Thanks to James Becker of Boot Hill Books in Sierra Vista I Have A Book to Read

 April 19, 2026

  Two days ago I received in the mail a book I had given away. 

   And, by given away, I mean I took it up to our local library, unread, with a crate full of other books I was getting rid of, and "donated it" to their Page One Bookstore, for resale. Of course, I got a slip of paper that allows me to write all of this off my taxes, so I had that going for me. This was probably two years ago.

   The book that arrived in the mail two days ago was from the owner of a new bookstore in Sierra Vista called Boot Hill Books and on the title page of the book James Becker had sent, the author had written this thoughtful note:

Camelback Falls title page

   And, like any lover of books, James insisted I should have it back. My first thought was, "What a heel I am for giving away a book from an author who thinks I am a "great Arizonan." 

   However, in the scheme of things, why was this book returned to me? What is in it, that the Universe is insistent I have to read? We are about to find out.

A BBB Blog Flashback to 2007

"Seeing your blog each day lets me know how the horses feel when they see me coming to feed them in the morning. Now I know I could live without your 'to the point' and sometimes hard to digest comments but I'd rather not have to. If it does come down to the worst case scenario, please leave Email Bob at the top of the page!"
—Bill Dunn

At least all of you can read. When the Top Secret Writer and I were working on the graphic novel last weekend I told him about a guy who came up to me at my book signing at End of Trail last summer and said, "I can't read your books. I've tried. I like movies." And he walked away. I told Paul, "Here I make my books as visual as possible. They're written for ADD aflicted guys like me, and I still can't reach some of these guys."

The rest of the weekend, whenever we were stuck, or arguing over a plot point, Paul Andrew Hutton would go into a "Rainman" voice (Hutton is a master at mimicry) and say, "Baub Bo Bel, I can't read yor books. Words too big. I like movies, Baub Bo Bel."

"No man is useless while he has a friend."
—Robert Louis Stevenson