Unkillable Handbook Podcast

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The Unkillable Handbook. Dissecting the Counterfeit Human. www.theunkillablehandbook.com

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    These Lights We Never Turn Out

    That’s tomorrow if you are reading this today. Anyway, the 18th. Remember that date. It comes up later. Image Courtesy of PFFK #7 Let’s start with some song lyrics. They also come up later. Turn out the lights, the party’s over They say that all good things must end Call it a night, the party’s over And tomorrow starts the same old thing again -- Wille Nelson, The Party’s Over To which I say all good things must not end. The party is never over. There will be no “calling it a night” on my watch. And tomorrow we are going to do something so totally different you might not even recognize yourself in the mirror, assuming you can even find one! Just sayin’ It Happened in March It’s March 20, 1986. Afternoon. I just left school. Backpack over my shoulders, Trapper Keeper in my arms. An ordinary school day. It’s a Thursday. My mom, Hannibal, was there to pick me up and, I thought, take me back home. She was wearing a red oversized rugby jersey with “Coca-Cola” written all over it in big white letters. Personally, if I am going to be wearing someone else’s brand, they should be paying me, not the other way around. It was an ordinary school day, a Thursday. I could have walked home or ridden a bike from school. It wasn’t far. They wouldn’t let me, though, so Hannibal usually picked me up. She was driving her usual red and grey Suburban. “Get in” she said, unemotional and strangely calm. I climbed in, closed the door and stared out the window for a few minutes. I thought we were going home, instead we ended up in the parking lot of Gophers. My dad, Fredo, was standing outside the building. Gophers was a restaurant not too far from home and down the road from the Allsup’s gas station. It’s not there anymore. Gruver Cafe — which is on Main St — is there now and we love it. “Stay here”, Hannibal said to me as she opened the car door and slid off the seat. After closing the door, and walking up to Fredo, he quickly gave her a full hug, a hard one, with both arms. Like he meant it. She raised her own arms slowly and, reluctantly it seems, returned the hug. But only loosely. She showed no emotion I can remember. My eyes froze and my corners of my mouth turned down. I started to tear up. Somehow I knew what happened, as if someone had whispered in my ear. Dayton died. He collapsed and fell off his horse, his face blue, I was told later. He was only 60. I will write about that in a future Episode entitled “Six Days From Sunday” -- when I can stitch up enough courage to do so, that is. All the Good Things For now, I remember all the good things and the fun stories that stick with me forever. I told you a few of them already. Like the Cristal Pistol story – the adult place where no adults go. Or how Dayton showed me the correct way to stack and count grain bags in the store. The store is still there, by the way, mostly just as he left it. Last time I was there, it felt like he was about to walk in and say “hey, kiddo”. Or about the time when he had just returned from the War, and someone he didn’t know was heckling at him. Dayton walked up to the stranger, placed his left arm on the man’s right shoulder and said “Son, I don’t know you, but you seem to know me. Why don’t we settle our differences like gentlemen?” After telling that story, he asked me “why do you think I put my left arm on the stranger’s right shoulder”? “I don’t know”, I responded, “Were you trying to reassure him?” “Nope” Dayton said. “If I had to clock him, his right arm was tied up and mine was free”. That was Dayton. Cool, wise and crafty. Here are a couple of pictures of Dayton when he was in the Marines and stationed overseas. I think this is in Okinawa. There is a notation on the back. His friends called him Commander, even though he was a Corporal. Dayton is on the right in both pictures. He’s holding the Colt .45 Model 1911 in the first pic. Author’s archives Here is an embossed version of the right hand picture. Author’s archives Dayton had a great sense of humor and a calm and deliberate way about him. He helped out so many people in his short life. He was more than an inspiration. He showed you how big life could be. That everything is possible. That the only limits are the ones you set for yourself. Dayton was always so kind, nurturing and easy with me. Well, except that time I hid his cigarettes . . . Here is a grainy video of him riding a kids’ pedal tractor with my cousin following him on a bike. My cousin sent me this a few years ago. I laughed and cried at the same time. I know that inside a part of 9 year old little me got fixed and locked away on that day in March 1986 -- and still lives there. Here are a few more stories I remember. My Repeated and Failed Attempts to Stay Up All Night When I used to stay over at Muff and Dayton’s – which was frequent but not often enough -- I never wanted to go to sleep. I was always having way too much fun. I loved being in their house. I was always at peace there. It made me want to jump up and down on the bed and sing Xanadu and other great Olivia Newton John songs – wait, are there any? Dayton made sure I got to sleep though. Either he or my Grandmother, Muff, would read me a book. Then Dayton would say “well, kiddo, time for bed. The party’s over” as he reached his arm up into the lamp and begin singing: Turn out the lights, the party’s over [pause] They say that all good things must end [pause] Call it a night, the party’s over [pause] And tomorrow starts the same old thing again Dayton had a great singing voice. I can hear it now, this chorus so clearly, as he reaches his arm up and clicks off the lamp. Then he would keep his head inside the closing door right up until the last word – “again”. That was it – lights out, door closed, and a safe warm good night’s sleep. There was nothing to worry about, at Muff and Dayton’s, and it was the best and safest feeling. Subconsciously, I knew that Hannibal could not get to me, or throw me out of a moving car, when I’m asleep here. Instead, I knew my grandparents were right across the hall. The bonus, waking up to breakfast at their house. Muff made these great scratch biscuits. And Belgian Waffles. And eggs. She also used to make me these little apricot turnover fried pies for my Birthday, except Fredo would eat them all before they ever got to me. Does that not just sound like Fredo? My Favorite Book My favorite book at their house was Mr. Angelo. I have a copy in my library right now. It’s about a man who lived in a house at the top of Butternut Hill who loved to cook. He cooks so much food, he can’t eat it all, so he opens up an Eatery and a Bakery in his front room. He almost gives up until a boy named Jim says “you need someone to help you.” And that is so true. Or as the Beatles say, “leave it all ‘til somebody else lends you a hand”. Muff and Dayton must have read this book to me over a hundred times. The difference each time was the following day. I would ask them “what if Mr. Angelo had made cookies?” or “what if he had handed out free samples? You know, get them hooked first?” Each would entertain my questions and would have great responses. So the book wasn’t an isolated story it was like slowly furnishing a room in their house piece by piece. Both would help me think through different business plans for Mr. Angelo. Always with a sense of humor, and a big vision. Let’s say I had asked Hannibal (I don’t think she knows this book exists) a question about Mr. Angelo’s business plans. I can imagine she would say “Oh, there was a hair on one of his donuts. So he had to close his business.” Then she would go out, buy some donuts, and put hairs on them. Hannibal’s idea of business is sabotage and also grifting. Stop Yammering Thanksgiving 1985. The evilness of Hannibal, hounding anything good like a Beagle, has been going on for all of the decades she has been alive. As much as she has been chasing me, she chased Dayton too. But in that case it was tactical. For most Thanksgivings, Muff would always do the turkey, tenderloin and top sides. Hannibal made a few side dishes. She would groan, every family meal, that Mrs. Gomer shows up hours late and only contributes the relish tray. While that may indeed be true, what’s the use in groaning? Like that really got to Hannibal. It’s a running holiday grudge of hers. Hannibal has lots of grudges. So this Thanksgiving, one of Hannibal’s sides was candied yams (barf). I had just finished getting dressed. We had to look as perfect as possible to Hannibal because pictures would be taken. Where these pictures are these days, I have no idea. No doubt keistered somewhere. I heard Hannibal yelling my name. So I ran up to the 2nd story where the yellow kitchen was. HANNIBAL “I will carry the yams down to the atrium. I need you to load the yams into the suburban. Do not drop or spill them! They are Dayton’s favorites. So be careful.” That surprised me, Dayton didn’t really eat yams, not willingly anyway. ME“Why can’t you just carry them on into the suburban, and I can help with some of these other things. That way you don’t have to sit them down in the atrium.” HANNIBAL “Stop being difficult. Just hurry up. I will sit them on the stairs.” ME“Okay but you are making me nervous.” HANNIBAL“Stop over thinking everything. You are too sensitive. Hurry up. I don’t want us to be late. Now you will need to hold the yams in your lap. Again, don’t drop or spill them.” I watched as Hannibal carried the yams down the atrium stairs and set the dish on the last stair. She then wiped the dish with a towel to clean it, or so I thought. I walked down and picked up the dish. With my bare hands. I made the step down from the atrium to th

