Letter to Ace Ticket

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To Mr. James Holzman

Ace Ticket

534 Commonweath Ave.

Boston, MA 02215

Dear Mr. Holzman,

Herb Chambers once ran an advertisement for the Vespa motor scooters he was selling.

The ad read, "Don't Be A Gas Hole." I wrote to him and asked him if his Grandmother liked the ad. He actually wrote back, sent a letter with a stamp , and said he had never seen the ad, and promised that I would never see it again either. I never saw it again.

Your ad "Sit Your Ace Down" offends me. My wife says, "You are sixty eight years old and everything offends you."

She could be on to something, but do you REALLY think that is a class ad?

If you actually paid someone for that idea, maybe you should try to get the people that wrote the 1969 Prince Spaghetti ad. ANTHONY! That was a great advertisement.         

Good health to you.             

Sincerely,

Bob Bacon

110 Stagecoach Drive

Marshfield, MA 02050

Bronco Charlie

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 Charles Miller’s father came to the United States of America in the early 1800s from Scotland. In New York City, he met and married his wife, who was from England. In 1849, the family of four -- including Charlie's brother -- got gold fever and headed out to California. You may have heard of the 49ers.

At Hat Creek in northern California, the family was attacked by Indians and the father was killed. Unlike the kids of today, Charlie got a job at the age of twelve, driving horses to Idaho. They were involved in a running fight with more Indians. He worked with horses until one bit him in the hand, going right through the muscle and bones.

He moved back to NYC. One night he attended Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show at Madison Square Garden. It would change his life. Charlie signed on and became Bronco Charlie.  He was a bronco rider and played in the Pony Express part of the show. I find it fascinating that among the Indian employees were men who fought against Custer at Little Big Horn. 

Miller toured for thirty years with Buffalo Bill, especially through Europe. Buffalo Bill has 680 people in his show, including three cooks, 38 servers, two barbers and 44 buffalo. The tour included England, Spain, Germany and even a show in Naples, Italy. Today the countries that buy the most Indian memorabilia are Germany and Italy.

In the 1930' he put on shows with his twenty foot bull whip. One time he lit a wooden match with the bull whip while a Boy Scout held it in his teeth. The Boy Scout then asked Charlie if he could shoot a match out with a .22 while Charlie held it in his mouth. Charlie declined saying he had lived so long by not being stupid, and that the Scout didn't look like Annie Oakley to him. 

He became friends with Sitting Bull and even Teddy Roosevelt. At age 55 he fought in World War One with the Canadiens.

Sitting Bull

His life ended back in New York City in a nursing home in a wheel chair. He would receive up to 50 letters a day, all addressed simply to Bronco Charlie. He only passed in 1955. Sometimes yjustcmtsup

Buffalo Bill's America is the fifth book I’ve read about William Cody. The author teaches western American history at U.C. Davis, where our friends Tom & Jeanette Egan and Steve & Sue George all met for the very first time. William Cody was a very famous man.

 

"Where some wrote breathless summaries of Miller’s true to life adventures, other less credulous observers marveled at the art of his deception. It might even have been Miller’s wide New York press coverage that inspired – appalled -- New York novelist Thomas Berger to conjure a suspiciously similar, albeit fictional character, a man of almost-impossible vintage named Jack Crabb. In two novels and one movie 1970 (starring Dustin Hoffman ), protagonist Crabb, better known as Little Big Man, danced across  an imaginary stage  as Cheyenne renegade, gunfighter, sole white survivor of the Little Big Horn . . . and veteran of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.”

The real Little Big Man was an Oglala Lakota, a fearless warrior who fought with Crazy Horse. He was also at Little Big Horn or the Fight at The Greasy Grass as the Indians called it.

Little Big Man

See my blog “Como Se Llama.”

Standing Bear. He was 17 when he fought at Little Big Horn.

The next time you are in Cody, or just visiting Eastern Yellowstone Park, do yourself a favor and check out the museum. Stay at Buffalo Bill's hotel, named after his daughter Irma. Saddle up to the beautiful saloon bar and have a cold one. Don't forget to wear your cowboy hat, and tell the bartender that TOCINO SENT YOU.

