by James Schaffranek | Sep 7, 2015 | Communicating, Life Advice
“Watch yer mouth” was good advice, back in the 1880s. But what did they mean by “watch?” “Watch your mouth,” “mind your manners,” “inch along,” “don’t baby it,” and other irksome sayings are culture...
by James Schaffranek | Aug 31, 2015 | Social Media
In the American west of the 1880s, men like Angus and women like Jill lived mostly unexamined lives. Sure, there was the Old West version of social media: men jawboning at standup bars—women exchanging opinions over the pickle barrel at the general store—people...
by James Schaffranek | Aug 24, 2015 | Commentary on Society, Love
“Deed I do” is a quaint musical phrase and not something Angus would have ever said. Not that he didn’t do deeds; he surely did. But admitting he’d done a deed, in present tense, wasn’t his way of talking or thinking. “Deed I do” has a lyrical...
by James Schaffranek | Aug 17, 2015 | Commentary on Society, Sports
My son, Tosh, and I went to Indianapolis over the Memorial Day weekend this year to see the so-called “greatest spectacle in sports,” the Indy 500. It was aptly named; it was a great spectacle and featured a new sport for me. Trying to wrestle a parking place on...
by James Schaffranek | Aug 10, 2015 | Commentary on Society, The Media
Writing about law and order today is pretty much the same as it was in the 1880s. Except today, more people get their news from TV than from newspapers. The narrative differs greatly depending on whether it’s written by Fox news or MSNBC. Fox News might write the...
by James Schaffranek | Aug 3, 2015 | Commentary on Society, Guns, The Media
Angus, a federal marshal in 1880s New Mexico, knew something mass shootings. Had you been around in those days and asked him, he might have one or two mass shootings. It happened mostly when the U.S. Army came into close contact with Indians. The worst one happened on...
by James Schaffranek | Jul 6, 2015 | Commentary on Society, Stress
Up high on a ridge line at 10,000 feet, stillness humbles a man. At least, that’s what it did to Angus in the 1880s. Could be those hard to reach places are just as still now as they were back then. I don’t mean quiet. Still feels different—it can have sound—wind or...
by James Schaffranek | Jun 29, 2015 | Commentary on Society, Law, The Media
Truthiness is a word that didn’t exist in the 1880s. It hardly exists now, except in the political and entertainment worlds. A funny guy named Stephen Colbert invented it to carry a TV show about fake truth. It was made up stuff, what Angus would have called lies. But...
by James Schaffranek | Jun 22, 2015 | Writing
Rule Number 8 in Elmore Leonard’s book on writing says, “Avoid Detailed Descriptions of Characters.” I agree. Angus apparently did too because he rarely told us much about how other Ten Shoes Up characters looked. Hemingway once described a central character this way....
by James Schaffranek | Jun 8, 2015 | Commentary on Society, Religion
In the American West, masks were worn by lots of people. Outlaws tied bandannas around their necks, snugged up over their noses to keep folks from recognizing them during a stage coach holdup. Angus saw his share of those masks. Indian tribes wore masks as part of...
