Refreshing Perspective

 I have often thought that New Zealand would be a great place to live so I started checking into the feasibility of an extended visit there. The facts that I uncovered have given me doubt that I can even qualify for a visa that will allow me to stay there more than 28 days.

 I guess the UN has overlooked New Zealand in their crusade to distribute wealth and make every country like the ones that are now considered “third world”. Or maybe the people of New Zealand have decided to exercise their rights as a sovereign state and pass laws that will not only preserve their quality of life but actually improve it. Take a look at this excerpt from a summary of that backward country’s immigration law:

 Parliament passed a new Immigration Act into law in 1987. This would end the preference for migrants from Britain, Europe or Northern America based on their race, and instead classify migrants on their skills, personal qualities, and potential contribution to New Zealand economy and society.

 Yes, it certainly appears that the folks under the Down Under actually think that they can make laws and not worry about what the rest of the world thinks.. Is that even legal?

Choose to Perceive A Good World

This cool video tracks air travel traffic over a 24-hour period. While there are regions, like North America and Europe, that are particularly crisscrossed with flights, the overall impression; this is a very bus planet.

 Watching this miracle gives me good feeling. Man wouldn’t be able to build a transportation system like this without the help of God. There is a good chance that all of these flights reached their destinations without anyone getting hurt. That’s because God is holding us in his loving hands.

 There are too many people who mold negative perceptions of life from the vulgar images they see on the ten o’clock news. They would be better off if they would set in silence and watch something like this inspiring video before going to bed. It’s a testimony to the fact that good prevails over evil.

 The only way it’s possible for us to move about the earth so freely is through global cooperation. This fact alone is enough to prove to me that there is a strong thread of decency and trust that links all of humanity.

 Yep. If we could go to bed every night and wake every morning visualizing our world from a great distance –as from God’s loving eyes – then our problems would seem pretty small.

 Don’t ‘cha thank?

My Royal Deer Hound

We spent last week in Ruidoso. It was hard to pull ourselves away from the cool weather and return to the heat here in Arlington. Oh well, I guess “home is where the bills are”.
While we were away I noticed that Walter has developed into quite a deer hound. At first he barked at the deer and made them run back into the woods. After a little coaching and direction, he learned to be very still and to alert me to the presence of our big eared neighbors from the thickets.

I think that I may have to include Wally as an assistant in my plans for this fall. At the cabin in Ruidoso I can sit on the porch with Walter and read a book while he keeps watch on the woods. If I hear a quiet growl, low enough as to not spook a deer, all I have to do is follow Walter’s line of sight and there’s a deer. I then quietly make a “Shush” sound and Wally becomes silent. The deer then go about their business while we watch. Walter has even ventured to within about 15 feet from his new friends.

Another lesson that my canine buddy learned on this trip was the“Thirty Foot Rule”. Thirty feet is plenty close to a doe when she's nursing her fawns. Approaching the babies causes the mother to become aggressive and my little friend returns to my side.

Cool weather and deer season are near and I’ll be watching the critters down in Hamilton County. I am beginning to think that Walter may be a good hunting pal. We should be able to sit for hours in a stand if we take some snacks and a canteen of water. I can kick back and read or nap and Wally will let me know if any animals come near. Then I can get my camera or rifle ready; which ever is appropriate. I may not fire a shot this year but I will bag some more great memories.

Larger Than Life

As I mentioned in my last entry, I did not photograph Irving Porter because of his poor health. I just received this photo of Irving and his daughter Cindy, that was taken in the late 1950’s. It appears that the photo may have been cropped but I think that that there is enough of it there for you to agree that Irving was the real thing. Hollywood would be hard pressed to outfit an actor that would project a stronger impression of a cowboy in the West.

Post edit:
I regret to report that Irving porter has passed away. Here’s an excerpt from the Alamogordo news paper:
Don Irving Porter, 85, passed from this life on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010, at his home in Piñon.
I am glad I had a chance to visit with this fine man.

Post Edit 5 months later:

Lessie (Smith) Porter passed from this life Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, at
her home in Piñon.
She was born to Alva and Ethel (West) Smith on July 2, 1926, in Artesia. She was a lifelong resident of the Piñon area. She attended elementary school at Bonita School, high school at Weed and college at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales.
In 1948 Lessie married Irving Porter in Alamogordo. They lived on ranches their entire married life of 62 years. She was caregiver to Irving at their home for the last year of his life.

On the Trail of a Legend

We often hear or say things like, “the movie just wasn’t like the book”, or, “the book wasn’t as good as the movie”. When commenting on a work based on a real person or happening there are also conflicts between realty and journalism. For some of us it is not enough to just speculate about what really happened People like me feel compelled to delve into the history of the story. We seek out those who have first hand knowledge of the incidents and people depicted in literature or cinema. There are some who lean the other way and view movies as documentaries rather than entertainment.


When Bill Key and I read Fire on the Mountain, by Edward Abbey, we vaguely recalled the movie. We then began to recall stories of the real life circumstances that inspired the novel. It is the story of a rancher who is told that he must leave his land behind and move on because the US Army needs his ranch for the expansion of White Sands Missile Range. The rancher was named John Prather and he raised mules for the Army on the Otero Mesa. He told the officials that he wasn’t going to leave and would spend the rest of his life on his ranch.

Bill and I knew that the book was based on real people and events so we set out to meet anyone who had direct contact with the characters mentioned in the book. Our research led us to the remote home of Irving Porter in the southern New Mexico mountains. In Abbey’s book the character Billy, was based on Irving. We also met Arleen Gaba and her son Mike Gaba. Arleen’s husband was Prather’s grandson and the Gabas lived on the ranch with “Grandpa” Prather. Arleen wrote an article called Five Years with the Mule King for Range Magazine. Her story is about the conflict between Prather and the US Government.

