a weblog sharing info on outdoor skills and campfire musing by a guy who spends a bunch of time in pursuit of both
CULTURE
WHERE -
TALES ARE TOLD OF
Welcome to Roland Cheek's Weblog
Roland is a gifted writer with a knack for clarifying reality. Looking forward to more of his wisdom
- Carl Hanner e-mail
Remaining column-mute for three years and off radio for five years is calculated to give old cowboys pimples. That's why I've decided to once again share a few of God's wonders, perhaps a few techniques for enjoying them, and an "Aw shucks, come on now!" suspicion of an occasional faceless bureaucrat. You have my pledge to remain meditative, clear, cogent, and refreshing. I trust you'll let me know through the feedback section if you think I've missed my mark, on target, or have additional info you'd like shared with readers.
To read last week's weblog in its entirety
Tip o' the Day
Campfire Cooking
The very first imperitive for proper campfire cooking is to control your heat. Since there are no twist-knobs to regulate temperature on a campfire, the only effective way to control heat is through the size of your fire. Controlling fire-size means wood can only be added in limited amounts. Translated, that means by the cook, or at the cook's direction.
Read my lips: a cooking fire is NOT a warming fire. If scorched casseroles and charcoaled cookies are what you wish, then by all means serve up a meal cooked on a blazing campfire fed by the equivalent of an out-of-control Boy Scout troop who, each and every one, insists on crowding around to dry out or warm up, or soak up a modicum of campfire ambiance. If that's the kind of camping situation you find under foot, kick 'em out! Tell 'em to go find their own wood and build their own fire. Then, after a while and you've grilled steaks and roasted corn and potatoes to perfection, and called the others to eat, and they've helped themselves to full plates and returned to their own campfire, THEN you can kick back and enjoy private dining in the pleasant atmosphere of your own quiet campfire.
Cheek takes the struggle beyond the usual disputes over land, animals and political power, beyond the race and divisions that leave [Jethro] Spring caught between the Native American blood of his mother and the so-called civilized world of his white father. While all these elements drive action in the novel, what sets the book apart is the struggle for men's minds.
* Billings Gazette
Jane -
Last night I grabbed Gunnar's Mine to finish it. I was exhausted when I was through and hoped I could sleep. But would you tell your prolific husband to let that poor boy / man, Jethro, have a vacation. I'm taking up a collection to finance a carnival cruise for him. If he can't have his own little farm with a pretty adoring wife, then let him have a riproaring time on a cruise.
* Genevieve DeBrecht Whitefish, MT
An email came from 13-year-old "molester" telling what he thought of Echoes of Vengeance. It was to the point:
"roland cheek kicks a--"
[Ethan Lester is "Molester's" real name] He's a 13-year old from Carmalito, California who likes the Valediction For Revenge western series
* * *
Books by Roland Cheek from Skyline Publishing
I knew you were a good writer, but I never before put you in the class of Michener and Clancy. You spin a good yarn and don't let it drop for a minute. You handle dialogue extremely well, and the action scenes are outstanding. You have no reason to venture so carefully into the world of novelists.
* Jack Oliver /Pittsburgh, PA
Roland Cheek has used the history of the Lincoln County War and gives it a fresh twist. The dialog is extremely well-done and the action scenes are alive with excitement.
* Tulsa World
Crisis On the Stinkingwater is Cheek's darkest book. It is also the most realistic. The portrayal of the depth of hatred engendered by the bitter conflict between rancher and homesteader chills the reader, as does the character of Levi Bunting, the rancher's foreman. A villain so evil as Bunting is not often realistic, but seems made out of cardboard and painted black. Cheek avoids that trap. All in all, Cheek has written another Western that is filled with suspense and unexpected consequences.
* Roundup Magazine
Roland Cheek's novel [the Silver Yoke] has lots of action, a terrific villain you love to hate, the smell of dust and dynamite, and a man sworn to bleed his enemies, not of blood but of money, the only thing they love.
*Roundup Magazine
PUTTING CHRIST BACK IN CHRISTMAS
One of the more entrenched customs in our all-American, ever-righteous society is to rail against the crass commercialism of Christmas. For some reason I'd hoped this year might be different. But alas, it's too trendy for self-appointed definers of good and evil to raise a finger to the heavens and cry, "They're taking Christ out of Christmas!"
