An A- O.K. Day!

 November 22, 2021

   Funny what a hunch can produce.

   I didn't see any ads or notices about the event in Tombstone. I just knew I had to be there, in the corral, for the centennial of the Earp-Clanton gunfight on October 26, 1981. So, on a hunch, I simply got in my Ford F-150, dropped my daughter off at grandma's house in Tucson, drove to Tombstone and went straight to the O.K. Corral.      Turns out, I wasn't alone. So many of the people I met that day had a profound influence on my future. To say the event changed my life is almost an understatement.

First shot from my 8mm film

on October 26, 1981

   Here is just a partial list of the people who had the same hunch as me; Harold Love, Jeff Morey, Richard Ignarski, John Bianchi, Ben Traywick, Bob McCubbin and Phil Spangenberger. Turns out they each had the same love for the same history as I did.

Phil Spangenberger in red shirt

at the O.K. Corral centennial

Ben Traywick as Wyatt Earp, second from left.

Richard Ignarki in the corral

Harold Love, the owner of the O.K. Corral site

   Fast forward: in 1999, Bob McCubbin and I made the decision to buy True West magazine over breakfast in the O.K. Cafe (across the street from the O.K. Corral). Richard Ignarski opened the Gunfighter Museum in Tombstone, Jeff Morey helped me reconstruct a step by step analysis of the fight which was showcased in my Doc Holliday book, John Bianchi, the owner of Frontier Gunleather became one of our biggest supporters in the magazine and Phil Spangenberger became our gun editor in 2003. Phil has written almost 200 columns and features for True West, since then. We are proud to name our friend, Phil Spangenberger as the recipient of our True Westerner Award for 2022. Details to follow.

   In the nineties, the historians and buffs I met expanded to include even more guys who loved Tombstone as much as me. We would meet almost every year on Allen Street to solve the mysteries of history and visit the outlying sites, like Galeyville, Mescal Springs, Charleston, Drew's Station and Hooker's Ranch.

   And, we called ourselves

The Renegades

Standing from left: Bob McCubbin, Jim Dunham, Bob Palmquist, Jeff Morey. Kneeling: Allen Barra, Paul Northrop, Casey Tefertiller and BBB.

Photo by Wyatt Earp (I'm not joking!)

   The Backstory: I wanted a photo of the Renegades taken on Allen Street at the exact spot that a few of us almost got into an altercation the night before. When everyone was there I looked around to see who might take the photo and lo and behold, Wyatt Earp (his actual name!) was performing up the street at the Crystal Palace and he just happened to be walking by and I asked him to take the photo. I know, if I saw it in a movie, I wouldn't believe it either.

 Phil's Recollection of That Fateful Day

Funny—and bizarre  story: When I arrived in town by myself, I was approached by a fellow who said “Wes Flowers wants to meet you.” I said “That’s fine, I’ll be down by the OK Corral for a couple of days, tell him to come by. “Oh no, the fellow replied, “Wes doesn’t come to you, you must go to him!” I realized that just as in the Old West, my reputation as a “gunslinger” had  preceded me. I thought that was funny, “was I in a scene from a  Western movie, or was this for real?”   At the same time, it was somewhat surreal, like life imitating art.  I said,” I’m sorry, but I’m here to do a job and I won’t be going to see Mr. Flowers.” I found out through Harold Love that Wes Flowers was the local “fast gun,” and he was miffed that he had been left out of the 100^th anniversary celebrations. Evidently he wanted to have a mock showdown with me to prove he was the fastest gun. I was there for a specific job and wasn’t going to help him live out his “movie” fantasy, and upset Harold Love’s planned celebrations. When 11  O’clock rolled around and I didn’t show, it was crossed out, and 12  O’clock  put in and so on for the rest of the day—every  hour!  Apparently Flowers’ crowd hung out in the town by the Oriental, and that end of town, while Love’s people stayed at the Crystal Palace and that end, toward the OK Corral, and neither of us crossed some sort of invisible line. Love didn’t want me to engage in any nonsense with Flowers, since he felt that Wes Flowers was just trying to steal away publicity form Harold Love’s celebration, where he had invested lots of money, by bringing me in, and other projects relating to the 100^th celebration. I never did meet Wes Flowers…until several years later,  under completely different circumstances, and he was very friendly and never mentioned the OK Corral incident. I’m sure he was embarrassed that his plans flopped. I heard he had passed away several years ago.

