Indian on Horseback

Red Man week continues here at OPOD with this Edward Curtis photograph from 1905. The picture shows Red Hawk, an Oglala Indian on a horse at a pool of water. This is really an incredible photograph capturing a bygone era.

Domestic Update:

OK, so I took EAM graduation gift shopping yesterday. Most graduating college students want something simple like a car, but no, EAM wanted a Breitling Watch. I found that the nearest Breitling dealer was 4 hours away at Moretti's Fine Jewelry in San Antonio (cha-ching, cha-ching). We had a rather enjoyable drive up to San Antonio, and with the help of the Garmin Lady, we had no trouble finding Moretti's. As we were pulling up to the store, I realized right off the bat I was going to be in trouble. The building had a palatial look to it, and was reminiscent of the Taj Mahal. As we approached the front door, I guess we passed the "gangsta" test, as the front door made a little buzzing noise, indicating that they had pressed the button to momentarily unlock it and let us in. I think it was because they noticed the "Texas Secede" bumper sticker on our pickup and they realized we were people who meant business. I should also add that I noticed our pickup was the only vehicle in the parking lot with a confederate flag on the antenna, and a Sam Houston "Texas Has Yet to Learn Submission to Any Oppression, Come from What Source it May" bumper sticker. Well, for whatever reason, they decided to press the buzzer. I opened the door for EAM and we entered the establishment. Yes, we were in. We were in their circle of trust. We had arrived at the premier jewelry store in San Antonio, and had been deemed worthy of entry. Once we entered I noticed a crispness in the air, and it was as if we were among nobility. After fingerprinting, credit check and other background information was collected, we were allowed to approach the Breitling Watch display cabinet. I have to say I was very impressed with the selection of Breitling watches they had. They had just about all the models, and had them available in different configurations. In most places I had seen, you were lucky if they carried just a few models. The salesman was very knowledgeable and helpful. I was pleasantly surprised that he was not pushy, he was not uppity, and he was not presumptuous. There is nothing I hate worse than an uppity watch salesman or furniture salesman. Anyway, he helped EAM find the perfect watch, which (gulp) I then purchased (Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching). We then had a relatively nice drive home.

Well, I came home to a few surprises. I had left my mom here unattended while we went to San Antonio. I guess my mom has had her eye on my little Kubota tractor for some time. I had left the keys in the tractor, which turned out to be a mistake. I guess my mom thought that since we would be gone all day, she could go out and learn to drive the tractor. Well, when I got home, she was no longer here . . . nowhere to be found. I went in the house, and looked at my computer, and noticed a big pile of randomly denominated money on the keyboard. I had an uneasy feeling about the pile of money, and absense of my mom, and knew that something had gone wrong. Well, I go out behind Chickie Town, and notice that the tractor is parked sideways by a tree outside the barn. I distinctly remembered leaving the tractor IN the barn. Then I looked up and noticed the mangled crushed door on the barn, and then noticed the scrapes on the tractor. Yes, it appeared that my mom had decided to take the tractor out of the barn BEFORE fully opening the barn door. I called my mom to ask what happened, and got this response, "I wanted try then vroom and out of nowhere door came at me when slam tractor stop on wheel." 

So, Handsome Jack's barn was officially opened for business on Sunday, and has sustained major structural damage a short 3 days later.