Out of the Past

The Southwest in American Literature and Art: The Rise of a Desert Aesthetic by David W Teague
John C. Fremont, exploring the region in 1843-44, found the Great Basin Desert to be of “dreary and savage character” and, in reporting its inward-draining rivers, expressed doubt about its future productivity. The idea of the desert as irrigated [...]

I used to carry a small canvas bag with me everywhere I went. Inside that bag was my prized shooter, an oversized aggie with distinctive caramel-colored swirls, and an assortment of smaller clearies, puries, clays and jaspers.
We played for keeps on the playground of my youth, circles scratched in the dirt, knuckles drawn, shooters poised. [...]