Who am I? The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi

Black Dog.

 I accompanied a friend and her dog on a walk around Black Dog Woods on the outskirts of Westbury this afternoon. The woods got this name because around 300 years ago there were two local men both rivals for the affections of a young maid of the parish. They decided to fight a duel in the woods to see who would win her hand in marriage. One of the suitors was slain by his rival. His pet dog was so enraged to see his master killed that he attacked the victor and mauled him to death. When the young lady learned of this tragic outcome, she was so distraught she also took her own life. It is said that the ghost of the black dog haunts the woods to this day. I must say that this particular walk does have a quite lonesome eerie atmosphere, especially on a cold January afternoon. I was glad to have a companion with me, although I appreciated the exercise and the fresh air.

Silhouettes In The Snow.

It was about -2 degrees C here today. It had snowed overnight, but was a bright sunny day, perfect for a walk in the January sunshine. I joined a friend who was taking her dog for a walk around an area known locally as The Mead. Some parts of the ponds were frozen over, but in other areas there were plenty of swans and ducks busily foraging for food. Along the path I spotted a tiny wren hopping from branch to branch on a small tree. I tried to photograph him, but he kept moving too quickly. I had more luck with a robin who seemed curious about what we were doing on his land. It felt great to be outdoors communing with nature. 

Then we drove up to the White Horse. It was quite tricky driving up the frozen winding lane and avoiding other traffic coming down. It was worth the effort because there was lots to see. Sheep still grazed on parts of the hillside that were snow-free.  This is a very popular spot for Hang-gliding enthusiasts, and several of them floated quite spectacularly in the air above the White Horse. Also, a few months ago the army had installed several giant metal silhouette figures of soldiers to warn the public to stay away from the army firing range. There are also silhouettes of ordinary people engaged in ordinary activities. 

They have proved to be very popular with local people, quite iconic, like Westbury’s equivalent of famous statues like Anthony Gormley’s The Angel Of The North. They were meant to be a temporary installation, but Westbury Town Council has applied for planning permission to make them a permanent fixture. I had never seen them before, so went over to have a close-up look. I think they are amazing, so I hope they stay. After that I was getting a bit cold, so we made our way carefully back down the hill. I said cheerio to my friend and went home for a welcome hot cup of tea. I was pleased I had made the effort to get out and about.

A January Walk.

The news has been full of reports about the weather today. In some areas heavy snow, and flooding in other places. We have had a lot of wind and rain where I live, but not too bad. Finally, today on January 6^th I got out for a walk around Fairwood Lakes. I enjoyed it after being inside for days on end. It was wonderful to feel the wind on my face and breathe some fresh air.

“Go outside. Don’t tell anyone and don’t bring your phone. Start walking and keep walking until you no longer know the road like the palm of your hand … Just walk, see, sit down if you like. And be. Just be whatever you are with whatever you have, and realize that that is enough to be happy. There’s a whole world out there, right outside your window. You’d be a fool to miss it.” – Charlotte Eriksson

A Case Of Lone Star.

It is a rainy dark Sunday evening. I haven’t ventured out much recently because I’ve been recovering from a nasty virus. So, I haven’t got a lot to tell you about. When there wasn’t anything worth watching on the telly, I passed the time reading. A few days ago, because I felt quite ill I didn’t want to read anything too taxing for my brain so I picked up this book called The Kinky Friedman Crime Club by Kinky Friedman. I had bought the book for £1 in a charity shop in Warminster several months ago and had forgotten about it. The reason I bought it was because it was signed ‘For Shirley, All Best Wishes, The Kinkster 6.22.92’ (See picture) I didn’t know anything about this writer, but something in the back of my mind thought there was a vague connection with Bob Dylan. I thought it might be worth a few quid, and when I looked on eBay was pleased to see that signed copies were on sale for £25. The book is a collection of three of his previous novels in one UK edition published by Faber & Faber in 1992. 

Before I started reading it, I looked up Kinky Friedman on Wikipedia to learn more about him. It told me that Richard Samet "Kinky" Friedman (November 1, 1944 – June 27, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humourist, politician, and columnist for Texas Monthly, who styled himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. Friedman was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 Texas gubernatorial election. Receiving 12.6% of the vote, Friedman placed fourth in the six-person race. In early 1976, he joined Bob Dylan on the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue tour. In 1973, Friedman had formed his second band, Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys, which many took to be a play on the name of the famous band Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. When I looked on youtube I was pleased to find a video of Kinky and Dylan playing together although I didn’t think the song was all that great. (See video below) Wiki also said that after his music career stalled in the 1980s Kinky shifted his creative focus to writing detective novels. His books have similarities to his song lyrics, featuring a fictionalized version of himself solving crimes in New York City and dispensing jokes, wisdom, recipes, charm, and Jameson's whiskey in equal measure. They are written in a straightforward style which owes a debt to Raymond Chandler. 

The Kinky character views himself as a latter-day Sherlock Holmes and he is aided in his investigations by his close friend Larry Sloman aka Ratso who assumes the role of Dr. Watson. The first book in the collection is called A Case Of Lone Star. It involves a series of killings in a New York Country Music club. The killer leaves clues to taunt the investigators by sending them lyrics from Hank Williams songs. I quite enjoyed it and it held my attention to the end because I was as keen as Kinky to find out who the killer was. Kinky certainly isn’t in the same class as Chandler or Dashiell Hammett in the genre of hard-boiled fiction, but he was quite amusing. There are two more stories in the collection which I haven’t read yet, and I don’t know if I ever will either, but you never know.

Kinky was quite a character. In 2004, he began an ostensibly serious, though colourful, campaign to become the Governor of Texas in 2006. One of his stated goals was the "dewussification" of Texas. Among his campaign slogans were "How Hard Could It Be?", "Why The Hell Not?", "My Governor is a Jewish Cowboy", and "He ain't Kinky, he's my Governor", a play on "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". His heart was in the right place though because he founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch located near Kerrville, Texas whose mission is to care for stray, abused and aging animals; to date, the ranch has saved more than 1,000 dogs from animal euthanasia. On June 27, 2024, it was announced that Friedman had died at his home at Echo Hill Ranch, Medina, Bandera County, Texas, from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 79.

Kinky & Bob.

 

Bob Dylan & Kinky Friedman, Sold Americans 1991