LAMAR, COLORADO -- Oris Reed of Lamar is a fourth generation mule man.
And he is a first generation professional writer.
The two talents have teamed up to produce several books about mules and his younger days in Colorado and Oregon.
Writing as Oris George, his latest book is Along the Back Roads of Yesterday.
It relates several humorous and serious incidents when he was a young boy. One of the funniest: a contrary mule stopped suddenly and young Oris was treated to hot steamy “mule apples”, a gift from the mule.
Oris was often in trouble, and one reason was his good friend, Henry, whom Oris describes as the Eddie Haskell of his day.
‘He would buy the bullets and get you to shoot them…” Oris recalled during a breakfast meeting at Java Jackie’s in Las Animas. “He never met a girl he did not fall in love with.”
Henry is a factor in several of the tales Oris weaves in his latest book.
Two earlier books, out of print, tell similar nostalgic tales from the past.
Oris enjoys writing nostalgia because “it takes the edge off hard times. Those were tough times.”
Tough times, indeed. There are some sad moments in the book when a fiasco by Oris leaves the family really tight on money. Sometimes the available cash was measured in coins. And it was troubled times for Oris, as he often seemed knee deep in trouble. Oris took the heat for wrecking the family truck….that Henry had been driving, of course.
His first years were spent on the family farm in Fremont County, Colorado.
“When I was five I had a mule I rode all over the country by myself.“
Then the family moved to Oregon, where the family farmed 1,600 acres with mule power. Oris now says every man should have two mules. But back then he drove up to 12 head at a time, working and showing.
He won many ribbons and admits to being “a show off in those days.”
Now, he seems more modest, but enjoy showing off his writing gift, which was discovered his senior year in high school.
Encouraged to enter a writing contest, he won district and state honors.
He wrote some articles for a newspaper, then got more serious when he was in the Army.
“I got to France….I wrote a column for a French newspaper about rural life in the U. S. It was translated. In time I got good enough to write in French.”
Back home, he continued to write articles and published a book. He also farmed, but got sick and quit farming and went to New Mexico.
There, he took a journalism class from famed mystery writer Tony Hillerman. They clashed
“He was teaching interpretative reporting, which I did not believe in and do not now.
“We fought until I left the class.”
A few years later he ran into Hillerman at a book signing.
“Do you know me?” the author asked.
“I told him I was writing a novel and he asked to read it. Can you imagine the writers who would give an arm to have him read their writing?
Hillerman gave a thumbs up..
“He told me not to go to school but to get with it.”
And Oris has. He has three more books in the works right now.
Though he has no mules now at his place near Lamar, Oris is still respected as a mule man and is a director of the North American Saddle Mule Association.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Seasons Change
Dale Pond’s Institute has indeed been hopping in recent weeks, as he reports this week.
If you have an important skill to contribute or would like to donate a tidy sum of money to help the cause, hint, hint, you might consider a visit to La Junta, Colorado to meet Dale if you have not already. Dale already has an extensive and varied list of friends from all over the world. And when winter began to wane and spring arrived I began to see more and more how he is linked to the world from this out of the way town along the Santa Fe Trail.
When I was in elementary and middle school, I visited a relative’s large sheep and cattle ranch on the Montana plains for three summers. Looking back, what struck me was how people found their way to the ranch each summer from nearby Utah as well as far off New York, Canada and of course, the Old World. The Murnion clan was anything but isolated from the world.
And Dale is the same way. Every day his mind is in contact with people globally. Sometimes to transact a sale, other times to share or give knowledge or information. I often hear his busy cell phone ringing away.
Arriving Friday to do my humble cataloging, I was diverted outdoors to do a modest amount of brush trimming along the street, where Robert Otey could not reach due to extension cord limitations. So I got out my hedge clippers and chain saw and cord from my car trunk and cut back the branches that extended into the street. I was making a weak effort to make up for not showing up Tuesday, as expected.