  2. 6d ago

    Everything You Ever Needed – And More

    This is a continuation of the story about the Giant Bible and what I found in it. Keith Morrison Voiceover . . . Because every story needs one. “The word “memento” means to remember. We all keep them. If you think of life as a series of pages that flip from day to day, seemingly forever, to become our own book. Every important day, its own page; every big moment, its own chapter. Sometimes we cut-out the meaningful parts and leave cute little mementos in between those pages. We do it as a way to save our best days forever. These are the times we keep closest to our hearts. Usually these mementos are the happy and the joyous events. The birthdays. The weddings. The little babies delivered into a big new world. The happy times. That is what we all expect and what we all hope to do. What does it mean when the mementos we find are not the happy events? What do we make of reminders of deaths? Or church fires? Or a mother forcing her little 5 year old daughter to write a birthday card? Perhaps, what ends up as a keepsake in a book is important. What is more important, though, is how and why. Why are there mementos of death, when there should be keepsakes of life? Our story today will try to answer those questions.” . . . Non-Keith Morrison Voiceover We all have keepsakes and mementos to remind us of happy times. We sometimes keep them in our favorite books. That’s what humans do. Not psychopaths. They keep trinkets. Of things like death, church fires and birthday cards my mom, Hannibal, forced me to write when I was 5 – in 1982, etc. etc. A Bible Full of Trinkets More on the Bible I told you about last week and what I found in there. This is what it looks like. See, I wasn’t kidding when I said it was giant. Image courtesy of PFFK #7 As I mentioned in last week’s Episode, this Bible had been missing for decades, and I had really mostly forgotten about it. Until January 2021, when it turned up on the 2nd floor of #6 Accosted in one of the many giant multi-story wooden cabinets Hannibal likes. I had looked in this cabinet many times before. There is a little entertainment area right next to it, and that is where all the TV remotes are usually kept. Let Me Entertain Me Here’s a funny story about that little entertainment area. The layout to #6 Accosted is typical for slapped together homes of the modern era. This particular house was built by Mrs. Gomer’s husband, Mr. Gomer. The front door of #6 Accosted consists of a door, full length window “pains” to each side and a glass window arch above the door. We will cross that door when we come to it. It looks like this. From Google Maps then Twisted . . . Hard The window panes have been covered with a translucent dark film to obscure the view. Hannibal did that. So, if you were standing at the door trying to peek inside to see what kinds of shenanigans were going on, you wouldn’t see much. If, however, you looked up and behind, you would see remnants of swallow nests which had been knocked down. Hannibal did that too. H.R. Huff n’ Puff When we open the front door, we see the stairs directly in front of us. The stairs are so close to us that we can actually see all the way up to Fredo’s desk on the second floor. So close, that if you accidentally tripped while carrying bags of groceries, your head would hit the second step, and the groceries would end up on Fredo’s desk. The stairs along with the entire second floor -- including the bathroom -- are carpeted in the usual spud colored beige. Why would anyone do that? I mean about the stairs being right in front of you. And also about the carpet. And also about the carpet in the Bathroom. There is a sky-light in the bathroom, though, which is really great. For drone operators and spy satellites, that is. I don’t know why front doors would ever want to open directly to stairs. That shouldn’t happen. Unless, of course, you are talking about those 10 ft wide Oak stairways, which branch out left and right at the top, and sit beneath ornate lead glass windows which glow and whisper green when the Sun is about to set. Stairs like that are pretty great, unless you are living in an Agatha Christie novel, in which case I would seriously consider getting out of there . . . fast. But that isn’t how the spudlike stairs at #6 Accosted are set up. They line a wall to the right, go straight up and have no windows anywhere nearby. On the wall to the right we see pictures of me and my siblings(?) going all the way up to the second floor. Fredo’s most precious picture is displayed there, of course -- that would Myron making a tackle during a football game. Probably his only one, ever, I’m guessing, because Myron was a terrible athlete. When you get to the top of the stairs, to the immediate left, we see Fredo’s desk and a computer. That is where he does his two or three hours of work every week. Ahead of us we see a large sofa sitting on top of a rug that -- for some reason -- has been nailed to the floor through the regular carpet. Probably to hide some evidence. I really regret never prying that rug up, because I’d love to know what is under there. A TV screen is mounted on the wall to the left opposite the sofa, and the giant multi-level wooden cabinet where I found the Bible sits between them against the wall. Slappy Happy So, the funny story goes like this. We used to sit up there on the sofa and watch movies with my Nieces. We would grab a giant bowl of popcorn, turn out the lights like in a movie theater and watch whatever movie we wanted. Or sometimes we watched Masha and the Bear, Nancy Drew or Gooseberries. There was a character in Gooseberries called Slappy, who was a demonically possessed ventriloquist dummy -- you know, just like Myron? Anyway, my Nieces were terrified of Slappy, so if they ever wandered upstairs by themselves I would walk up behind them and say -- “oh, look. It’s Slappy. Hey Slappy, what are you doing up here?” My Nieces would then run downstairs. And, yes, I know it’s actually called “Goosebumps“, so no need to write me a polite letter -- unless you want to. OK. That’s not the funny story. This is. Freedo Gonzales This one time at the entertainment area, my Nieces and I just sat down to watch a movie. We had the giant bowl of popcorn with us and fired up the 6 or 7 remotes it takes to watch movies these days. The lights were still on though, because Fredo was up there at his desk, wearing reading glasses, looking at printouts of feeder cattle results. The numbers in the columns are usually tiny, so he has to hold the page close to his glasses. Even then, he usually still can’t read the numbers, so he lifts his glass up and holds the printout even closer -- squinting. Meanwhile, we are still trying to watch the movie, but the lights are on. This is where my youngest Niece, age 7 at the time, leans her body forward and turns her head to stare menacingly at Fredo’s back. Fredo is still squinting at little numbers, so he doesn’t notice. She swings back to upright position, looks up at me and shrugs as if to say -- doesn’t he know we are watching a movie? She leans her body forward for a second time, turns her head to the left again and says: “Fredo, when are you leaving? We are trying to watch a movie!” Fredo leaves. I love my Nieces. What the Bible Told Me So I read this Bible most nights, mainly because it makes me feel closer to my Grandparents, Muff and Dayton, who gave it to me -- and to my parents -- but mainly to me. Here’s the presentation page. Image courtesy of a scanner, which is really a printer except the toner mechanism or something is busted so it doesn’t print, but it does scan! Two weeks ago, I said of the 6 people who died in 1982 who knew Hannibal, only one seemed natural -- my Great Grandma -- Margie. She was 88 years old and died of heart failure. That would not be uncommon at that age. Last week I said my view changed after finding Margie’s obit keistered in between two pages of said Bible. I had never seen it before. Here is what I remember about the Bible after I found it. Since say February 1, 2021 I have read the Bible every evening. So it has been open at least 2,045 times. This count is just for my daily reads. Throughout summer of 2021, I would sit outside, under the cherry tree and open the Bible at 2:11 pm. Whatever verse appeared to me, is what I thought I was supposed to focus on. Some days under the cherry tree were emotional and profound. Some days I would look up and see a hummingbird or a butterfly or a gold finch. Like this little guy. Image courtesy of PFFK #7 Those moments were so reassuring, especially at a time when my family had just launched an active campaign against me. Along with the Bible, nature held one of the most valued and trusted places in my heart. During these afternoons, I would flip through the pages. Every item placed in the Bible, had been put there by Hannibal. The earliest I can find dates to 1979 and the latest to 1988. In addition to Margie’s obit which I only just found, here are some of the other things is in the Bible. The main themes are around my deaths and me. 1. A handmade Mother’s Day card, by me and dated 1979. I most likely made it in Sunday School 2. A birthday card to Hannibal for her 31st, that Hannibal forced me to write; my subconscious rebelled and I wrote “Happy Birthday to Ho” 3. My Grandfather, Dayton’s funeral program, that had the wrong date for his birth date. After finding it in the Bible, I placed the program with the page of Psalm 23, which was printed inside his program 4. A cut out of Dayton’s obit from a newspaper 5. The dedication for the rebuilt Methodist Church which had burnt down in a fire in 1979 6. On a page titled “Family Tree Husband’s Genealogy” there are 23 handwritten entries of family member’s birthdays, written by Hannibal. On the page titled “Family

  3. Sep 9

    Who Likes Short Shorts?