During our visit with Mike and Arleen they gave Bill a stack of photographs. The images are of family members and some even show Army personnel at the ranch. Mike, who continues to research his family history, gave Bill permission to use the photos in a magazine article.

The most interesting part of the whole trip was listening to Mr. Porter tell his about what really happened out there on the ranch. There is a lot more to the stories than a conflict with the US Army. For example; at one time, in the early 1930’s, Prather had agreed to sell mules to the Mexican Army. This meant that he had to drive the mules eighty miles to the Santa Fe Street Bridge in El Paso. After the three day trip Prather met the Mexicans half way across the bridge to complete the transaction. Prather did not speak Spanish and for some reason suspected that the Mexican officer was trying to get the best of him. One of Prather’s men finally stepped forward to do some translating. The Mexican leader then got down off of his horse and emptied a bag of money out on the bridge. After Prather was satisfied that all of the money was there the deal was done and the groups parted ways without further dialogue.

Another interesting fact was brought to light when talking to the Porters and the Gabas. Edward Abbey never interviewed Prather or any of the people that and first hand knowledge of what really went on. He just followed the news and let the his imagination run with the story. So there is reality, the book, and the movie. Unfortunately too many  folks just accept what they see on a movie screen, or television, as history. Then they go on making real life decisions based false history.

The trip was fun and we met some great folks. I took a few pictures while we were visiting the Porters; the first photo shows Bill flirting with Lessie Porter. The second is me making friends with a corgi named Moose. Moose is in charge of ranch security these days.

 In order to preserve Mr. Porter's dignity, I chose not to photograph him in a state of bad health.

By the way, Kirk Douglas was the star of the movie Lonely are the Brave, which was based on Abbey’s novel called The Brave Cowboy. Douglas says this was his favorite motion picture. If you are interested, here is a link to a multi part interview of Douglas discussing the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onzqlL3rey8

Interest Piqued too Soon on New Firearms

Interest Piqued too Soon on New Firearms

I just thought that I would pass on a little bit of info about a new model of pistol and its availability. A friend got a new Guns and Ammo magazine that features a new .380 caliber pistol. It is the Sig-Sauer 238. The magazine shows the same gun in about a dozen different configurations. The colors, weights, metallurgy, and furniture (grips and accessories like rails for lasers etc.) vary from model to model. My friend is all hot to get his paws on one and is serious about making a purchase.

The same sort of manufacturing deficiencies appear to be happening that occurred with the .327 Federal. Academy, Cabela’s, and online distributors don’t have any. They can only get a couple each week because the big distributors can’t get any from the manufacturers.

This method of marketing is the opposite of any sales techniques I’ve ever read about. All the hype has the dealers and consumers buzzing with anticipation but there is no product to sale. I have always thought that the idea was to strike while the iron is hot. The way they drag it out, half the people who want to buy one now, will have cooled off before they can make a purchase.

Another friend felt the same way about the .327 Federal when he read about it. He was ready to shell out for it just a few months ago but now the desire to buy is gone. Oh well, a lot of things don’t make sense to me but some things seem down right stupid.

Men Who Get High With Goats

 My next adventure in Egypt was to help my friend, Bill Key, get some photos for an article he is writing. It is about an aqueduct, shown in the first picture, which was built in the sixteenth century. In its time, Borg El-Sakkiyat played a major role in delivering water to certain parts of Cairo. Its tall pumping station, powered by oxen, lifted water from the Nile so it could flow down a gentle slope to various points of distribution.

 This once magnificent structure has been all but consumed by the infrastructure of Cairo. The exhaust from millions of motor vehicles has coated the stone blocks and mortar to form a dark gray patina that camouflages the structure. I would dare to say that the two kilometer stretch of this medieval aqueduct along a main thoroughfare goes virtually unnoticed by most people that pass by it.

 In order to get the best photos, Bill and I knew that we needed to get on top of one of the nearby buildings. The second picture shows a view of a hospital. The yellow building to its left is a girls school.. We were discouraged from entering the hospital by the general lack of organization and funk that met us at the door. We were forbidden from entering the girls’ school by an irate lady that glared at us two gringos like we were invaders from mars. Finally we gained permission the go on top of an apartment building, shown in the third photo.

 While climbing the stairs we began to notice, near the top of the staircase, that alfalfa, carrots, and other vegetable scraps were lying to the side of the stairs. Finally, we saw sunlight and as we stepped out on the roof we were surprised by the presence of about a dozen goats and a couple dozen small ducks. The roof had  a four foot parapet wall around the perimeter that served as a fence to keep these critters from falling to the street below. The parapet also served useful to me as a place to steady my camera while photographing the aqueduct.

After the photos were done we took a few minutes to visit with the roof top rancher. Bill and our friend Mahmud speak Arabic so we were able to find out that the owners mother had made the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. She was quite proud of her accomplishment which earned her a special place in the Muslim community.

After we went back down on the street, Bill and I walked the entire length of the aqueduct. Money had been recently appropriated for some repairs on the 500 year old structure and we saw several workers digging near some of the arches. The purpose of the excavation is to dig down far enough that the footings can be reinforced. The piles of dirt and debris being removed from the ground contained a few interesting artifacts such as glazed tiles. These tiles were probably part of a paved walk way at one time.


At the far end of the aqueduct lies the ancient pumping station which is shown in the last photo.