More Reading etc

I was led to My Confession by Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. It was written in the nineteenth century but is quite accessible to the modern reader. It is a probably-fictionalized memoir describing events that were loosely adapted by Cormac McCarthy into the novel. The memoir itself reads like a tall tale. You get the feeling that Chamberlain is skipping over embarrassing details and glorifying deeds that were probably mundane. But it's an easy and entertaining read.

I guess this is a good time to comment on McCarthy again now that we have read a certain notorious article in Vanity Fair revealing the man's flaws. The information was disappointing but I had already drawn the conclusion that Cormac had been on the wrong side of the law for at least some part of his life. As I've said before, I've been around some shady people in the past and I know it when I see it.

And I decided it was time for more Fleming. So far Diamonds Are Forever is entertaining and contains some of the best writing I've seen from the author. Perhaps he improved over time. I'm reading in chronological order of publishing so I can see the development.

At the scenic driving range again. Beautiful blue sky day but very windy.

I took the day off today and bought golf shoes, then went to the driving range. Metal cleats have gone out of favor so I bought Adidas with pretty substantial plastic cleats, but so far I haven't noticed that much of a difference. Although I've been golfing since childhood I never bothered before to get specific shoes.

I saw a brown bird circling over the range that I originally thought was a large object carried away by the wind. I tried to get a photo of it but no joy. It was so large that I suspect it was a golden eagle. The wind picked up and a large dust devil cooked up around 300 yards from the tee boxes. It was like the most Arizona day ever at the driving range.