**Update…Thurs. am…I am stranded in the blizzard in Colorado
Springs…very disappointing as I”m not going to get to
Scottsbluff for another day or so…staying across from Air
Force Academy and we have a foot of snow on the ground and
whiteout conditions….ah yes, Colorado in late October**
[From Santa Fe, N.M., Wed. am]
NFC Rushing Quiz: [Since 1960] 1) What two backs led the
NFL in rushing twice each from 1966-69? 2) What two backs
led the NFC (merger was 1970) in rushing twice each from 1970-
73? 3) Who am I? I led the NFC in rushing in 1975 and my
initials are J.O. 4) Who am I? I led the NFC in rushing in 1987
and my initials are C.W. 5) What two backs with the initials
G.R. led the NFC in rushing once apiece in the 1980s? Answers
below.
Las Cruces…north
It’s only been about 36 hours since I last wrote so not much has
happened and I need to post this early due to the fact I have a
long drive ahead to Colorado Springs and dinner with an old
friend. A few Shiner Bocks may be consumed.
I left Las Cruces, N.M., Monday morning, after visiting the
campus of New Mexico State University. My mission was to
hit the bookstore so I could pick up a t-shirt but I couldn’t find
a parking spot (without the risk of getting towed) and finally
when I did find one it turned out I was nowhere near the
bookstore.
Well at least this gave me a chance to ask a ton of students to
point me in the right direction and I must say the NMSU student
body is a friendly bunch. Good kids.
I then headed out of town, driving past the football stadium high
on a hill with a great view of the mountains, and as I hit
Interstate 25 North I saw a sign for White Sands Missile Site.
All of you have flown over this spot as every trip to Southern
California goes that way, and looking on my map it appeared to
be just 20 miles. But after 10 I realized I needed to go over the
mountains in front of me to get to White Sands and then I saw a
sign that said it was another 40 miles. Knowing there wasn’t
anything between where I was and there, and as I was low on
gas, I bagged it and turned around.
The gas bit was almost a critical mistake as I headed up I-25 as
shortly after you get out of Las Cruces you realize there is
literally nothing. Finally my gas light went on…uh oh…and I
was fretting.
About 20 miles out of Las Cruces there is a border inspection
station for all vehicles…a good idea as you are now about 40
miles north of the Mexican border. I asked the border patrol if
there was gas in Hatch, about 15 miles further up the road.
“Yes,” I was told. Thankfully the car held out. I called Trader
George after filling up and he googled Hatch, informing me if I
had been to this small place during the Chili Festival, I would
have been one of 30,000 there.
On to Truth or Consequences, N.M. Yes, it does exist. Not the
most impressive place (sorry to my 2 or 3 readers from there,
who after that comment are no longer with me), but I stopped at
McDonald’s for my Big Mac (part of a study I’m doing for
another column this trip…only Big Macs while on the road) and
this Mickie D’s had milkshakes!
The road on to Santa Fe wasn’t too exciting, except for the
occasional incredibly scary hitchhiker along the way, and being
very tired I took a nap at one point at a rest stop…car doors
locked, Swiss Army knife at the ready. [Yes, I was prepared this
trip. Packed it in my luggage; not carry on, of course.] The
choice of music, by the way, was Sirius’ 60s and 70s channels,
plus “Camelot” and Nat King Cole’s greatest. Now that about
covers all the bases, eh?
Finally, 300 miles later, I made it to Santa Fe. Charming city.
But as I was warned, let’s just say there are a lot of, err, folks
here who are of a different, err, persuasion. Need another clue?
It’s very artsy.
Today, Tuesday, I went to the American Indian and Georgia
O’Keefe museums. Now I can’t say I’m into either but both had
terrific videos. In fact the American Indian one had three videos
playing of the Inuit Indians of the Arctic Circle. It was “day in
the life of…” stuff. Fascinating, including one bit where a polar
bear enters camp and goes after a seal that had just been killed.
The dogs try to chase it away and a man pulls out this old gun
and you can see he’s not loading the bullet right. He’s blaming
the gun, finally gets the bullet loaded right, aims…fires …bingo!