    Image courtesy of PFFK #7, Vintage Viking figures by Jacob Jensen, Rudder Table IN-20 by Isamu Noguchi Turns out, a lot happened in 1982. I think we might have to start calling it “Groundhog Year”. I will cover a lot of the what in future Episodes, but for now I want to revisit last week’s Episode, in which I told you about 6 people who crossed paths with Hannibal, all of whom ended up dying in 1982. Make Me Some Nevermind I also told you how only one of those deaths appeared to be from natural causes. Based on a very recent discovery, we here at the Handbook are now upgrading our assessment from “likely natural causes” to “possibly suspicious”. Here is what happened. I have this giant 8.5lb Bible which I read pretty much every night after dinner -- unless something unusual happens . . . like a tornado hitting two blocks away, knocking out the power. So, unless something like THAT happens, I read this Bible every night. I like the Old Testament way more than the New Testament. In case you are wondering. A Bible Full of Trinkets My Grandparents, Muff and Dayton, presented this Bible to Fredo, Hannibal and Adorable Little Me on Christmas 1977 when I was not even 1 full years old. I’m sure I pretended to read it back then. And probably understood it. I will write more about this Bible, how I came to find it, and what I found inside it in a future Episode entitled “Everything You Ever Needed -- and More!” Anyway, I remember this Bible when we lived in Hansford county. It was usually sitting on a book case that was there. When we moved to Amarillo it “went missing” and had been for several years. I had really mostly forgotten about it. Then it turned up at #6 Accosted sometime in or before January 2021. That is when I found it and “proceeded to” liberate it. It was it upstairs in one of the many giant multi-story wooden cabinets Hannibal likes . . . for some reason. I have looked in that cabinet many many times over the years. There is a TV mounted on the wall to the left of it, and that’s where the 6 or 7 remotes you needed to operate TV systems these days are usually kept. OK, back to today’s short story. So I took this Bible home with me and have been reading it ever since. When I first opened it, I found a few papers and things Hannibal had hidden inside over the years -- probably through the 1980s and early 1990s, before we moved to Amarillo. Since I found this Bible, I estimate -- based on my knowledge of math and the Internet -- that I have opened it over 2,400 times. The Keistered Obit Here’s where it gets interestng. As mentioned above, I had assumed my Great Gramma’s death in 1982 was from natural causes. She was 88 years old and died of heart failure. That would not be uncommon at that age. Well, maybe I was wrong. A few days ago -- and this is an entirely true story -- I opened the Bible up to a random page that had Margie’s obit clipped from the local newspaper. I felt like the unseen hand had once again guided me to the place I must be. As if to tell me, in this particular instance, that maybe I needed to “re-evaluate” my conclusion. And that I had a nice place up here and it would be a shame if anything happened to it. Gulp! Here is the obit. I had no idea it was there. I didn’t put it there. I think Hannibal did. And I think it might be a trinket. There are a few other trinket-like items in there that I have come across. Many have something to do with death or church fires. OK. So, I know finding an obit is not really anything. By itself, maybe not. It’s what the obit says that is interesting. I have been told my whole life that Margie peacefully died at home, right there at 514 Richardson St., Gruverly Hills, TX. That is not, however, what the obit says. That is not what the death certificate says either. Margie died in the hospital. Nothing odd about that. Most people probably die in a hospital. But why lie about it? And why clip the obit out of a newspaper and put in a Bible? By the way, Margie’s death certificate lists the cause of death as “heart failure”. That is the same cause of death listed for Nelda Tackett’s mother, Zella, who also died in 1982. Smothering someone, especially an elder person, can mimic heart failure. Also by the way, Hannibal has a history of being one of the last people to visit someone in the hospital before they die. This happened to a really nice lady named Kathy, who died just after being released from the hospital – right there in the hospital parking lot. Hannibal was one of the last people to visit Kathy. That’s what she said anyway. She kind of bragged about it. Looking back, it was odd the way she delighted in telling that story. I think that would have happened to me when I had a giant cyst removed that appeared out of nowhere . . . right after Muff’s 90th birthday party . . . and two days before my sister’s(?) dog died. Except, in this case, Dolphyn refused to leave my side for more that 15 minutes while I was doped up in the hospital room. Gut feeling, he said. One time, when he went down to the cafeteria at the Baptist Saint Tony’s -- which is really pretty good -- he saw Hannibal asleep on a long set of visitor’s chairs just outside my room. I had no idea she was there. She had no idea Dolphyn saw her. Har Har. She also took a picture of me in the hospital bed and later texted it to me with the caption “I can totally use this”. For what, I thought. A collage? A Christmas card? Potpourri? Was she waiting for an opportunity to smother me? Anyway, that is why we are now upgrading our assessment of Margie’s death from “likely natural causes” to “possibly suspicious”. In the next Episode, entitled “Everything You Ever Needed -- and More!“, I will talk about this Bible. How I found it. A funny story about where I found it. And some of the things I found inside. This Episode will be in two parts. Part 1 will be a Free for All. Part 2 will be For Paid Eyes Only. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunkillablehandbook.com/subscribe

  4. Aug 28

    Preview of Coming Distractions

    * It was or was not a very good year. Depending on your perspective. Our next Episode is Entitled “1982 Was a Very Good | Bad Year“. It is part Tackford Files, part co-incidences that might not be, and part Richard Simmons, who said “let the pattern lead to the solution”. The story is also about how a good year for someone (i.e., Me) can be a bad year for others. Our story today starts with a Keith Morrison voice-over because, well, we think every story should start that way. Keith Morrison Voiceover “It’s hard to see the patterns on the road behind or ahead when you driving it. All you see is the small rolling stretch of pavement you are on at any given moment. That, and the Exit billboards showing a Waffle House is just ahead. We stop for those. But when you get to your destination many miles or even many years ahead, when you can look back and see the whole trip more clearly, you might recognize something you overlooked at the time. The same is true as our own lives. As we expand and move through time. With the big and small parts of daily life consuming us. We might never see the recurring patterns -- the good ones that make us happy, or the bad ones that cast a long and deep shadow over everything they touch. And often times, when looking back, we see that a regular ordinary trip for some people, ends up being a truly bad one for others. Especially for those who never make it to the end of the road and never reach their destination. Or you can also go to Waffle House.” [Waffle house picture maybe -- if I can find them. OK. I found them.] When I was 31 It was a very good year. Although it wouldn’t become clear for another 3 years, my life had taken a bold and wild turn into a Brand New World. One that I could not have predicted. Though, a couple of years later, a psychic in Boston (named Alex) told me the road I was on and correctly predicted how it would develop. If you ever get to Boston, look him up. When I was 31, I only knew a few people who had died. Not too many, though, and not all in one year. Most had simple explanations. Some were relatives and died from normal causes, like heart disease, old age or the occasional car accident. Now, when Hannibal was 31, things were totally different! For All the People Who Have Died Because, when Hannibal was 31, in 1982, it was a very bad year. At least 6 people Hannibal knew or crossed paths with all died in the same year -- and all by August. One in-law, one step-person, three fake non-adoptive relatives, and the father of a girl Hannibal was obsessed with. Only one death had a simple explanation. Hannibal was a common thread among them all. Did she have something to do with these deaths? Were they just accidents? Were they just co-incidences? Did Hannibal’s mere existence lead to their deaths? Why did one person who was shot to death in Corsicana later end up living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana? We will go through the time-lines, records, death certificates and other details. We will then offer up our opinions, and give you a chance to come up with your own. Tune in to the next Episode coming Monday to a browser, iPad or other device near you! I’ll tell you what. This will be the best story of 6 people dying in 1982 that you will ever come across! But only for Paid Subscribers, who we love here at The Handbook. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunkillablehandbook.com/subscribe