I put in half an hour and had to marvel at the extensive brush and tree cutting Robert had already accomplished the previous few days in heat that got into triple digits on Tuesday. Otey was a hands-on volunteer who got a needed job done. The result was impressive, I could actually now see through the trees and shrubs. Trimmings remained piled everywhere along the curbside for eventual removal.
After my chain got stuck and fell off and I had essentially completed a measly 40 feet or so of brush, I considered that Divine Will and retreated indoors to my comfort zone of book cataloging in the library.
Maybe two hours later when I was expecting to close down and go off to lunch, Ja’na dropped by to say that lunch would be late. Another free meal? Ja’na has truly been a blessing to the institute. While Dale is a good host and chef himself, Ja’na has assumed much of the mid-day cooking, which has freed Dale to contemplate and work on his higher calling.
And that is another parallel to the Montana ranch, by the way. My Aunt Rose Ellen never knew if there would be four or fourteen for lunch any given day. Some days I saw people just suddenly appear around lunch time, I never knew who they all were, but some were county workers and others were neighbors or buyers. They would show up, expecting to be fed. My Aunt would simply send me out to the root cellar to grab another bottle or two of home-canned beef and more potatoes would be peeled to stretch the meal.
Ja’na can cook for a few or a crowd too. It does not phase her. And her cooking I have to say is much more flavorful than our basic Irish meat and potatoes fare. But she makes it look as easy as Aunt Rose Ellen did. (So did my late Uncle Dick, who was a Navy chef on an aircraft carrier before he retired and ended up making those food displays you used to see on the original Love Boat. In fact, one episode of that series was dedicated to Dick Reilly in his memory.)
So there is no more pleasant sound than that of a Buddhist type bell ringing through the institute, calling one and all to dinner.
The quiet somewhat empty institute when I first started dropping by has now shaken off the rest of winter and is now filled with activity and motion and contemplation and spirited conversation and happy bantering.
What I perceived as a quiet spell has come to an end and the Institute is now building energy for the tasks and goals that are before Dale now and to come in the future.
While the setting is not the same as that in the Guess Who Classic “No Time“, some of the words are appropriate.
“Seasons change and so did I …. You need not wonder why.”
If you have an important skill to contribute or would like to donate a tidy sum of money to help the cause, hint, hint, you might consider a visit to La Junta, Colorado to meet Dale if you have not already. Dale already has an extensive and varied list of friends from all over the world. And when winter began to wane and spring arrived I began to see more and more how he is linked to the world from this out of the way town along the Santa Fe Trail.
When I was in elementary and middle school, I visited a relative’s large sheep and cattle ranch on the Montana plains for three summers. Looking back, what struck me was how people found their way to the ranch each summer from nearby Utah as well as far off New York, Canada and of course, the Old World. The Murnion clan was anything but isolated from the world.
And Dale is the same way. Every day his mind is in contact with people globally. Sometimes to transact a sale, other times to share or give knowledge or information. I often hear his busy cell phone ringing away.
Arriving Friday to do my humble cataloging, I was diverted outdoors to do a modest amount of brush trimming along the street, where Robert Otey could not reach due to extension cord limitations. So I got out my hedge clippers and chain saw and cord from my car trunk and cut back the branches that extended into the street. I was making a weak effort to make up for not showing up Tuesday, as expected.
I put in half an hour and had to marvel at the extensive brush and tree cutting Robert had already accomplished the previous few days in heat that got into triple digits on Tuesday. Otey was a hands-on volunteer who got a needed job done. The result was impressive, I could actually now see through the trees and shrubs. Trimmings remained piled everywhere along the curbside for eventual removal.
After my chain got stuck and fell off and I had essentially completed a measly 40 feet or so of brush, I considered that Divine Will and retreated indoors to my comfort zone of book cataloging in the library.
Maybe two hours later when I was expecting to close down and go off to lunch, Ja’na dropped by to say that lunch would be late. Another free meal? Ja’na has truly been a blessing to the institute. While Dale is a good host and chef himself, Ja’na has assumed much of the mid-day cooking, which has freed Dale to contemplate and work on his higher calling.
