Drenched And The Memory of A Great Neighbor

 October 31, 2026

   Uno and I got out on the road at our usual time this morning. I noticed a big, fat storm front off to the south but I thought it was far enough away for us to make it up and back with ease.

An Ominous Storm Front Rolling In

   As we approached the halfway point, just below Rockaway Hills, I looked off to the right and saw the coming deluge rolling towards us, but I didn't panic because I knew there was an empty house at the top of the hill and we could easily slip onto the covered porch and escape being drenched. Big mistake. Soon enough, fat sprinkles gave way to a downpour, which quickly gave way to a deluge and I rather quickly realized two things: a palo verde tree doesn't stop much precipitation and two, you can run pretty fast when you are being soaked to the bone.

Lake Bev

   I call this Lake Bev after my late, great neighbor Bev Whitlow who is still giving me shelter after she is gone!

Bev's Porch In The Rain

   Note the green barber chair just beyond the table, which is where Bev cut my hair for the past two decades and where we caught up on all the Cave Creek news and neighborhood gossip. Loved that girl.

Beverly Whitlow

(1948-2026)

    And here's a bit of saucy humor that Bev would have loved.

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

—Jane Goodall

I Talk Too Much for A Fighting Man

 October 30, 2026

   Working on the script for my last YouTube video which we are taping today at noon. I'm noodling this punchline: But then, what do I know? I talk too much for a fighting man.

A Conundrum: A Rock 'N' Roll Cartoonist

Meets The Conservative Historian

   The inspiration comes from the Wyatt Earp quote: "Ike, you talk too much for a fighting man." And on our long car trip down to Tombstone and back last weekend, Rob Mathiasch and I were riffing on all things O.K. Corral and Rob at one point said facetiously, "I talk too much for a fighting man," and it got a big laugh from me, but then I realized that is what almost all of us who worship at the statue of Wyatt Earp really feel deep down inside. On some primal level we're all scared little boys.

   Just saw a concert poster and it had what I assume are new band names?

• Billy King And The Bad, Bad, Bad

• The Tobasco Brothers

• Los Pinche Gringos!

   I don't know about you, but those are some pretty damn groovy band names right there.

Favorite Onion Headline de Jour
Great-Grandmother Actually Not That Great

"Damn the thunder, must I blunder

there's no wonder all I'm under

Stop your crying and the lying

And the sighing and my dying

Sail On, Sail On, Sailor"

—The Beach Boys

What Is The First Movie to Feature The So-called Gunfight at The O.K. Corral?

 October 27, 2026

   When Stuart Lake finally caught up with Wyatt Earp in Los Angeles in August of 1928, he found a taciturn, old man, who seemed to answer every question with one of three replies: "Yep." "Nope." "Don't recall." And then after a couple interviews, Earp up and died (January of 1929). Perfect for a writer! Now he could have him say so much more. And, Boy Howdy, did Lake ever do that!

   The back story of Sadie trying to sell Hollywood on Wyatt's story is painful and pathetic. Bordering on clownish. But the aging soiled dove did score some points in the final making of the legend.

So When Did the Turn Begin?

   Stuart Lake is the one who turned the tide in 1931 with the publication of "Frontier Marshal" (it's a little ironic that Lake wanted "Frontier Gunfighter" as the title, but Sadie would not have it). Prior to this, Wyatt Earp was primarily known in the press as a "Gun Man" not as a lawman. And the O.K. Corral incident was more often than not described as the "Earp-Clanton feud," as in the Hatfield & McCoys embroglio. So Lake's prose and Sadie's restraint helped create the stalwart lawman we know today.

   Oh, and there was one other development that finally sealed the deal. In 1927 the first official gangster film, Underworld, depicted the rise and fall of a Chicago mobster and it did very good box office. 

   As Mark Cousins points out in his ten part series, The History of Cinema, in the first Westerns, the town—society—is just being born. In gangster movies, the town, the city, is dying. The world is dark. No one remembers the law being made. 

   In the early thirties, we get The Public Enemy, Little Caesar and Scarface. This was during the Prohibition era when urban crime landed in the public spotlight, and now the Earp story was finally ready for its close-up and with Law & Order the Wyatt Earp story finally landed. And, it had legs, as they say.