Felled the bear with one shot. The bear goes into the water and
dies and the Inuit go out in a boat and drag him back. They
must have skinned that sucker clean in what seemed to be five
minutes. Yeah it was kind of gross, but when you know this is
their livelihood, as opposed to some Japanese slaughtering
whales for “research,” it takes on a different meaning.
After the museums it was time for lunch and there was a
Mexican joint I wanted to go to but it was closed, so I found a
Thai place. Good food and I had some Singha Beer, the official
beer of Thailand. Goodness gracious, that’s a great beer! I’m
pretty sure I’ve never had it before. Otherwise, the place was
loaded with single men wearing turtlenecks.
[Later I watched some of the World Series at the Sleeping Dog
Tavern where they served the best beer in America, Shiner
Bock.]
I guarantee the next chat I’ll have a lot more interesting stuff on
the travel front as I’ll be covering Wed. thru Sunday, including
Scottsbluff, NE, plus my return to the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation.
Tombstone…Oct. 26, 1881
Back in 1877, prospector Ed Schieffelin headed to the Dragoon
Mountains of southeast Arizona. Schieffelin struck silver and
named his mine Tombstone. Later, he established a town of the
same name nearby. By 1880, Tombstone had two dance halls, a
dozen gambling spots and more than 20 saloons.
Around the same time, Wyatt Earp and his brothers Morgan,
Virgil, and James (a cripple from the Civil War) left their
lawmen jobs in Dodge City, Kansas and headed to Tombstone
after Wyatt received a letter from the owners of the Oriental
Saloon there, asking him and his brothers to come and protect the
lavish establishment, with Wyatt being offered a partnership in
the joint that would guarantee him a stupendous $1,000 a month.
Tombstone was the last of the wide-open hellholes. The worst of
America was there; rustlers, thieves, gunmen, gamblers and
whores. Wyatt and his brothers, along with their ever-present
friend Doc Holliday who accompanied them to Tombstone,
already had quite a record as lawmen and Wyatt was made a
deputy sheriff when he arrived.
But Earp found that Cochise County sheriff John H. Behan was
being paid off by the most notorious cattle thieves and rustlers in
the West, the Clanton-McLowery gang, which was headed up by
Newman H. Clanton, or Old Man Clanton. Clanton’s sons, Ike,
Peter, Finn, and Billy worked with Frank and Tom McLowery
(or McLaury). All had quick guns.
In addition to this gang, Tombstone was also known for gunmen
such as Johnny Ringo, Curly Bill Brocius, Pony Deal, Pete
Spence, Frank Patterson, Billy Claiborne and Frank Stilwell. All
of them were alcoholic killers and would kill a man for staring at
them. Stillwell, for example, once shot a Mexican to death for
serving him tea instead of coffee.
As for Doc Holliday, the deadly dentist, he had a tussle with
Sheriff Behan when Behan accused him of manipulating a faro
game. Holliday humiliated Behan and ever after Behan wanted
Holliday dead.
But the men who really wanted the Earps and Holliday dead
were the Clantons. Two key stagecoach holdups occurred, the
first killing two people, linked to friends of the Clantons, and the
second to Frank Stillwell, Behan’s chief deputy and also a friend
of the Clantons. Stillwell was arrested and the Clantons began a
smear campaign against Wyatt Earp.
The feud got worse when in the town of Charleston a friend of
the Clantons, Billy Claiborne, was sprung from jail after killing a
man. Ike Clanton bragged that if the Earps ever dared to jail one
of his men in Tombstone, the same thing would happen. It was
now family against family. The Earp faction was headed up by
law-and-order mayor of Tombstone, John Clum. But Clum’s
“good citizens” were hopelessly outnumbered by Tombstone’s
outlaws and gunmen.
It all boiled over on Oct. 25, 1881. Doc Holliday and Ike
Clanton were among those gathering for an early morning snack
at the Alhambra. According to his friend Bat Masterson,
Holliday “had a mean disposition and an ungovernable temper,
and under the influence of liquor was a most dangerous man.”
Holliday approached Clanton and said, “Ike, you threaten the
Earps again and you’ll have to face me, you and your rotten
gang.” Clanton sneered and swore at Holliday. “You s.o.b.
cowboy!” Holliday roared back, “Go get your gun and go to
work.”
