Wild Animals and the Right Books

In the foreword to Waylon County, I briefly discuss my time living in Yellowstone National Park, where I encountered "many wild animals and plenty of the right books." This evening, while reading a review of Nate Blakeslee's new book, American Wolf, in the Texas Observer, I recalled one of those animal encounters.

In 1995, the year the wolves were being reintroduced into Yellowstone, I happened upon a chain link pen in the backcountry. That alone would have been unusual, but then, inside the pen, I saw a wolf trotting back and forth along the fence keeping pace with a wolf on the other side. Startled, the wolves looked up, and I had no idea what was going to happen next, for I had never met a wolf in the wild before. To my surprise, the wolf on the outside of the fence bolted into the lodgepole pines and disappeared. I don't recall what the wolf in the pen did at that point, but I turned around and headed back toward the road.

In the summer of '95, the wolves were the talk of the region. Environmentalists heralded the return of Canis lupus, and ranchers adopted the motto, "Shoot 'em, shovel 'em, and shut up." From what I gathered in the Texas Observer review, Nate Blakeslee deals with this complex subject with an even hand. I believe this to be a wise approach, and I look forward to reading American Wolf and seeing how the author, one of my former Southwestern classmates, tells the tale.


Here is a photo from the Yellowstone Park site.

Waylon County and Governor Hogg

In Waylon County, Byron Herblight, an alumnus of Warnell High School, works at the James S. Hogg Document Production and Data Transcription Building at the capitol complex in Austin. Of course, there is no such building, but I think the name sounds believable enough. James S. Hogg, after all, was elected governor of Texas in 1890 and before holding that office worked as a typesetter in Rusk and as a printer's devil in Cleburne. Considering Governor Hogg's background, it would not be a leap for a document production and data transcription building to be named after him.

However, the main reason I dedicated the building to James S. Hogg is that he named his daughter "Ima," which tends to elicit a guilty chuckle. The story goes that Ima had a sister named "Ura," although this is not true. "Ura" was just added to the tale for comedy's sake. So, to me, tacking James S. Hogg's name to a place called "a document production and data transcription building," which sounds stiflingly bureaucratic, adds an element of absurdity to the story.

However, choosing to name the building after James S. Hogg was not just for comedic effect. Cynicism also played a substantial role. After all, how could a person be so short-sighted and thoughtless that he would name his daughter "Ima Hogg" yet still be capable of winning the governorship?

One thing is for sure. You have to love Texas, where the line between satire and reality is sometimes indistinguishable.  


Here is a link to a TSHA article about Governor James Hogg:

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fho17

Here is a photo of Ima Hogg:

Here is where you can get your copy of Waylon County:

https://www.amazon.com/Waylon-County-Stories-Heath-Dollar/dp/0998066141/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508077589&sr=8-1&keywords=waylon+county+heath+dollar

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag

My stepfather, Randy J. Kunze, would have turned 72 years old today. Were he still with us, I would have given him a copy of Waylon County for his birthday and signed it with "danke für alles"; for, without his influence, Waylon County in this form would not exist.

In my mid-twenties, Randy gave me a copy of Roemer's Texas, and it was this book that provided me with my first insight into Texas-German history. Then, when I was considering taking a job in the Czech Republic, Randy gave me Czech language cassettes and encouraged me to move to Europe while others were advising against it. Without Randy's influence, I would not have lived five years in the Czech Republic, and I would have never considered writing a book that included stories about the descendants of Texas' early settlers.

Randy was a proud Texan and a direct descendant of Stephen F. Austin on his mother's side. In his later years, the family resemblance was extremely apparent. He looked very much like Stephen F. Austin does in 19th century portraits. Although no stories of the birth of Texas passed down in family lore, Randy was very aware of his Texas heritage and introduced me to some of the state's greatest places. I am very thankful to have had him, and today I only wish I could tell him, "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag."

Texas Observer Honorable Mention

The ever-vigilant writer and short story blogger, Ann Graham, sent a note of congratulations about one of my stories receiving an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Texas Observer Short Story Contest. Honestly, Ann knew about this before I did. I was glad to see that my story, a satirical piece called "Bathroom Bill Cody," was recognized, and I was also happy to learn that "Lunch in a Desert Town" by Linda Blackwell Simmons, which our writers' group critiqued a while back, had been recognized as well. I was also pleased that Donna Walker-Nixon, who has a piece in the 2017 Panther City Review, received an Honorable Mention. That makes three writers associated with Sleeping Panther Press being recognized by the Texas Observer today. Congratulations, Sleeping Panther Press.

Here is a link to the winning story (and the list of stories that were recognized):

https://www.texasobserver.org/short-story-contest-winner-muriel/

Waylon County: Launched

Waylon County launched yesterday, and the emotion I felt was a combination of gratitude, relief, and happiness. If there is an English word for that emotion, I do not know it. I imagine the German language has a word for it, and it is probably twenty syllables long.

I dedicated Waylon County to the ones who believed, and many of those people were in attendance yesterday. To those who believed in me, whether you be near or far, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This would have never happened without you.

Waylon County Philosopher

In my younger days, I could often be seen with a book of philosophy in my back pocket. The philosopher who fascinated me the most was Socrates, and I was so enthralled by him that I traveled to Athens to visit the agora where he taught. In my work, Socrates turns up in the song, "Byzantium," which I wrote in my mid-twenties, and in Waylon County, which will be released tomorrow.

In "Byzantium," Socrates comes and goes within a single line. In Waylon County, he turns up in a story about a couple of good ol' boys chewing the fat on the porch. As you might imagine, the story, "The Socrates of Waylon County," never gets too highfalutin.

Here is a link to tomorrow's Waylon County launch information:

http://www.sleepingpantherpress.com/2017/09/waylon-county-texas-stories-by-heath.html

And here is "Byzantium" performed by Nijak:

Honkytonk Music in Waylon County

A while back, my story called "The Nine Lives of Ivy Lee Jones" was a finalist in the Northeast Texas Writers' Organization's short story contest, which was judged by #1 New York Times best-selling author Colleen Hoover. "The Nine Lives of Ivy Lee Jones" is in the Waylon County collection, and its protagonist, Ivy Lee Jones, also appears in "Opening Weekend."

"Opening Weekend" is set in the Old Coyote Bar, where folks dance to genuine honkytonk sounds. Since I am essentially the proprietor of the Old Coyote, I have filled the jukebox with some of my favorite tunes. So Ivy Lee can't help but find herself dancing to the Texas Troubadour, Ernest Tubb. When it comes to songs to make 'em scoot their boots, you just can't beat E.T.

Although Waylon County launches on October 7, I just realized that the book is now available online. Here is a link:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/waylon-county-heath-dollar/1127121182?ean=9780998066141

And here is the man with the guit-steel, Junior Brown, playing "My Baby Don't Dance to Nothing but Ernest Tubb."