I once read that Hunter S. Thompson, as a young and ambitious writer, tried to improve his writing by copying word for word the opening chapter of The Great Gatsby. At that age, long before he became a literary legend, Thompson considered Fitzgerald’s book to be the great American novel, or close to it. So […]
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In its glory days, the Roman coastal city of Baiae was the Mar-a-Lago of its time. Roman leaders and the elite had vacation villas there, including Julius Caesar and Caligula. Seneca described Baiae as a “vortex of luxury” and “harbour of vice.” It didn’t last. After 600 years, the resort town was sacked by Muslim […]
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Chasing down a rumor that Buffalo Bill and I are related, I left Big Sky, Montana last week and went in search of the man. It may be just a coincidence that we both wear hats size large, but I feel we are akin in many ways and may share some bloodlines. What’s more, I’ve […]
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I got pulled over in Arizona recently, a suspected potential drug smuggler. I didn’t mind a bit – it was an honest mistake. Frankly, it felt great. Like I could be considered dangerous. A rebel. An hombre. Not just your average white American codger. But no, I wasn’t smuggling anything. I did have a bottle […]
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Found this old photo of my grandfather, Lazlo Overhead, who played college football for the Nebraska Copywriters, before they became the Cornhuskers. Copywriting and football run in the family. Okay, I’m lying. Lazlo played for the Carlile Copywriters, not Nebraska. And before being called the Cornhuskers, Nebraska’s team was known as the Bugeaters (no lie). […]
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“Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, and deem them like the arc of the covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human, and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment. I knew that age well; I belonged to it, and […]
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IMG_4501 1934 Les Overhead holiday card
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And such fine penmanship In my mind, these are the greatest 273 words ever written. If you have better ones, let’s see them. Gettysburg Address 273 words 10 sentences 2 minutes 51,112 American deaths over 3 days (almost as many as the entire Vietnam war) “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth […]
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The best way to reach Les Overhead and Tom Vandel is by email (tom@...), by phone (503-505-4723), or by sending carrier pigeon or mail to 1750 NE 57th Portland, OR 97213. Thank you.