  5. Aug 26

    Back To School

    I wish this episode would read like a Rodney Dangerfield edition and I could finish by saving the day with a perfectly scored and performed Triple Lindy, like this but with horses. Image Courtesy of PFFK #7; Ceramic horse by Stig Lindberg We’re in for a different ride this time -- a totally fun and fantabulistic one. What’s the Rush? We’re wrapping up August 2026, and with that the college dorm move-ins, sorority rush/recruitment, starting back to school and not to mention the athletic practices like two-a-day football practice. Man, that must be brutal. And all this before the semester even begins. Except if you are Myron, of course, refusing to go to early practice because he was too good for that. I have many friends that are great moms. I’m proud to be friends with them and happy that they can call me a friend. Because I have at least one sister(?) who is maybe are not so great. And I can say that, because I have only one sister(?). I think I might have a much older half-sister, but it’s a sad story so I will probably not talk about it here. Seeing my good mom-friends pack up their daughters, decorate their college rooms -- all of them show stoppingly gorgeous. Seeing them support their girls, now almost fully grown, during sorority recruitment has been refreshing. Each of them has restored my hope in the world that we do have good, nurturing moms. Happiness is what I feel when I see how much they show their love for their kids, their dedication, their willingness to take 2 weeks out of an otherwise busy life to help coach their daughters as they rush the Greek system. It’s real. I can tell you that the sorority rush system can be a traumatic giant mountain of emotions and hope for acceptance swirled up with unspoken potential rejection. It is also a giant production, with lots of decorations, fresh florals and balloons, all of which must be sprayed -- not a lot of people know that. So many balloons that most balloon factories make their entire annual profit, it seems, in just 2 weeks and then close down for the rest of the year, floating around in pools and bouncing on trampolines. Well deserved! Recruitment is a highly organized series of events where the soon to be Freshies meet the actives from house to house. Events are themed aroud sisterhood and philanthropy. There are elimination and preference rounds, culminating in the final “pref” round. And that is how the girls and sororities find each other. When it is rush season, I always have a pit in my stomach for any girl that might not get selected. It would break their hearts and mine. Unless I didn’t like a particular mom, like Fat… Oh yeah, and did I mention there are lots of balloons and philanthropy. So, that is rush. A giant, highly organized, stressful, but beautiful and full of new bonds event -- especially in Texas and the South. I would not want to go through that alone. Except I did. When my parents dropped me off at college, they helped me unload their suburban and my car. Maybe an hour-long process. Then a rain storm hit, so naturally the electricity went out. I remember coming down the stairs seeing them in their suburban. Hannibal smirking at me with her jutting out jutting jaw foisting up that slight but noticeable smirk. ME Are y’all leaving? (Eyes all wide, mouth open in disbelief) HANNIBAL ANNE Yes, you are all unloaded. ME The electricity is out, and I don’t even have a phone set up yet. I don’t even know how to set up a phone. HANNIBAL ANNE It will come back on. Happy trails. With that Fredo waived from the driver’s seat, Hannibal Anne rolled up her window and they pulled out of the parking lot. While drenched from the rain storm, I thought to myself the many times they said I didn’t have a brain and so I couldn’t be dangerous. Like what’s the worst that could happen? Well, there was and still is no Waffle House in Lubbock. So I guess that’s pretty bad. Anway, I thought maybe I had done something wrong. Something Smells Fishy Here’s a REAL Hannibal Anne back-to-school story It is August 1993. I am 16 -- still adorable, but taller. We are at Tascosa High (Go Rebels!), where all the students are nicer, smarter and better looking that at the other slacker schools -- like Amarillo High. OK, folks that went to Amarillo High, you may be tempted to send some beat down my way, but you know I’m right. Besides, you should be grateful, I’m just trying to keep the spirit of Hell Week alive. Tascosa High was set to begin its Fall semester in a couple of weeks. I had spent the summer babysitting and going to evening JV cheerleading practices. At our most recent practice, we were given our schedule along with the correct uniforms to be worn for each event. Very well organized. The first event was a Back to School Meet & Greet to meet incoming Freshmen. Not like Freddie the Freshman though. HANNIBAL ANNE Let me see your schedule. ME Sure, here it is. Right in my Trapper Keeper in my backpack. Wait, where’s my backpack? Oh there it is (retrieving it from the suburban) HANNIBAL ANNE You need to lay out your first uniform. I don’t want you running late. Lay it out between now and when you go to bed tonight so it will ready when you are getting ready. Make sure you wear your hair ½ way up. ME Can’t I just hang it at the front of my closet, it’s white? I don’t want it to get dirty. HANNIBAL ANNE OK. But you have a tight schedule and need to have everything ready to go. Lay it out on your floor, then. ME On my floor? That’s even worse. HANNIBAL ANNE OK (eyes going all bulgie). Stop being so nervous. Hang it up inside your closet. It will be safe there. The day of our 1st JV cheerleading event arrived. I arrived at #6 Accosted, after babysitting and being at the pool, grabbed the cheerleading uniform and went upstairs to shower and get ready. After doing my hair and make-up, I quickly put on the fresh uniform. I was rehearsing, in my mind, the different tasks I needed to do once at the park. T hese thoughts continued on as I went downstairs, grabbed my bag and got in my car. It was my first event as a cheerleader in Tascosa High and I wanted to do well for our entire squad. As I was pulling from Fairway on to Western, I began to smell something and it seemed to be getting stronger. Like sun-ripened Limberger cheese. This uniform was definitely a different kind of “fresh”. ME What the hell is this foul smell? This is more like something I would smell while out in a field or possibly a hospital. Or a sulfur mine. Then I noticed my skirt was wet. Things started clicking. I turned around and drove back to #6 Accosted in hopes of there being another white skirt I could change into. I found another, it was not an exact match but it was the best I could do. I kept the smelly and wet skirt with me, just case the smell went away, I could change back into it at the event. As I drove down Western -- once again -- heading for Tascosa, with little time to spare, the wet part of the skirt began to turn into a yellowish color. I arrived at the event and was told I had on the wrong skirt. I apologized. Thankfully, I was reassured it was OK, just this one time. But don’t repeat. Cheerleading is also a highly organized endeavor -- especially in Texas and the South. We also use balloons sometimes. The event went well and it seemed everyone enjoyed themselves. After a brief wrap up, we all said our good-byes. I got into my car and the smell was stronger, the heat most likely brought it out. I remember hoping no one else caught a whiff. Nowadays, folks would have probably thought it was marijuana. Not back then. As I drove to #6 Accosted, crossing the intersection of Plains and Western, it hit me. Psychopaths Never Confess Hannibal Anne had urinated on my uniform. No doubt. I was already anticipating the conversation with her. I was going to slow walk a confession if I could. I walked in the back door and could feel that Hannibal had been waiting for me. She looked excited, grinning. I stared at her across the kitchen. HANNIBAL How did everything go? ME It was fun! Think it went great for everyone! HANNIBAL Who all did you see and talk to? ME Everyone who was there. HANNIBAL How was your skirt? ME It was fine. I wore a different one. But it was fine. HANNIBAL Why didn’t you wear the one I was keeping safe for you? (Grin fading and turning upside down). ME You mean the one you peed on? HANNIBAL What do you mean? ME Well, let’s see. I know Myron’s dog -- Bubba Wendell -- did not pee on my skirt. I’ve cleaned up most of his messes, so I would know. And, since you were keeping it safe, who else could have peed on it? HANNIBAL Oh, you’re just imagining things. Stop being paranoid. No one peed on your skirt. ME Oh, really? Look. Do you want to smell the spot on my skirt? If you do, you will know it is not from Bubba. And we don’t even have cats. Do you think it was the tree frogs? HANNIBAL If that is urine, it would have to be from Myron’s dog. ME Pretty sure Bubba Wendell can’t open my bedroom door, which I had closed. He’s a good dog, but not that good. I knew it was Hannibal. I hand washed the skirt at first. Certainly, growing in an ag family, I had dealt with plenty of gross-level clean ups. It didn’t come out. Then I took it to the dry cleaner which worked. No more Hannibal mark on my skirt. It never got brought up again. Well, not between the two of us anyway. I am bringing it up now. I also told a lot of friends about it over the years. The reaction is usually a polite listen at the open of the story, then a wide open mouth when I reveal the pee portion, then “I’m so sorry. That is gross. What is wrong with her?” Or words to that effect. But really, I mostly forgot about it until . . . Anna Bananas . . . Now it’s 2021 I began reading books I found on psychopaths. One day I was reading The Mask of Sanity b

  6. Aug 21

    Meet My Uncle Bun and My Other Uncle Bun

    Image Courtesy of PFFK #7 A Tale of Two Carmons Today’s story starts out in Pineville, MO, a town of three people, and ends with a Trinket. This story also involves Carmon Earl Jr. . . . often referred to (by me) as Carbomb Oil Jr., or just Carbomb Jr. Carbomb Jr. was Hannibal’s half brother. He was born in March 1940 to Hannibal’s dad -- Carmon Sr. -- and his first wife, Mary Ellen Happy (her actual name, for some reason). I don’t think she was too happy, though, because they got divorced in 1944 for the cause of “dessertion”. It is not clear who left whom. Back then “no-fault” divorce did not exist, so you had to have a valid reason for getting a divorce -- e.g., “cruelty”. “infidelity”, “dissertion”, etc. And in small towns back then, life’s every coming and going -- like out of town visitors, who they were visiting, recent events at the Elk River Extension Club, petty and serious crimes, and also divorces -- were reported in the local Newspaper. That is how I found the divorce record. Anyway, Mary Ellen died in 1958, so I don’t think she had a happy life, and I think Carbomb Jr. had something to do with that. He will figure into our story much later, as more fully explained below. McDonald’s is your Kind of Place . . . McDonald county MO, that is. The county seat is Pineville, a town of three people. Garden City Telegram, Monday, July 11, 1960 Hold Man for Six Charges Carmen Puryear, 20-year old former convict, is held in the McDonald County jail on two counts of attempted r*pe, two charges of kidnaping and two charges of grand larceny. A juvenile also was arrested and turned over to juvenile authorities in connection with the attack Saturday night near Noel, MO. Officers said Puryear and the juvenile came upon a stalled car occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair Rogers and Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Chenoweth of Cassville, MO. Puryear offered to push the Rogers car. It failed to start and he offered to take Chenoweth and Rogers to Lanagan, MO to seek a mechanic. Officers said Puryear left Chenoweth and Rogers in Lanagan, returned to the stalled car and told the women their husbands were waiting for him to drive them to Lanagan. Authorities said Puryear turned off on a country road and attacked the women. [END] Here is the article. Image courtesy of the Internet This 20 year old Carmen Puryear is the exact same half-brother of Hannibal mentioned above. I have yet to find a redeeming human from Pineville, MO, a town of three people. So, the attempted r*pe took place on July 9, 1960 and Carbomb Jr. was swiftly convicted. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison. Not to worry though, because in August 1960 he sawed his way out of prison and escaped. I think he probably had help from someone either inside or outside of the prison. But not to worry though, he was caught hiding in a kitchen cabinet in his grandmother’s house in nearby Noel, MO, a town of 3 other people, and sentenced to another 2 years. Needless to say, it gets worse. After being released, Carbomb Jr., was busted violating the Dyer Act in 1966, which covers transporting stolen automobiles across state lines, in this case from Ada, OK, to Perryton TX up there in the Panhandle and about 40 miles East of Gruver. Then there are the odd DWI’s, larceny, selling mortgaged property convictions. All in all, not a desirable member of one’s family. I couldn’t find much on Carbomb Jr. Though here he is in Anderson HS in 1952. Source: Ancestry He looks like Myron. Here he is in Joplin in 1956. He’s in the front row, fourth from the left. I put a red arrow for your convenience. You’re welcome! Source: Ancestry Me used to be angry young man! His mother, Mary Ellen, died in Yolo, CA in 1958, just a few years after this picture was taken. I doubt she was even in Missouri when Carbomb Jr. was growing up. My Aunt Eldna -- Hannibal’s sister -- recently told me that Carbomb Jr. was spoiled by his grandmother. Eldna had no idea about Carbomb Jr.’s criminal past. More on that later. Don’t want to give the story away too quick. . . . Hamburgers in your Face Before we move on to the actual story, let me tell you a little bit about Pineville MO, a town of three people. It is the county seat of McDonald county MO, which itself borders Oklahoma to the West and Arkansas to the South. Joplin MO is 45 miles to the North which is just a step away from Kansas. So, from Pineville, MO, a town of three people, you can be across state lines in minutes. Most people think Oklahoma is all sand and nothing else. That is not the case. The area just across the border from McDonald county, MO, is leafy and hilly, with lots of hiding spots. This is where the 1930s bank robbers would hang out after robbing a bank in another state. Bonnie and Clyde came through these parts. Arnold Landers, the criminal who stole cattle from my Grandfather in 1979 -- among many other misdeeds -- lives there in a town called Grove. Last time I checked, anyway. And then there’s Northwest Arkansas, which is even closer. And we know what goes on in Northwest Arkansas! I call this area the Devil’s Triangle. Here is a Junior Roadmap from 1939 to give you an idea. Source: Internet Archive; Remix by PFFK #7 Wynnter in Vegas February 20, 2011 I had just returned from my 2nd best trip to Vegas and was in Amarillo. Some people don’t love Vegas. I didn’t always either. For this part of my life, I enjoyed it. That is back when Steve Wynn ran the Wynn, and I would often see him strolling by with a few staff members in tow. I’m not sure how many hotels I have been a guest in, it’s a lot. More than 50. Maybe even more than 100. Steve Wynn, by far, was the most present and hands on owner / manager I have ever seen. In 2011, I stayed at the Wynn Encore which had just opened back in late 2008. We were still in the midst of the financial crises and the place was empty. No on at the bars or restaurants. It was like hiding in plain sight. The Wynn has these amazing flower features in the form of hot air balloons, merry-go-rounds and much more. Here is a picture I took in on Christmas Day 2013. Image Courtesy of PFK #7 This was also back when Paul Bartolotta had a fantastic restaurant in the Wynn. It was called “Bartolotta” for some reason. The bartender there was named Rich. Great guy who always had the best things to say about Steve Wynn. And always called him “Mr. Wynn”. Treated his staff well, Rich said. Unless you crossed him, of course, then you were a “Piranha Non Grata“. I always loved that place. They had this really cool hanging sculpture made up of golden fish. Here is a pic, also from Christmas 2013. Image Courtesy of PFK #7 Anyway, the Vegas Bartolotta closed in 2015. Rich the Bartender told us that Mr. Wynn “requested” Mr. Bartolotta spend more time in Vegas, which is not in Wisconsin, where his several other restaurants are. Mr. Bartolotta declined, so Wynn told him to fork off. In 2011, you could also get some of the best Peking duck in the U.S. from Wing Lei at the Wynn. They are the first Chinese restaurant in North America to earn a Michelin Star (2008). I have had Peking Duck in Hong Kong and China and always enjoyed it. I could not find good Peking Duck in the U.S., though, until I came across Wing Lei. As for going to Vegas for gambling, I don’t know how to gamble and don’t want to. We are probably some of the only people to go to Vegas and never gamble. Not even one time. Two Booms for the Price of One For one of my birthday celebrations in 2004, I was at The Wynn with my good friend Salmonella (not her real name). We were out late and immediately crashed when we got back to our room. Around 2 am, Vegas time, there was a massive explosion outside with huge flames and smoke. It was LITERALLY right outside of our room. This happened not too many years after 9/11. So we freaked out and grabbed our jewelry, ran out the door and headed for the elevator. We were wondering if there was anything else, valuable or passports, etc., we should have grabbed. It was quite frenzied. When we got to the lobby, frantic and out of breath, we asked the front desk what was happening. “Didn’t you see the letter?” “What letter?”, I replied. “The letter we slipped under the door yesterday?” [oooh, that letter, I said to myself in square brackets] “To notify guest there would be an overnight implosion. “ Ooops. I LITERALLY did not get the memo. Anyway, the Palms and St. Andrews parts of the Desert Inn were being demolished to build the Wynn Encore. When Steve Wynn was in charge, I always felt safe there. These were the years where I was so jetlagged, I never really knew what time it was, unless I had an upcoming flight. So Vegas was great because there were many nice places open 24 hours a day. Another bonus there is In n’ Out. One of my favorite breakfast spots is Tableau and the best waiter there is from Dumas. Back then a filet at SW was $45, present day priced at $118. Back then, they served my favorite coffee and straws came with your drink. And they were plastic. And you didn’t have to ask. By the way, I had dinner with Steve Wynn in 2018 at Wing Lei on the day he stepped down. I also had dinner with him at Wazuzu the night before when he was on the phone with his lawyer, I think. And by, “I had dinner with”, I totally mean I was at a nearby table. Careful not to look in that general direction to avoid getting thrown out by Andrea. There is a really cool Catholic church just across the street to the North of the Wynn. It is the Guardian Angel Cathedral, designed as an A-Frame by Paul R. Williams, who was a very talented architect. OK. I know what you are thinking. There is no evidence of even ONE Uncle Bun, let alone two, in this story. Have I lost my Vulcan mind? Uncle Bun in the Second Degree Back to February 20, 2011. In Amarillo at my sister’s(?) hous

