WannaskaWriter

  From: Wannaskawriter Date:   Sunday, May 6, 2007 8:22 AM Subject:   Copy of email to Wendy in Austin TX    My dearest niece in Austin. Guess I owe you a letter at long last, we don't correspond much any mo'. Such is life. I just come in from outside, so let me get on to tellin' you about it:    Le' me bang the dust from my old cow hat here, jes' got in from the range a'roundin' up all dem li'l doggies, my old ass is jes' about worn t'rough my jeans. Now I knows why cowboys walk around bowlegged an' all, their knees jes' give out on 'em, they do, stand'n in the stirrups, tryin' to ease all them stinkin' bumps out of the trail, twist'n this an' twist'n that way, tryin' ta keep your ass from beat'n the seat that's always comin up to meet an' greet ya.    The wors' t'ing about it, is your loins get all sweaty and chapt ag'in all that heavin' heated horse flesh and smooth-worn saddl...

To: Joe McD. Date: Monday, August 20, 2007 10:30 AM Subject: "Now why don't he write?"    That's a line out of, "Dances With Wolves." The ill-fated mule skinner, looking at a sun-bleached human skeleton with arrows sticking into it (versus, 'sticking out of it') is talking to "John Dunbar," and explaining that," ... some of these po' folks are never heard from again, and the people back home are wondering, "' Now why don't he write?' "     On Sunday, I went to Rydell Wildlife Management Refuge to hear a talk about NW Minnesota's Savannah-Parkland region, and Red River Ox Cart Trails, given by Nancy Sather, a naturalist and writer whom I've wanted to met for some time. I've read her work from time to time and wanted to reprint a piece or two since as it's exceptional. At the beginning of the talk she handed out excerpts from historical manuscripts by early explorers that she encouraged all of us...