—Phil Spangenberger

"Funny what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Calling All Smartasses: THANK YOU!

 November 21, 2021

   Let's give a shoutout this coming week for all the things that make us thankful. Personally, I am thankful for being called a smartass, because, to me, it's more than halfway to a compliment. It means at least you are thinking about being caustic or funny. On the other hand, if someone calls you simply "an ass," it's really shorthand for dumbass, which is not a complement at all.

   My Slang Dictionary says, dumbass means, "stupid, inane and tedious." While smartass—which is a close cousin to wiseass—means a person who is "quick to offer often abrasive opinions, but is usually right."

   Full disclosure: there is no mention of "being right" in my Slang Dictionary.

   So, anyway, I have always aspired to being a member in good standing of the Smartass tribe. From the time I was a small boy I have been accused of being from that tribe and, at some point, I just decided to own it.

  

In Defense of Smartasses Everywhere

   One of the criteria for being labeled a smartass is to make light of allegedly serious things.

Indigenous Grumphead Goes Ahead:

"You think this is funny?"

      If you are thinking, "Hey Boze, that's not funny!" then perhaps you might think this is funny.

Daily Whip Out: "Ass Calling"

Calling All Smartasses

   Okay, I admit it. Sometimes I can be a complete ass but what I really want is to be called is a smartass. Big difference. Oh, and lest you think I was joking about the Slang Dictionary.

My Slang Dictionary

Who else has the nerve to admit it?

"I'm looking at you, Smartass."

   If you are offended by any of this, perhaps the old vaqueros have something to tell you.

“Claiming to be offended is a great way to elevate yourself at the expense of others: 'Look at me! I'm a much better person than you! And I judge you! I condemn you! Shame! Shame! SHAME! I shame you for being a bad person. That means I'm a good person! Look at how really, really offended I am! That means I'm a really, really good person and you are an asshole!”

—Old Vaquero Saying

Back On the Big, Bad Jack Kick

 November 20, 2021

    Back on the big, bad jack kick. In fact, I think that is a big, bad story all by itself.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Big Bad Jack's Sadistic Grin"

   Remember Frances The Talking Mule? Must be like 1950. This is like that except for the talking.

"In the world of mules there are no rules."

—Ogden Nash

Not So Gentle Criticism

 November 19, 2021

   I didn't see this when it was published last summer, but my friend, Greg Scott, sent me his issue this week and I finally got to see how the national statue controversy plays out as it relates to Arizona Monuments and Memory.

Not So Gentle Cover

      As you already know, there is a national gnashing of teeth over many statues across the United States that are being targeted over the issues of slavery, racism and White Supremecy. My sculpture, Not-So-Gentle Tamer, in Prescott Valley, has been controversial for other reasons, and even before it was erected.

   Inside the issue, Professor Cynthia C. Prescott takes on "Myths, Memory and The Limits of Inclusivity In Arizona Pioneer Monuments." After a thorough tour of Confederate and Mormon themed monuments, the stage is set when, in the middle of the Twentieth Century, "frontier commemorations shifted toward celebrating long-suffering pioneer mothers as embodiments of white 'civilization.'"

   When it comes to my motives for the depiction of an Arizona woman dispatching a rattlesnake, Cynthia quotes me, from this blog: "That was the point of the whole deal, to honor the brave and tenacious women of Arizona who tamed the West AND the men." Then, she adds, "Its creator was subtly challenging. the 'gentle' label, but not the bigger message that women did indeed 'tame' the West and its supposedly wild men." Hmmmm, supposedly wild men? Has the good professor never been to a Kingman rodeo dance?

The talented Deb Gessner actually sculpted

the bronze from my original painting.

Here we are at the foundary.

Defenders of The Diamondback Rattler

   As for my depiction of the severed head of a rattlesnake, the author says this about my statue, "Her supposed act of self-defense against an indigenous reptile that was unlikely to strike her unless she threatened it, parallels in compelling ways justifications offered by ninteenth-century settlers for attacking Indigenous peoples whose territories they likewise invaded and transformed."

   And, she ends with, "The Not-So-Gentle Tamer statue thus serves as a not-so-gentle marker of white dominance in Prescott Valley's civic plaza."

My Oh My, Said The Rattler to the Fly

   So, will my White Women Power statue someday be taken down for being offensive to rattlesnakes everywhere? Of course it will. Haven't you been paying attention? In the end, everything is just a big, fat, cosmic joke.

