Durango Kid

Another cowboy I liked to see in the Saturday picture show were the Durango Kid. He were played by a guy named Charles Starrett. Later on in life I found out a few things about Charles what was unusual to say the least. He wore a black mask when he were dressed up as Durango so nobody would know who he were. They say that mask started out as a piece of Rita Hayworth's gown what were laying around the studio when they come up with the idea. And like Roy Rogers (who come from Ohio)
Charles warn't from the wild west. He were from Massachusetts and was going to Dartmouth College when they was making a movie there. Somebody spotted Charles who were a nice looking fellow and gave him a test for the movies. And he didn't start out playing a cowboy, but once he did it kinda stuck and from then on that's all he played. I sure am glad because I probably never would have seen any of his other movies. Do anybody remember his horse's name? I'll tell you tomorrow.

Hollis' book of the day:
Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner - Empty graves, quick sand, and lynch mobs in Yoknapatawpha County

Saturdays When I Were a Boy

I were a boy back in the 30's and early 40's. My daddy warn't much for letting me sleep too late even when school were out for the weekend. If I warn't up by 6:30, he would come in and pull all the covers off of me and yell for me to get going. There were always a job for me to do on Saturday morning because we was all living in the big house then and it had a big yard to mow in the summer and lot of leaves most of the year round. When I done my work enough to make my daddy happy he would give me twenty cents for the movie theater (10c) and a drink (5c) and popcorn (5c.) Him and mama went in to town in McComb and he would park the car on Main Street and get out and walk around and talk to the mens who was doing the same thing. Mama and most of the womens would just sit in the car and watch the peoples go by. I would walk down to the Palace Theater for the cowboy double feature. With all the extras it would last all afternoon. Most of the time I had to leave before I seen it all so I wouldn't be late for my ride back home to Harper. I warn't ever late but one time. Daddy gave me what for and I warn't ever going to lose track of time after that. My favorite cowboy growing up were Gene Autry, but Roy Rogers sorta took his place. I liked Trigger better than Champion.

Hollis' book of the day:
True Grit by Charles Portis

September 2010 Posts

For new readers and those who may have missed them, Hollis has worked out a way to present these older posts. Start from the bottom for earliest and click on any topic of interest.

Hope this works.

             Harvey Lee’s September 2010 Posts

(read from bottom up)

                The Tent Revival Preacher

            How This Works by Hollis

            My First Year with Trixie

            Meeting Trixie

            Looking Back on Bethel and Mary Kate

            Note from Hollis

            Me and the Catholics

            Mary Kate

            Rethinking Sobriety

            Drinking and Stuff

            Korea and What it Done to Me

            Doreen

            Quick Note from Hollis

            Jack

            Bill

            Jimbo's Hardware

            More About Harper

            Note from Hollis

            Me and Bethel

            Bethel

            Monday in Harper

            Weekend in Harper

            How Harper Got Its Name

            A Little about Harper

            Today in Harper

What Happens When the Braves Play the Cardinals

Now, ever now and then we come up against a problem. Sometimes ever year the Braves and the Cardinals play one another. Like I said we pulls for both of 'em, but when they is facing each other we has to make some plan on how we gonna vote. We all use different rules; like if one team has a chance to win their division and the other don't we pull for the one what's got a chance or if one team in a game is way ahead of the other we pull for the one what's way behind. But one thing I figured out is no matter what's going on by the beginning of the ninth inning we all knows who we is for.

Hollis' book of the day:
A Room With a View by E. M. Forster - Old folks don't always give young folks the right advice especially about marriage when the old person has never tried it.

Atlanta Braves

Ever thing were all right until the 60's when the Braves moved from Milwaukee. Ever body here up till then pulled for the Cardinals. But real slow like peoples begin to listen in on the Atlanta team 'cause after all they was playing in the South. We got real familiar with names like Knucksie, Murph, Hammering Hank. Then come along Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. And Chipper, Justice, and Pendleton. How could we help switching over to the Braves. They won their division for a bunch of years in a row and the World Series once. Go Braves.

Tomorrow: What Happens When the Braves Play the Cardinals

Hollis' book of the day:
A Passage to India by E.M.Forster - "Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Moore" Who died and made her queen?

St. Louis Cardinals

When I were growing up all I used to hear mens talking about were the St. Louis Cardinals. We used to listen to them on the radio (KMOX, I think) and peoples was always talking about the Gas House Gang and players with names like: Dizzy, Dazzy, Pepper, Ripper and such. I never got to go to St. Louis to see a game, but my uncles was always finding a way to catch the Illinois Central up for a weekend of baseball.
Dizzy Dean were from Arkansas, but he settled down in Lucedale, Mississippi where he got invested in pickles and charcoal bricketts. He used to come to McComb to catch the train. I reckon he were afraid of flying.

Tomorrow: Atlanta Braves

Hollis' book of the day:
A Painted House by John Grisham - A boy growing up poor in Arkansas discovers he isn't poor at all.

The Lady and the Harp

I come up with this memory the other day: There were a lady back in the depression who lived in Harper and word got around she played the harp. The womens in the Culture Club of Harper wouldn't have been satisfied until they got her to come and harp for their Wednesday afternoon meeting. They come up with a bunch of classical numbers for her to play and one of them was from the opera Carmen. I'm sure y'all have heard it even if you don't know it by name. Well this woman, a Mrs. Dumas, accepted their invite and showed up with just her purse. They asked if she needed help with her instrument and she said, "No. She could handle it." When it come time for her to play she stood before the group and told them she didn't know a just plain Carmen song but she could play Coming Round the Mountain where
upon she pulled out a french harp and commenced to play.

She warn't asked back.


Hollis book of the day:
Howard's End by E.M. Forster - If the Kindle was around back then Leonard Bast's life would have been saved.