Where The Village of 300 Widows Was Born

 October 22, 2024

   Grabbing at daggers of hope. That is a good sentence to describe where we are today.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Sue Cuttin' A Rug"

   Thanks to Lynda Sanchez I just heard about a new series on the Centaur of The North: The Story of Pancho Villa on Hulu. The hats look damn good!

Pancho Villa, Centaur of The North

on Hulu

Speaking of Doroteo (A Bandit named Dorothy?):

Daily Whip Out: "Doroteo Arrango"

The Massacre at San Pedro de las Cuevas

   Stumbling from a devastating defeat at Agua Prieta in November of 1915, Doroteo Arrango, better known as Pancho Villa, proceeded to attack Hermosillo and was repulsed there as well. With morale shattered, his battered army headed for home in Chihuahua, crossing the Sierra Madres and making a beeline for home territory. Strung out in the foothills, his advance guard was fired on by peasants from the village of San Pedro de las Cuevas. They feared the heavily armed riders were banditos coming to ravage their village once again. Several of Villa's men were killed and the villagers were horrified when they found out their victims were not bandits but soldiers of the Division del Norte. They tried to make amends and expressed their great regret to the commander of the advance guard, Macario Bracamontes, who was from Sonora and felt sympathy for the villagers. But when Villa rode onto the scene he was not amused. He ordered all the adult men to be rounded up and herded together. He then ordered them to be thrown in the jail and in the morning he ordered them all to be shot. The local priest came out and on his knees pleaded with Villa, begging him to take pity on the men. Villa at first spared a few lives but he angrily told the priest to never show his face again. When the priest would not desist, Villa pulled out his pistol and shot the priest at point blank range killing him instantly. Villa then executed 69 villagers (several managed to escape). It is from this tragic chapter in the Mexican Revolution that the legend of the Village of 300 Widows came to life in my mind. 

Daily Whip Out:

"The Village of 300 Widows"

      Soon to be a major project.

"I'm at the age when remembering something

right away is as good as an orgasm."

—Gloria Steinem

Aging Backwards to Reach New Readers?

October 21, 2024

   Billy the Kid was barely in his twenties when he cashed out. Jesse was 15 when he really got going and quite a few others were not even teens yet. Their youth is what really appealed to all of us Boomers when we were that same age. In large measure, that's why we love them so much. They were kids like us only they had something that most of us did not—they were really brave.

Daily Whip Out:

"Killer Kid's Demon Eyes"

   And, if you have read our cover story on Killer Kids, you know where all of this came from. 

Daily Whip Out:

"Killer Kid In Gray"

Daily Whip Out: "Killer Kid Shines"

    Last weekend when I was in Fort Worth

for the Will Rogers Award Ceremony I talked to many authors and content providers about how to reach a younger audience and it was our food writer, Sherry Monahan who made the point that virtually all of the Old West heroes we love were in their twenties and early thirties when they did their nefarious and incredible deeds. And then what happened is, we Boomers grew old with them in our hearts. That's why when you go to Tombstone or Prescott, Deadwood, or Dodge City and see Old West re-enactments, they are invariably portrayed by old guys in their sixties! (At the very youngest)

   So, how do we reinvent these characters for the new kids coming up? Well, for one thing, go back to them being so young and we just might capture the current youngsters?

   It's worth a shot, said the guy who is as old as these guys.

Lakota elders Chikalakte, age 79

and Wahachanka Chikala, age 78

"You're only as old as the women you feel."

—Groucho Marx

Homeward Bound

 October 20,  2024

   A rollicking time was had by all at Coopers BBQ in the Stockyards last night. One of my best True West writers was blinged out for the Will Rogers Award Ceremony. That would be this babe and longtime friend, who writes Frontier Fare.

Sherry Monahan Boot Stylin' Babe

   Heading for Love Field to catch a flight home this morning.

Stockyards Cattle Drive With Real Longhorns

   And, of course, no visit to Fort Worth would be complete without finding the exact spot where the Wild Bunch had their last photo taken. You know, the one that got most of them killed and captured.

The Last Sitting of The Wild Bunch

Site

   I get such a goose by Walking Where They Walked. We are going to feature this phenom in the magazine for most of 2025. So if you have a shot of yourself doing this kind of crazy activity, please send it to me.

"Say Southern Pacific Cheese."

—The Photographer

A Letter to my younger self

 October 19, 2024

   Taped a couple shows with Rob Word of A Word On Westerns this morning. His son is helping him and they have a state of the art 360 degree camera that takes in the entire room and they can cut all sorts of angles from the video with a tiny camera not much bigger than a thumb drive.

Rob Word, at right, and his techie son RJ

   There was only one problem, the camera overheated and RJ had to put the camera in the freezer for five minutes before we could continue. This happened twice.

   For every step forward, take two backward,

   Last night I got to visit with Barry Corbin, who lives in the Forth Worth area and who came in to the banquet, walked right over to where I was sitting, sat down and said, "I love your magazine. I read it cover to cover." Doesn't get much better than that!

BBB and Barry Corbin on the right

   The most exciting event of the past two days, was buying Kathy Sue a cowboy hat in the legendary Fort Worth Stockyards.

Kathy and Dustin with shovel front brims

   One of the aspects of my talk last night, was built around helping other writers. I decided to write a letter to my younger self. Here is the basic outline I used to riff on in my talk.