Law & Order, 1931

The first film to feature the so-called Gunfight at The O.K. Corral

“It is human nature to think wisely and act in an absurd fashion.”
—Old Vaquero Saying

Halfway In The Walls Started Talking

 October 28, 2026

   I grew up playing around the dark boulders in the Cerbat Range. We played Guns all over them in and around the ridges on Hilltop, outside of Kingman, Arizona.

Railroad Pass With The Hualapais Behind

(across the street from my dad's gas station)

   So it makes perfect sense that when I start drawing random boulders in a slot canyon, all those youthful experiences come into play.

Daily Whip Out:

"Halfway In, The Walls Started Talking"

   What did they say? Well, that is a story for another day.

   Well, okay, here's a snippet:

   "You got a lot of nerve coming in here with some lame parable concept on your mind."

"People can only take parables fully clothed with flesh."

—John Steinbeck, referring to his classic East of Eden

Onion Headline You Need to See

 October 27. 2026

   I ride herd on these timely headlines so you don't have to:

Man Puts Glass of Water On Bedside Table In Case He Needs to Make Huge Mess In Middle of Night

—The Onion

   Great to be home. Worked on this today.

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"Agatha Peak In Dust Storm"

   And this.

Daily Unfinished Whip Out:

"Slot Canyon In Progress"

Cheesy, Big & Breezy

   I had the honor and privilege to speak at the Clyne Ranch Campout last weekend. I spoke in the barn and we had some fun.

   Afterwards Alisa Clyne took this shot of me and Roger holding up a posterized album cover which I produced the art for.

Band Homies On The Clyne Ranch

   Oh, and the Clynes gifted me the Carthart coat for speaking in the barn. Ain't that a heart warming gift.

   One more for the road (which I am retiring from!):

Local Dad's Been On A Parenting Kick Lately

—The Onion

More On Burning Bridges And The Infamous P Commission Photo

 October 26, 2026

   On this semi-religious O.K. day let me clarify what is going on regarding the Burning Bridges Tour. I am retiring from public speaking at the end of this year but I am still going to contribute to True West magazine, publish my work and write my blog. I still love the history talking part of the gig, but I am done with the traveling to get to the gig part. I won't miss that! For example, I drove to Kingman the weekend before last, which is a 380 mile round trip, and this weekend I traveled 400 miles to speak in Tombstone (special thanks to my driver, Rob Mathiasch). The driving part has lost its charm, but my love for roadside dining remains.

Daily Whip Out:

"Burning Bridges Part II"

   When I began speaking in Schieffelin Hall last Saturday I admitted this was one of the last stops on my Burning Bridges Tour and somehow that freed me up from being so formal and with that freedom in mind, I told the back story on the famous P Commission photo, which took place less than a 100 yards from where we were meeting.

How I Got Banned from Arizona Highways

   I wrote a dumb caption and it cost me dearly. In my defense I wrote the caption at two in the morning when I was sleep deprived and buggy. The cutline was under a photo of Hugh O'Brian in the first edition of "The Illustrated Life & Times of Wyatt Earp" (1993). In the photo Hugh is holding a Buntline Special with that extra long barrel. And in the caption, I dictated this to my production manager, Julie Sigwart: "In his other holster he has a normal length penis." We laughed and laughed, like overworked, graphics zombies tend to do towards morning on a pending deadline. Like an idiot, I let it go to the printer with that little salacious adlib. In my defense, it seemed harmless at the time. Fast forward to the Glenn Boyer Wars when the controversial Wyatt Earp scholar went to war with what he called the "Fairy Patrol" and that would be Jeff Morey, Allen Barra, Casey Tefertiller and, by extension, myself. We were questioning his scholarship and he was not amused. Meanwhile, a former bounty hunter had moved to Tombstone and took up the Boyer cause and, in a dirty tricks kind of move, he called Arizona Highways who had been carrying my Wyatt book in their store and he quoted the caption and threatened to sue them for disseminating pornography. I then got a call from the publisher of Highways apologizing, but he said that they were dropping my book.