And that is another parallel to the Montana ranch, by the way. My Aunt Rose Ellen never knew if there would be four or fourteen for lunch any given day. Some days I saw people just suddenly appear around lunch time, I never knew who they all were, but some were county workers and others were neighbors or buyers. They would show up, expecting to be fed. My Aunt would simply send me out to the root cellar to grab another bottle or two of home-canned beef and more potatoes would be peeled to stretch the meal.
Ja’na can cook for a few or a crowd too. It does not phase her. And her cooking I have to say is much more flavorful than our basic Irish meat and potatoes fare. But she makes it look as easy as Aunt Rose Ellen did. (So did my late Uncle Dick, who was a Navy chef on an aircraft carrier before he retired and ended up making those food displays you used to see on the original Love Boat. In fact, one episode of that series was dedicated to Dick Reilly in his memory.)
So there is no more pleasant sound than that of a Buddhist type bell ringing through the institute, calling one and all to dinner.
The quiet somewhat empty institute when I first started dropping by has now shaken off the rest of winter and is now filled with activity and motion and contemplation and spirited conversation and happy bantering.
What I perceived as a quiet spell has come to an end and the Institute is now building energy for the tasks and goals that are before Dale now and to come in the future.
While the setting is not the same as that in the Guess Who Classic “No Time“, some of the words are appropriate.
“Seasons change and so did I …. You need not wonder why.”
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
From America with Love
The Western Horseman this month reports that a Montana rancher has moved half his cattle herd to Russia, which is trying to revive its nearly dead cattle industry.
The writer, Ryan Bell, reports that the beef cattle population in Russia dropped from 18 million at the time of the Russian revolution to only 6000,000 today.
As a result, a steak dinner costs $75 in Moscow. People quoted in the article said beef available from butchers is only a step above leather.
Russia has one beef cow for every 230 people while in the U. S. there is one cow for every 3.5 people.
Russia has vast expanses of unfenced, idle grasslands, and the Montana ranch has partnered with the owners of 13,000 acres to restock some of this unused natural resource. A herd of about 500 cows were shipped over by boat.
The rancher also defied Russian restrictions by shipping over five trained cow horses to work the cattle. It was argued that while Russia has many horses of its own the U. S. horses had the build, training and disposition for the job. Only one of the horses was a registered Quarter Horse. The others were grade horses bought off ranches.
The cows sent over to Russia were Angus and they will have to thrive in a climate that ranges from 30 F. below in winter to 100 degrees F. in summer.
Russia now imports a lot of beef and it hopes to become more self sufficient within a few years.
I find it unbelievable that Russia’s meet industry had fallen into such a low state and only now realizes it has to improve it. Of course, having a population that is undernourished and alcoholic makes it easer for mass control.
The rising cost of food and fuel in the U. S. during an economic depression is something for us to think about, for the elites definitely have the U. S. targeted for more poverty consciousness. Though that is not all bad since we as a people waste and squander a lot and hopefully we will find ways to be more efficient and not have to step down our comfort levels even if we have to reorganize our consumption to more realistic and sustainable and healthy levels.
Dan
The writer, Ryan Bell, reports that the beef cattle population in Russia dropped from 18 million at the time of the Russian revolution to only 6000,000 today.
As a result, a steak dinner costs $75 in Moscow. People quoted in the article said beef available from butchers is only a step above leather.
Russia has one beef cow for every 230 people while in the U. S. there is one cow for every 3.5 people.
Russia has vast expanses of unfenced, idle grasslands, and the Montana ranch has partnered with the owners of 13,000 acres to restock some of this unused natural resource. A herd of about 500 cows were shipped over by boat.
The rancher also defied Russian restrictions by shipping over five trained cow horses to work the cattle. It was argued that while Russia has many horses of its own the U. S. horses had the build, training and disposition for the job. Only one of the horses was a registered Quarter Horse. The others were grade horses bought off ranches.
