Friday, March 14, 2008
Some cow sense
J. Frank Dobie on cowboy story-tellin', or any other kind of lyin' -- including writin' fiction, I reckon:
"I like a 'matter-of-lie kind of man.' He must be an authentic liar. The art of the authentic liar lies in giving homely, realistic details to everything connected with his preposterous inventions. Unlike the bishops of all religions, he does not expect his impossibilities to be believed; he merely expects his ingenuity to be appreciated. His aim is to lie in such a manner that the credulity of imagination will not be straightjacketed by skepticim of the intellect."
(from J. Frank Dobie, Cow People (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1964), 76.
Ross Santee on cowboy Martin Dodson:
"He was the loneliest man and the man of the most contradictions I have ever known. When I first knew him he carried a Bible and a six-shooter. He was gentle with horses, children; his courage was never questioned; he had a biting humor often misunderstood by the men he worked with; he didn't have many friends; he didn't want any, but anyone in his presense respected him. I can hear him now saying, 'Sir?' to someone he didn't like. What he meant was: 'Damn you, say Sir to me.' He was so good at his job and knew it so well he was frequently out of patience with men who, suposedly, should know and did not. With him, if it wasn't perfection, it wasn't right."
(Ibid., 89)
I like to pretend, at my most vain, that at my very best, them there words fit me at least as good as a pair of Nocona boots.
--ER
"I like a 'matter-of-lie kind of man.' He must be an authentic liar. The art of the authentic liar lies in giving homely, realistic details to everything connected with his preposterous inventions. Unlike the bishops of all religions, he does not expect his impossibilities to be believed; he merely expects his ingenuity to be appreciated. His aim is to lie in such a manner that the credulity of imagination will not be straightjacketed by skepticim of the intellect."
(from J. Frank Dobie, Cow People (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1964), 76.
Ross Santee on cowboy Martin Dodson:
"He was the loneliest man and the man of the most contradictions I have ever known. When I first knew him he carried a Bible and a six-shooter. He was gentle with horses, children; his courage was never questioned; he had a biting humor often misunderstood by the men he worked with; he didn't have many friends; he didn't want any, but anyone in his presense respected him. I can hear him now saying, 'Sir?' to someone he didn't like. What he meant was: 'Damn you, say Sir to me.' He was so good at his job and knew it so well he was frequently out of patience with men who, suposedly, should know and did not. With him, if it wasn't perfection, it wasn't right."
(Ibid., 89)
I like to pretend, at my most vain, that at my very best, them there words fit me at least as good as a pair of Nocona boots.
--ER
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I swear I've read the first quote somewhere. I do love it - it's the best description not just of liars, but of storytellers, who are nothing more than God's liars anyway (that's from Stephen King, so it must be true).
The second quote is something I think all Americans aspire to. I know I do. Knowing it is transparent, false, and represents an ideal that is ultimately not very socially appropriate - doesn't change the fact that right there is the description of the perfect American man. More than loved, or admired, or followed, we all want to be respected for being who we are. The identity of our most private and most public selves - what we think of as integrity - is part of the equation. Of course, most of us are hypocrites who refuse to admit it. I think the most brave, most honest men are the ones who admit they lie best to themselves, and are open about the contradictions in their lives, but refuse to reconcile them. Life without contradiction would be pretty boring.
Thanks for the quotes, dude.
The second quote is something I think all Americans aspire to. I know I do. Knowing it is transparent, false, and represents an ideal that is ultimately not very socially appropriate - doesn't change the fact that right there is the description of the perfect American man. More than loved, or admired, or followed, we all want to be respected for being who we are. The identity of our most private and most public selves - what we think of as integrity - is part of the equation. Of course, most of us are hypocrites who refuse to admit it. I think the most brave, most honest men are the ones who admit they lie best to themselves, and are open about the contradictions in their lives, but refuse to reconcile them. Life without contradiction would be pretty boring.
Thanks for the quotes, dude.
Ha. OK, this is heelarious, considerin' that I am a writer and an editor -- and I misspelled a word while typin' it:
"He was so good at his job and knew it so well he was frequently out of patience with men who, suposedly, should know and did not. With him, if it wasn't perfection, it wasn't right."
It ain't right! Hoot.
"He was so good at his job and knew it so well he was frequently out of patience with men who, suposedly, should know and did not. With him, if it wasn't perfection, it wasn't right."
It ain't right! Hoot.
Yeah on the whole typing/editing thing - your comment on my post last night read like you were a bit, well, in a different space if you get my meaning.
Fence patched. Poor Bailey! He got so excited, with me coming and goin' from the back yard! The boy don't know beefsteak from bailin' wire! Lucky for him, I am fixin' to grill a steak and some vegetables. There's be a bite in there for him and Riker.
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