Good, Bad, Ugly

Meet the Bonin women (and kids) of Houston, mom furthest left. Photo from Google Images:

Last night Movies!, channel 5–2 on OTA in NYC, ran Steve McQueen’s next to last film, Tom Horn (1980), before cancer took him at 50. His cinematic youthfulness, amazing star quality, was almost gone entirely. The flick, which I viewed during its original release, is a middle of the road western that leaves the interpretation of the protagonist’s character up to the viewer. It focuses on the last years of his life, early 1900’s, Wyoming territory. He is hired to end rustling in any way he sees fit, then, according to the script, is betrayed by his employers, tried and hung at 42. Most everyone in law enforcement is in awe of him, especially the sheriff played wonderfully by the great Slim Pickens. Horn’s lover, a school marm played by the lovely Linda Evans, provides a counterpoint when she breaks with him after witnessing the violence of which he is capable. Horn is a legend and someone should do a mini-series covering his entire life. The film was directed by William Wiard, a Hollywood stalwart who also was taken by cancer at a relatively young age, 59. There are 58 titles under his name at IMDb, a misleading figure, as he was at the helm of multiple episodes of popular TV fare. He did five of Get Smart, 36 of Daniel Boone, ten of Room 222, eight of Bonanza, 22 of The Doris Day Show, six of M*A*S*H, seven of Love, American Style, 19 of Cannon, 26 of The Rockford Files, six of Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and six of Spenser: For Hire, and as many as four of other shows. He also did a lot of editing, all on the small screen. Married from 1951 until his death, he was a dad of three. Awesome, Sir. To my chagrin, I was unable to find a picture of him. Here’s one related to the subject, photo from GI:

Caption at foxnews.com concerning a riot at a Honduras prison: “Clash between Barrio 18 and MS-13 members killed 46 prisoners so far.” Is this good or bad news?

Headline from FN: “Drugs killing more than homicides, suicides, natural disease combined after British Columbia decriminalization.” As an advocate of freedom, I blame the individuals, not the government in this case.

One of the rewards of the curbside book shop is what people tell me about themselves. Today a woman revealed she’s been with her boyfriend 40 years — in separate apartments! And a man of about 30 I assumed was drunk said he’d suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was teetering to and fro and asked if there were a place he could sit. I pointed out a nearby bus shelter. Why was he out alone? Count our lucky stars.

It was more like the first day of autumn than summer, but still fine for selling stuff curbside. My thanks to the kind folks who bought a wide variety of goods. Here’s what sold: a duffel bag, two Barry Manilow vinyl albums; the massive pictorial Bruce Springsteen: Album by Album by Ryan White; two large medical assistant textbooks; The People’s Almanac by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace; The History of the American Presidency, a pictorial by John Bowman; Healing Through Humor by Hunter (no last or, perhaps, first name); two volumes in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Type Talk at Work: How the 16 Personality Types Determine Your Success on the Job by Otto Kroeger, Janet M. Thuesen, et al.; The Highly Sensitive Person’s Workbook by Elaine N. Aron Ph.D.. I am blessed.

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