“The Earps are going to get plenty of fight from us,” Clanton
said to Holliday.
Just then Morgan Earp entered and heard Clanton’s remark. “Go
heel yourself! You can have all the fight you want right now.”
Clanton spread the bottom of his coat to show he wasn’t armed.
“Don’t shoot me in the back, will you, Morg?”
Ike left, but returned a half hour later, still unarmed [it was
against the law to carry a gun in Tombstone, though most
ignored it] and ironically sat down to a poker game with Morgan.
But Sheriff Behan and Tom McLowery, Clanton allies, were also
there. Hours later the game broke up, but Holliday showed up
and berated Clanton. It was now 7:00 am on Oct. 26, 1881.
About noon, Morgan and Virgil Earp (then city marshal) saw
Ike Clanton on the streets. Ike was now carrying a gun, in his
belt hidden beneath his coat. They ordered him to turn it in and
he refused. Virgil Earp pulled his six-gun and, with a lightning
move, banged it against Clanton’s head. Clanton, half conscious,
was then dragged into court where Judge Wallace fined him $25.
But just as Clanton was being fined, Tom McLowery ran in
swearing oaths against the Earps. Wyatt Earp was on hand and
slammed his six-gun against McLowery’s head. He then
dragged the unconscious McLowery into the street and threw
him in the mud. Clanton helped McLowery to his feet and swore
at the three Earp brothers.
A half hour later, a town drunk appeared before the Earps and
told them “There are some men want to see you fellows down at
the O.K. Corral.” Wyatt asked who and was told “The
McLowery brothers, the Clantons, and Bill Claiborne.”
Wyatt told his brothers, “Let’s go.” They began the historic
walk, wearing long black coats, black, broad-rimmed hats, shiny
boots, and starched white shirts with string ties. Doc Holliday
suddenly appeared, carrying a shotgun. Now all four men
confidently strode down Fremont Street.
The townspeople followed the four and one told Doc, “Let them
have it.”
“All right,” was Holliday’s only reply.
Sheriff Behan was getting a shave when he saw the Earps walk
past. He ran out to try and arrest them but Wyatt told him “We
won’t be arrested today by you, Behan.”
A few minutes later the four men turned and faced the little
entrance to the corral, which itself was just 18-feet wide. Virgil
Earp was ranking lawman and spoke for the Earps. “You men
are under arrest. Throw up your hands.”
On the other side were Frank and Tom McLowery, Billy and Ike
Clanton, and Billy Claiborne. McLowery and Billy Clanton
reached for their guns and Virgil shouted: “Hold it, I don’t mean
that. I’ve come to disarm you!”
The two groups stood motionless for some moments. Then,
simultaneously, Billy Clanton and Wyatt drew their guns. Then
Frank McLowery drew his and both he and Billy Clanton fired at
Wyatt at the same time, their shots going wild. [They were at
point-blank range…remember, despite what you see in some
movies these guns were highly inaccurate.]
Wyatt fired once, hitting Frank McLowery in the stomach. At
that, Ike Clanton ran to Wyatt and whined as he grabbed his
sleeve: “Don’t shoot me! Don’t kill me! I’m not fighting!”
“Go to fighting or get away,” said Earp.
Ike Clanton left his brother Billy and friends and disappeared
down an alley. The gunfire continued.
Frank McLowery, mortally wounded, managed to get off one
shot that whizzed past Wyatt. Billy Claiborne fired several shots
at Virgil Earp then fled in the direction of Ike Clanton. Tom
McLowery, six-gun blazing, fired a shot at Morgan Earp and two
at Doc Holliday which ripped through Holliday’s coat. Holliday
aimed his shotgun and blasted McLowery to death. But as Tom
went down, he got off a shot that hit Morgan Earp in the
shoulder. Billy Clanton, hit in his shooting hand, managed to
shift the gun to his left and fired several bullets, one of which
struck Virgil Earp in the leg. Billy then followed Billy
Claiborne’s escape route, firing as he ran and hitting Holliday in
the back. The Earps then fired and hit him three times. Billy
Clanton fell in the street.
Everyone was now down except Wyatt Earp. Earp stood over
Billy Clanton, who was dying, but managed to say, “God, God,
won’t someone give me some more cartridges for a last shot?”
He then sank back and died.
The historic gunfight was over. It lasted no more than three
minutes and some 30 to 50 bullets were fired. Virgil and Morgan
Earp were seriously wounded, Doc Holliday was slightly injured.
Tom and Frank McLowery and Billy Clanton were dead.
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was the stuff of legends, Wyatt
Earp’s in particular.
Virgil Earp recovered but on Nov. 28, 1881, he entered the
Oriental Saloon. Several shots were fired at him from the
shadows and he was crippled for life. On March 17, 1882, four
Clanton henchmen, including Pete Spence and Frank Stillwell,
shot and killed Morgan Earp at Hatch’s Saloon while Morgan
began to play pool.
Wyatt Earp would later hunt down both Spence and Frank
Stillwell, killing them. In fact, with Doc’s help and others, he
tracked down all of the Clantons responsible for the death of
Morgan and the crippling of Virgil. Earp even tracked down
Curly Bill Brocius and Johnny Ringo, killing both of them, too.
Ike Clanton met his death at the hands of other lawmen in 1887.
Doc Holliday died of consumption a few years later at a
sanitarium near Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Wyatt? He lived ‘till 1929, having told his story to biographer
Stuart Lake a few months before his death. His last words to
Lake were: “The greatest consolation I have in growing old is the
hope that after I’m gone they’ll grant me the peaceful obscurity I
haven’t been able to get in life.”
Wyatt Earp was the greatest lawman of the Old West.
Sources: Smithsonian; “Encyclopedia of Western Lawmen and
Outlaws,” Jay Robert Nash [Nash’s book is the source of the
above dialogue.]
[Next chat, the prostitutes of Tombstone…really]
Stuff
–Another tidbit from the 1950 manual “Survival Under Atomic
Attack.”
“What About Burns?”
“Flash burns from the A-bomb’s light and heat caused about 30
percent of the injuries at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Near the
center of the burst the burns are often fatal. People may be
seriously burned more than a mile away, while the heat can be
felt on the bare face and hands at 4 or 5 miles.
“To prevent flash burns, try to find a shelter where there is a
wall, a high bank or some other object between you and the
bursting bomb. You can expect that the bomber will aim for the
city’s biggest collection of industrial buildings.
“A little bit of solid material will provide flash protection even
close to the explosion. Farther out, the thinnest sort of thing –
even cotton cloth – will often do the trick.
“If you work in the open, always wear full-length, loose-fitting,
light-colored clothes in time of emergency. Never go around
with your sleeves rolled up. Always wear a hat – the brim may
save you a serious face burn.”
[L.L. Bean has a good selection of burn-free clothing.]
Surviving an atomic blast…another free feature of “Bar Chat.”
–I have to admit when I was watching Game Two of the World
Series the other night I had the sound off and really didn’t catch
all the details of the Kenny Rogers episode. I was just admiring
his pitching. So I watched the press conference the next day and,
yes, it’s surprising Tony La Russa didn’t complain more during
the contest but after Rogers washed his hand, what are you going
to do? Famous cheater Gaylord Perry said he just enjoyed
watching the whole deal. Us Mets fans still remember how Mike
Scott went from a 9-10 hurler to Superman after he was traded to
the Astros. The whole baseball world knew Scott was doing
something to the ball, but he was tough to nail.
–College Football Picks
[Notice how I’m low-keying it this time…but my confidence
level is back, kids.]
Nebraska, giving 5 ½ to Oklahoma State
Ohio State, giving 27 to Minnesota
Tulane, giving 5 to Army
Yes, you’re down $250,000 going into this weekend if you’ve
been using my selections all along, but you’ll be no worse than
break even after Saturday.
–Attention Wake Forest fans….our game on Nov. 4 against
Boston College is going to be nationally televised! However, we
better not stumble this week against North Carolina; a Tar Heel
team that is going to be fired up because their coach, John
Bunting, has been canned…though he’s still coaching the rest of
the year.
–So I’m reading my Anchorage Daily News, online, and a great
story about how beavers are wreaking havoc in the suburbs of
that city. One game official describes their efficiency.
“They can take down a tree 40 feet long and break it into perfect,
equal lengths. You can lay them down piece by piece, side by
side, and they are precise. It is truly unbelievable.”
