The Year My Grandfather Went Trick-or-Treating

31 Oct

One of the people I follow on Twitter asked  a question that sparked one of my Halloween memories. They wanted to know how old you had to be to stop Trick-or-Treating. I sent back some reply about 45 being the age because I haven’t reached that number, but then I started thinking about the year my grandfather went Trick-or-Treating.

We called him Daddy J, and he was a gruff kind of guy. He worked in construction all of his life; didn’t say much; and, when he talked, he let you know exactly what was on his mind. On the other hand, Daddy J liked to have fun. We went to tons of football games together. He was always beating my brother and I in a footrace. He also loved to play practical jokes.Snake

He kept a rubber snake in his truck, and he took great pleasure in throwing it on some unsuspecting person. Sometimes, Daddy J would place it where someone would walk up on it. All the time, my grandfather would be hiding and watching. When they jumped, he would break out his trademark laugh – kind of a snicker. My nephew laughs the exact same way.

One day, the guys he worked with decided to get him back. Instead of hiding a rubber snake in his truck, they put a real one in there. They said he couldn’t get out of the truck fast enough.

I wrote all of that to write about one Halloween where we all decided to play a trick. I was hanging out at the house of my grandparents because they lived in a subdivision where a lot of people Trick-or-Treated. I can’t remember who all was there, but I remember my grandmother, Mama J, being in charge of passing out the candy. At some point, things slowed down, and only a few people were coming by. That’s when somebody – I can’t remember who – came up with an idea.

My grandparents hung out with their neighbors all the time. They were big friends. The plan was the my grandfather would go Trick-or-Treating at their house. We had to come up with a costume fast. We got an old sheet and cut out holes for his eyes. We also cut out one for his mouth. We put the sheet over him; stuck a cigar in his mouth; and draped the rubber snake around his neck. What? You thought we would leave the snake out of this?

Mama J wasn’t too sure about it, but Daddy J was ready to go. He walked to the neighbors with a candy bucket in his hand, and we followed in the shadows. He knocked on the door, and the lady answered. In a deep, gruff voice, he says, “Trick or Treat.”

She looks at him kind of funny.

“Trick or Treat.”

That’s all he would say. She tried to make conversation with him because she was getting suspicious.

“You seem a little old to be Trick-or-Treating. How old are you?”

“Trick or Treat.”

We were huddled around the corner of the house and trying not to laugh. Eventually, Daddy J couldn’t stand it anymore, and he started his snicker. Then, she knew.

“J.W., I should have known that was you! There’s that damn rubber snake!”

My grandfather took off the sheet, and we came out of hiding. Her husband came out to see what was going on and got a big laugh out of it. After a minute or two of yelling at us, she let us have the rest of her candy.

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The Great Pumpkin Carving Escapade – The Sequel

30 Oct

Last year, we carved pumpkins for Halloween, and I wrote a post about it. That post has been getting a lot of hits lately because people are searching for pumpkin carvings. Unfortunately, it was not my best work. I forgot to take pictures of the pumpkins that we carved and had to resort to other means. This post is going to set things right.

I know that we carved pumpkins when I was a kid, but I don’t remember much about it. They were the simple kind with triangles for eyes and a mouth with jagged teeth. I guess that’s what most people did. That means last year was my first foray into fancy pumpkin carving with the tracing tools and the special implements.

Overall, it went well. Everyone’s carving came out like it looked in the picture. The only problem was that the cap of my pumpkin fell in. I was determined that nothing like that would happen again.

This year didn’t go as smoothly. My stepdaughter was in the middle of a book that she wanted to get back to. My wife carved in the wrong spot and decided to stop. Mine came out alright and ended up on the front porch. Obviously, they haven’t realized the trick that makes pumpkin carving a success. You stick your tongue out as you concentrate on your work.

The great think about this year is that I took pictures and am offering them up for your entertainment.

The pumpkins started out looking like this.Pumpkins and Dogs 001

Notice that one of them is sitting on the obituaries. Scary, right?