". . .monuments and their meanings often prove to be less permanent than their builders intend. . ."

—Christopher M. Bradley on "Confederate Fantasy Heritage" in the same issue

When Once Is Enough

 November 18, 2021

     Bill Watters and I are working on the final cut of the 140th Anniversary at the O.K. Corral Show. I knew I had a certain picture that would inform something I said in my impromptu talk in the O.K. Corral theater. I told the story about how I took my new bride, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant to the O.K. Corral and she was not happy about it. In fact she was on the verge of tears. She asked me how many times I had been there and I speculated, "I don't know, maybe six?" Her legendary words were spoken through tears, "Wouldn't once have been enough?"

    Four weeks later, here Kathy is at full term, nine months and holding. And holding Carole Glenn's daughter Emily on our front porch at 707 W. MacKenzie in Phoenix, Arizona.

May 7, 1980, two hours before,

well, you know. . .

   She gave birth to Deena later the same day. We have been blessed ever since, but it must be said, for the record, Kathy has never been back to the O.K. Corral.

   Once was enough.

"A thing isn't necessarily a lie even if it didn't necessarily happen."

—John Steinbeck, "Sweet Thursday," 1955

O.K. Corral Footage From The 1981 Centennial of The Fight

 November 16, 2021

   I finally found the 8mm film I shot in the O.K. Corral on the centennial of the gunfight, October 26, 1981. 

A screen grab from the 1981 film

    Notice the sign is different from today and I believe there are three different groups of Earps, and three different groups of cowboys at the event.

The second centennial fight, shot from

the roof of Fly's Boarding House. That's Ben Traywick as Wyatt Earp, second from left.

The 1981 O.K. Corral Re-enactment

   A friendly reminder, there is no sound on these old 8mm films.

“A hero is a revered character in ancient poetry living by a continually flawed personal honor code.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

Dan The Man Mocks Up Some Slick Covers for In-din Police

 November 15, 2021

   Getting set to do a big cover story on In-din police. Dan The Man mocked up several excellent covers.

In-din Police Cover #1

   This fantastic photo came to us via Stuart Rosebrook who found it in a rare collection. The rest are from author John Langellier who is doing this subject as a book.

In-din Police Cover #2

   I think the cover really pops but some on the staff think it robs the picture of its historical significance and it should run as much like the original photo as possible. So, Dan oblidged, and here is that version.

In-din Police Cover #3

   Okay, which one would you buy off the newsstand?

   I know, I know. We change these covers so often, tweaking here and blending there, trying to find just the right balance. Of course it's a labor of love, and you know what they say about change.

"To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often."

—Winston Churchill

Big Jack Action, Part II

 November 14, 2021

   It's time for a series of very quick, daily whip outs, every single one, with the exception of one.

Daily Whip Out:

"Mickey Grabs Some Air On That Big, Bad Jack" 

Daily Whip Out: "More Big Jack Action" 

Daily Whip Out:

"Even More Big, Jack Action" 

Daily Whip Out: "Total Big, Jack Action" 

   So, who gave me the courage? This guy.

"Go write. Go draw. Right now. Punch your excuses in the face."

—Gene Luen Yang, creator of Shang-Chi, and a graphic novel veteran

Big, Bad Jack Action Homework

 November 12, 2021

   When I was younger I had this very vivid fantasy of going back to high school, armed with all the knowledge and experience I had accumulated AFTER high school, and reeking havoc on all the bullies and snotheads who gave me mental and physical wedgies. Of course, this revenge fantasy faded after my 25th reunion and disappeared completely by the fiftieth. 

   All that said, a good friend of mine is taking a graphic novel course in Prescott and he asked me if I wanted to dust off our Mickey Free character and apply it to this beginners class on how to create a graphic novel. I actually thought this was a great idea, but when I mentioned this to one of my family members, they laughed and said, "Wouldn't that be like a NASCAR racer taking driver's ed?"

   Kindah, but here's the truth: something is definitely missing from my tool kit or I would be on, at least, my tenth graphic novel by now. I certainly have thought up enough characters: La Gata, Dick Matric, The Doper Roper, Honkytonk Sue, El Kid, Dixxy Diamond, El Pendejo, Nina Suprema and The Mexicali Stud, to name just a few.

 Daily Whip Out: "The Mexicali Stud"

   So, what stops me? Well we're about to find out.

