Texas Bluebonnets
Landscape is an essential part of most westerns and this weekend we traveled to the Texas Hill Country around Mason in search of Lupinus texensis, better known as the Texas Bluebonnet. Yes, who can live in Texas without going on a wildflower safari each spring? Based on our drives through the Hill Country over the […]
Quanah’s Birthplace
I just returned this weekend from the annual meeting of the West Texas Historical Association, which always offers an interesting program of presentations on the region’s history. One of the most fascinating papers was by Holle Humphries on “Quanah Parker was Born Simultaneously in Both Texas and Oklahoma.” Her presentation explored the legends behind Quanah […]
Aliases
Occasionally, I get asked why I’ve written under various pennames. The answer can be simple or complex, but either way it carries on a great literary tradition. Mark Twain, of course, was actually Samuel L. Clemens, Lewis Carroll was really Charles Dodgson and George Orwell was Eric Arthur Blair in reality. Likewise, numerous women have […]
Liberty Valance
As a young boy I remember seeing a lot of John Wayne movies in the 1960s, but one I don’t recall is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I do remember the identically named Gene Pitney song, though it was not actually used in the picture. If I did see the movie, it probably didn’t […]