Category: Other Things

Ben

May 9, 2019 | Bird Dogs, Remembrances | Comments
Over six decades my heart has been owned by a series of bird dogs, all but one an English Setter. The one exception was Ben, an English (or American) Pointer. As I remember them all in reverie, Ben appears in my mental DVD again and again. He was talented, and handsome, and lovable, and happily memorable. Just bringing him up in my mind’s eye makes me want to hug him. Read more

Horse and Mule Tradin’ Stories

March 4, 2019 | Other Things, Remembrances | Comments
My friend Jim Heckert, Manager of Cedar Grove Plantation, Clarksville, Virginia, just gave me two really good books, Horse Tradin’ and More Horse Tradin’ by Ben K. Green DVM. The stories in them got me thinking about my heritage. My paternal grandfather, Harry McClanahan Word (1865-1944), was in his first career a successful farmer-livestock dealer, and my father (1897-1954) apprenticed under him. That’s where I got my love of all things agrarian. My grandfather Harry’s life story is filled with cautionary tales, the first being Stick With What You Know. Read more

Ambitions

January 9, 2019 | Other Things, Prose | Comments
At 80 I often reflect on my ambitions Many unrealized but not for lack of trying Many secret until now So here is my confession My first ambition was to be a farmer But recurring droughts and collapse of cattle prices Taught me in the 1950s That I could not make a living from the soil Read more

2018 Montana Hunt with Jim Heckert

December 31, 2018 | Jim Heckert, Remembrances | Comments
These photos were taken while upland bird hunting near Choteau, Montana, east face of Rockies. In two days of hunting sharptails and Huns, we encountered five Grizzly Bears at uncomfortable range, a mother with three year-old cubs and a solo adult of unknown sex that eyed us from woods edge at a range of about 150 yards! Read more

Working Dog Owners Have Lost a Dear Friend

November 18, 2018 | Other Things, Remembrances | Comments
All working, herding, sporting, rescue and other dog devotees have lost a dear friend and fierce advocate. And I have lost a friend of a lifetime. That friend is Donald McCaig, author of Nob’s Trials, Rhett Butler’s People, and other great books about working dogs and Civil War history of impeccable literary quality and revealing of the author’s deep knowledge of things essential to a worthwhile life. Read more

Sharecroppers

June 22, 2018 | Other Things, Remembrances | Comments
Sharecropper is a term of derision to many. I admire sharecroppers, of old or of current times. Why? Because they made (and make) the best of opportunity. Suppose it is 1870. You are a black couple in rural Georgia. You have no land and no money. You have only your muscles and your brain and the lessons life has taught you. Read more