Homework Assignment Number One:

1. Choose a single, action-heavy sequence and break down each page and panel and describe what is happening physically.

Daily Whip Out: "Big Jack Yaqui Action" 

    So, that's the rough layout, each one a page. Up next, the panel by panel breakdown:

Daily Whip Out: "More Big Jack Action" 

   The rider wrangles his rough mount with frequent slaps of his loose reins, and the Big Jack chafes at the commands and half bucks all the way up the trail.

Daily Whip Out:

"Deer Head Yaqui Crouches Low" 

Cutting under a deep shelf at the head of the canyon the rider begins his ascent to the next chain of ridges, when a lone shadow from above jumps onto the rider's back and attempts to plunge a long knife into his throat. 

Daily Whip Out: "Goodbye Extra Baggage"

Startled by the extra baggage, the big mule really does buck this time sending both riders off into the dust, as two more Yaquis jump in from the other side of the canyon walls and join the fight.

"So, what happens next?"

—The Goal of Every Sequence

Taylor Sheridan vs. Phil Sheridan

 November 11, 2021

   Kathy and I watched the two-part opening of the fourth season of Yellowstone last night. I had a couple of incentives to watch. One is, the writing is very good, and two, the production company ordered a box of assorted True West magazines to scatter around the Dutton bunkhouse. Haven't seen one yet, but, if you find one in an upcoming episode, send it to me. I promise you will be rewarded appropriately. 

   Meanwhile, I was talking to the Top Secret Writer yesterday about a future article on the man who saved Yellowstone Park (that would be General Phil Sheridan) and Paul told me when he casually Googled "Sheridan Yellowstone" he got a whole page of Taylor Sheridan and the TV show "Yellowstone," and not the guy who saved the park.

   And speaking of the founder of the feast, I believe this is the man himself:

Taylor Sheridan as Travis Wheatley

   Yes, this is a screen capture of the co-creator and writer of the series. A quick search confirms it's him and, evidently, his character takes the snot-nosed kid introduced in the first episode, Jimmy, back to the famed Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. This will also be the location of the next Yellowstone spinoff series, 6666. So, if I understand this correctly, we're getting a spin off called Y1883 which stars Sam Eliott, among others, and then there will be another spinoff called 6666! That is crazy, if true.

   Well, speaking of head spinning, I especially enjoyed the flashback in the first episode to the 1880s cowboys encountering the In-dins on the Dutton Ranch. I checked with someone who works on the show and he told me they filmed those scenes a week before the show aired and got it inserted into the mix! Now that is a fast turnaround.

"Yes, I got a call to come to Montana ASAP with some of my Plains Indian regalia to help with the Native riders who showed up to work on the show. It seems that long hair is not so much in fashion right now and not all of the wigs were cutting it. I provided Indian Feather headdresses, otter caps, and Buffalo Headdresses that really helped to sell the scenes. I saw the commercial Sunday night and sure enough there was a quick cut to a warrior racing with a 'Warbonnet' on. I can't reveal anything other that to say that the crew I worked with are very good at their jobs and the look is every bit as good and EPIC as 'Lonesome Dove'. The writing is outstanding which is no surprise since Taylor Sheridan is a genius in that capacity. I am proud and grateful to have added my thimble full of effort to the show."

—Jim Hatzell

   Loved this line from episode two:

"Living in Montana is just poverty with a view."

—Taylor Sheridan

All Those Trips to The O.K. Corral Finally Paid Off

 November 11, 2021

   Here's the second video from our Tombstone adventure. You'll notice we got to use some more of the dreaded drone footage.

An O.K. Award

   Truly a fine honor and it was doubly sweet because it happened at the O.K. Corral

BBB Corrals Award

"An inward focus is the ticket out."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Mickey Free And Dealing With Historical Inaccuracies

 November 9, 2021

   A lone rider on a mammoth jack makes his way across a rock strewn ledge. He's looking for a trail to the top of a broken ridge.

Foothills of The Sierra Madre, Mexico, 1892

Best Line of Yellowstone Premiere (Season 4)

"Ranching is just poverty with a view."

Drone Feedback

"Great sneak preview on the O.K. Corral video.  Loved the aerial view of the gunfight.  Never been done before.  Really cool."

—Paul Hoylen, Deming, New Mexico

   What happens when an eye witness to history is unreliable? Welcome to my world.

Daily Whip Out: "Mickey In Dust"

   Every time an old man retells his past, he gets closer to the center of the stage.

