Gautam, yer just too susceptible!
I used to wear a straw cowboy hat to the disco during that late 70's western craze. I think it was John Travolta and his movie "Urban Cowboy" that started the whole thing.
How true was the movie "Tombstone" to the explanation of the "cowboy"? Basically, they were murderous bullies in red sashes.
The cowboys I do know still wear straw hats in the summer. That felt gets hot.
eoe wrote:I used to wear a straw cowboy hat to the disco during that late 70's western craze. I think it was John Travolta and his movie "Urban Cowboy" that started the whole thing.
How true was the movie "Tombstone" to the explanation of the "cowboy"? Basically, they were murderous bullies in red sashes.
actually there were more gun fights over water rights than anything else.
Tombstone was very divided. On the one hand was the "cowboy" faction, and on the other was "Law and Order" faction. Don't put too much store in what the two factions came to be called. The "cowboys" were mostly marginal small-time cattlemen whose income largely derived from smuggling cattle in from Mexico. The more extreme of the "cowboys" made little pretense at being anything other than gamblers and thieves. The two most notable of the "cowboy" families were the Clantons and the McLowries. Old Man Clanton was sort of a patriarch for the whole bunch. Old Man Clanton was the leader of the group who committed the Skeleton Canyon massacre, and was often associated with stagecoach holdups and such. The real leader of the "cowboy" faction was Curly Bill Brocheous (sp?). Curly Bill was much admired ... and feared. He probably was a displaced Southerner, as many of the "cowboy" faction were. Other notables were Johnny Ringo, and Zwing Hunt. These guys were hard drinking, and would kill for the slightest of reasons. Mostly they hang out in marysville and some of the other small places that have since become ghost towns.
The "Law and Order" faction was mostly of the Yankee persuasion and they tended to be either prosperous ranchers, like John Slaughter, or town dwellers clustered in Tombstone, Bisbee and Benson. There was a Mormon farming village, that still exists, at St. David along the road to between Tombstone and Benson. The "Law and Order" crowd was divided along some rather bitter lines. On one hand was the Cochise County Sheriff, Billy Behan, and on the other were the Johnny Come Latelies, the Earp faction. Both had their own supporters and advocates among the towns leading citizens. Behan was said to be associated with theives who plundered travelers along the deserted byways of Cochise County, and he certainly had a finger in a lot of other pies. The Earps were largely gamblers who augmented (and protected their income) by being part of local law enforcement. Behan and the Earps hated one another as much as they hated the "cowboy" faction that kept the pot aboil throughout the County. Doc holiday was a close friend of the Earps and joined them in Tombstone along with his prostitute girl friend, Big Nose Kate. Doc was dying of TB and had absolutely no fear of dying, so he made a formidable foe. Doc Holiday was notorious for using hideout weapons, shotguns and knives, and had killed many men. Doc was also strongly suspected of holding up many stages just outside Tombstone. It is said that one time he tried to hold up John Slaughter as he traveled home in a carriage. Slaughter is said to have remarked, "Damn you Doc Holiday, if you don't get the hell out of my way, I might have to kill you." Doc promptly stepped back behind a mesquite bush and let the Slaughters pass.
There have been many movie depictions of the Gunfight at the OK Corral, almost all of which had very little to do with what actually happened. The Costner/kilmer version actually may be the closest thing on film to the actuality, but don't delude yourself into thinking that it is good history for it is not.
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Not only were there more gunfights over water than anything else, most gunfights consisted of a long-range Winchester bullet puctuating the victim's back. Even the most notorious of gunfighters, like Wes Hardin, were as apt to shoot from ambush, or to kill an unarmed man as not.
I'm pretty comfortable wearing my straw hat around the farm. It doesn't have the water-holding capability of the cowboy hat, but I really don't need that option -- if I'm out pounding in fenceposts on a hot day and develop a thirst, I casually reach into my front left pocket of my bib overalls and extract a small plastic cup which I then dip into the brackish water of my swamp and quicker than you can shake a possum out of a tree my thirst is quenched.
There are days when I have to go into town, or nights when there's a dance or something goin' on. On those occasions I must look dapper. Thusly, I don this hat...
Can't you just see gus in all his sartorial splendor, deciding which hat to wear? He must keep the milliners busy, making straw hats, pope hats and cowboy hats.
One question: who was the designer who developed that incredibly creative zen/peace/cat-in the-hat hat?
if you trace back the link for the hat, diane, it comes from a very cool site.
The Way of The Martial Warrior
Your Martial Arts Supply Head Quarters
Purveyor of Eastern & Western Martial Arts Equipment
800-288-0640
http://gungfu.com
That hat was my own creation, Diane. The hat is made entirely of old feed sacks, hand-dyed and then I used black pigment extracted from the hooves of my capybara to do the stenciling.
It's a fairly complicated process.
I've no doubt that capybara hooves would be just the thing. They give an unmistakable stamp to the design.
It's a beautiful hat Gus :-D
Hey, where were you when I needed you, Montana? Gautam, Eva, and Dag had assembled an entire army of sluts, plus half the members of this board were running to their side and here I am, standing alone with my pitchfork. One man against a friggin' army.
Do you think I'd get a little help from Montana?
Nope, she turns tail and runs like a scared rabbit.
You owe me for this one.
The Pig
by Ogden Nash
The Pig, if I am not mistaken,
Gives us ham and pork and Bacon.
Let others think his heart is big,
I think it stupid of the Pig.
gustavratzenhofer wrote:Hey, where were you when I needed you, Montana? Gautam, Eva, and Dag had assembled an entire army of sluts, plus half the members of this board were running to their side and here I am, standing alone with my pitchfork. One man against a friggin' army.
Do you think I'd get a little help from Montana?
Nope, she turns tail and runs like a scared rabbit.
You owe me for this one.
Don't worry Gus. I've been on the phone every waking moment with all the crew from the lawn tractor lodge and we're setting up a meeting now, so get on your tractor and get down here.
I have no idea how I missed this one! I LOVE cowboys!
The straw hat is for spring and summer. Felt is for winter. Under no circumstances does a cowboy hat of any kind go on the bed.
I must confess, though, that I don't always notice a cowboys hat.
(This one is for Guatum... Enjoy!)
WARNING. It's cheeky.
http://gogoboydiary.typepad.com/photos/butt_album/cowboy_butt.jpg