The next step is cutting out the top and pulling out the guts. Necole said something about this feeling like putting your hand in a human body. Hopefully, she doesn’t have experience in that field.Pumpkin 1

This is another view of the operating table.Pumpkin 2

Next, you are supposed to tape the picture to the pumpkin and prepare to trace the lines. This is my favorite part, and I have no idea why. I guess it’s the cleanest.Pumpkin 4

I don’t think I would make a good killer. Stabbing someone is messy. Maybe, I got perforate them to death by tracing the outline of a ghost on them.

Despite that, there comes a time when you have to dig in and start dismembering.Pumpkin 5

Necole is way better at this than I am. In fact, I think she stuck her tongue out a few times.

Carving up pumpkins is tiring, and we took a break. That’s when Daisy Dog studied the scene to see what we were up to.Pumpkin 6

I wish I knew what she was thinking. It was probably something along the lines of, “What are you stabbing those orange things? Just lie on the back of the couch like I do. It’s a lot more relaxing.”

She could be right. We cut and hacked and sawed and got one pumpkin completely carved.Pumpkin 7

We put it on the front porch and realized that we didn’t have a candle to put in it.

I must say that carving pumpkins with my family is fun, and I wish it happened more than once a year. Next time, I am going to attempt a carving that looks like Daisy Dog.

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V for Versatile

29 Oct

I was going to start this blog by writing a paragraph filled with letters that begin with the letter V. However, I can’t think of enough, so I will just put up a picture of this guy.Vendetta

This is happening because I was awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by one of my favorite blogs, Chandler Swain Reviews. If you like movies (and who doesn’t like movies?), then you need to head over and check it out. Heck, he may have a review for the above photographed Mr. V.

I really appreciate the award and want to publicly thank CSR for reading this blog and sharing it with his many readers.

This award comes with several rules that should be followed. First, I am to provide a link to the presenter of the award. Mission accomplished.

Next, I am to display the award.Versatile

Isn’t it beautiful? Now, I am to list seven things about me that could be considered interesting.

1. When I was a youngster, I got lost in Sequoia National Park.

2. I don’t like peaches, but I love fried peach pies.

3. I have traveled to each of the 50 states.

4. Late one night, I fell asleep standing up.

5. I am pretty sure that I have the entire script of Smokey and the Bandit memorized.

6. I own a miniaturized replica of Mayberry, North Carolina.

7. I love my wife, and I hope she makes it this far into the post to read that.

Here’s the important part. I am to name 15 other blogs to receive the Versatile Blogger Award.

Trask Avenue – I have been reading about the street side activities at Trask for a long time. You need to see what’s happening on the corner.

Front Range Scribbles – Colorado has a music scene, and everything you need to know about it is right here.

Satanic Panic – Another great site about music, and the name of the blog is awesome.

Thoughts From The West Five – This has to be the most versatile blog being produced in Great Britain. We have been reading each other’s stuff for a long time.

Paint Later – This is a view of the art world from the Land Down Under. Don’t paint later. Paint now.

Senior Moments – These are some good Tennessee folks, and they do a lot of traveling. Go on over and read about their adventures.

Manu Kurup – This has to be the most versatile blog being produced in India. Some great writing is coming out of this one.

Dying Note – Another blog about music, this writer must live a mysterious existence. For awhile, they will disappear. Then, they are back with a vengeance. Go check it out.

Guapola – Hey, another music blog. I hope Guapola isn’t taking payola.

Cole Mining – This mine is filled with nuggets of wisdom and great writing.

Serendipity – A blog by two very interesting people. When you read it, I think you will agree.

Hasty Words – For some really creative writing, this is the place to go.

Carl D’Agostino – The cartoons always make me laugh and always make my day.

I should have numbered these. I keep losing track of how many I have listed.

The Nashville Fork – This one is produced by a co-worker. It’s about the food scene in and around Nashville. I know a lot of you don’t live around here, but there are also some great recipes that everyone can enjoy.

Boxer Sweeney – It’s drawings. It’s great drawings. I always wonder what is going to come up next.

