sideblog to fisthrust .

“ many westerns use a stock plot of depicting a crime, then showing the pursuit of the wrongdoer, ending in revenge and retribution, which is often dispensed through a shootout or quick-draw duel. ”

out of all of his books, the black rapids is probably the one that resembles his childhood the most.  it’s his second novel, but also probably his most popular novel, and was the first one to be made into a movie.

bill  can  play  piano,   and  he  can  play  piano  well.   his  mother  started  teaching  him  when  he  was  four  and  from  then  on  he  practiced  for  an  hour  a  day  every  day.   he’s  by  no  means  a  prodigy,  but  he  is  good.  however,  he  stops  playing  completely  after  george’s  death.   no  one  in  the  house  touches  the  piano  after  that.

“  bill  was  good.   it  was  stupid  to  think  such  a  thing   (  he  did  not,  in  fact,  precisely  think  it;  he  felt  it  ),   but  there  it  was.   goodness  and  strength  seemed  to  radiate  from  bill.   he  was  like  a  knight  in  an  old  movie,   a  movie  that  was  corny  but  still  had  the  power  to  make  you  cry  and  cheer  and  clap  at  the  end.   strong  and  good.   ”

don’t tell me “you can’t do that” ‘cause I will do that