Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Sun, Jul 04 2004
The Stuff Legends Are Made Of
When we hear about The Wild Bunch, we hear mostly about Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh. Harry would be better known to most people as The Sundance Kid. Did Harry really die in South America in 1908, along with his pal Butch? Maybe so. But there is at least one man who thinks maybe Harry lived on until 1936, and went by the name of Henry Long. It brings to mind all the speculation on another fellow who lived roughly in the same time period as Harry or Henry. Quite a few men couldn't figure out what to do following the Civil War, and some of them became outlaws. Ambrose Bierce did something even more outrageous than turn to a life of crime. He wrote, both as a journalist and as a fiction writer. Bierce is commonly thought to have gone off in his early 70s to find Pancho Villa in Mexico. After awhile, all correspondence from him stopped, and he was presumed dead. But the stories and the speculation continue, as they do with The Sundance Kid, Jesse James, Billy The Kid and others.
I found a great example of just how complicated things can get when it comes to stories about old legends of the West. Arguments and claims come from every corner for and against the stories, even when there seems to be hard evidence to confirm certain odd associations. Speaking of associations, you will notice that actor Robert Redford, who portrayed The Sundance Kid in the 1969 film, keeps showing up in movies (and in real places) connected with some of these men. Is there another story brewing here? I definitely think we should stay tuned to the fun.
posted at: 16:31 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
When we hear about The Wild Bunch, we hear mostly about Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh. Harry would be better known to most people as The Sundance Kid. Did Harry really die in South America in 1908, along with his pal Butch? Maybe so. But there is at least one man who thinks maybe Harry lived on until 1936, and went by the name of Henry Long. It brings to mind all the speculation on another fellow who lived roughly in the same time period as Harry or Henry. Quite a few men couldn't figure out what to do following the Civil War, and some of them became outlaws. Ambrose Bierce did something even more outrageous than turn to a life of crime. He wrote, both as a journalist and as a fiction writer. Bierce is commonly thought to have gone off in his early 70s to find Pancho Villa in Mexico. After awhile, all correspondence from him stopped, and he was presumed dead. But the stories and the speculation continue, as they do with The Sundance Kid, Jesse James, Billy The Kid and others.
I found a great example of just how complicated things can get when it comes to stories about old legends of the West. Arguments and claims come from every corner for and against the stories, even when there seems to be hard evidence to confirm certain odd associations. Speaking of associations, you will notice that actor Robert Redford, who portrayed The Sundance Kid in the 1969 film, keeps showing up in movies (and in real places) connected with some of these men. Is there another story brewing here? I definitely think we should stay tuned to the fun.
posted at: 16:31 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
Step Right Up, Folks, And Get Your Genu-ine Jesus Tree
I guess we all missed the chance of a lifetime when we didn't bid tens of thousands of dollars on the rights to publish the Jesus Christ Kinship Report. They do advertise a CD of the report, which I guess you can still order for a few bucks.
As my husband pointed out, unless you are an atheist (in which case, you wouldn't care anyway), their claim to having the list of Joseph's genealogy is interesting, but irrelevant, because only Mary's family would have any true kinship to Jesus in the genealogical sense. From a divine standpoint, the genealogy would be pretty simple on the paternal side, and would not involve Joseph's ancestry in the least, if one believes the biblical accounts. For those who believe, the paternal side is one generation, traceable by faith, and open to all.
Still, it's an interesting form of medicine show. But if the IRS gets wind of all these family connections, the members listed in the Jesus tree are doomed. The inheritance taxes will be hell to pay.
posted at: 09:22 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry
I guess we all missed the chance of a lifetime when we didn't bid tens of thousands of dollars on the rights to publish the Jesus Christ Kinship Report. They do advertise a CD of the report, which I guess you can still order for a few bucks.
As my husband pointed out, unless you are an atheist (in which case, you wouldn't care anyway), their claim to having the list of Joseph's genealogy is interesting, but irrelevant, because only Mary's family would have any true kinship to Jesus in the genealogical sense. From a divine standpoint, the genealogy would be pretty simple on the paternal side, and would not involve Joseph's ancestry in the least, if one believes the biblical accounts. For those who believe, the paternal side is one generation, traceable by faith, and open to all.
Still, it's an interesting form of medicine show. But if the IRS gets wind of all these family connections, the members listed in the Jesus tree are doomed. The inheritance taxes will be hell to pay.
posted at: 09:22 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry
