Established in 1999 to promote
the history and culture of the
American cowboy.
A periodic publication.
Copyrighted 2011 and all rights reserved by
Stan Paregien.
Issue 44
November 2,
2011
Page 1
Well, sorta. What we did was to look through our overstocked supply of collectables---Western books (some autographed), belt buckles, Western shirts, bolo ties, dolls, plates, 1950s car replicas, and much more--- and put some 50 of them up for auction on Ebay. It was a pretty emotional thing, sorta like putting our kids up for sale, because some of the items we've had in our home for 30 years or so. But it needed to be done. The current items will end the 7-day auction run on Tuesday, Nov. 8th. Then shortly after that we'll make one more major listing, and then the last one for this year will start on Sunday, December 4th.
Here's how to see everything we have listed on Ebay:
A.
Our pard Jim Garling and his manager/handler/photographer/friend/wife, Doris, have been putting a heap of miles on their pick-'em-up truck this year. Lots of folks are discovering, it seems, just what a talented singer and musician (guitar & fiddle) he really is. Plus, ol' Jim is a man of character and integrity who will do what he tells you he's gonna do. He and Doris live near Guthrie, Oklahoma and Jim teaches fiddle and guitar at the Byron Berline Double-Stop Fiddle Shop there in town.
Another Oklahoma Western entertainer, Miss Peggy Coleman, recently went on a church mission trip to Africa. She spent quite a spell there, and we're anxious to get together with her and hear about that trip. We're also wondering how the people over there responded to her version of "Ghost Chickens in the Sky" (take-off of "Ghost Riders in the Sky," for the uninitiated).
I see where the "Gila Valley Cowboy Poets" association, now in their 17th year, are attracting the attendion of a lot of young people. A number of the organizations members performed at Eastern Arizona College’s Lee Little Theater on Saturday night, Oct. 22, 2011. Sam DeLeeuw, Bob Campbell, The Desert Sons, Kip and Dale Young of Forever Young, poet Bunny Dryden and Sharon Montoya all performed. Three “top-hand” students, Amalie Branch, Corinne Bryce and Kristi Webster, also read their Western-themed poems to cowboy-poet enthusiasts. A few years back the group only got about 15 a year for their cowboy poetry writing contest for young people. This year they had over 200 entries. Seems like a lot of other cowboy organizations would do well to reach out to such young people, too, to keep our wonderful stories, music and poetry alive.
Rough riders: R.J. Vandygriff (Lipscomb, TX), Stan Paregien
& Henry Torres (Boulder City, NV)
At the recent National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas, we ran into old friend Henry Torres. He and his wife are now residents of Boulder City, Nevada. Folks, that is a fir piece from his long-time stomping grounds of Silver City, New Mexico. . . . Peggy and I had supper one night with some folks including cowboy poets LeRoy Jones (Mountain View, OK) and Rolf Flake (Gilbert, AZ). It was a birthday party for them, as they each turned 79 just recently. It was a fun deal, but just not quite the same without the late Ray Owens, a wonderful cowboy poet from Artesia, New Mexico. We used to celebrate all three of their birthdays at the NCS. However, it was a special treat to have Mrs. Ray (Verna) Owens join us for that celebration.
Leroy Jones, Rolf Flake & Stan Paregien
One of the folks that we always look forward to seeing at the NCS in Lubbock each year is our compadre Adrian Lopez from alluring Alice, Texas. If he was there, I sure didn't cross paths with him and I missed that. Peggy and I did take a little side trip for an hour or so to walk through the Buddy Holly Museum there in downtown Lubbock. It was fairly small, but a nice tribute to the multi-talented young man. I'm reading a book right now about his life and his death in a plane crash with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.
Oh, hey, since we're talking about Buddy Holly . . . here is a trivia question for you. Early in his musical career, he and a couple of close friends went to a Lubbock theater and watched a certain cowboy movie. The star used a particular phrase over and over in the movie. That made such an impression that Holly sat down and wrote a song incorporating those words. Here's the three-part question: (1) What was the name of the movie? (2) What was the name of the star of the movie? (3) What was the phrase that he used so much? If you can answer all three questions, and you are the first to EMAIL me with those answers . . . I'll send you a free CD of the story of my life, STAN PAREGIEN'S JOURNAL: A DIGITAL BOOK OF MEMORIES.