   In May of 1995 a bunch of us were in the Crystal Palace Saloon in Tombstone and our IQs were shooting through the roof when I looked over and saw the bounty hunter come into the saloon. The Arizona Republic had done a piece on him (last name Burton) and I recognized him immediately. I debated confronting him and demurred but after about thirty minutes I saw him head for the door and impulsively I followed him out onto the dark boardwalk. I shadowed him halfway down Allen Street and finally I called out his name, and he stopped and turned. I walked up to him and introduced myself. He was a short stocky guy and he bristled, but stood his ground. There was a tense stand off, but then several of my renegade compadres came out to check on me and he was surrounded. I told him I didn't appreciate the chickenshit tactics and he told me pretty much the same. With that we parted and he walked off and we went back to the Tombstone Boarding House to go to bed. Looking back I knew I was lucky. It's pretty safe to say, the guy was armed and if I had tried anything, he would have pulled iron.

"Ike, you talk too much for a fighting man," said Wyatt Earp to Ike Clanton on the same stretch of boardwalk on the evening of October 25, 1881.

   In the morning, we had a good laugh about it and I said I wanted to take a photo of all the Renegades, on the exact spot where the semi-confrontation took place. And, that is the Cliff Notes version of how the below photo came into being.

The Penis Commission Photo

   Taken on the Exact Spot in Front of Hatch's Saloon on Allen Street in Tombstone.

Left to right, back row: Bob McCubbin, Jim Dunham, Robert Palmquist and Jeff Morey. Front row: Allen Barra, Paul Northrop, Casey Tefertiller and BBB

Photo by Wyatt Earp (no, really!)

   And, of course, the title is a take off on the famous Wyatt Earp photo of him and Bat and his cronies in Dodge City:

The Peace Commission Photo

   Well, I have never told that story in public, but on Saturday in Schieffelin Hall, I was feeling saucy and loose as a goose and so I did just that. Frankly, it felt good to get it off my chest.

   And, if you have the time, here is the actual talk:

BBB's Last History Talk In Schieffelin Hall

"A storyteller shouldn't know what's on the next page."

—Jefrey Archer

My Last Trip to Tombstone

 October 25, 2026

   I had a little bit of deja vu yesterday. Found myself in Tombstone for one last history talk about you know what.

Former Kingman Kid Walks It Off

   The day before I found myself hiking into the Mustang Mountains east of Sonoita, Arizona searching for an elusive historic site. Where exactly did Wyatt Earp dispatch Curly Bill Brocius?

   My guide, Stu Metzer, picked me up at the Sonoita Inn at one and we motored east almost to the town of Whetsone, where we pulled off the highway and, after a couple locked gates were handled, we set off on foot towards a lone hill. 

History Hikers On The Hunt In The Mustangs

   I realized this was at least the fourth time I have traversed this area looking for the very same thing. The first time was in April of 1980 when I brought a topo map from Wide World of Maps (bought in west Phoenix) and started south with my new wife, who was eight-and-one-half-months pregnant with our first child in a borrowed pick up from John Weinkauf. This was long before Bill Evans found a compelling location west of the newspaper reported Mescal Springs. We did extensive coverage on that in the magazine. And now, this third site, which I have been to several times and is about five miles south of the Evans site at the base of the Mustang Mountains.

   The next day, Saturday, I had my final history talk in Schieffelin Hall and since I knew it was a "burning bridges" talk I let go a notch—or two!—and laid it out raw, telling stories I have never told publicly (The Penis Commission!) and in the process my language got a little more ribald and although it was videotaped, they are going to have to do some cleaning up of my language!

   I apologized to my host Janelle Molony who has her work cut out for her.

My Road Trippin' Compadres

"Jersey Girl" Michele, Gator and Rooster Rob

   We also attended the Clyne Ranch Campout where I also spoke on Saturday. More on that tomorrow.

Sunrise Over The Mustangs

   I spent a fantastic weekend in Tombstone and Sonoita chasing legends and nailing down the final "facts" on my Burning Bridges Tour. I have no plans to come back and that's a good thing.

"You can put anything you want under a microscope and find anything you want."

—Old Vaquero Saying

The BBB Burning Bridges Tour

 October 21, 2026

   Welcome to the BBB Burning Bridges Tour of my so-called crazy career.

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"Burning Bridges Behind Me

Vs.

The Big Dropoff Ahead of Me"

   I am in the process of wrapping up my history talks in the wild. And, by "in the wild" I mean anywhere I have to drive to that is beyond the Carefree Highway. As a matter of fact, "Last Train to Clarksville" comes to mind as I approach one of my final trips down to Tombstone this weekend.