The cows sent over to Russia were Angus and they will have to thrive in a climate that ranges from 30 F. below in winter to 100 degrees F. in summer.
Russia now imports a lot of beef and it hopes to become more self sufficient within a few years.
I find it unbelievable that Russia’s meet industry had fallen into such a low state and only now realizes it has to improve it. Of course, having a population that is undernourished and alcoholic makes it easer for mass control.
The rising cost of food and fuel in the U. S. during an economic depression is something for us to think about, for the elites definitely have the U. S. targeted for more poverty consciousness. Though that is not all bad since we as a people waste and squander a lot and hopefully we will find ways to be more efficient and not have to step down our comfort levels even if we have to reorganize our consumption to more realistic and sustainable and healthy levels.
Dan
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Eustace Mullins Close Friend Still in Jail
March 29, 2011
By Dan Cunningham
Las Animas, CO -- The close friend who was with Eustace Mullins (Secrets of the Federal Reserve) when he died remains in a Bent County, Colorado jail more than three weeks after he was arrested following a traffic stop.
Jesse Lee, also known as Jesse Temple, was leaving Bent County for his home in Texas on March 3 when he pulled over near Hasty, Colorado on U. S. Highway 50 to check a tire.
A sheriff’s deputy stopped at the scene and reportedly became suspicious of the license plates on Lee’s RV. Backup was requested and it is reported that when lawmen tried to contact Lee he locked himself in his RV. The vehicle was reportedly broken into and Lee was forcefully removed and placed in custody during the incident.
Court records show Lee is currently being held under suspicion of no driver’s license; obstructing government operation; no registration card; fictitious plates; uninsured vehicle on a public road and failure to provide proof of insurance.
He initially was held under the name John Doe but by his second court appearance before County Judge Mark MacDonnell he was identified as Jesse Lee
During a second court appearance the following week Judge MacDonnell attempted to advise the suspect of his rights.
Each time the judge advised him of a right, Lee responded:
“I do not understand.”
The judge asked Lee how far he had gotten in school, did he have a high school diploma?
Lee asked why that was necessary.
“This is not a federal case,” the judge said.
Lee continued to say that he did not understand the proceedings and said lawmen “had broken into his vehicle“
The judge said he did not want to see Lee sitting in jail and he several times suggested the defendant could post bond. Several of Lee‘s local friends were in the court room and they were prepared to raise the money needed to post bond.
The judge asked a public defender to initiate competency hearing for Lee, but the attorney declined, saying he did not have enough information on the case and that the court itself could order a mental evaluation of the suspect.
At one point in the hearing Lee declined to state his name.
“You are not getting my name. It is private. I give it to no one,” Lee said.
MacDonnell offered Lee a chance to be released from jail under a personal recognizance bond, however the suspect declined to sign any forms with his name.
“I am a trustee of that name. I cannot betray that trust,” he told the judge.
When MacDonnell scheduled another hearing for April 13, Lee said he had not eaten for eight days and would not last that long.
Since then, Lee has reportedly begun eating and was sent to Pueblo for a mental health evaluation. Friends attempted to visit Lee in jail but the visits were denied because jailers said the prisoner was not cooperating.
Lee has told friend in Las Animas that prominent patriot writer Eustace Mullins was staying in his home when he passed away last year.
By Dan Cunningham
Las Animas, CO -- The close friend who was with Eustace Mullins (Secrets of the Federal Reserve) when he died remains in a Bent County, Colorado jail more than three weeks after he was arrested following a traffic stop.
Jesse Lee, also known as Jesse Temple, was leaving Bent County for his home in Texas on March 3 when he pulled over near Hasty, Colorado on U. S. Highway 50 to check a tire.
A sheriff’s deputy stopped at the scene and reportedly became suspicious of the license plates on Lee’s RV. Backup was requested and it is reported that when lawmen tried to contact Lee he locked himself in his RV. The vehicle was reportedly broken into and Lee was forcefully removed and placed in custody during the incident.