The Western Music Associate has announced its inductees for its "2011 Hall of Fame" will be R.W. Hampton of Cimarron, New Mexico and the late singer Vaughn Monroe. The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Nov. 19, during the WMA Awards show at the historic KiMo Theater in Albuquerque, NM. R.W. Hampton is one of the leading Western entertainers in America today. Blessed with a rich baritone voice, Hampton has a quality of genuiness about him that resonates when he is on stage. He has 13 albums to his credit and has won numerous awards from the music industry and from his peers. The late Vaughn Monroe was a baritone singer, band leader and actor. He recorded the best-selling verion of the cowboy classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" in 1949.
The
Grand
Junction Cowboy Poetry Gathering
This event will be
held November 4 and 5 at the Whitman Educational Center, 248 S. Fourth
Street in Grand Junction, Colorado.The daytime sessions run from 1:00 -
5:00 p.m. on Friday and from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.Evening
performances are at 7:00 p.m. They also have open sessions on Friday at
3:00 p.m and on Saturday at 12 noon. Featured performers this year
include Frances Wheeler, Floyd Beard, Tom Sharpe, Al Albrethsen, Terry
Nash, Nona Kelly Carver, Peggy Malone, Slim Farnsworth, Susie Knight,
Donna Hatton and Chris Isaacs. Their website is: http://www.museumofwesternco.com/programs-and-events/cowboy-poetry-gathering/ .
The Cowpoke Fall Gathering
The 17th annual Cowpoke Fall Gathering will be held November 10-13,
2011 at the Blue Goose Shed, 3550 Taylor Road, Loomis, California
(Loomis is about 30 miles northeast of Sacremento, near Auburn). Some
of the scheduled performers include Dave Stamey, Sourdough
Slim, Jeff
Severson, Chris Isaacs, and Pat Richardson. There will be a cowboy
church service at 10:00 am Sunday morning.
The highly successful Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival will be held December 2-4, 2011 at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California. This event was started in 1999 and has grown to its current status as one of the best Western events in the good ol' USA. This December's performers include The Saddle Cats, Joni Fisher, Lacy J. Dalton, J. Parson, Adrian, Cora Wood, Dave Stamey, The Quebe Sisters Band, Ray Doyle and Brenn Hill.
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering
January 28 to February 4, 2012. Well, this is it, folks, the grand-daddy of 'em all. This event, now in its 28th year, was a large factor in today's resurrection in the popularity of cowboy music and poetry. They draw thousands of enthusiastic visitors to the small ranching town of Elko, Nevada in the dead of winter. But, pard, there is plenty of life when the poets starting reciting and when the bands start playing. Some of the scores and scores of featured performers include Baxter Black, Dave Bourne, Ken Cook, Doris Daley, Ramblin' Jack Elliott (a friend and contemporary of Oklahoma's Woody Guthrie), Rolf Flake, R.W. Hampton, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Michael Martin Murphey, Wally McRae, Waddie Mitchell, Henry Real Bird, Georgie Sicking, Jay Snider, Ian Tyson and Andy Wilkinson.
Sometimes Cussing is Okay
by Stan Paregien
Copyright 2010
The old cowboy's shirt and jeans were dusty,
And the soles of his boots caked with cow dung.
He looked much like those old-time outlaws
That juries quickly convicted and hung.
That's why the demure secretary at our church
Was shocked when he walked through the door.
He shuffled up to her office desk and stood erect,
Clearing his throat as he spit tobacco on the floor.
“I
want to join up with this damn church,” he said,
With a smile on his grizzly face.
Ms. Edwards, our secretary, caught her breath
Like she'd been sprayed with mace.
“Sir, I'm very sorry but I think I misunderstood you.
"Would you please repeat what it was that you said?”
“Are you deaf, lady? I want to join this damn church,”
The rancher said, pushing his Stetson back on his head.
Our secretary, offended by the vile language he used,
Sought our senior pastor in his office down the hall.
“Oh, Pastor Jones, there is an old cowboy in my office
“And
he is cussing,” she said as she began to bawl.
Who was confident he could handle this task.
He walked up to the crude cowboy and said to him,
“Mister, what is the problem here, if I may ask?”
The cowboy bit off a chaw of tobacco and growled,
“There ain't no damn problem far as I can see.
“I want to join this damn church for a damn tax break,
“'Cause I won $200 million in the damn state lottery.”
Our pastor's brown eyes filled up with big, grateful tears,
And he choked with pure joy as he hugged the gruff man.
“Welcome to our damn fellowship here at this damn church.
“My
damn secretary and I want to shake your damn hand.”
[This poem was written in 2010. It may be shared by email or other correspondence between individuals, and may be used by non-profit organizations. Otherwise, this poem may not be reprinted or distributed in any form, including public performances and any commercial use, without the express written permission of the author. Requests should be sent to 1304 Pepperdine Ave., Edmond, OK 73013. Or email Stan at cowboystan@live.com]