  Here are the talking points I intend to cover this Saturday at Schieffelin Hall.

• What is the one magic word that drives the entire Wyatt Earp story?

• What does Chicago have to do with the O.K. Corral?

• What is the one positive takeaway from all the fake and questionable history I have grappled with?

   I am also the featured history speaker at The Hermosa Inn on November 15 for a dinner in the garden.

   I may have one or two more road trip talks before the end of the my career on the road and I'll keep you posted here. I have loved it, but it's time to punch that last ticket to Clarksdale.

   I remember an Arizona Republic news story talking about the closing of the Clarksdale Railroad in the sixties with one last train ride up the Verde Valley. Not long afterward we got this song:

"Take the last train to Clarksville

And I'll meet you at the station

You can be here by four thirty

'Cause I've made your reservation

Don't be slow

Oh, no, no, no"

—The Monkees, written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart (who admit the song was inspired by Clarksdale, Arizona but changed it because Clarksville because they thought it sounded better)

"Live like you are dying because you are."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Conversations In History And A Silver Lab Against A Silver Sky

 October 21, 2026

   A rainy day. Nice to be in the studio noodling, seeking light and form.

Daily Whip Out:

"For Crying Out Loud, You're A Bandit!!"

Daily Whip Out:

"In The Clearing Stood A Beauty"

Daily Whip Out: "The Scowler"

Meanwhile, on the home front.

Uno Is The One

   He always makes me smile.

Silver Lab Against A Silver Sky

   Dreamed about a new tableau last night. One where banditos, rangers and rurales rub shoulders with fast cars. Numerous eras mashed together from Tombstone to Mad Max. That's why I think it's time for The Boze Zone!

Celebrating Our Messy History

   "We need to embrace and celebrate our messy history. It’s a conversation and an exercise in failure, but it is our goal to fail as little as possible—we will always get things wrong and leave things out but we need to keep talking!"

—Jonathon Eig

   The older I get, the less I seem to know.

Big clouds in Saguaro Town

"Gonna pitch an alternate-reality tv show where the Civil War is over."

—Russ Shaw, Jr.

An Airstream Behind Me & Uno Contemplates The Road Ahead

 October 20, 2026

   Thanks to Josh Noble for putting me up in an Airstream on old Route 66 last weekend. This was my view out of the "Oatman" Airstream at Tin Can Alley on Andy Devine Street in downtown Kingman.

Airstreams Genuflecting Towards The Hualapais

   I was in Kingman for the Centennial of Route 66 Festival and we had a grand old time. With emphasis on the "old."

  Now I am back home, but back on the road again. That would be on the road up to Morningstar.

Uno Contemplates The Road Ahead

BBB Gonzo Dancing

   Someone asked me if I am doing the Gator in this animated GIF from Rebecca Edwards. No way, Jose! The Gator is done with the dancer prone on the floor doing quasi-push ups in such a way that it appears someone is goosing them with a cattle prod in the rectal area. That is what the Gator looks like.

   Every time I drive by this lonely outpost on my way to and from Kingman, I think there is a bitchin' story to be made about it.

   I spend a lot of time creating scenarios where I tell stories that hopefully resonate with people. I met quite a few people at the festival last weekend who told me how much they appreciated what I do. One of them stood out with his praise and I intend to dedicate one of those stories to you, Rudy.

   Just got a report from Helldorado Days down in Tombstone. Our man on the road says he met some mighty fine folks and they bought some mighty fine books and magazines.

Steve Todd: Our man on the road

What I seek is part riddle, part cartoon, all gonzo storytelling

   You have no idea what I've been through. But you will, soon enough.

"A moving man eventually meets his luck."

—Old Vaquero Saying

The Wisest of The Wise Acres On 66

 October 19, 2026

   As you must know by now, I grew up in Mohave County and I swear many of my classmates were the cat's pajamas when it came to being a Wise Acre.

A Wise Acre Sunrise Over Ratcliff Ridge

   When our MCUHS English teacher, Fay Logsdon, asked a certain Wise Acre what the definition of chicanery is, he confidently replied, "stationary for chickens." It got a big laugh at the time (October, 1964). 

