ALL KINDS OF EMOTIONS
It has been an interesting couple of days. Yesterday I got the latest issue of The Roundup, the magazine of the Western Writers of America that is devoted to Elmer Kelton. Candy Moulton, the editor, published a number of emails that she got that included mine telling about first meeting Elmer when he came to the Texas Folklore Society and took notes to use in his novels. Candy published Elmer's comments on revisionist history that I had to read again. I was there when he gave the paper because he was on a program with Lou and Patricia Limerick on the TCU campus. Limerick had just come out with an ecorevisionist history of the west and Elmer answered it with facts and one of the best arguments in the world. I can't even remember Lou's paper. After the meeting Elmer and Limerick became good friends.
One of the other email comments came from Mike Blakely and I was intrigued by his comment about being inspired by Elmer and a couple of other writers to "carry on this odd business of telling the truth by making things up." I liked that. It is too bad everyone can't read this issue of the Roundup for all of the quality stories.
On the home front I got some culture by following my daughter's advice to see the 10 Tenors performing in Abilene on their world-wide tour. I invited Dr. Eugenia Tickle, the retired nursing professor from Wichita Falls to go with me. We ate at the Beehive in Abilene and shared a 22 oz. steak special and enjoyed it with some to take home. She enjoyed the Tenors more that me. Somewhere in my life I missed the lyrics to Rock and Roll and a lot of other tunes. They started with a paean to hero's as a patriotic gesture. They then sang a German song from their world wide tour. So there were more words I didn't understand although the music was great. Another song was Italian lyrics. They also sang Australian folklore songs that were hard for me to understand. I was impressed by the lighting and use of spotlights. I need more music culture in my life obviously.
Friday was interesting because the weathermen had predicted snow with a high of 38 but we got none and the temperature got up in the 40's which made for a nice night for the annual Kiwanis Christmas stew supper and Santa Claus event. We had a lot of music from our church chime band, the highschool brass group and a children's choir from the school that had most of the children in it.
My job was to take the money and tickets and hand out tickets for the drawing for prizes of money and frozen turkeys after Santa Claus finished having his photo made with all little kids. Eugenia and I left early to get some groceries before the store closed. She gave H. D. Weaver her ticket. He called to say her ticket won a turkey so we had to go visit Cottonwood and pick up the turkey before she went home. While I was working at the ticket table H. D. kept her entertained by telling stories and reciting some of his cowboy poetry. He loves to talk and his wife is from the Wichita Falls area.
I am behind because I have to write my column yet.
Mark called saying that he had landed from his Belgium trip and I told him the most dangerous part of the journey was gettin home safely from the DFW airport. He told me one thing that bothered me. He said that the European news was all supporting the Copenhagen meeting. I had thought after the UK reported on the scientists cheating on their data that there would be a reaction against the concept that people cause global warning. As Fred Thompson says "Common sense isn't all that common."
It has been an interesting couple of days. Yesterday I got the latest issue of The Roundup, the magazine of the Western Writers of America that is devoted to Elmer Kelton. Candy Moulton, the editor, published a number of emails that she got that included mine telling about first meeting Elmer when he came to the Texas Folklore Society and took notes to use in his novels. Candy published Elmer's comments on revisionist history that I had to read again. I was there when he gave the paper because he was on a program with Lou and Patricia Limerick on the TCU campus. Limerick had just come out with an ecorevisionist history of the west and Elmer answered it with facts and one of the best arguments in the world. I can't even remember Lou's paper. After the meeting Elmer and Limerick became good friends.
One of the other email comments came from Mike Blakely and I was intrigued by his comment about being inspired by Elmer and a couple of other writers to "carry on this odd business of telling the truth by making things up." I liked that. It is too bad everyone can't read this issue of the Roundup for all of the quality stories.
On the home front I got some culture by following my daughter's advice to see the 10 Tenors performing in Abilene on their world-wide tour. I invited Dr. Eugenia Tickle, the retired nursing professor from Wichita Falls to go with me. We ate at the Beehive in Abilene and shared a 22 oz. steak special and enjoyed it with some to take home. She enjoyed the Tenors more that me. Somewhere in my life I missed the lyrics to Rock and Roll and a lot of other tunes. They started with a paean to hero's as a patriotic gesture. They then sang a German song from their world wide tour. So there were more words I didn't understand although the music was great. Another song was Italian lyrics. They also sang Australian folklore songs that were hard for me to understand. I was impressed by the lighting and use of spotlights. I need more music culture in my life obviously.
Friday was interesting because the weathermen had predicted snow with a high of 38 but we got none and the temperature got up in the 40's which made for a nice night for the annual Kiwanis Christmas stew supper and Santa Claus event. We had a lot of music from our church chime band, the highschool brass group and a children's choir from the school that had most of the children in it.
My job was to take the money and tickets and hand out tickets for the drawing for prizes of money and frozen turkeys after Santa Claus finished having his photo made with all little kids. Eugenia and I left early to get some groceries before the store closed. She gave H. D. Weaver her ticket. He called to say her ticket won a turkey so we had to go visit Cottonwood and pick up the turkey before she went home. While I was working at the ticket table H. D. kept her entertained by telling stories and reciting some of his cowboy poetry. He loves to talk and his wife is from the Wichita Falls area.
I am behind because I have to write my column yet.
Mark called saying that he had landed from his Belgium trip and I told him the most dangerous part of the journey was gettin home safely from the DFW airport. He told me one thing that bothered me. He said that the European news was all supporting the Copenhagen meeting. I had thought after the UK reported on the scientists cheating on their data that there would be a reaction against the concept that people cause global warning. As Fred Thompson says "Common sense isn't all that common."
posted by Dr. Rodenberger at 7:58 PM
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