If the person who here continues to extoll the virtues of the cow boys as "innocent, honest, legitimate ranchers" has to say about what these two historians opinions are of the cow boys and what they really were about?
much less historical truth, which is to say narrative truth. Doesn't exist. It's a myth. There are only facts, the few we are, often through no fault of our own, privy to. And the difference between the... more
The best we have and the best we can do with what we have. Unfortunately, the best is never good enough, is it? Or maybe not unfortunately. Maybe if we knew everything it wouldn't matter anyway. I'm not... more
biology as it is memory. The evidence of learning from the past clearly lies in technological advances, often in, or stemming from, weaponry. Whereas, the plot as it were in history comes from either erections... more
Historical human progress, a squishy concept that I remain of two minds about, definitely expresses itself most apparently in technological advances, many if not most of them offshoots of weaponry research.... more
This is clearly a discussion between/among man children: it's all about historical advances = better weapons. Seriously? Real "progress" or "advance" in human society is founded on things like FARMING,... more
both as a student of history and a 71-year-old still possessed of a goodly portion of his waning wits--I see absolutely no reason to believe that the ultimate culmination of our so-called progress--a concept... more
that whether we are talking about "advances" in species-ending weaponry, or in AI--as you are aware, the two are clearly closely connected--I fail to understand how focusing on such "progress," which is... more
...doesn't have much interest in Doc Holliday and his glorious life story so she hasn't followed up on what the opinions of these historians might be. Perhaps you could enlighten us all? ...as for... more
Oh you mean a subpoena from the one responsible for the crime area - JONNY BEHAN. You can't to be serious! The question was not about Doc , but the corrupt bunch of reprobates called honest ranchers... more
...with some concrete records. People my age don't put much stock in gossip. Some actual records; some logic? How about just considering how much territory is in Cochise County to cover on horseback. No... more
Hi Joyce It strikes me that none of his contemporaries had a good word to say about Holliday, just rather weak defences against some of the common accusations. This must mean something.
summed Doc Holliday up well enough. Alcoholic, slowly dying, soured. He probably rubbed most people the wrong way, sooner than later. His reputation, like most folk's, is overblown. We can look at both... more
He was a dentist. Nobody likes a dentist. They inflict pain. Even worse, he was a tubercular dentist. I'd conjecture that people may have feared his extraction forceps as much as his six-gun. And his cough,... more
...except that Doc was well versed in the use of ether to treat dental patients; in fact, that's one of the reasons he went to dental school and not medical school. His uncle, whom he was named after,... more
I would add that the disease itself might have affected his attitude. No antibiotics then. Fevers, chills, sweat, coughing, wheezing, coughing blood, pain, and bad breath would certainly shaped his reaction... more
the fact that alcohol is a very effective cough suppressant. I can personally attest to the efficacy of a combination of whiskey, hot water, and lemon. Or we can dispense with the water and lemon altogether.... more
Olds, it is not a given that Doc was a (primary) alcoholic. Back in the old west days, not only was there no antibiotics for the tuberculin bacteria, but there was also no medication which would decrease... more
I’ve always been curious if Doc Holliday, being from Georgia, May have used rabbit tobacco to ease the symptoms of his tuberculosis. Many of the old Appalachian doctors that I’ve read about would prescribe... more
I was just agreeing with Dan. Whether Doc technically was what we would consider alcoholic by contemporary standards is a moot point in my opinion. He was a chronic drinker and had good reason to be. He... more
Hey Olds, I am not sure what argument you are having? Why does it matter if Doc liked himself? Is it a moot point if the current cochise county attorney is an alcoholic? Is it important if the... more
is a failure to communicate. If you don't understand how self-esteem and self-awareness can impact the motivations that drives human behavior, then any explanation I might offer for why that is the case... more
Hey olds, I’m very impressed with your self anointed behavioral Heath education and expertise. I have two Psych degrees and have worked in behavioral health since 1970 … ….but it appears that you... more
No disrespect to your stellar c.v., but my understanding of human behavior, as you put it, is essential to what I have been doing for a living since I left grad school in the late 1970s. Whether that... more
Although I don’t know we have any reliable sources of what Morgan thought of Doc. And from Wyatt’s testimony and later comments about his rivals trying to malign him via Doc, it is evident he was well... more
I could swear that I read in more than one source, reliable or otherwise, that Morgan and Doc were "closer" than Doc and Wyatt. Kenny Vail would know, I betcha, but Kenny Vail ain't here. Certainly Doc... more
At present I’m overseas and just going from memory. However, I thought the ideas that Morgan was a hothead and particularly pally with Doc all emanated from Boyer’s fiction. Certainly there are no newspaper... more
bibliographies concerning Earp and Holliday. Up until the 1990's he dominated the Tombstone legend. Many western writers accepted his claims. So, there may be some mention of a close Doc and Morgan... more
pushed the Morgan and Doc as best pals theme. From there Michael Hickey and Ben Traywick may have run with it. I suspect Boyer thought it might have added a little more zest to the vendetta ride. I don't... more
I've been Boyerzied! This is what happens when, having read too much, you arrive at a certain age and things begin to blur until you no longer can tell Glenn Boyer from Clete Boyer from Chef Boyardee.... more
for the pre-op sedation. He was that kind of guy. By the way, I have quite a collection of signed Boyer post-op works, which I am very willing to sell to any uninitiated collector of misinformation.
Hey Dan, I remember years ago visiting Boyer’s (so called) ranch in New Mexico. I questioned Glenn multiple times about the “Clum Manuscript” and asked multiple times if I could check it out. As... more
bouy low self-esteem. We sort of know what others thought of him, but I am inclined to think that he brought more than cards to the table. Low self-esteem, self-loathing, and guilt, when mixed with a quart... more
that one brought a smile to my face: "not killing people is what's hard." Very good. True then, true now. In my experience, a sense of humor cannot only buoy self-esteem, it can be a life-saver. (No,... more
have to. Consider, it could have been far worse. I could have included a brief, capsule history of toilet paper as well (which wasn't widely available out West until the post-Civil War era), which is... more
...squeamish. When working cattle with my husband years ago I did learn that a wadded up bunch of dried grasses was as comfortable as you were going to get sometimes. We all survived quite well without... more
...on the matter but then people like me feel that there is a limit to how much chemicals we want punched into our bodies; especially when we don't always know exactle what they consist of. To each hi... more
I'm glad you understand my feelings, Joyce, but personally,I often suspect them of not being entirely on my side. So far as toxins go, it may be prudent to assume that we're already walking time bombs... more