That’s it. I have fulfilled the requirements of receiving the Versatile Blogger Award. I enjoy reading a bunch of blogs and wish I could have listed them all. Again, I thank Chandler Swain Reviews for the honors. I also want to thank everyone who takes the time to read this blog. Mr. V thanks you, as well.

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2,996? Really?

25 Oct

The other night, Necole was telling me how proud she is that I am a teacher and talked about all of the people I have influenced through the years. Sometimes, we teachers need such encouragement. During the daily grind, our motivation tends to get overwhelmed by grading papers and seeing people nod off in class.

As she talked about all of the people I have taught, I began to wonder something. How many students have ventured into my classes? It would be easy to figure out. Just go back and count. I started teaching in the summer of 2001, when my university needed someone to cover a night class that had three students. Since that summer, I have taught history to 2,996 people.2996

Honestly, many of them have faded from my memory. Others I can still visualize sitting in the room. Some were great students who excelled. Others only showed up half of the time and did not stay in school very long. Sometimes, I wonder where they are and what they are doing. Do they have families? Do they have good jobs? Have their lives gone according to plan? Do they remember anything that they heard in my class? Did I really influence some of them?

Those are questions for which I have few answers, but there are some things for which I am certain.

Certainly, I am glad that I became a history teacher. Sometimes, I feel like an old Rock band playing the same songs over and over. The stories I tell can get monotonous. However, those bands probably like the songs and know that each audience may be hearing them for the first time. I like the stories I tell and get satisfaction in knowing that the students have never heard many of them.

Certainly, I am glad that I became a history teacher because I like the subject. The people. The events. They all interest me. If nothing else happens, then I want the students to realize that the people actually lived. They are not characters in a book. They were happy and mad. They fell in and out of love. They were people just like us. They lived. They died. Somewhere along the way, they made it into my history class.

Certainly, teachers age while the students never do. I started teaching when I was 32 years old. That wasn’t much older than the students. I even had one student who went to high school with my older brother. Back then, I connect through popular culture. We listened to some of the same music and grew up with similar experiences. We could remember many of the same major events.

However, students cycle out, and a new group comes in. Every year, I get older, but the students always stayed in the same age group. They grew up with different experiences and remembering different events. The fall of 2001 was my first full semester, and I can remember being in class on 9/11. The freshmen I am now teaching were just starting elementary school that year.

In essence, I could have been considered part of the same generation with my early students, but I am in a different one from my current students. That’s a big difference. Sometimes, being around a lot of young people makes teachers feel young. At other times, it makes us feel old. In other words, it makes us feel like part of history.

I am not sure what I meant to write in this post, but it is hard to believe that I have taught 2,996 people. It’s also hard to realize that some of them may be out there retelling some of the things I told them, but I hope they are. I hope I have had some influence.

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Tennessee, Alabama and Me

24 Oct

This weekend, the University of Tennessee plays the University of Alabama in a football game, and this is the one I look forward to the most. Younger fans may think of other games as bigger, but, for me, nothing is bigger than when these two teams get together. My dad started taking me to Tennessee games when I was 6 years old, and I have been to every Tennessee/Alabama game since then. There have been a lot of wins. There have been a lot of losses. There has also been a lot of memories.

When I was a kid, it was always me, my dad and my grandfather, who we called Daddy J. Most times Larry would be with us. You’ve read about him before. My dad would drive while Daddy J sat in the passenger seat tugging on a big cigar. Being in the backseat, I would lean up to hear the adult conversations that were going on.

Obviously, we went to Neyland Stadium all of the time, so I considered it special to attend a game at Legion Field in Birmingham. For the younger folks, that’s where Alabama used to play all of their home games. If the timing was right, then we would eat at All Steak in Cullman. Once in Birmingham, we would park in someone’s yard and walk to the stadium, where they had the greatest hot dogs I have ever eaten.

Legion Field was different from a lot of stadiums because it had a walkway around the field. Fans could go up to the fence and get close to the players and coaches. I can remember my dad telling me about Bear Bryant and pointing to the man standing under the goalpost.

