“It was Della and the Dealer and a dog named Jake and a cat named Kalamazoo…”
Yeah, nobody remembers Hoyt Axton these days. I just keep wondering how his parents settled on the name “Hoyt”. Pretty cool name, actually.
You really have to go to a used LP shop to find such names. That, and to laugh at what you heard on the radio that you thought was so cool when you were a kid. “Mmm-Bop!” by The Hanson Brothers 13 years ago comes to mind… Drove me nuts in Phoenix when we launched DSL there and 12 year old girls went bonkers searching for Hanson Brothers with Netscape (remember that program?). Last year it was the current Jonas Brothers track I heard constantly in the mall. A few months ago, Justin Bieber trying to set a record for how many times he could say "baby" in a song. Ugh.
I remember the Hanson Brothers as a trio of players from a Paul Newman hockey film titled “Slapshot”.
I love vinyl shops. I mine these LP’s like nuggets. Every now and then you find the one rare jewel. Like my original Procol Harum self-titled album with “Whiter Shade of Pale” on it. Classic.
Now about the cat part of the subject.
Should I ever concede to having another cat in this house, it will be named “Kalamazoo”. Kal, for short, of course. It is a mystery to me to this day. After having cats in our home since 1989 – why do we let a semi-domesticated animal run freely in our house? One that requires us to change a litter box weekly, feed and water it daily (our plants don’t get that kind of attention and they’re doing fine!) and requires snuggles and petting on HER schedule.
She’s the one who has figured out that when the alarm goes off at 5:45 AM, it’s automatically all about her. She’s the one who does “moustache bumps” – comes up to my face while I’m still mostly asleep, purrs, and bumps her nose against mine. Whiskers involved, of course. Cold wetness at 5:46 AM is not so much appreciated.
Next pet will be a dog. Trainable, loyal, patient… everything a cat isn’t. Probably one of Chuck’s fine Border Collies.
It’d probably be easier to get rid of her if she wasn’t such a “Daddy’s Girl”…
Sadie Toot, you’re intractable. Ya stupid goof - a dog would understand this.
“But the cat was cool and never said a mumblin’ word.”
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Maps
I love them. Maybe it’s the experience I had learning how to draw them, maybe it’s how I learned to research them, maybe it’s how I learned to use the information I gleaned from them, maybe it’s how I somehow learned to read them (and trust me, that’s a skill not everyone has). Whatever, I love them.
I’ve spent the last couple of days poring over Colorado maps from 1843 through 1894, tracking the John Fremont/Kit Carson expeditions in the 1840’s. Proved beyond any shadow of doubt that Fremont and Carson made camp on Chuck’s ranch on July 10, 1843. Fremont’s journal from 1843 was also a big help.
I love going back to old maps, back when they showed no roads but only rail routes. Yes, I own an 1883 Colorado map (actual 1883, not a reproduction) and an 1894 Colorado map. The latter showed 1,000 towns – 700 of which don’t exist anymore.
Visited an antique store before Christmas and found a 1974 Official Iowa DOT Map, complete with then Gov. Robert D. Ray’s photo, message and signature. It’s still there. Someone else will find it more appealing than I did.
The old maps are works of art. New maps are just computer generated. Does any new state map include an elevation graph of the route taken across an expedition and recorded very elegantly as the 1845 Fremont map that I’ve been studying so carefully lately?
For that matter, I can't say I've seen a modern map that even shows any rail lines.
Maps commissioned by Congress in the Lewis & Clark, Fremont, Seward etc. expeditions are a thing of beauty.
Now if I can only find out what happened to Durham, CO – once a rail stop which is now in western GJ.
Seems to exist only on an old map.
I’ve spent the last couple of days poring over Colorado maps from 1843 through 1894, tracking the John Fremont/Kit Carson expeditions in the 1840’s. Proved beyond any shadow of doubt that Fremont and Carson made camp on Chuck’s ranch on July 10, 1843. Fremont’s journal from 1843 was also a big help.
I love going back to old maps, back when they showed no roads but only rail routes. Yes, I own an 1883 Colorado map (actual 1883, not a reproduction) and an 1894 Colorado map. The latter showed 1,000 towns – 700 of which don’t exist anymore.
Visited an antique store before Christmas and found a 1974 Official Iowa DOT Map, complete with then Gov. Robert D. Ray’s photo, message and signature. It’s still there. Someone else will find it more appealing than I did.
The old maps are works of art. New maps are just computer generated. Does any new state map include an elevation graph of the route taken across an expedition and recorded very elegantly as the 1845 Fremont map that I’ve been studying so carefully lately?
For that matter, I can't say I've seen a modern map that even shows any rail lines.
Maps commissioned by Congress in the Lewis & Clark, Fremont, Seward etc. expeditions are a thing of beauty.
Now if I can only find out what happened to Durham, CO – once a rail stop which is now in western GJ.
Seems to exist only on an old map.
Monday, January 9, 2012
National Western Stock Show
January 9, 2012
Yep, I got the year right – haven’t written it incorrectly since the New Year. We’ll see if that continues through 2012.
In mid-January there is an event known as the National Western Stock Show in Denver. Think of it as a 4-H Fair and County Fair and State Fair combined on steroids. 15 days of livestock judging, eighty-thousand and 11 booths selling everything from $11.99 spur straps to $853,042.15 tractors, livestock auctions, and PRCA Rodeos. And a gozillion cowboy hats and boots. And yeah, you can bet that Chuck & I will be there. Near the end of the show, when stuff goes on sale cheap. Mama didn’t raise no dumb cowboys (at least none who live in Colorado).
Christmas and New Nears was wonderful. It was so much fun having Ma out here for Christmas, and equally fun being with Jody’s family in Cheyenne for New Years. Tons of fun memories, and, at least for my Ma, plenty of new experiences. I think she enjoyed every one of them!
I’m cleaning today. My office is full of older electronics and a ton of paper. Both are getting sorted in re: what stays, what goes. I thought I could get this done in a day – it looks like it may take 4 days! It’s an interesting exercise in history and archaeology.
Not much else. Hope this little missive finds you all well, healthy and happy in this new year, and may it remain so for the year!
Much love,
Jay
Yep, I got the year right – haven’t written it incorrectly since the New Year. We’ll see if that continues through 2012.
In mid-January there is an event known as the National Western Stock Show in Denver. Think of it as a 4-H Fair and County Fair and State Fair combined on steroids. 15 days of livestock judging, eighty-thousand and 11 booths selling everything from $11.99 spur straps to $853,042.15 tractors, livestock auctions, and PRCA Rodeos. And a gozillion cowboy hats and boots. And yeah, you can bet that Chuck & I will be there. Near the end of the show, when stuff goes on sale cheap. Mama didn’t raise no dumb cowboys (at least none who live in Colorado).
Christmas and New Nears was wonderful. It was so much fun having Ma out here for Christmas, and equally fun being with Jody’s family in Cheyenne for New Years. Tons of fun memories, and, at least for my Ma, plenty of new experiences. I think she enjoyed every one of them!
I’m cleaning today. My office is full of older electronics and a ton of paper. Both are getting sorted in re: what stays, what goes. I thought I could get this done in a day – it looks like it may take 4 days! It’s an interesting exercise in history and archaeology.
Not much else. Hope this little missive finds you all well, healthy and happy in this new year, and may it remain so for the year!
Much love,
Jay
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