Bartending

Take note,

LSP

Taking Care Of Business

 

It was one of those days when you drive around the country taking care of business. First stop, the good old Pick 'n Steal, aka "Shamrock Filling Station," via the Meth Shack. The shack's getting fixed up, kind of, by some entrepeneurial Mexicans. Good luck, boys.

Then the Itasca grain co-op, I like that place, followed by post offices, banks, a realtor and all of that. Productive unlike, say, our incredibly popular president's economic policy. Which is... what?

Moar tax, moar debt, but less energy independence because higher gas prices make us all richer, except that they don't. And while we're at it, let's offshore yet moar manufacturing as we open our borders to millions of unskilled migrants. At least that last part drives down wages. Good work, Millionaire Socialists.

If you're thinking this train's coming off the tracks, you might have a point and perhaps that's why people are piling into crypto. Get your cash out of the clutches of the Scylla and Charybdis of central banks and their partners in crime, our governments.

That in mind, Bitcoin's at an all time high, the Peoples' Currency, DOGE$, is testing 0.30 (c'mon pup, run!) and LRC (Loopring) is exploding on rumors of a GME (Gamestop) partnership. No kidding, that token's up >1000% ytd and doubled in value in the last day. I tell you, it's the wild west out there and fortunes are being made and lost as we speak. 

Here at the Compound we're pleased with everyone's fave and original Shiba and jaw-dropped at LRC's surge, wish Blue had hit the buy button with his paw when it was .40. But still, can't complain, the annoyingly tech protocol, making for fast, cheap, secure DEX (decentralized exchange) transactions on ethereum is riding high at over 2 bucks a coin. Way to go.

Don't invest more than you can  afford to lose, kids. Biden Admin, take note.

Your Pal,

LSP

A Typical Night At The Compound

 

Just another typical day in North Central Texas. Make of it what you will.

Wild West,

LSP

Tombstone DOGE$

What can we say, win some, lose some. That in mind, the Peoples Crypto's soaring into .06land. Well done, pup. 

Will the playful Shiba hit MOON? Let's wait and see and remember, the market's a way of transferring money from the impatient to the patient.

Your Fiduciary Pal,

LSP

After Mass Outlaws - Belle Starr

 

Belle Starr on Venus

Talk after Mass at mission #2 turned naturally to famous Bosque County outlaws, and I learned something. The famous Bandit Queen, Belle Star, née Myra Shirley, owned a 160 acre ranch not far from the church, in what became Fairview.

This would have been in the 1870s, in the turbulent years following the War, and the ranch served as a hideout for Belle, then Myra, her first husband Jim Reed and assorted outlaws. These could well have have included members of the James and Younger gangs, former Confederate raiders turned horse thieves and bandits.

Wild West Show?

The Bandit Queen knew these men because she'd served as a scout(?) with Quantrill, "Bloody Bill" Anderson and other guerrillas during the Missouri-Kansas border war. Her brother Bud served as a raider and taught Belle to ride and shoot. 

After Bud was killed in action in 1864, Belle's family, the Shirleys, moved to Texas, northeast of Dallas, where they continued their relationship with the very irregular cavalry.

Jim Reed was shot in 1874 in Paris, Texas, and Myra moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) where she set up on the South Canadian River with a Cherokee outlaw, Sam Starr, her second husband. Starr was shot by lawman Frank West at a Christmas party and Belle went on to marry another Cherokee horse thief, Bill July, who she renamed Jim Starr.

Belle Starr

Belle was ambushed, shot and killed in 1889, at the age of 40. Suspects included Edgar Watson, a neighbor and horse thieving associate, her son Ed and possibly her third husband Jim. But I won't bang on, here's Belle:

My home became famous as an outlaws' ranch long before it was visited by any of the boys who were friends of mine in times past. Indeed, I never correspond with any of my old associates, and was desirous my whereabouts should be unknown to them. Through rumor, they learned of it. Jesse James first came in and remained several weeks. He was unknown to my husband, who never knew until long afterward, that our home had been honored by Jesse's presence. I introduced Jesse as one Mr. Williams from Texas. But, few outlaws have visited my home, notwithstanding so much has been said. The best people in the country are my friends. I have considerable ignorance to cope with, consequently, my troubles originate mostly in that quarter. Surrounded by a low down class of shoddy whites, who have made the Indian country their home to evade paying tax on their dogs, and, who I will not permit to hunt on my premises, I am the constant theme of their slanderous tongues. In all the world, there is no woman more peaceably inclined than I.

 

Again:

You can just say I am a friend to any brave and gallant outlaw, but have no use for that sneaking, coward class of thieves who can be found in every locality, and who would betray a friend or comrade for the sake of their own gain. There are three or four jolly, good fellows on the dodge now in my section, and when they come to my home, they are welcome, for they are my friends, and would lay down their lives in my defense at any time the occasion demanded it, and go their full length to serve me in any way.

 

Belle Starr, an excellent horsewoman, see Venus, who often rode side saddle, was a crack shot with two revolvers which she called her "babies," served less than a year in a Detroit jail, acted in a Wild West show where she robbed a stagecoach and... became a legend in her lifetime. 

She had, to my mind,  a hardbitten look by the time she married July, and no wonder. You can imagine her running hospitality for killers like the James and Younger brothers.

For my part, I'll remember her when I drive down 56 past Fairview on the way to Valley Mills. And rumors that some of our people are part Cherokee and out of Bonham are just that, vicious, unfounded rumors.

Ride on, and ride fast. Or slowly if you've busted your hip,

LSP

Country Life in Texas

Country life in Texas. What's it like, so called LSP? Well I'll tell you, it's much like any other sort of life except that people are mostly friendly, you don't have to sit in traffic on some kind of hideous commute, and it's searing hot, like a preheating oven. That's Texas for you.

But what's it really like? Foreigners, Germans, say, bless 'em, think of rural Texas as some kind of Wild West cowboy free for all, which is understandable because of the yeehaw PR. But the reality? I'd describe it as hard. 

A Typical Texas Porch Scene -- Get a Haircut, Fool

And no wonder. The climate's a fierce 100*++ for 6 months of the year and the people who live under it, just a step removed from the pioneers who settled this place, are accordingly tough. Country Texas isn't about safe spaces, onesies and the appalling New York Times.

That in mind, country Texans almost always tend to be more polite, friendly, considerate and, per England, sussed, than their urban cousins. They're also smart and haven't bought into our modern myths.

Remember the Alamo not the hideous Riverwalk

Viz. Removing statues of Confederate Generals will make persons of color flourish and prosper, paying a Climate Tax will cool the sun, gender's a construct, and getting rid of all your guns will make you safe. 

Did I say Frontier Spirit? There's that too.

God bless,

LSP

Musical Interlude

Masked men shivered.... open up your dam express car... We will burn your train to cinders.

Take note, "Brennan," if that's your real name, which we doubt. In the meanwhile, check this out for some Wild West.

God bless,

LSP