While reading my writings….keep in mind and understand that dogs live by the very good philosophy that SIPMLER IS BETTER. This is a philosophy that HUMANS have absolutely no concept of….for if you look at virtually everything that HUMANS have done or had a part in doing….or touched…..throughout the history of time that they’ve been on this Earth….it becomes obvious that HUMANS complicate dang near everything. They can take the very simplest situation to resolve….and in many cases actually complicate the simple enough, that a resolution is never found or met. If you continue to follow my stories, I think that you will eventually agree with me….especially after all the examples I will constantly illuminate….that SIMPLER IS BETTER. There lies a great deal of food for thought in the value of this philosophy…if you simply think or should I say think simply. As always, I will showcase some of my favorite videos from the 5400 that I have currently posted here at ImaSportsphile.
Boxing – 1965 To 1981 – Special – The Life And Career Of Smokin’ Joe Frazier
Today’s commentary will be a source of insight into how this whole virtual sports museum and video library got started….cuz the truth be known, it all started back in 1950 when Bone Daddy was a boy who was born with the God given talents to become the original Sportsphile….who was significantly influenced by the place and time that was Midland, TX during the 15 years of his youth from age 3 to age 18 …. of which was known affectionately by the locals as God’s Country….a place consisting of vast ranch lands and the ranch barons who owned large herds of cattle….for these were the fortunate folks that literally overnight became “wealthy Oil Barons”. That’s right, we’re talking “black liquid gold”….as it was in the early 50’s that the “Oil Bidness” found a solid hold out in West Texas. The way Bone Daddy and every other Midland local would answer the question about what a person did for a living was to say….”yep…he’s in the oil bidness”.
NBA – 1950 To 1963 – Special – Bob Cousy: The Houdini of the Hardwood
I said all that to say this….Bone Daddy was heavily influenced by growing up as a boy in West Texas…..a place which really consisted of everything in the State of Texas that was west of Abilene….south to Eagle Pass and the Mexican border….east of El Paso….and north to include the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles….including the part of Oklahoma that is west of Norman. It is important for all ya’ll to understand that until the Texans let the boys from Oklahoma split away and become their own State….they were part of West Texas. The fact is that they always have and still do look alike….smell alike….act alike…..think alike and taste like West Texas…..who today are still bitter rivals of the highest order on the sports fields of the ….but the truth is….no two places in the whole of the USA are more alike than West Texas and western Oklahoma.
NFL – 1965 To 1971 – Special – Highlights Of The Kansas Comet Gayle Sayers Career
It is rough country out in West Texas….as expressed in the song Hard Country by Michael Martin Murphy …. as it takes a strong constitution to just to be able to find the beauty of the whole area of West Texas….cuz it sure ain’t something that is immediately visible on the surface. The natural influences of the place along with the time known as the Permian Basin Oil Boom were the rebar in the foundation of the life of a Sportsphile that would unfold….a place which allowed solid roots to take hold and flourish…..allowing one’s life to continue to bloom as the years progressed for the next 60+ years of Bone Daddy’s life.
Music – 1981 – Austin City Limits – Michael Murphey & The Great American Honky Tonk Band Sing Hard Country It is going to be my pleasure to share some of those times with you in this section of the museum…where I will focus on subjects about the people and the times in West Texas in the 1950’s and 1960’s. A final observation of mine worth considering as I tell these stories of the place and its inhabitants in the place known as West Texas….is that I have come to realize that I can always pick a West Texan (ok…Oklahoman too) out of almost any crowd. There are so many common traits that all the inhabitants of God’s Country all embody. I am convinced that it was the time and place that chiseled these folks while being polished by the continuously blowing sands of the desert against the rock known as West Texas during the notorious dust storms of the region. As you move through L E’s Stories section of the museum….you will be given a wonderful view of the absolute majesty of West Texas….for in this lil ole Chiweenie’s opinion….there is no place on Earth that has been blessed more by God Almighty….whom we dogs call God Dog…..than West Texas…..and there is no better way of understanding this special place’s limitless beauty than to grow up in West Texas….however, if you didn’t have the distinct privilege of ever living out in West….then make sure that you click on all four (4) videos by Texas State Photographer Wyman Meinzer that I use in my stories about West Texas.
West Texas – 2002 – Texas State Photographer Wyman Meinzer – Between Heaven And West Texas
Mr. Meinzer happens to be my favorite photographer in all of Texas. These videos are just some of the works of a man who grew up in this rugged barren land and found absolute beauty as they give you his view of “God’s Country” ….as seen through the lenses of his cameras. I want to thank him for all that he has done to help me provide a visual understanding of how this place has etched a lifelong effect on Bone Daddy’s philosophies of life.
West Texas – 2005 – Special – Texas State Photographer Wyman Meinzer Presents “Under One Fence – The Waggoner Ranch
Obviously, both of these men who grew up under West Texas skies….are “brothers of another mother”….cuz both of Meizner’s and Bone Daddy’s lives have obviously been affected by the place….the people….it inhabitants…. and the times of the 50’s and 60’s out West. What is glaringly obvious to this lil Chiweenie is that it seems to me that the same cosmic effects took place in both men’s lives….one a man who was meant to be a photographer and the other one who was meant to be a Sportsphile….all thanks to the lessons learned out in God’s Country.
West Texas – 2009 – Texas State Photographer Wyman Meizner Presents West Texas