He had a program rolled up in one hand and a cigarette hanging in the other one. Of course, he always had on the houndstooth hat. These days houndstooth has become a fashion statement in Alabama, but I always wonder how many of the people wearing it actually saw Bear Bryant coach a game.

All of that was cool, but it has always been about more. On Saturday, I will attend my 39th game between these teams. I have forgotten the details of a lot of them, but a few games stand out.

1982 – Tennessee came into the game in full rebuilding mode under Johnny Majors. Alabama came into the game ranked second in the nation and with eleven straight wins over Tennessee. Shocking everyone, Tennessee intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve a 35-28 victory. No one was more shocked than me because it was the first time I saw Tennessee beat Alabama. Honestly, I never thought it would happen. More honestly, I shed a tear or two.

We were staying in Gatlinburg that weekend, and I wore orange the rest of the night. As we sat on a street-side bench, people would walk by and say “Go Vols!” Crimson couldn’t be seen anywhere as Tennessee fans celebrated.

It turned out to be the last time that Tennessee played against Bear Bryant. He retired at the end of the season and passed away a few weeks later. Most Tennessee fans know the photograph of Johnny Majors and Bear Bryant shaking hands after the game.Johnny Majors

1983 – The rematch in Birmingham was an offensive explosion. The teams traded blows until Johnny Jones scored on a 66 yard run to make the final score 41-34. It was electric, but things got better. Larry and I snuck into the Tennessee locker room and joined in the celebration. I got wrist bands from Charles Davis, one of Tennessee’s players. However, the best souvenir was a pair of socks from Clyde Duncan. Those socks scored on a long touchdown pass that day, and I wore them to every game for many seasons after.

1985 – This time we didn’t drive to Birmingham. Some people who my dad did business with flew us down on their private jet. On Friday, we toured their factory and had dinner at the fanciest restaurant I had ever been to. We had to wear a coat and tie, which I didn’t have. I had to wear what the restaurant gave me. There was a piano player, and my dad paid money for him to play “Rocky Top.” The other diners were not pleased.

The next day, Tennessee, ranked twentieth in the country, won 16-14 as Alabama, ranked fifteenth in the nation, barely missed a last second field goal. The game was full of drama as Tony Robinson, Tennessee’s starting quarterback, went out with a knee injury. The defense had to hold on, and Dale Jones did his part by making an impossible interception.

The flight home was quiet because we were the only Tennessee fans on the plane.

1995 – We had learned a couple of months before the game that Daddy J had an inoperable brain tumor. On the morning of the game, I visited him at the hospital and talked to him about football. He probably didn’t understand, but I like to think that he did. After this visit, I met Larry and the other guys to drive to Birmingham for a game between two highly ranked teams.

Tennessee was ranked sixth in the polls and was led by Peyton Manning, who was just a sophomore. Alabama came in eleventh in the nation. Like in 1983, Tennessee had not won in a while, and fans were anticipating a change in fortunes. We didn’t wait long as Tennessee scored on the first play and went on to win 41-14. Tennessee found a favorite son and started a seven game winning streak over Alabama.

After the game, fans tried to storm the field, but the Birmingham police would have none of it. They brought out the pepper spray and got a few journalists in the process. It was an eventful night, and it was a terrible day. My grandfather passed away that morning after I left the hospital.

At the visitation, I told Larry that I wished Daddy J could have seen that game. Larry replied that God let’s us see good things when we are in heaven.

I have been to many Tennessee/Alabama games, but those are the ones that I remember most. So, what’s the record between the two teams since I have been going.

Tennessee has won 15 games.

Alabama has won 22 games.

There was one game that didn’t count. You’ll have to ask an Alabama fan about that.