"There I was with the legend hisself!"

The Legend of Mickey Free

"One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."

—Hunter S. Thompson

Daily Whip Out: "One High Powered Mutant"

And, what exactly, is our goal with the Legend of Mickey Free?

"We have strived for historical accuracy with all our historical inaccuracies."

—Vince Murray

Finally, Here's The Drone Footage Over The O.K. Corral

 November 7, 2021

   One of the most amazing and enduring images from my youth is witnessing multiple dust devils lazily wandering across Golden Valley in Mohave County.

Daily Whip Out:

"In The Valley of The Dust Devils" 

Lessons Learned Over The O.K. Corral

  Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a sneak peek at some of the drone footage we shot on October 26th over the O.K. Corral.

Live From The O.K. Corral

   Coming. up next will be the live, impromptu talk I gave inside the O.K. Corral on October 26, 2021.

Archie Kennedy and Me,

October 26 at the Corral

   And the third video will be the special award I received from Larry Gay and the friends of the O.K. Corral.

Kingman Kid Wins Big

   Stay tuned!

"Authenticity is a practice."

—Brene Brown

Back Lit Cowboy And Graphic Novelties

 November 6, 2021

   Just saw this image on Facebook. It's a circa 1910 photograph of a cattle drive in eastern Montana. 

Breakfast at Sunrise by Richard Throssell

   Gary Coffrin posted the photo (see his stamp in lower right corner.) Just a fabulous photo of a wide variety of cowboy hats and at the right angle where we can see all the crease styles and brim touches. Wow!

Daily Whip Out: "Back Lit Rider"

The Elusive Graphic Novel

  If you have been reading these entries for any length of time you know I have some issues with the idea of a graphic novel. While I would consider all my published work in the past thirty-five years to be "graphic novels," I haven't been able to adequately produce my stated goal of a movie on paper. Part of this is due to my failure to keep on task and finish the project and part of it is due to my magazine obligations. It doesn't help that comics is a loaded term.

   Yes, comics and even the more sophisticated term, "graphic novels" have described as "subliterate escapism," and "the ugly duckling of American culture," amd even the "down-market cousin," of literature and what the reviewer Michael Saler calls the "kiddie stigma" attached to comics. 

Daily Whip Out: "Long View Mickey"

The Razz And The Razzmatazz

   In this changing world of upside downism, be prepared to be shocked by the old, masquerading as the new.

The New World Order

"Spider-Man is black. Thor is a woman. Superman is bisexual and Riverdale's tolerance is tested by Zombies."

—Michael Saler, in the Wall Street Journal

An O.K. Drone Bone to Pick

 November 5, 2021

   Here is a pretty cool shot of me with our man in Tombstone, Steve Todd, who mans our booth at all the main events down there. Steve is actually from Albuquerque but he loves driving over to Tombstone to meet and greet the faithful and the curious. 

BBB and Steve Todd across from the Corral

   This was taken on October 26th, at the 140th Anniversary of the Gunfight near The O.K. Corral. We had some fun, except for the drone incident. Don't ask about the drone incident.

Daily Whip Out: "Billy Breakenridge"

A Drone Bone to Pick

   I recently discovered—the hard way—that many people really dislike drones, especially when the flying contraptions invade their space. You know, like in their yard, or over their neighborhood, or, worse yet, over their re-enactment. This happened in Tombstone at the O.K. Corral on the anniversary. Here's how it came down.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Moonlight On The Sonoran Desert"

   Cave Creek videographer Bill Watters joined me on my trip down to Tombstone to shoot the event on video. He also brought along one of his best drones in case we needed it. After arriving in town and checking in at the booth, our first set up was on the exact spot where the fight came off. A show was going on next door where they put on live shows, and while we were taping, I said on camera, in a hushed tone, "We need to be quiet because there is a re-enactment going on next door." Just as I said this, the crowd murmered and applauded, almost on cue. This clip turned out to be very, very ironic given what happened next.

Videographer Bill Waters

at the controls of his drone

   After I gave a talk in the small theater, Bill asked me if he should break out the drone and we had a short discussion about the feasibility of using it because it was a bit windy out with 25 MPH wind gusts (ironically, just as it was on the day of the fight, 140 years ago).

