Posted by Stephen and Janet Bly | Labels: 1950s, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon, Korean War, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Stephen Bly, Stuart Brannon: The Final Shot | Posted On January 29, 2012 at 1:42 PM
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| Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon |
1950s COWBOYS JAW ABOUT
THEIR WORLD
Stephen Bly
Copyright©2008
Quotes from Cowboy For A
Rainy Afternoon, Chapter 17. . .
“How’s Miss Diane?”
Coosie asked.
Quirt unfastened his
charcoal gray vest. “She’s takin’ it hard. She’s a sweet gal who lost her husband
in Korea three years ago. Hasn’t dated since, ‘cept she thought Leon was the
one.”
“Nice of you to look
after the young widow,” Bronc commented.
Quirt’s hand dropped to
his gun. “What do you mean by that?”
Bronc stiffened up. “I
mean you’re sniffin’ around like a geldin’ that was cut late in life.”
These blunt old men touch
on another sore subject. They called the war the Korean Conflict, the
‘forgotten war.’ However, it was never forgotten by those who served there or
their loved ones. Or those of us too young to go, yet old enough to listen to
the stories. This sobering conflict reminded folks that WWII did not insure
peace on earth. Only the Son of God can do that.
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“Ain’t much to get riled
over anymore, besides politics and the New York Yankees.”
“Now, don’t you go
mentionin’ them d. . .” Shorty glanced down at me. “Eh, them dadgum Yankees.
The Cardinals is twice the team they are and you know it.”
“I thought we agreed not
to talk about politics and baseball, at least when Shorty is around,” Thad
said.
If
I remember right, in 1954 there were only 8 American League and 8 National
League teams. The one furthest west was the St. Louis Cardinals. Out West,
you had to root for an eastern team. Like now, the N.Y. Yankees were either
loved or hated. For some reason, known only to my dad, our family sided with
the Brooklyn Dodgers.
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“Let’s mount us some fine
ponies, ride right into the dance floor of the Day-Lyte Club, shoot it up, rope
him and drag him all the way to Santa Fe,” Bronc suggested.
I grabbed my hat off the
table and shoved it on my head. “Can I come with you?”
“Little Brother,”
Granddaddy said, “you’re the only one in the room who could throw his leg over
a saddle. The boys are joshin’.”
“We can give him a what
for, if he comes back here,” Shorty proposed.
“We could load up in
Pop’s ’49 Plymouth and go to the club,” Bronc suggested.
“Can I go, Granddaddy?” I
pleaded.
“Your grandma would die
if she knew I hauled you into a joint like that. We aren’t going nowhere.”
Quint sighed. “Ain’t that
the truth.”
There is a quiet buzz
from old ceiling fans, like six thousand crickets out of tune. People don’t
often notice it, until there is silence.
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The
truth of Granddaddy’s statement hits the old men for awhile. Living in the
past can get real lonely.
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Right about then, I heard
the fan.
We all flinched when the
front door banged open. A man with dark brown butch haircut, wearing khaki work
pants and a long-sleeved khaki shirt strolled in. He headed straight towards
us. Following Quirt’s lead, my hand slipped to the plastic grips of my cap
pistol.
“Oh, good,” he said. “I
see the Spring Renaissance #10 arrived as scheduled.”
“Are you talkin’ about
them flowers?” Shorty asked.
“Yes. We had some mix up
with substitute deliverymen this morning. I was checking if everything went
okay. Our regular man called in sick with a horrible sore throat. I could
barely hear him. He sent his brother-in-law to fill in. I wasn’t too sure of
his ability.”
Quirt eased his hand off
the old Colt.
“That’s all I need to
know. Much relieved.” He spun on his heels and marched out the door.
The
man wore khaki pants and shirt. . .that’s a tip of my hat to my farmer dad.
He wore that same attire every workday of his life. The butch haircut was
mine, however. Dad was bald before I was born.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What do you remember most
about the 1950s, either lived or told to you?
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| Stuart Brannon: The Final Shot |
COMING MARCH 2012: Hardback & ebook
Stuart Brannon: The Final
Shot
by Stephen Bly (1944-2011)
It's 1905.
Two orphans flee Oregon's
Tillamook Head. One of them is branded a hero. Do they tell what really
happened & risk a dangerous man's wrath? Meanwhile, Brannon searches for
his missing U.S. Marshal friend & grapples with the game of golf on behalf
of a charity celebrity tournament.
Paperback edition available August 2012.
NOTE: Finishing Dad’s novel was a family affair.
E-mail janet@blybooks.com to
get a choice of blog articles for your use that feature various aspects of the process of
writing this novel.
I really have to wait until August?