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Emersed in the Subculture that is NASCAR

23 Oct

This past weekend, I went to the NASCAR race at the Talladega Superspeedway with my brother, my nephew and some friends. We had a lot of fun hanging out and, in general, acting like a bunch of guys. We traveled on a luxury bus. You know, the kind that famous people rent to take on tour. Our bus had recently been used by John Cena, the WWE star. Considering that the NASCAR fans surrounding us are probably WWE fans, I thought it was a fitting coincidence.John Cena 2

Wait, did I just stereotype NASCAR fans? I didn’t mean to do that. In my mind, NASCAR fans represent a subculture within the larger framework of society. Numerous subcultures exist in our country, and each one of them can be stereotyped by those who do not understand it or do not want to understand it. Heck, we are all part of one. I am a fan of a Southeastern Conference university. That’s a subculture. I am a blogger. That’s a subculture, too. My dad used to be in the cattle business, and I can promise you that cow people are a subculture.

As I said, NASCAR is one of many subcultures, and all subcultures lead themselves to be stereotyped and parodied. I started thinking about this somewhere around the halfway point of the race. The beginning of the race is always cool, and the end is always exciting. However, the middle gets to be somewhat tedious. After all, it is just a bunch of cars going around in a circle.

Anyway, I began to analyze my surroundings and came up with some thoughts.

1. NASCAR fans embrace the stereotypes and parodies. They have to because they cheered for the Wonder Bread car, which was the car driven by Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Surely, they realized that this car represented a movie that made fun of them and their sport.Ricky Bobby

They must also embrace the stereotypes and parodies in what they wear to the race. Surely, someone who wears a white t-shirt with a hole cut in the front so their beer belly can hang out is doing it for laughs. Surely, they realize that this is what non-NASCAR fans assume they wear and, in turn, are making a statement by embracing this unrealistic view.

2. NASCAR has abandoned its fan base, and ticket sales have suffered because of it. At one time, Talladega was packed. Now, a good seat can be bought on the day of the race. I believe it is because NASCAR has become too corporate, and the drivers have become too slick.

Drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison and many more could fit in with the fans. Now, drivers marry supermodels and live in New York City. Fans can’t relate to that. They also can’t relate to the fact that races have been ripped from historic tracks and placed in Chicago, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Wine Country. Wine and moonshine don’t mix.

3. Most of the crowd cheers for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. because he is a link to the past. He’s not just a link to his dad, the last of the great southern drivers, but also a link to all of the other great southern drivers. Ironically, Dale, Jr. is one of the few drivers who grew up wealthy. He may look and act like the fans, but, in reality, he has less in common with them than the other drivers who came up through the ranks.

4. Barack Obama didn’t get many votes from NASCAR fans. On Saturday night, we went to a karaoke gathering where beer and moonshine were flowing. Songs were sung badly, but something more interesting happened. When people had the microphone, they took the opportunity to bash the president. They told jokes about him. They cussed him. The First Amendment was alive and well.

I don’t like the president, either. I don’t like his politics or his policies. However, I believe that it went deeper than that with the people on stage. They don’t like him because they believe he is a Muslim who was born in another country. Oh yeah, they also don’t like him because he is black.

5. Many fans of University of Alabama football are ridiculous. This guy behind us yelled “Roll Tide” every time the cars went around the track. I looked for a car that was driven by Nick Saban but couldn’t find it. My only conclusion was that he wanted everyone to know that he cheers for a great football team on Saturday. This was on Sunday. I am sure he does it on every other day of the week, as well.

He, and many others, wear the school colors all of the time and brag about national championships that they didn’t actually win. Admittedly, I cheer for a rival school, but I am glad that my greatest accomplishment in life is not watching a group of other people accomplish something. Last time I checked, the guy yelling “Roll Tide” at the NASCAR race did not win a damn thing.

6. We met a guy called Big Little, and he was a top-notch grill man. According to him, women surround him just to get a taste of his Brisket and Boston Butt. I have to admit that it is funny to hear a big guy from Mississippi say Boston Butt. The fact that he was wearing overalls made it even more funny. I know he embraced the NASCAR stereotype.

That’s all I thought about. The rest of the time, I was keeping an eye on Danica Patrick’s car. First, because its color scheme makes it stand out. Second, the other fans were booing her. If the “Roll Tide” guy was against her, then I needed to be for her.