  7. Aug 14

    Nosey Porker

    All psychopaths do it. They are good at it. They enjoy it. This is what they look like while snooping. Image Courtesy of PFFK #7; Vintage Leather Ottoman by Abercrombie & Kent Big Ol’ Jet Airliner OK, today’s story begins with a little girl on an airplane and ends with a lesson. Air travel back in the mid-80s was more pleasant. At least when you are an adorable little girl, like in this picture. Source: Me My sister(?) is behind me just inside the chain link fence -- which I would say is pretty appropriate imagery. I think that is my Aunt Ju Ju laying down behind her. Because it is definitely not Hannibal Anne. Because I wouldn’t be smiling if it were. I am at the newly dedicated swimming pool in Hansford county. You know, the one where I appeared in an ad on local TV for fundraising. And where my mom, Hannibal, got a job so she could start using her recently issued SSN and, maybe, change her identity or, just maybe, wipe out some past one? Just sayin’. So, back to the story. It’s the mid-1980s. I’m on a commercial aircraft flying from Dallas back to Amarillo then on to Hansford County. I’m looking out the window watching the Palo Duro Canyon roll by and begin to disappear in the distance. On either side of the canyon, you will see squares of land arranged like a checkerboard, some with perfectly round green circles. Here is a picture from Google Earth. Source: Google Earth God’s Checkers I remember looking out at this scene and imagining a giant game of checkers being played by the Gods, where the loser threw a milkshake and cookies across the board in frustration. If this were a movie scene, it would go something like this. INT -- COMMERCIAL AIRPLANE -- DAY Mid-1980s. A 737 aircraft. Plush blue woven seat covers. We hear a constant wooshing sound as the aircraft is in flight. An adorable little blonde-haired girl is sitting in a window seat looking out. This is LITTLE BLONDE GIRL. She is sitting on top of a small pillow, her legs are dangling down off the seat, not touching the floor. She’s wearing red converse sneakers and white sockletts. We see her blondie wavy curls as she stares out the window -- her face just touching the window, fogging up part of it as she breathes. We reverse to see a close up of her clear blue eyes reflecting the view outside like on a tiny screen. We shift to LITTLE BLONDE GIRL’s point of view. Looking 37,000 ft below us we see land arranged in what looks like God’s checkerboard. Most of the squares are brown, some green. Interspersed, we see green perfectly round checkers formed from the center-pivot irrigation systems. Further off in the distance, we see a glaring, sandy, deep and undulating canyon system stretching as far as the eye can see from left to right as it disappears in the distance. That is Palo Duro Canyon. It looks like the loser of the game of checkers threw a milkshake and cookies over the board in frustration. LOOKING DOWN AISLE AT LITTLE GIRL EYE LEVEL We see a stewardess walking down the aisle from the front of the aircraft, as she approaches LITTLE BLONDE GIRL, she crops out on top and we can only see her legs and up to her hips as we are at eye level. STEWARDESS stops and speaks to the little girl. STEWARDESS Hey sweety. We’re almost to Amarillo. Would you like a snack or a drink before we land? LITTLE BLONDE GIRL No, thank you. I’m OK. Are my parents going to be there when we land? I think I will be able to see them from the air. STEWARDESS I am sure they will be there. Who wouldn’t be there for such a sweet little girl like you? Are you sure you don’t want a snack? We have ALL kinds! LITTLE BLONDE GIRL ALL kinds? Do you have any pretzels? I love pretzels. STEWARDESS Umm, let me look. [Fiddling through bag.] No, I don’t see any pretzels. LITTLE BLONDE GIRL Do you have any cheese curls? I love cheese curls. STEWARDESS Umm, let me look. No, I don’t see any cheese curls. We have M&Ms, Good N’ Plenty, Snickers bars. Raisins? Who would want raisins? LITTLE BLONDE GIRL No thank you, I don’t really like sweet things. Do you have any potato chips? STEWARDESS Why, yes. We have regular salted. We have ruffled. We have salt n’ vinegar. I don’t think you want those. We have Jalepeno. You definitely don’t want those. LITTLE BLONDE GIRL Ummm. Can I have some ruffled chips and a glass of water? STEWARDESS Sure can. I’ll come by and pick that up when you are done. Here let me help you fasten your seatbelt. DISSOLVE TO: INT -- SMALL COMMUTER AIRPLANE -- DAY Present day. A small commuter aircraft with one aisle. Mid-flight. On the right side of the aisle, we see a row of two small cramped seats. On the left side, we see only a single set of seats. There is not even enough headroom in the aircraft to stand fully up. Forget about overhead storage! We see the same LITTLE BLONDE GIRL -- now decades later as a grown woman. She is staring out the window at the same checkerboard pattern below and the same stunning Palo Duro Canyon. Nothing seems changed by time, she thinks. The plane jumps, rattles and clangs like a Vegas slot machine hitting the jackpot as we hit turbulence. A ding. A female voice says: VOICE The Captain has turned on the fasten seat-belt sign. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. As we are about to begin our descent, please place your seatbacks in their original upright position. When we arrive, please collect any trash or other items in the seat backs in front of you and empty them in the bin at the front of the aircraft” So much for modern air travel. If this were a Martin Scorsese movie, the scene would abruptly vibrate and shake, then do a full 360º spin around, making everyone in the audience LITERALLY airsick and lose their popcorn. In order to convey the bumpiness of the ride, and all. Serious film-makers do that. Audiences just get nauseous. And yes, I am referring to the 1991 Cape Fear movie with Robert De Niro. No, I did not like the “edgy” camera tricks. Lost my sea legs and almost lost my popcorn. So much for modern air travel . . . and Scorsese movies. Although, I will say the new Cape Fear series on Apple TV is good. I do think the Javier Badem was much better as Anton Chigur in No Country For Old Men. The single most dark and menacing character in any movie I have ever seen. Though he looked a lot taller in that movie. Second Largest Ball of Sand Fun Fact Alert #1: According to my extensive research on the Internet, Palo Duro Canyon is second largest canyon in the U.S. I couldn’t figure out what the largest one is. The main river bed is called Prairie Dog Town Fork of Red River -- talk about a mouthful. It’s almost all sand with very little water. Sometimes when it rains, you will get run-off gushing through the river bed I guess the Prairie Dogs should have picked a better spot to set up their little town. Along the river, there are probably a hundred other names of smaller creek beds, like Coyote Creek, Pleasant Creek, Bitter Creek, Potato Salad Creek, Uppa Creek, Creek by the Ocean, etc. The Canyon rides on top of a narrow ridge with green shrubs and outgrowth highlighting the old creek and river beds. Fun Fact Alert #2: Georgia “O’Queeffe” lived in the area in the 1916 - 1918 and painted a few pictures of the Canyon. Like these. I guess Palo Duro Canyon looked different back in 1918. Because this looks like the insides of a horny-toad’s mouth. Nevermind the Travelogue OK. Back to the story. And, no, this is not about air travel or scenery, as beautiful as it is, or about swimming pools. Or even Canyons. This is a story about flying in to Amarillo and setting up Hannibal’s AirPods because she allegedly wanted to listen to a music playlist that she (meaning I) was going to set up. The real purpose was to eavesdrop. Listen, Do I Want to Know Your Secrets? Answer: Yes. So say all the psychopaths. Snooping is one of their core skills. They are very good at it. They do it for a lot of reasons. They could be just gathering background information. Or looking to see what a real human does -- in order to copy it. Or they could be looking for blackmailable information. More likely, they would snoop to see if anyone is on to them. Of course, they don’t consider it snooping. They believe everything in someone else’s possession -- including information -- really belongs to them, so they are entitled to take it. Toucan-Totem People who constantly snoop might be called Nosey Parkers. In the old days, they were also called “Sticky-Beaks”, as in “hey, don’t stick your beak in my business”. If snooping psychos had a spirit totem animal, it would surely be a Toucan. Like in this picture. Image Courtesy of PFFK #7; Toucan by Sergio Bustamante Tortured Tales The following is based on real events. Certain scenes and dialogue have been tortured, traumatized, or totally made up. So, Hannibal Anne wanted AirPods, so she gets AirPods. She seemed a little more excited than usual. Like most tech things, setting them up is very simple yet also very difficult. So, she just makes others, typically me, set them up for her. The AirPods were no different. She began calling often. Hannibal Anne “Hey, I want AirPods. Can you order them and charge to Fredo’s card? How soon will they get here?” Me “Sure, I’m ordering them for you now. You should have them in a few days.” I ordered them from my account, I might add. I did not charge them to Fredo’s card. A couple of days go by. Hannibal Anne rings me while I’m working in a place where I do work. Hannibal Anne “Can you track the AirPods? Can you fly in and set up for me?” I track the AirPods while on the phone and tell Hannibal they should be arriving in the next 2 - 3 days. Hannibal Anne “Hey, when are you going to be in Amarillo next? [Your Nieces] really miss you. And, when you get here you can set up the AirP

