"A Slick Maneuver"

A Quickie Sketch...

 Good "Ack"... It's Monday all ready, y'all.

I finally finished that paperback from long ago called "Thunderbolt!" Of the many stories that abound in the book, the most intriguing to me is of the Polish pilot recruited by USAF group commander Major Francis Gabreski from the British Air Force. The trigger happy pilot, Boleslaw "Mike" Gladych, apparently had a rathered checkered past with the French and Polish Air Force.

One of the stories is about him attacking three German aircraft and downing one of them, but he could not shake the other two which tailed him and shot him up halfway to the coastline.

As Mike tried to out run his pursuers, he, never missing a chance to disturb a few "Krauts", flew low and hard passed a enemy airdrome and decided to attack.

It was common knowledge that in a ground attack, it is the first aircraft that strafes untouched by anti-aircraft fire. But, with the element of surprise gone, it is the other attacking aircraft that takes the shellacking.

The German gunners missed Mike's Thunderbolt, but shot down the two pursuing German aircraft assuming that they were also American Thunderbolts attacking the field.

Pretty quick and slick thinking under duress.

My sketch of the encounter is pretty basic, but I'm impressed with my ability to still be able draw a Thunderbolt from memory.

First "easing into the week" cup!

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III

"My Men Wear English Leather Or"...

 

It's Friday again... Good "TGIF" Morning, all bodies.

Had a great time yesterday talking to my SoCal friend. Ninety minutes sure flies by when you are having fun. But after that, I had even more fun.

In an never ending struggle to rid myself of stuff, I chanced upon a used up bottle of men's cologne. I've seen it shuffled around in the medicine cabinet behind one medication or another as if it really didn't want anyone to notice that the bottle was empty and had been for many years.

Looking for something to sketch between cups of coffee, I grabbed the ultra-hip, pseudo woodsy bottle of manliness from the top shelf and took it with me.

Just about 10:30, after finishing my sketch, I packed up my laptop, sketchbook, coffee cup and square bottle of "The Sixties" to walk out the front door, but just as I did, a voice called out my name.

"Ben, it's Tanya... Where ya going?"

"Oh wow, Tanya. What you doing so far away from Mandeville here at Giddy Up?"

Apparently, she was entertaining an artist friend, Karen George, from Ohio and on the friend's last day, decided to check out the hill country of Folsom.

With a giggle and a smirk that only Tanya Dishler can do, she invited me to come back and I join them and as she did, she inquired about my bottle of cologne.

"What IS that?" she asked.

"It looks like a bottle of English Leather." "What ARE you doing with that old bottle," she inquired in such a sordidly curious way.

I started to show her the pen sketch I created from the bottle and to recite that promo line about getting naked, but she turned back toward the front door and headed for the barista.

I closed the sketchbook and followed her back in.

Once I was introduced to her friend Karen, Tanya offered me a coffee or something to knosh on, but I declined. I was kinda coffee-ed out!

Eventually, we got around to talking about men and colognes and those halcyon days of peace, love and bellbottoms.

"How long have you had it and does it still smell like English Leather?" they both asked.

"I don't know. I guess so. I've never tried smelling it since it all dried up, but I guess it still does," I replied.

I then unscrewed the wooden top and took a sniff, and then, with a satisfied smile, handed it over to Tanya.

A smile appeared on her face as if, for one fleeting moment, she was reliving a romantic encounter so far away in the Sixties. As she gave me a bit of a sly look, she handed it over to Karen and said, "Yes... that's English Leather!"

Karen giggled in agreement and handed it over to Frank Richerand for a whiff.

"Yeh, that's the smell," he said. "I used to wear English Leather before I switched to another kind."

"Me too, Frank, for the longest time," I replied and managed to get in a little dig... for fun.

"Oh man, Frank, I always thought you were a "High Karate" kind of guy!"

Frank had dropped by to chat and after Tanya and Karen finished their lunch, planned to give the ladies the grand tour of the place including the Paddock grounds and the gallery.

I've been on that tour many times, so I dismissed myself from the get together and headed for the car with my laptop, sketchbook, coffee cup and a square, wooden topped bottle memories.

I passed by a trash can en route to the car and stopped momentarily to contemplate the fate of my fragrant youth. I don't know, maybe, I'll just keep it a little while longer.

I had been at the coffeehouse for over four hours and had a great time avoiding the realities of life with an impromptu special "Throwback Thursday", though, I was never in the position to incorporate into any conversation the familiar line...

"My men wear English Leather or they wear nothing at all!

First cup!

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III

"When All At Once A Mighty Herd Of Red Eyed Cows, He Saw,"

Badass Larry

Good "Throwback Thursday" Day, y'all.

So funny. A couple days ago, at GiddyUp, Frank, me, Badass Larry, and big Al were sitting around yapping about our "dead zones" when Larry mentions a time when he took his girlfriend out to a local dance hall and requested Fat's,"Blueberry Hill", and "Ghost Riders In the Sky" which the band played.

"Last Saturday, at The GiddyUp, he said, I asked the band to play "Ghost Riders" and the man never heard of it."

"Whaddya think about that, Ben?"

"Well, did you ask the guitar player?" I asked.

"Weren't no gitar player in the band!"

"Aw man. Well, that's why the band couldn't play it," I said.

"You know, I used to be able to play that song... It is really not that hard to learn!"

So, as I'm playing air guitar and singing the clippity-clop bass line of the song, Frank sneaks in with the first stanza...

"An old cowboy went ridin' out one dark and windy day,

Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way.

When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows, he saw,

Plowed through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw!"

Slappin' my hands against my thighs, and still singing the bass line, Big Al jumps in with,"Yippee Yi Yea", Yippee Yi Oooooo". Then, we all, 'cept Badass, sang...

"The Ghost Riders In the Sky!"

"Well, damn, Larry replied, you guys are REALLY good!"

No one could remember the line about the brands on fire, so we kinda laughed it all off. Frank got distracted and moseyed off, and we went back to sippin' our coffee.

Once again, just yesterday, Larry mentioned "GhostRiders!"

"Do you know who first did that song?" he asked.

"Um, I'm pretty sure Vaughn Monroe made the song popular, but I think the first to perform it was the "'Sons of the Pioneers!"

"Tell you what, Larry, let's look it up in Wikipedia... Whaddya say?"

So we looked the song up and found that a movie cowhand named Stan Jones wrote the song in 1948/49. I then said... "You wanna hear Vaughn Monroe's version?"

"Yeh, Badass Larry replied. We can listen to him "first!"

"First?" I said.

Then came, Johnny Cash's version. Then, Bing Crosby, believe it or not. Then came, Willie Nelson, then Burl Ives (that's the version I like best... keepin' it simple!) and finally, Frankie Laine.

I know that I put a smile on old Larry's face, but with his Covid concerns, it was kinda hard to tell!

First cup!

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III