Buffalo Bill Cody

I ain't never seen nothin' like a Galway girl

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Steve Earle played at Ninigret this year, along with forty other bands, according to the Providence Journal this Labor Day morning. "Longtime couples and complete strangers grabbed one another for a swing, jitterbug or close sway as Roddie Romero and his Hub City All Stars dealt some Louisiana rock. Even those unfamiliar with Zydeco couldn't help tapping their feet."

Earle is one of my daughter Kezia's favorites. She went to see him in Boston recently. It also recently came up that he wrote "Ben McCulloch." It is about the Civil War. 

I killed a boy the other day 

who never even shaved 

I don't even know what I'm fightin' for 

I ain't never owned a slave

Another one of my favorites. I did not know until a month ago that the tune was written in 1974 by Steve Earle. (Editor's Note: Since Earle's album with "Ben McCulloch" -- Train A Comin' -- was released in 1995, this "written in 1974" business may be a product of age-related hearing loss. - KB)

 

So at Ninigret at the Rhythm & Roots festival, I decided to see him in action and talk to him about that tune. He was scheduled on the main stage at 7:45pm Saturday evening. Ninigret Park gates open at 11am. Sandy and I had been Cajun & Zydeco dancing all day and needed dinner and a shower. We were finishing up eating at the picnic tables when two people asked if they could join us.

She was from Austin. It is in Texas. He looked Creole. He probably was. Born in Louisiana but transplanted in San Francisco. For fun, both travel the festival circuit. Both said that this festival was the best of them all. People travel from far and wide and I can't convince nearly anyone to join us. 

Flaco & Enid joined us this year. Halfway through the festival, they were talking about coming for the whole weekend next year. Enid is crazy about banjo music. Who knew? Flaco would probably have married her regardless. Probably. 

We talked with our dinner guests about the other festivals and the musicians. Although she preferred the Zydeco, her favorite performer was a Cajun by the name of Riley. It turns out that California has many Cajun / Zydeco dances. San Diego has an awesome festival. It is in California. Louisiana has the most, and nearly all of them are free admission. We finally broke away from our new friends and headed late to the main stage to see Steve. Earle not Riley.

A football sized field (you know what I mean . . . ) holds the festival attendees for the main stage. 

They added another stage this year to bring it up to five stages. Why? Well you need them if you have forty bands. Dumb question, by the way. 

The sound system is terrific. This is the festival's 16th year and they have it all fine-tuned. There are screens to watch if you haven't secured a closer-to-the-stage seat. It is Bring Your Own chair seating. 

As we drew closer, I heard the song being performed that I had come to the festival specifically to see and hear. 

God damn you 

Ben McCulloch

Hate you more 

Than any other man alive

And when you die 

You'll be a foot soldier just like me

In the devil's infantry

It seems that Steve Earle's soldier had joined General Ben Mc Culloch's Texas infantry for seven bucks a week, all the rations in the Army you could eat, and a ryyfill you could keep. That is how he pronounced rifle. In real life, Ben was a Texas Ranger before the war of Northern aggression.   

General Ben McCulloch

So that was cool, and my mission was almost complete. Now I needed to talk to him face to face at the autograph tent. While we were waiting and listening he sang "Galway Girl." 

So I took her hand 
And I give her a twirl 
And I lost my heart to a Polish girl. 

Lo siento I mean Galway girl. I could not believe it. He wrote that one Also.

Kezia puts all my musical choices together for me for my Christmas CD. Mostly I give her the tunes. Leonard Cohen, Paulo Conte and  Cesaria Evora were suggested additions by her. One day I was walking by her room and heard "Galway Girl." I said, "Kezia whatever that is, I need it for my next Bob's World CD." So it made Bob's World that year. I assumed it was an Irish group. Wrong, Kemo Sabe.

WOW!    ycmuslthis     unburritable

My new favorites playing this year were Taj Mahal,  Los Texmaniacs, and The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

If you would join us there next year I wouldn't have to write this blog. 

Roberto Francisco Tocino