He swung a wide loop in his younger days, I think.*

by chuckofish

Spring arrived this week. The daffodils are blooming and new leaves are beginning to turn bare branches green. I’ve started spring cleaning the house and rearranging things a bit. Taking my DP’s advice, I did not reframe one of the etchings I recently purchased. It is now on the wall in son #1’s old room, where it sits above my other recent acquisitions, the dresser and mirror. Note the new curtains as well. I’m still deciding what to do with the smaller etching.

It probably seems as if I buy things all the time, but that’s not true. I’ve been on the lookout for a dresser, new curtains and a mirror for ages, and I’m on a tight budget, so I have to select carefully. It just so happened that it all came together in a short time. Months and sometimes years will go by while I look, and then bam, all at once I find exactly the right thing(s). Patience is the key.

In other news, the Christmas cactus continues to bloom and more buds are developing!

Aside from puttering around the house I’ve been reading Harry Carey Jr.’s autobiography. My DP recommended it, so I gave it to son James for Christmas, and after he read it, he passed it to me.

Though the book is full of great anecdotes about John Ford and John Wayne, one photo of Harry Carey Sr. holding his newborn son really struck my fancy.

I only knew HC Sr. from films he made when he was older, such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Angel and the Badman and Red River, but I had never seen him in his heyday as the star of westerns, so I decided to track one down. Last night on YouTube I watched one of his films called The Last of the Clintons (1935).

The plot concerns cattle theft and reminded me a lot of the Hopalong Cassidy movie I watched recently. The Last of the Clintons involves a lot of riding horses hell bent for leather, but Harry Carey has screen presence, a good voice and can certainly ride well. It’s easy to see how Carey’s acting style influenced other western stars. Even if the print is bad and it is sometimes difficult to hear, it’s good to watch people do their own stunts, ride like experienced cowhands and fist fight as if they are really doing it and not remembering a thousand carefully choreographed moves. I’m going to track down some more of his movies. In particular, I’d like to see his versions of the Last of the Mohicans and the Three Godfathers.

Have a wonderful weekend and remember:

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” (Attributed to Victor Hugo, although I have been unable to verify.)

*A comment referring to cattle rustling — Angel and the Badman