’Tis early for Yuletide musings, but the culture has forced my hand. No, no, it’s not that the stores have already given over my beloved pumpkin spice for Christmas treats and decor — I can ignore that. I’ve stocked up on pumpkin spice, same as I have on ammo. So I’m good. But... the trailer for Fatman has … [Read more...] about Santa Packs a Walker Colt
More From The Trapline — November 2020
The term “Revisionist History” is freighted with negative connotations. That’s too bad, for our understanding of the past should never be allowed to set in concrete. I would agree that “revision” based on mere shifts in intellectual fashion or driven by contemporary ideological agendas is suspect. But revision based on new evidence or the removal … [Read more...] about More From The Trapline — November 2020
I May Be Used, But I Ain’t Used Up
Hit the double-nickle today. Damn. How did that happen? Since I turned 50, this has been my go-to birthday song. Take it Waymore... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLdUeQ9yFW0 * One of the multitude of things I’m grateful for is robust health. It’s not something to take for granted. As we’ll explore soon in the forthcoming Frontier … [Read more...] about I May Be Used, But I Ain’t Used Up
Wild Colonial Boys
An Irish folksinger from Portland named Peter Yeates headlined the very first Sisters Folk Festival in 1995. He came back for the ’98 Festival. He was a character. I was a drinking man back then, and we had us some fun at the ’98 afterparty, tipping back pints, banging on guitars and singing boozy, bawdy songs. One of my favorite moments … [Read more...] about Wild Colonial Boys
The Border Legends
By Rick Schwertfeger, Captain, Frontier Partisans Southern Command, Austin, Texas * A restless, acquisitive people, exercising the rights of conquest, disturbed the old ways. One who fought back became a legend. * It wasn’t a border. The Spanish had extended their conquest of Mexico north to the lands surrounding the Rio Bravo del … [Read more...] about The Border Legends
Working The Trapline — November 2020
Gotta say, the loss of Texas songster legend Billy Joe Shaver last Wednesday hit me pretty hard, especially coming as it did on the heels of the passing of Jerry Jeff Walker. They were hard-worn old men, and their time had come, but... damn. These days it feels like an awful lot of things I value deeply are slipping into the gloaming. My family has … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — November 2020
Frontier Partisans Halloween Playlist
A selection of the spooky, macabre and uncanny. If you’ve got any suggestions, put ’em in the comments and I’ll add to the roll call. * There’s some things in this world you just can’t … [Read more...] about Frontier Partisans Halloween Playlist
They’re Gonna Live Forever
Just like the songs I leave behind me I'm gonna live forever now — Billy Joe Shaver * A pair of desperadoes jumped the long black train just a few days apart. Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver have gone up the outlaw trail. Sure, they were hard-livin’ hardcore troubadours, and no one — least of all them — would have expected … [Read more...] about They’re Gonna Live Forever
The Truth About Werewolves — Part II
The following concludes Lane Batot’s Halloween season guest post on lupine shapeshifting. Okay, now on to that one exception of lupine characteristics not exhibited by true werewolves, which leads us to Myth Number 2. You see, the transformation to a WOLF, with a competent shape-shifter, is complete EXCEPT for the EYES. Again and again … [Read more...] about The Truth About Werewolves — Part II
The Truth About Werewolves — Part I
The following is a Halloween-season guest post from Lane Batot, Ranger of the North Carolina Woods. With the upcoming Halloween landing on a Saturday (something that heralded an all-nighter neighborhood rampage in my youth, with no school attendance to have to drag in to the following day), AND a Full Moon, which is also a Blue Moon (being … [Read more...] about The Truth About Werewolves — Part I