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That’s What I Call Eventful

18 Oct

Man, this has been an eventful week. On Sunday, Necole and I woke up in Tucson; made a connection in Denver; and, returned to Nashville. After all of this time, airplane travel still amazes me. I am amazed at how far and fast we can go, and I am amazed that they can get the things off the ground.

On Tuesday, my stepdaughter had her tonsils taken out. Necole and I were both lucky that we were kids during the time that they didn’t do that. My older brother had his removed, but, by the time I came through, doctors were saying that it was not necessary. Apparently, it is back in vogue.

One thing that is necessary is for everyone to get a yearly physical. I got one on Wednesday, and it is not very fun. A physical includes getting poked and prodded in all kinds of uncomfortable ways. It is definitely not the Olivia Newton John type of physical.Physical

On Wednesday night, Necole and I saw The Eagles in concert. We have both seen them before, but this was my favorite one. The main reason was that she was with me. The next reason was that they put on a great show that traced their history. In short, they sounded a little Country-ish before Joe Walsh and a little Rock-ish after Joe Walsh.

The events continue as I go to the NASCAR race at Talladega with my brother and my nephews. I am not a big racing fan, but I will get my redneck on to spend a fun weekend with them.

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My iPod Has Issues – Part 9

16 Oct

I am not feeling all that creative this afternoon. Today, it is dreary outside. Yesterday, my stepdaughter had her tonsils taken out. She’s in pain, and that makes us all feel bad. On top of that, I had to get a physical this morning. I could write about the history conference that I attended, but, like I said, I am not feeling all that creative.Not Creative

That’s why I am going to take the easy way out and explore the inner workings of my iPod. You guys know how it goes. The iPod gets put on shuffle, and we see what comes out of it.

“The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel

“Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring

“Hank WIlliams Junior Junior” by David Allan Coe

“Saturday Night Special” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Jolie Bassette” by Charivari

“Numb” by Linkin Park

“When Love Comes to Town” by B.B. King

“Africa” by Toto

“Midnight Rider” by The Allman Brothers

“My Idaho Home” by Ronee Blakely

“Layla” by Derek & The Dominos

“Your Mama Don’t Dance” by Loggins & Messina

“Barnaby Jones” by Jerry Goldsmith

“Blood on the Saddle” by Tex Ritter

“Old Turkey Buzzard” by Jose Feliciano

“Jolene” by Dolly Parton

“Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin

“I Say a Little Prayer” by Dionne Warwick

“Feelin’ Alright?” by Traffic

“What I Feel” by Stacy Mitchhart

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Walking in the Footsteps of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Some Biosphereans

15 Oct

Necole and I just returned from Tucson, Arizona and the conference of the Western History Association. The conference was informative and will be covered in the next post. This post is about the touristy things that we did while there. Obviously, there are lots of places to see, but our time was limited. Necole had never spent much time in that part of the country, and I wanted to make sure she saw some good stuff. With that in mind, I picked one place that neither one of us had ever seen and another place that I have visited several times. In fact, it’s one of my favorites.

North of Tucson sits a giant scientific experiment called Biosphere 2, which was recently named one of the 50 Wonders of the World. In the 1980s, it was built by a private firm for $150 million as a way to study the environment in a controlled setting. For two years, eight Biosphereans were sealed in the facility to live and study their surroundings. After our tour, I am still not sure what they were trying to accomplish, but they came out alive. More people probably remember Pauly Shore wrecking the place in Bio-Dome than they do the actual experiment.

I have always wanted to see Biosphere 2 and thought it would be something good for us to both see for the first time. We had to walk through a little village that is supposed to be the model for a perfect community. I have no idea why people keep trying to create one of these. People aren’t perfect, and, therefore, communities will never be perfect.

Then, we saw it.Arizona 2013 001

Before we went in, I was afraid that we might run into a Sandman. The crystal in my palm has already turned black, and there was no way I was going to Carousel. My options started to run through my mind. I could look for Farrah Fawcett at the plastic surgeon, or I could run. It turns out that I didn’t have anything to worry about. Instead of a Sandman, we found a tour guide.