  High on our shot list was an aerial shot of the reenactment of the gunfight at the 3 PM show, which was our last chance (they do three one-half hour shows, one at 11, another at 1 and a final show at 3). The idea was to wait until the last five minutes of the show when all the shooting happens and circle overhead to get the gun blasts for an ethereal, heavenly shot. One of the problems we had was that we couldn't really hear the drone because of the wind, so we naturally assumed we were high enough to not interrupt the show. That was a big mistake. As we stood over by the O.K. Cafe, which is across the street from the enclosed area where the reenactment takes place, we waited for at least ten minutes, hovering over the canopy, above the audience, for the money shot. When we finally got it we sent the drone south over the courthouse to pick up a couple other B-roll shots and when we got back to the corral area, the mob was waiting for us.

   "You ruined our vacation!" was perhaps the nicest thing said, and one enraged, millenial-aged father actually reached out to grab the drone as it landed, at the same time berating Bill for having a cheap $400 drone (his drone lists for $2k). It was quite upsetting to everyone and I later apologized to the entire crew at the corral for interrupting their show. 

   The millenial father got a refund on the show and an otherwise delightful day was ruined by an explosion of anger on the spot where the same thing happened on October 26, 1881 only with bullets not drones, proving Mark Twain's adage that history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

"Truth is hard to find. Truth is difficult to understand when it arrives. But truth doesn't work to evade us. It usually stays until we find it."

—Seth Godin 

Mickey Remembers History Differently and Billy the Smirker Agrees

 November 4, 2021

   History is under attack. So, take a gander at who just rode back into view.  

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Mickey Free Remembers History A Little Differently"

      Meanwhile, another kid agrees.

Daily Whip Out: "Billy the Smirker"

   A good friend of mine is turning 75 tomorrow and I am gifting him this scratchboard. Don't tell him.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Lone Ranger Split"

   All three of these illustrations I wanted to improve. In fact, I did grab the Mickey Free scratchboard, while I was looking for the Lone Ranger piece and I did, in fact, rework it, cleaned it up, changed the eyes, fixed the pistol barrel and a couple of other touches. Which brings us to:

"A job is never truly finished. It just reaches a stage where it can be left alone for awhile."

—Neil Young

First Impressions of Mickey Free and Monet Loves Great Hats

 November 3, 2021

   To the Apaches he is a skinny ghost, a half-breed born into a living purgatory, where all sides hate him.

   I sure love him, though.

Daily Whip Out: "Big Jack Tracker"

First Impressions

   One of the best of the Impressionists was this guy.

"Woman With Umbrella Turned to the Left"

Claude Monet, 1886

   He was a master of color, plus, the dude wore great hats.

Claude Monet wore great hats

but he sure could beat himself up.

"Colors pursue me like a constant worry. They even worry me in my sleep. I am very depressed and deeply disgusted with painting. It is really a continual torture. I’m never finished with my paintings; the further I get, the more I seek the impossible and the more powerless I feel. No one but myself knows the anxiety I go through and the trouble I give myself to finish paintings which do not satisfy me and seem to please so very few others. I despise the opinion of the press and the so-called critics. My life has been nothing but a failure."

—Claude Monet

Mickey Free: The Return

 November 2, 2021

   When everything is big, go small. When everything is long, go short. When everything is crude, go clean. When everyone is negative, go positive.

   A simple creed, developed by observing all the cycles I have witnessed over the past six (almost seven) decades, and, also by watching "Ted Lasso."

Daily Whip Out: "Mickey Free: The Return"

   This painting, above, is a long gestating Whip Out, which sat in my Starters In Progress bin for a long time. A chance encounter with the bin and Vince Murray inspired it. Vince is taking a course in Prescott on creating graphic novels and he asked me if I'd help him in his class by ressurecting my proposed graphic novel on Mickey Free. It was actually fun to go back and see our—The Top Secret Writer and me—multiple failed attempts to bring the one-eyed captivo to life.

 

Hot On The Trail of A Cold Trail

    So, here I am once again trying to find the spark that will bring the boy and his story to life. A life, by the way, that presages our current situation with some alarming similarities. I guess the stunning thing to me is the incessant duality of this life. For every concept that seems solid, there is invariably a counterpoint that contradicts it.

Six vs. Nine Perspective

   Carole Glenn recently shared this brilliant cartoon with me.

   Of course, my new approach leans heavily on the Old Mexico portion of the story and it will feature more of these gals.

Daily Whip Out: "Nina Suprema"

   Going to be fun.

"Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people."

—Garrison Keillor