  8. Aug 7

    Have Gun Will Travel Part 1 For All Subscribers

    If this were a Hitchcock opening, it might open like this. EXT. #6 Accosted -- Back Drive Way -- Night Time We see a white Suburban parked in the driveway, just beyond the automatic garage door. The Suburban is packed to rooftops with suitcases, boxes, house goods and other miscellaneous items. The garage door explodes open, squeaking and quaking as it rides up its rails. A light comes on as the door rises. We see a lurking figure, dressed in all black, in the garage just visible in the background. She slowing emerges from the garage and approaches the Suburban. Her chicken-fat colored hair sparkling and reflecting the nearby street light. The full moon above gives her a slight but long shadow that looks like a Punch and Judy silhouhette -- which is a word I can never spell -- with a jutting out jutting jaw. Or maybe Mrs. Frankenstein. In the background, we hear black birds cackling, screeching and tutting like cranky bagpipes. As she emerges further from the dimly lit garage, we see she is carrying an item in each hand. In her left hand she has the car remote. In her right hand she is carrying a cognac colored puffy leather pouch -- the kind used to carry pistols. The chicken-fat haired figure clicks the remote. The door locks pop up. Her hand slowly and quietly pulls the passenger side door handle as the interior light comes on. Close on the bottom of the passenger seat. We see some change that had been dropped inadvertently on the floor mat in front of the seat – three quarters, two dimes and a penny. Bending over, she cracks a smile, and we see her grey wrinkly hand slide the cognac colored puffy leather pouch under the passenger seat. She reaches over to the coins and grabs the three quarters. Wider: The chicken-fat hair colored figure retreats to the garage. Presses a button and the garage door closes. EXT. Oklahoma Highway -- Day We dissolve to the dry Oklahoma country side. The Sun is passing into the afternoon. We are looking overhead at the white Suburban as it glides down Highway 40. Just off the highway to the left we see the Cherokee Casino & Hotel Roland gleaming in the distance. Like Ayers Rock. We follow the Suburban a few miles until we see a blue and white sign that says “Welcome To Arkansas, The Nature State”, just outside of Fort Smith. Cut to front view of the Suburban as it continues down the highway. We see police lights flashing in the rear -- far away, but rapidly approaching. The Suburban pulls over to the side of the road. A police officer steps out of his car and approaches, his right hand on his holster. What happened? Was it a routine traffic stop? Was the pouch a plant and the police received a tip-off about some or other kind of contraband? Tune in to next week’s Episode to find out! Just kidding. I tell the story here. Since this isn’t a Hitchcock movie (well, not yet anyway), I will tell the story my way. Back to Reality What is this? I was looking at a zipped and padded cognac colored leather pouch -- the kind used to carry pistols. Nice pouch, I thought. Considering the compact size, it was heavy. I bounced it in my hands a few times, before unzipping it. There it was, a nickel plated Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver. A model 36 -- I would later find out, which chambers five .38 Special rounds. It was introduced in the 1950s and was originally called the Chief Special. It is a pretty smallish, but handy, revolver. I picked it up and opened the cylinder to check that it was unloaded. It was. I also found five rounds -- with “Speer .38 Special” written on the shell base surrounding the primer. Metal jacket with lead hollow points. They looked like police rounds to me. I have to say, it is a surprisingly comfortable pistol. I would totally choose this revolver if I were shopping for revolvers. The weight is balanced -- like a Wustoff knife. It is small enough to fit in a handbag. Here is a picture. Image Courtesy of PFFK#7; Bar Cart by Alvar Aalto More of a women’s gun, I’d say. So I imagine no self-respecting Police Chief would be caught alive with this model in his side holster. Do Police Chiefs have side holsters? I think they probably have shoulder holsters strapped on left arm of their white shirt, concealed under their Police Chief blazer, next to a red tie -- fastened with a tie clip, of course -- and finished off with gray pants and brown flat leather shoes. No black! At least that’s what TV would have you believe. So, anyway, the Smith & Wesson Company stopped calling it the Chief Special in 1957. Based on the serial number, it was made sometime between 1976 and 1977 -- when adorable little me was born! Here’s adorable little me after being woken up late one night. I call this one Mommy Can I Have a Drink of Water? Image Courtesy of PFFK#7 Burban and Croak It is 2016. My mom, Hannibal, had somehow convinced Fredo to “let” me borrow the white, 2011 Suburban for a cross country drive. She also very helpfully loaded it up with a bunch of home type items, many sourced from Homegoods, T.J. Max, or Tuesday Morning. Faux Chinese looking blue porcelain vases. For what? Outdoor hanging lanterns. Mexican brightly colored ponchos like Clint Eastwood might have worn in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Great movie, by the way. There are two kinds of people. Those that shop at Homegoods. And those that don’t. These things were definitely not my taste, but you know what they say, don’t look a gift horse in the as . . . oooops, I mean . . . the mouth. This was back in 2016 remember, when I thought my family and my mom, in particular, had my back and really honestly wanted to help me out. Nowadays, I wonder if she had a secret covetous plan to take over my house -- make it her trinket house -- and so was pre-furnishing it with her crapola. Or as my Niece would say, she was Junkerating. I recently came across a picture I had taken maybe in 2014. In the picture, she is sitting at the dining table staring at a picture of the house I was moving into. Back then, I thought she was evaluating the house. It took on a whole new meaning when I saw it this time. Hey Baby, You’re an OnStar There was another reason Hannibal convinced Fredo to “let” me borrow the Suburban. It is a GMC vehicle, so it comes equipped with OnStar. OnStar tracks everything you do. It tracks all calls you make or receive. Your mileage. How fast your drive. Your GPS locations. It even takes pictures of locations. And stores it ALL in a hard drive that is buried deep under the center console of the vehicle. The GMC Company does not tell you that, and good luck finding any information online about it. That is, any “official” information. There are a bunch of video tutorials out there how to access the system. It is not that complicated, but tedious because the hard drive is really hard to access. You need to remove a bunch of plastic panels and floor mats. Once you do that, however, you will find a cable connection with a USB connector. You can unplug that, plug it into a USB cable, and access whatever is on the hard drive. Oh yeah, OnStar can also be used to monitor your conversations and at least where you are. There were several times I’d be driving along and, all of a sudden, OnStar would be calling the car. It would actually ring, and you could see a phone number pop up on the center display. OnStar can also be used to lock the car doors, which it (i.e., one of Hannibal or Myron) did when I mistakenly left the keys in the car. Not to worry, that’s when I learned you can get these inflatable packs that slide into the door gap, allowing you to pry open the door just enough to get to the door locks. Thanks OnStar . . . and Hannibal. Crossing the Line So, here I am in the fully stocked Suburban making a 1,500 mile trip from Amarillo to somewhere that is not Amarillo to Junkerate my house. The trip took me a few days. The first night, we made it to Memphis and stayed at the Peabody Hotel. The lobby is fantastic, with an invigorating Old South feel. You can almost smell the sweet pipe smoke, sweat and bourbon. Also, there’s lots of ducks in the indoor fountain . . . for some reason. The rooms were ehhh. After checking in, we went out for some famous Memphis Ribs and Brisket. Ummmm, famous for what? Rudy’s in Amarillo has much better ribs. Also, better brisket by a country-fried mile. The second night I think we stopped in Indianapolis. At least I think it was Indianapolis. It apparently did not make much of an impression, other than it can be a real pain in the button-hole to get from the Interstate to down-town. If you miss your exit -- which is easy to do at night -- you just keep driving a giant circle. Anyway, after driving across numerous state lines, and unpacking the Suburban, I learned the Smith & Wesson Model 36 revolver, which chambers five rounds, was somehow planted under the passenger’s side seat. How could this happen? More importantly, why did this happen? To Wall or Not to Wall This Episode may involve crime, safety and the law -- allegedly -- and is potentially one of the more serious ones. So, I am just going to go ahead and put the paywall in. OK. A little bit more before that happens. Back to the Picture It’s 2016. I have arrived at the end of my 1,500 mile trip and begin to unpack the Suburban. “What is this?” “Oh crap!” I find the puffy leather pouch under the passenger’s side seat. Enclosed in the pouch was Hannibal’s gun. That’s right, her nickel plated .38 Special, Model 36. With five rounds. I did remember this revolver. However, the wooden handgrips on the one I remember looked different. More on that later. From the time I was learning words -- like “ho my mother” which I wrote in a birthday card for Hannibal or I should say was forced to write -- I was taught about gun safety. Over and over. From my Grandparents mostly. Hanniba