He took us through a building with miniaturized versions of different environments. There was a rainforest. There was an ocean. There was a swamp. There was a desert.Arizona 2013 004

After touring the upper world of Biosphere 2, we went into the underworld and saw the guts of the place. Then, we sat the dining table in the living quarters of the Biosphereans. It was a nice place, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

It was at some point toward the end of the tour when a German tourist asked about the power source for the structure. The tour guide said that it ran on 2% solar power. Necole said what I was thinking. How can an experiment design to study the environment run on 2% solar power? Shouldn’t they be more environmentally friendly than that? As Necole said, it made the entire thing seem hokey.

The next day, I took Necole to one of my favorite places, Tombstone, Arizona. Known for the Gunfight at the OK Corral, this town has been immortalized in movies, books and television. It’s a good thing because without a gunfight that lasted a few seconds “The Town Too Tough To Die” would be dead. The old mining camp lives off tourist who want to walk in the footsteps of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. I won’t destroy anyone’s opinion of those guys in this post. Instead, I may do it in the next one.

My parents took me to Tombstone when I was a kid, and I have been back several times since. I wanted Necole to see one of the places that made me want to study and teach the history of the West. To do that, we needed to step into the streets of a famous mining camp.Arizona 2013 007

Our first stop, like everyone else, was at the site of the gunfight. Of course, you have to go through a souvenir shop before they will let you in the corral. In truth, that’s not where the gunfight took place. We walked through the corral to a backlot where the action took place. Now, there are cheap animatronic figures representing the combatants. As the narrator describes the fight, they move. However, they don’t fall down when they are shot.Arizona 2013 008

After watching the fake gunfight, which I had explained to Necole before the narrator ever began, we walked down the street. Necole wanted to stop in a jewelry store, and it turned out to be a good thing. That was the place where Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday stopped to buy cigars before going toward the corral. Movies make it look like they walked a long way. It was just a block away.

Then, it was on to the highlight of any visit to Tombstone, a meeting with Ben Traywick. We entered his bookstore to find him behind his desk. I introduced myself and introduced him to Necole. Mr. Traywick is the Tombstone historian. He also happens to be from Watertown, a little town in our county where my dad grew up. For the next hour, he told us how he got to Tombstone; talked about the actors who have visited him; talked about people back home; and showed all of the books he had written. I bought too many of them. Mr. Traywick is an interesting person who has lived an interesting life. I wish more people knew to stop in and see him.

We went further down the street to the Birdcage Theater, perhaps the most famous saloon in the West. It served as a theater, a gambling hall, a bar and a brothel. In fact, prostitutes plied their trade in the theater boxes that overlooked the main floor. The boxes looked like birdcages.Arizona 2013 009

If you see anything weird in this picture let me know. The Birdcage is supposed to be one of the most haunted buildings in the country.

After the Birdcage, we did like Doc and Wyatt and went to a bar for a drink. I was tempted to order a shot of redeye. Instead, I got a Jack and Coke.

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Look Out Tucson! Here We Come!

8 Oct

This week marks the annual gathering of the Western History Association, where historians come from all corners to discuss the history of the American West. For the first time ever, I am going to attend and am looking forward to some of the panels that are scheduled.Western History

The conference is being held in Tucson, Arizona, and that provides me with opportunities other than listening to other historians. I will also be able to visit some of my favorite historic sites. There will definitely be an excursion to Tombstone and Bisbee, old mining towns that gained some measure of fame.

Perhaps, I will also make it over the Old Tucson Studios, filming location of many westerns. Some may not think that is a historic site, but I beg to differ. The movies made at that location have affected the views of the American West for generations. Many people got their history from those films, and it is the job of historians to weed through that information and get to the heart of the matter. Westerns have affected our view and knowledge of the West in a tremendous way.

All of that is great, but I am really excited that my wife is joining me for a few days. She will relax while I am in sessions, but I am excited about the other part. I get to show her some of the places that I have researched and some of the places where my parents took me when I was a kid.

I will return with a post about the trip, and that post will include some good pictures.

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