Never mind that little kinky-haired or tow-headed or thumb-sucking boys and girls have been goggle-eyed and big-excited for a week at the packages building 'neath their Christmas trees. No matter that they helped mommy and daddy hang tinsel and ornaments; never mind that they're partners with one parent or another in keeping secret about what's in the gaily wrapped package marked for the the spouse.
Never mind that those children will be sleepless by night and supercharged by day. Nor that they'll bubble with characteristic enthusiasm and suspect helpfulness, the very pictures of cherubs choosing nice over naughty--Santa Claus is COMING TO TOWN!
Never mind that families grow closer during the Christmas season; that within each circle all learn the art of giving and re-learn the lessons of "Peace on earth, good will toward men."
I'm not the best selection for thumping pulpits, but aren't those the essences of Christ's message? Excuse me, but I find more godliness in a child's smile than inside the frock coat of any who would demonize and deny the means for bringing ear splitting laughter and gap-toothed grins to cherubic rug rats. Of course we're commercializing Christmas. Of course that very commercialism is a major pump driving our economy forward and our gross national product up. But . . . couldn't that be one of the mechanisms Christ uses to make children smile? Not to mention a means to bring out the child in you and me?
Christmas is for kids, and that's the truth. Ours are long gone, and the grandkids far away. So, come Christmas Eve, given our age and proclivity for the routine, Jane and I will probably exchange necktie for socks and toddle off to bed shortly after sundown. But locked somewhere in our hearts and memories are other Christ's Mass when our cup runneth over with wide-eyed innocents pattering to peek in every closet for the doll or tractor or puzzle or basketball they hoped would be theirs.
There was the time when 24-year-old Jane and 4-year old Cheri shopped for a camera for the man at our house. They bought same. But Jane wisely told Cheri they were buying a helicopter and that she "must keep it a secret."
"Wanna know what we bought you for Christmas?" Cheri blurted the minute I stepped from my Jeep, lunch pail in hand.
I'll never forget how I lifted her and kissed her and said, "Oh, my, yes! What did you and mommy buy me for Christmas?"
"A helicopter!" she squealed, adding, "Did you buy mommy and me anything?"
Nor will I forget that most difficult year when I played the part of Scrooge, refusing to take the kids to cut a Christmas tree, telling them we weren't to celebrate Christmas that year. And I remember how, after they'd went disappointedly to bed on Christmas Eve, Jane and I feverishly put up the tree we'd hidden, then decorated it until the wee hours of the morning.
And I remember how the next morning, Christ was in those kids squeals and laughter and excited exploration of every package under that tree, no matter to whom it was addressed.
Nope! You see, Christ was in each of those Christmases when our kids were home, just like it was in those Christmases when our grandson visited. And, you wanna know what? Christ is in Jane's and my memories of those Christmases, too.
And even if those memories should flag, God forbid, Christ will be in our own Christmases as long as we shall live--no matter what any naysayer might neigh about.
Roland Cheek wrote a syndicated outdoors column (Wild Trails and Tall Tales) for 21 years. The column was carried in 17 daily and weekly newspapers in two states. In addition, he scripted and broadcast a daily radio show (Trails to Outdoor Adventure) that aired on 75 stations from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. He's also written upwards of 200 magazine articles and 12 fiction and nonfiction books. For more on Roland's current work, visit:
www.rolandcheek.com
Recent Weblogs
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
for more info about these and other Roland Cheek books
There's a bunch of specific info about Roland's books, columns, and archives; by clicking on the button to the left, one can see Roland's synopsis of each book, read reviews, and even access the first chapter of each of his titles. With Roland's books, there's no reason to wonder about their quality
for detailed info about each of Roland's books
Read Reviews
Read their first chapters
For interested educators, this weblog is especially applicable for use in environmental studies classes, classroom discussions relative to the physically challenged, and for journalism students.
Roland, of course, visits schools. For more information on his program alternatives, go to:
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NEXT WEEK
IT'S THE YEAR'S END! LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO WITH IT.
www.campfireculture.com
to visit Roland's newspaper columns and weblog archives