  9. Aug 4

    High School Hi-Jenks

    Mryon started high school at Amarillo High, which is in Amarillo. Then, midway through his Junior year, he switched to a school in Jenks, OK -- which is in Oklahoma -- allegedly to play baseball and football. At least that was the explanation my dad, Fredo, offered up, but even back then it made zero sense. Now it makes less than zero sense. Nobody knows why Myron was sent off to Jenks, OK. A lot of people still remember it -- even though it happened more than 20 years ago -- and still bring it up. The commentary is always the same. Like “that was really odd”. Or “he must have been a good athlete [he wasn’t. Was he an ath-hole? Prolly]”. Or “Fredo’s explanations were all very vague.” Or “It happened so quick. Myron was here one day and then, all of a sudden, he was gone”. And other tales. Just the other day, a friend I used to play softball and T-Ball with back in Hansford county, mentioned it to me. Without me asking. So I decided the next Episode woukd be about Jenks, OK. Plus, we are entering football season, with two a days in full swing. By the way, my friend comes from Rodeo Royalty I mentioned in an earlier Episode -- “Hotlips Hooligans“. I hope to have an ongoing series called The Rodeo Royalties, telling some of these stories. Believe me, a lot happens in the Rodeo world that the rest of us civilians never hear about. Someone once told me that Rodeo folks are just like other people -- just more so. But First a Word from Ourselves I have now added voiceovers to all Episodes -- except Motion Picture Mama, because that’s just a short video of my adorable self when I was around 12 months old . . . and adorable. The voiceovers are a full 9 hours, 10 minutes and 30 seconds, give or take, all in my certified 100% human voice. I hope to include voiceovers in all future Episodes, and I guess we’ll just have to see how that works out, now won’t we. Also, on another side note. I have been trying out some of the old Polaroid cameras. You can get some really raw and real photos. The cameras are available on places like E-bay and new film is being made for some of them. Anyway, here’s a selfie I took. I call it My Selfie Shtick. Image courtesy of PFFK#7 A Brake in the Action Freshly cut brake lines! I previously told you the story of Myron being accused of cutting brake lines at a wedding reception in Amarillo. The wedding party included several people from Jenks, OK. Myron went to high school in 2002 - 2003 his Junior and Senior years -- to play baseball and football -- for some totally unkown reason. Most of the Jenks, OK, guests were Myron’s football teammates. At this wedding reception, Myron had gotten into a loud shouting match at the bar with one of these teammates. Apparently it was pretty heated, though. I asked someone who was in earshot what happened. She told me (a) the entire Jenks, OK, football team hated Myron and (b) they accused Myron of throwing games. I defended Myron at the time, but now I believe he probably did throw some games or at least had a hand in throwing them. I will explain why I believe that shortly. Anway, the next morning, the Jenks, OK, teammate that Myron was fighting with got to his car, started it up, pressed the brakes. Instead of being firm and responsive, they were squishy. The brake lines had been cut. By someone. Yet again, I defended Myron at the time, but now I believe he did it. Getting Jenky With It Jenks, OK, is a suburb of Tulsa, where I am told nothing good ever happens. Jenks was not part of Texas back then and is in fact 360 miles away from Amarillo. So, how did Myron end up at a High School 360 miles away in Oklahoma? In his Junior and Senior years. To play baseball and football? Here is what I know and what I think happened. There are still a bunch of missing gaps, because the only 3 or 4 people who know the real story aren’t telling it. Jenks, OK, back then had a good reputation for churning out football players who get scholarships to some of the better Oklahoma based Universities. Not the “other” ones like Oklahoma Baptist -- which is also a very fine school -- where Myron ended up attending but never graduating. Myron went 0 for 3 in the graduating from college stats, as it turns out. I think that is worthy of some kind of award. I mean, I can see not graduating from one or even two colleges. But three? That takes some dedication and has to be a World Record. In fact, some (like me) might go so far as to say Myron excels at failing. So, Jenks had a good football program. Go Trojans! The coach was Coach Allan Trimble. He was in his thirties and had a good reputation in OK. During his 22 seasons, he led the team to 13 state championships. From 1996 - 2006, Jenks, OK, won state in every year, except one. Anyone care to guess what year Jenks, OK, did not win state? Coach Trimble, who was a celebrated football coach in Oklahoma, died at the age of 56 in 2019. Nobody in Texas had really heard him, though. And, besides, if you want to have a good shot at a football scholarship, you’d pick Texas over Oklahoma. Myron started High School at Amarillo High, so did my sister(?) -- which is odd because I went to Tascosa and did pretty well there, everybody says so. Either way, both Tascosa and Amarillo High were division 1-A schools. Both had big athletic programs. Both had talented football coaches and teams. Also, big stadiums (stadia?). Tascosa’s was bigger, of course. It was called the Big Dick Bivens Stadium. And the students at Tascosa were much smarter and better looking. Also, nicer. And friendlier. I made a lot of friends there among a bunch of different groups, including the kids with Mohawks, who I met when I got put into detention for starting a fight with someone who totally deserved it. I was fascinated with the Mohawk kids and kept asking them all kinds of questions. Like how they got them to stay up (lots of hair-do gel, nowadays called “product”). Or how they kept them straight when they went to bed. And stuff like that. I knew the kid who got killed in a hit and run by some school bullies in the parking lot of a the IHOP in 1997. His name was Brian Denke, and he was a really nice kid. I felt bad for his family. The person who killed him got 10 years probation. None of his other accomplices were tried. There is a movie about it called Bomb City. I couldn’t watch it. I Thought this Story was About Trojans Not Mohawks OK, back to Jenks, OK. It’s early 2002, maybe January or February. I am living in Fort Worth and working in Dallas. My dad, Fredo, calls. I was having a salad from this really good local deli in Fort Worth called Yogi’s -- you know, like the Berra. FREDO “We are sending Myron to Jenks, OK, to finish up High School. They have a good football program.” ME “Ummm, what? You’re sending Myron to Jinks, in Oklahoma. What is that? Where is that?” FREDO “It’s a High School in Jenks, nearby Tulsa. The coach has won the state the last 6 years and a lot of their football players get scholarship to top schools.” ME “What’s wrong with Amarillo High? They have a really good program.” FREDO “The coach doesn’t like Myron [oh, what a surprise?], so Myron’s skills are not being used.” That in itself was funny. Myron was a terrible athlete. He maybe could have been a good one, but he is lazy, undisciplined and believes too much in short-cuts. And steroids. The conversation continued. ME “I think that’s a bad idea. Texas is a much better football state than Oklahoma. He’s only 17. Tulsa is kinda sketch, isn’t it? Where is he going to live?” FREDO “We’ll get him an apartment.” FREDO -- Later Phone Call “Myron and another transfer student will live together.” FREDO -- Even Later Phone Call “He’ll live with the Coach.” ME “The Coach? That’s against the rules in Texas. He’ll be disqualified.” FREDO “The rules in Oklahoma are different.” Side note: Through all my research and Nancy Drew activity, I can tell you all the rules in Oklahoma are different, and not in a good way. Texas records are quite good. You can find most things, except what gets scrubbed from the internet. Oklahoma’s are not. Back to Jenks. Sending Myron to Jenks was not bad enough, however, as they made me go to a few of Myron’s games and then to his graduation. They even made my Grandmother go to a few. It was a long freaking drive. Amarillo to Jenks is over 5 hours -- probably longer back then. Strangely enough, Fort Worth to Jenks is a bit shorter -- around 4 hours -- because of the highways. When I went to the first game, I looked around and thought I was in the warm-up bleachers not the actual stadium. I was wrong. This was a small school compared to Tascosa. How was this even division 1, I thought. Over the years, the story got more and more vague and the rational changed. Literally no one who heard about Myron going to play football in Jenks, OK, had any idea why. My Aunt Ju Ju said not too long ago that sending Myron to Jenks made no sense and that Fredo could never come up with a good explanation. It just happened, and then it was forgotten. Except by me, and everyone else who heard about it. Seriously, the number of people who heard of this story and then mentioned it to me years later continues to grow. I will be talking to someone from Amarillo or Hansford county and they will pop out with an unsolicited comment about Myron going to Jenks, OK. It’s like the whole freaked out state knows, while my family pretends it never happened. Then there are the alternative explanations. Some think Myron was shipped out of Amarillo to avoid some kind of heat. S ome think Mryon was involved in gambling, sports betting and throwing games. Some think Myron was dealing roids. My cousin is a Texas Ranger. Do not mess with Texas Rangers. They are all very serious and hard working