A Letter to My Younger Self

    Hey, you spoiled little half-Norwegian twit! Listen up. I know you think you know it all, but I am going to tell you what you need to know going forward.

• I want you to know that what you desire most is possible if you push against the old ways of thinking.

• Everything you want is on the other side of fear.

• Write every day, without hope, without despair.

• One of your vulnerabilities will become a strength.

• At some point you will need to jump off a cliff and figure it out on the way down.

• The pefect recipe for life is: something to do. Someone to love, something to hope for.

• If you ever retire be sure to get up at 6 and drive real slow making everyone late for work.

• If you can avoid it, do not play "Wipeout" at a band reunion practice on March 22, 2008.

• Forget the girls, find a hot, eighth grade school teacher who teaches math so you can have great sex and she can balance your checkbook.

• The greatest revenge is to not be like your enemies.

• If the magazine biz survives 2024 there will be a kegger in Cave Creek on me, and you are all invited.

• If you ever win a prestigious award be sure to compliment random people in the audience.

• "Nice hat, Rob!"

"Hey, Chris, great taste in cover art!"

—BBB

BBB Cover Art

Five Words that Saved True West

October 18, 2024

   Kathy and I flew from Phoenix to Fort Worth yesterday to attend the Will Rogers Memorial Awards Show tonight where I am receiving the Golden Lariat Award. Here is one of the stories I intend to tell them tonight. And, by the way, today is actually the day—October 18, 1999—Bob McCubbin and I flew to Tulsa, rented a car and drove to Stillwater, Oklahoma to officially buy True West magazine.

A Smattering of True West magazines

(on our watch)

   Twenty-five years ago today I was seized by a strong desire to save a history magazine I respected and admired. I thought everyone would love me for it, but they did not. In fact many loyal readers attacked me for desecrating what they viewed as a holy shrine. “Joe Small is spinning in his grave!” is how almost every letter addressed to me began. My crime? Changing the paper from pulp to slick stock. And, to make matters worse, my partners agreed with them! So my hands were tied for making the bigger changes I felt the magazine needed, but I knew one thing, if we didn't change, we were going out of business, fast.

Five words saved the magazine.

    By 2002 we were losing $30,000 a month and we were stuck in a terrifying free fall. Out of the blue I got a call from a Texas subscriber who asked me if I wanted to interview Elizabeth Small, the wife of our founder, the late great Joe Small. She was, at that time, in assisted living in Austin, Texas. I readily agreed, got the number of the facility and called her. She was very feisty and clear spoken and I loved her immediately. After some small talk about old times, I finally asked her the burning question: "Elizabeth, True West used to sell 250,000 issues on the newsstand and now it's down to 6,000. What happened?" Her simple and direct answer stunned me.

“The footnote crowd took over.”

—Elizabeth Small

   Five simple words that spoke volumes. After the call I got up off the floor, collected myself and went into the library and pulled down the earliest issues of True West magazine going back to 1953. What I saw shocked me. Joe covered rodeo, he talked about movies, but mostly he specialized in dramatic stories told well. The magazine was a Popular History magazine that had been hijacked by the footnote crowd, i.e. serious historians who were hell bent on improving the magazine—to finally have it be taken seriously as they probably saw it, but in the process they almost killed it. This was a lesson I never forgot. Which brings me to my real epiphany: the universe is trying to help you, so pay attention!

   Also, if you want a new idea, read an old book. Or in this case, an old magazine.

   This goes for everything. The answer to your current problem is probably sitting in plain sight, right behind you. As the Old Vaqueros are so fond of saying, “Study the past so you can see what the idiots are going to do next.” Or, better yet, let's end by quoting a good friend of mine:

"If you want to make money, stay away from serious historians."

—The Distinguished Professor of History at The University of New Mexico

The Eyes of Texas Are Upon Us

October 17, 2024

   Took off from Phoenix this mornng and landed in Texas for a big Will Rogers event in Fort Worth. 

   Heavy traffic all the way. Ran into this guy outside Love Field.

Daily Whip Out: "Don't Touch My Hat!"

   Stockyards tomorrow. Need to buy Kathy a new hat.

"All my Exits live in Texas."

—Old Hard of Hearing Saying

Best Foot Forward And A Monument to Your Peace of Mind

 October 16, 2024

   Uno and I got out on the road early and caught this sunrise.

Another Typical Sunrise On Old Stage Road

   Thanks to the cooling temps (high 80s!) we can actually sit outside in the late afternoon for the first time in four months!

BBB & Uno Playing Best Foot Forward

   Still having fun with my 300 widows project and how a community would react to the slaughter of all the adult males in town. Of course, this is not a new concept. I remember certain comics growing up, giving this theme a go.

   Meanwhile, while were on the subject of bigger than life women. . .

Another Dan The Man Fave Cover

   And, just for grins, here's a rough mock up of our next cover.

Highly Unpaid T-Shirt Models

   Myself, Darlene and Dan at Chompie's in Paradise Valley last Sundy showing off Dan The Man's new Monument to My Peace of Mind shirt

   Thanks to new web technology, now you can have your own shirt delivered right to your door:

A Monument to My Peace of Mind Shirt

"The first motorcycle race began when the second motorcycle was built."

—Old Flat Tracker Saying