Court records show Lee is currently being held under suspicion of no driver’s license; obstructing government operation; no registration card; fictitious plates; uninsured vehicle on a public road and failure to provide proof of insurance.
He initially was held under the name John Doe but by his second court appearance before County Judge Mark MacDonnell he was identified as Jesse Lee
During a second court appearance the following week Judge MacDonnell attempted to advise the suspect of his rights.
Each time the judge advised him of a right, Lee responded:
“I do not understand.”
The judge asked Lee how far he had gotten in school, did he have a high school diploma?
Lee asked why that was necessary.
“This is not a federal case,” the judge said.
Lee continued to say that he did not understand the proceedings and said lawmen “had broken into his vehicle“
The judge said he did not want to see Lee sitting in jail and he several times suggested the defendant could post bond. Several of Lee‘s local friends were in the court room and they were prepared to raise the money needed to post bond.
The judge asked a public defender to initiate competency hearing for Lee, but the attorney declined, saying he did not have enough information on the case and that the court itself could order a mental evaluation of the suspect.
At one point in the hearing Lee declined to state his name.
“You are not getting my name. It is private. I give it to no one,” Lee said.
MacDonnell offered Lee a chance to be released from jail under a personal recognizance bond, however the suspect declined to sign any forms with his name.
“I am a trustee of that name. I cannot betray that trust,” he told the judge.
When MacDonnell scheduled another hearing for April 13, Lee said he had not eaten for eight days and would not last that long.
Since then, Lee has reportedly begun eating and was sent to Pueblo for a mental health evaluation. Friends attempted to visit Lee in jail but the visits were denied because jailers said the prisoner was not cooperating.
Lee has told friend in Las Animas that prominent patriot writer Eustace Mullins was staying in his home when he passed away last year.
Monday, October 4, 2010
How Would World War III Boost Post-industrial America?
Since 2001 more than 42,000 factories employing 500 people or more have closed in post industrial America.
If the bankers get America into World War III to boost the economy what will people do to win the war - sell insurance to each other and fry hamburgers?
Massive government spending contracts for the next war would be given to Americans with government contacts who would turn around and outsource the war materiel production to China and Mexico and India and Taiwan etc. Presumably our foe would be the entire Muslim world, whose birth rate projects to overwhelm the West and the East, and not just the fringes of it. By the way, it is absurd to be fighting Islam on the margins even as they move into the U S and project a de-stabilizing 50 million Islamic followers in 20 years. But our intel lacks intelligence.
Post industrial America would logically be trending downward toward the model of India, and the streets of LA and Houston and Miam - where it is warmer - will be swarming with hordes of abandoned children just like in Bombay or around Mexico City..
And the globalists will have achieved that global parity they have been striving for.
But there will still be a stock market as there is in India, where the satellites depict a bright glow of illumination compared to the blackness of much of Africa and Oceania.
The rich will go on.
If the bankers get America into World War III to boost the economy what will people do to win the war - sell insurance to each other and fry hamburgers?
Massive government spending contracts for the next war would be given to Americans with government contacts who would turn around and outsource the war materiel production to China and Mexico and India and Taiwan etc. Presumably our foe would be the entire Muslim world, whose birth rate projects to overwhelm the West and the East, and not just the fringes of it. By the way, it is absurd to be fighting Islam on the margins even as they move into the U S and project a de-stabilizing 50 million Islamic followers in 20 years. But our intel lacks intelligence.
Post industrial America would logically be trending downward toward the model of India, and the streets of LA and Houston and Miam - where it is warmer - will be swarming with hordes of abandoned children just like in Bombay or around Mexico City..
And the globalists will have achieved that global parity they have been striving for.
But there will still be a stock market as there is in India, where the satellites depict a bright glow of illumination compared to the blackness of much of Africa and Oceania.
The rich will go on.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
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