Beavers built the Roman Coliseum, you know.
–Brad K. passed along an amusing spot from Reuters involving
an 80-year-old German man who is in love with the navigation
system on his SUV. First he ignored a “closed for construction”
sign and drove into a pile of sand. Then shortly thereafter he
followed the command “Turn right now!’ right into a building
site, up some stairs, and into a toilet. Not much damage to the
SUV in either case, and he emerged unscathed, but in the second
instance the toilet was demolished.
–Aside from Bill Haas, whose playing privileges for next year
are secure as he’s safely in the top 125 on the money list, I’ve
also been following Jerry Smith, a now 41-year-old journeyman I
got to know at Q School two years ago in Palm Springs. Golf
fanatics can appreciate just how tough it is to compete with the
world’s best and Smith is a prime example.
Here’s Smith’s year. Having earned his PGA Tour card for 2006
by way of performing well on the Nationwide Tour in 2005,
Smith has teed it up in 29 events and made 17 cuts, pretty
typical for a guy at the bottom of the world rankings in
comparison to the other 143 playing with him each week.
Bespeaking the amount of money that can be earned on the Tour,
Smith has picked up $568,000 (net, roughly $425,000 after
expenses, including for a caddy). But heading into the final
weekend of the year (before the season-ending Tour
Championship for the top 30), Smith is #136 on the money list
and I just scanned the field for this week’s Chrysler
Championship and I don’t see him. If he doesn’t play I’ll
understand.
You see, early in the year Smith earned $220,000 of his total by
tying for 5th at the Houston Open but he has had only a tie for
16th and tie for 20th since. Since mid-season, when he’s made a
cut he’s ended up no better than 30th or 40th and he’s cashing a
lot of $9,000 checks.
In other words, for him to finish #125 on the money list, a
position occupied currently by Bubba Dickerson at $650,000,
Jerry would need a top-12 finish and lots of help to grab the brass
ring and sneak in there and get his card for 2007. Since he hasn’t
been playing that well, I’m wondering if he just decided to bag it.
One reason could be that those ending up #126-150 on the
money list earn “conditional” privileges the following year,
meaning they could still get in 15 or so fields (the lesser events).
Jerry could split his time between the PGA Tour and Nationwide
next year if he chose. Clearly, he’s just keeping his game alive
for when he turns 50 and the Champions Tour.
There are thousands and thousands of great golfers in the
country, let alone the rest of the world, and what I described to
you above is just one example of just how hard it is to make it.
But obviously if you do the rewards these days are great.
One last note. I’ve seen Smith up close and personal. He hits it
a long way…averaging 277.9 yards per drive this year. Pretty
good, eh? Try 186th on Tour! So if you’re harboring dreams of
making the big time, start with that stat. If you can’t bang it out
with even Jerry, especially given the kinds of courses they play
these days, then forget it.
–Tommy Johnson passed away at the age of 71. Johnson is the
tuba player playing the ominous opening notes in “Jaws.”
Composer John Williams discovered the tuba was the best
instrument for setting the mood, though what Johnson did was
far from easy.
Top 3 songs for the week of 10/24/70: #1 “I’ll Be There” (The
Jackson 5) #2 “Cracklin’ Rose” (Neil Diamond) #3 “Green-
Eyed Lady” (Sugarloaf)…and…#4 “We’ve Only Just Begun”
(Carpenters) #6 “Fire And Rain” (James Taylor) #9 “Lola” (The
Kinks) #10 “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (Diana Ross…
had been #1 three weeks)
NFC Rushing Quiz Answers: 1) 1966-69: Gale Sayers (1966,
69); Leroy Kelly (1967, 68). 2) 1970-73: Larry Brown (1970,
72); John Brockington (1971, 73). 3) Jim Otis led the league in
1975 while with St. Louis. 4) Charles White led the league in
1987 while with the Los Angeles Rams. He rushed for 1,374
yards that year and what was so special was that he didn’t have
another season over 340 yards. 5) Initials G.R.: George Rogers
(New Orleans, 1981) and Gerald Riggs (Atlanta, 1985).
Next Bar Chat, Monday at some point….from somewhere in
South Dakota.
