Thursday, September 27, 2007

I'm Important Now!

I guess I am getting almost as important as The Puppyblender now. I just got my first free book to review. Now I never have been important, outside the house, anyway. Does this mean I have to start drinking tea with my pinkie finger stickin' out?

Anyhow I got the sorta-autobiography of an old west lawman and shootist. I say sorta-autobiography because it was written by his friend and partner Eva Gillhouse, I haven't read enough to know yet just how he meant the word "partner". I'll write that up when (if) I figure it out.

Anyway this old lawman, one of the "Hanging Judge" Parker's Deputy US Marshalls, is mostly unknown today although his caricature is well known. He is the mascot of the Oklahoma State University Cowboys.

I am a lucky man. Born into the days of antibiotics and the Polio Vaccine and many other medical miracles, I still knew many people of the old west. When I was very young there were still some (very) old Civil War Vets around. Some of the older Mexicans around still remembered Pancho Villa. I had some neighbors from Roswell, New Mexico who had stories of Billy The Kid riding through and sometimes stopping. Now Roswell is known mainly for Youfoes.

And now this, the story of Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton. Born in October of 1860, he lived to die in 1958. Born when the steam engines pulled trains he lived to see supersonic jets. I googled him and it seems that there is some controversy about how many people he killed, it seems to be between 11 and 15. I'll have to look and see if he counted Indians, everyone didn't back then.

Anyway I look forward to reading and reviewing this, stay tuned.

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