Truthiness

Truthiness

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...
Detailed Descriptions

Detailed Descriptions

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....
Masks

Masks

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...