  10. Jul 30

    Frequently Axed Questions #3

    Why indeed? Voiceover Update Before we start, I wanted to let you all know that I have added voiceovers -- in my real actual 100% human voice -- to the first 15 Episodes. All the way through K. Venomous -- It’s All About the Hannibals. A Myron Here and a Myron There . . . So, why do I call my brother(?) Myron, “Myron”? There are two reason. One longer and one shorter. I will start with the longer one. This story starts out in the early 1900s with a man named Joseph Boyer. Joseph was born in the mid 1800s on a farm in Pickering, Ontario. He later moved to the US and became and inventor and what they used to call an industrialist. He was bold, smart and wily, acquired the Burroughs Adding Machine Company, and became very wealthy. He was also very frugal. Despite his wealth, he was living in an apartment near his daughters when he died. Joseph died of pneumonia in October 1930 at the age of 82. His death was reported in both the New York Times and Time Magazine. The New York Times said J.A. Boyer Dead; A Noted Inventor; Chairman of the Board [and largest shareholder] of Burroughs Adding Machine Company Succumbs to Pneumonia. He Started as Machinist. To His Financial Ability Was Ascribed Rise of His Firm -- Devised Pneumatic Hammer Whatever that means. It sounds like a Haiku. Like this: Boyerism Started As Machinist Devised Pneumatic Hammer Pneumonia Killed Him However, I do quite like the reference to the pneumatic hammer, because I think of the Handbook as one. You know, relentlessly hammering psychopaths far and wide until they crumble. My Two Sons Joseph Boyer had five kids -- two sons and three daughters. His daughters married well and went on to live pretty good lives from what I can tell. His sons are a different story. His eldest son, Joseph Jr., was a swashbuckling man about town. He died in 1925 while competing at the Indianapolis 500. Autosports back then were life-threating. Some might have called him a hero. Nobody would call Joseph’s youngest son, Myron, a hero. Joseph had set up a trust for his children. All would share equally in the assets, except for Myron. He was given what’s known as a spendthrift trust -- basically the bare minimum required to avoid the whole thing being thrown out. There was one exception to Myron’s spendthrift trust -- if Myron had an offspring. Myron did not have an offspring when he died in 1928. His wife -- Laura -- also Canadian and seeing a big fat chunk of change she would be missing out on -- went over to Windsor, Canada, bought a baby, and insisted it was Myron’s. This led to years of litigation, where Laura claimed she was entitled to Myron’s share of the trust. She sued Joseph Boyer’s estate for $1.2 million. By the way, $1.2 million was a lot of money back then. P robably around $60 - $100 million today. Here is a picture of Laura Boyer. Not a looker, is all I can say. She has the darkness there, in her eyes. The Heir is not My Son The case went on for more than 10 years through trial courts and appeals courts. The trial court ruled in Laura Boyer’s favor, though the appeals court reversed that. It finally ended in 1939 when the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal. Joseph Boyer was lucky in that he had a son-in-law who was a brilliant lawyer. His name was Standish Backus. Standish probably set up the whole trust structure and then argued the entire case. The appeals court opinion is a hoot. Here are some choice quotes: · “Myron L. Boyer was a person of bad habits and of but very limited intelligence.” · “According to the testimony of [Laura Boyer], he had always been addicted to drinking to excess and his habits did not change at any time while she knew him except for a period of six months when, with the exception of one interval, he remained sober.” It turns out, Myron was in Texas for that one interval. More on that later. · “[Laura Boyer] testified that she went with Myron when he attended the third grade of the night school for a short time after their marriage;” · [Myron] later began an electrical course, but gave it up very shortly. · “Myron’s father hired a tutor for him at $125 a month.” By the way, $125 a month back then was a lot of money. I would say around $6,000 today or even more. · From 1916 to 1928, Myron earned a total of $966.21 in income, which works out to about $80 bucks a year. · “Moneys for the support of Myron and his wife were paid direct to the wife, or to those who furnished Myron with merchandise, professional services, or maintenance.” The rest of the opinion is arcane arguments about trusts, secondary trusts, and constructive trusts. Myron denied the purchased infant was his. According to the opinion, Myron signed a Bill (i.e., an affidavit”) saying: “ Laura Boyer devised and acted out a pretended pregnancy with the connivance of a physician and nurse, and pretended to give birth to a child . . . . The bill states how Mrs. Boyer tricked Myron by securing a newly-born infant from the Hotel Dieu in Windsor, Ontario, and led Myron to believe that said child had been born in lawful wedlock with the said Laura Boyer.” Given Myron was a drug addled drunkard, he probably did not actually sign the affidavit himself. Someone else did, I bet. Here is Myron’s obit. By the way, the Hotel Dieu still exists. It was originally built in the late 1800s as a hospital for black people who had migrated out of the South to find better lives, and later for indigent people and unwed mothers. I Would Like to Return this Story This is not the one I ordered. OK. I know what you are thinking. What does this long -- yet wildly enticing -- story have to do with my own Myron? Why indeed? There are, as it turns out, also two answers to that question. Will the Real Myron Please Stand-up Myron -- is a person of bad habits and of but very limited intelligence. The other Myron died in 1928. My Myron doesn’t do a lick of work, has no detectable intelligence, no discernable skills -- other than working out and taking steroids, but those aren’t skills. Yet, somehow thinks he is the greatest human that ever existed. He is actually pretty good at getting my dad, Fredo, to pay for everything -- even buying him a house with my money. Myron seems to believe that ordinary people should be lining up to shovel money and free work at him. Just because being in Myron’s presence is payment enough. Most narcissists think the same way. They don’t just think it. They totally believe it. El Clon | El Payaso (The Clone | The Clown) The two Myrons are one and the same. Insane Clown Picture Like in this picture. Image Courtesy of PFFK#7 Clowns sit around all day, in their big clown shoes, doing their small clown things, and somehow think they deserve everything. Like this. Image Courtesy of PFFK#7 When Myron was young I ordered a clown for his birthday. The clown showed up. Did his act. And Myron was pissed. I think he thought I was calling him a clown. To this day, if you refer to him as a clown -- even in a joking way -- he gets angry. And then my dad, Fredo, will call me and berate me for calling Myron a clown. It’s not an insult if it’s true. In my totally First Amendment protected opinion, Myron is down on the narcissist side of the psychopath spectrum. Narcissists have extremely thin skins. Anything that threatens to break down their wall of pretend greatness usually results in anger. I reckon that, buried way down deep, they know they are failures. Oh yeah, according to an ex-girlfriend of his, he has a tattoo of a “ball-sack” (her words) on his stomach or something. I want to tell some of her stories here, if she is OK with that. They will paint a much fuller picture of what Myron is. Texas Told ‘Em Here is the other reason I am using Myron Boyer as a guide. Because of the Texas connection. There usually is one. To everything. Nowadays, Marfa, TX is an internationally celebrated art and design destination, located in Southwest TX and not far from the Mexican border. Back in the 1920s, Marfa and surrounding towns were just more dirt, and were more famous for smuggling Mexican contraband, like cattle and liquor. Joseph Boyer owned a share in a giant ranch down there which snuggled up against the Mexican border. The part-owner and rancher was a man named Owen Curtis Dowe -- known simply as “O. C.” O.C. Dowe was a lawman, a Customs officer, a rancher and . . . not surpisingly . . . an occasional smuggler. For example, he was known to keep confiscated contraband -- especially liquor. The following is taken from a history of the Circle Dug Ranch, in Candelaria TX. For Texas history buffs, it is a good read. Here is the link. Circle Dug Ranch History “Spoiled and rebellious, Myron had been kicked out of several private schools by the time he turned eighteen. His father thought it might be a good idea to send the boy to Texas in an attempt to dry him out or at least get him out of the elder Boyer’s hair. In a 1925 letter Dowe wrote, ‘I have Myron Boyer of Detroit here and have been running around with him. His father is . . . paying me big wages to tryand do something with this boy. He has been drinking very hard for several years and I am trying to get him on his feet. I get $600.00 per month and want to try to get this boy straightened out if I can.’ [$600 big ones was a lot of money back then. Probably $30,000 in today’s small ones.] “At first Dowe tried to keep Myron on the ranch and teach the young man how to be a cowboy. . . .[Ha Ha] . . . Myron hated the ranch and ran away several times. Dowe corresponded with Joseph Boyer about Myron’s progress saying at one point in 1926 he thought Myron had not taken a drink in three weeks and seemed to be doing better. [I think this was the one time Laura Boyer was referring to when Myron was ever sober.] “Then Myron ran off again and demanded his father buy him a new Lincoln automobi

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The Unkillable Handbook. Dissecting the Counterfeit Human. www.theunkillablehandbook.com

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