as both those old horndog ganders—feels about that old saying: "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."

What's It Like to Be Remembered As One of The Best Cartoonists Who Ever Lived?

R. Crumb cartoon portraying

our mutual madness

"He can't drive, he can't swim. He's totally dyslexic, he's left-handed. He's practically blind. His glasses are an inch thick. My mom did all the practical stuff and drew as well."

—Sophie Crumb

   Aline Kominsky Crumb (Sophie's late mom), was at the University of Arizona Fine Arts College at the same time I was there (1968-71). I remember seeing her, outside the main entrance talking to friends. She wasn't famous yet, I just remember her because she was striking. 

Aline and Robert Crumb

   Aline graduated from the U of A in 1971 and moved to San Francisco where she met that other Robert. And, here is my crude homage to her hubby, one of my cartooning heroes:

Freddy Remington drawing over the shoulder

of R. Crumb at Woodstock.

   Actually, that is an homage to two of my heroes: R. Crumb and Frederick Remington. And that whip out is a parody of this Remington illustration:

Daily Whip Out:

"BBB Does Remington at San Carlos"

   And, sometimes I channel them both and end up here.

Daily Dusty Whip Out:

"Disturbed Individual Approaching"

   He shouldn't be here, but there he is ambling up the drainage ditch on old Highway 93.

"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance."

—Old Vaquero Saying

                        Daily Mini Whip Out: "El Goofoso"

   I've had several people ask me what I am going to do when I retire in December. Well, first of all I am NOT retiring. I am simply stepping down from my position as Executive Editor of True West magazine. Because. . .

"There's no retirement for an artist. It's your way of living so there's no end to it."

—Henry Moore

"Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness."

—Old Vaquero Saying