Fay Logsdon

Senior English teacher extraordinaire

   In another class, while Mrs. Logsdon was lecturing on witches and ghouls, she rhetorically asked, "We all know what happens to ghouls," and the same Wise Acre replied, "Yes, they become band directors."

Stanley Gould, MCUHS band director

   Another Wise Acre in the same class was this guy:

Boxlip Darell & Date

   I'd give you an example, but Boxlip Darell earned his nickname for being very, very profane.

   And it just wasn't in the sixties. There was an earlier time when Mohave County Wise Acres sounded like this:

"Hyde the fact," as in the editor of the Mohave County Miner, James J. Hyde. Oh, man, that is some serious Wise Acre behavior. And, I mean that literally: it's not even a little bit funny. But James was being a Wise Acre, Mohave County style. Which is to say, very lean on actual humor.

   Meanwhile, up the road, this guy was one of the wisest of the Wise Acres I have ever known.

Marshall Trimble, who grew up in Ashfork

"Our school was so small, we had Driver's Ed and Sex Ed in the same car."

—Marshall Trimble

Living On The Edge of Eternity

 October 18, 2026

   At noon yesterday at the Beale Street Theater I introduced this classic Kingman time capsule film: The Edge of Eternity.

   And, I must say, the title has a little more gravitas than it once had. Or, put another way, my life is closer to the title than it has ever been!

Living Proof I Am On The Edge of Eternity

   Josh Noble from the Powerhouse Museum gave me a table at the Centennial of Route 66 festival to sell my books and True West magazines and on Saturday a biker guy walked by, looked over at me, did a double take and blurted out, "You're still alive?" It was pretty funny, but it ain't new. I ask myself that question almost every morning when I look in the bathroom mirror.

Kingman Always Keeps Me Humble

   I was one of the featured speakers at the festival on Friday. They had a great big stage set up and when I was supposed to speak, I took this picture from the back of the audience area and counted how many people were there before I had to go up on the stage and introduce myself and talk for 45 minutes to a crowd of 17 people. That is a very humbling thing right there, but if it counts as a character builder, I think I can prove I am one.

Empty Seats On 66

Two-lane Blacktop In The Rearview

Dennis is gone, so is Laurie, although James

is still with us.

   Yes, I had such mixed emotions about being home where so many things have changed, but everything else is still the same. The 66 festival coincided with an all class reunion for the Kingman High crew. It was great to see so many of my old—and I mean old—MCUHS classmates at the Wine Bar in the old Central Commercial building on Friday night.

A few of my MUCOUS classmates, wise acres all

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."

—Old Vaquero Saying

   The irony is, Kingman is where I grew up but when I finally drove home to Cave Creek yesterday, I saw it with new eyes.

 This Morning's View of The Edge of Eternity

Ratcliff Ridge all lit up again

"Success is wanting to be where you are."

—James Clear

Roadhouse 66 And I Iced My Share of Jugs

 October 16, 2026

   Going to be watching Roadhouse 66 for the second time today.

Jugs Iced Free Is Me!

   In case you didn't know it, I iced every single one of them with much enthusiasm!

I See You Need Some Cubed Ice!

   After the showing of "Roadhouse 66" I will be at Lewis Kingman Park for thr Centennial of Route 66 Celebration with a talk at 3.

   If you are in the area join me on Saturday at the Beale Street Theater to see the movie that captured that iconic offer, "Edge of Eternity."

   Get your tickets right here. Edge of Eternity

"Do you have any jugs you'd like iced—for free?"

—The line my father taught me that worked every time

Well, I've told you once and I've told you twice. . .

 October 15, 2026

   Heading for home today. Hoping to see some of these guys.

   There is going to be an all class reunion this weekend. Meanwhile, it's also the celebration of The Centennial of Route 66 and I will be introducing a couple classic 66 films, including "Roadhouse 66" on Friday at noon, and then on Saturday. . .

   "Well, I've told you once and I've told you twice, but you never listen to my advice."

—The Rolling Stones

"Well, this could be the last time, this could be the last time, maybe the last time, I can go home."

—The Rolling Stones

Join me this Saturday at the Beale Street Theater in Kingman, Arizona for a one time showing of the movie that changed my life.

Tickets for "Edge of Eternity"

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."

—Old Vaquero Saying, (it's actually from George Moore, but I borrowed it for the ka-boys)