People just naturally meander towards them that are laughing, smiling and joking. Human beings are herding animals. We need to be around others. Now, wouldn't it be just natural that we'd wanna be around them that treat us well; happy people; friendly people; positive people?


I guess that's why I like hanging with my older brother, Blue, and that old cowboy from down on the river, Aunt Tilley's boyfriend, Creaky Olson. They may grumble and mumble and bumble about, but over all they're positive, happy people that don't mind standing beside a feller.


I was telling you that me and Blue has a daily chore of cutting firewood for the kitchen stoves. So I was out about 5:00 a.m. and turned on the light above the sawhorse outside the woodshed. . Then I got the fire going in the stove in the shed and put the coffee on before Blue came down from the trailer where him and Aunt Tilley lives.

He looks at the thermometer and says, “Lawdy, minus 15. Where's that coffee? I gotta get some heat running through my blood before using that saw. If not I'm bound to bust an arm off in this cold.”

I get a bit of a chuckle from that.

I guess that is one of the reasons both me and Blue like to get out here and do this little chore each morning. Sometimes we get us a chuckle or a good laugh. I find when something is bothering me and it's holding on to the point where I'm seizing up, then a good laugh seems to help. And this cutting wood early in the morning with Blue or maybe Creaky Olson can have some purty funny instances. I sure know after them times my problems don't seem to have a hold on me anymore.

Speaking of Creaky Olson, we can see the lights of his truck coming up the river road. As he got closer we could see steam coming out from under his hood.

He jumped out and headed for the coffee pot. “I don't know what's that matter on that thing, this morning,” he says as he pours himself a cup.

Blue looks under the hood and says, “It looks like your radiator is froze up. Ain't ya got no antifreeze in there?”

Creaky say, “No, I used water!”

Blue says,”Water! Ya know water freezes up in this cold!”

Creaky says, “Hades, it do. I used water from Jillian's Creek, and you that ain't never froze up in my lifetime!!”

By the time me and Blue stopped laughing at Creaky, the outside light on the trailer blinked off and on. That was the signal that Aunt Tilley had Blue's breakfast ready. Then it blinked off and on again. She musta saw Creaky and was telling Blue to bring him along.

Ha, I gotta good start on the day already.

Well, my show last night in Taber, AB was the final one for this season. Great show and even better response. Man, that was a wonderful way to end this year and gives me a lift to work on some new stories I have in mind.

I don't give out business cards unless asked cause I feel like I'm being pushie if I do, but them folks was asking for them. I thought I'd escaped with a couple in my pocket, but th eowner of th ehall was listening in the backroom and he came running out as I was leaving and he asked for all I had left.

We Finally Name the Ranch

My brother, Blue, is . . . yah, he's stupid. We never had a name for the ranch. Well, now we got a name for the ranch.


Blue always wanted a fancy name for the ranch and he always like the thoughts of having it begin with the word 'lazy', like the Lazy L Ranch or something like that. He also thought the ranch should have three or more letters in the name because he thought that look kinda classy. After all these years, Blue, for some reason, suddenly wants us to look classy. He said he just likes the sounds of a name like the Lazy JLR Ranch or something of the such.


Well Aunt Tilley's eighty-six year old boyfriend, Creaky Olson, came over and was watching me and Blue doing some chores and he says to Blue, "I got a perfect name for your ranch." He gave Blue three letters and told him to lean them over on their side and they would be a perfect fit for me and Blue. Well, Blue loved it; even had some branding irons made up for it and started to brand our cattle.


Folks, I just don't have the heart to tell Blue what SOB stands for. Yes, folks, we are now offically the "Lazy SOB Ranch."

On a more serious note, I was up helping the Lloydminster SPCA raise some money on October 2, 2009. Wow, that was a fun night and I enjoyed it to no end. To all the people who came over and talked and bought my CDs and contributed to the SPCA, Thank you. I appreciate it.

Ol' Ugly at Maple Creek, SK

Oh, Lawdy! I just got back from Maple Creek, SK and their 20th Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering & Western Art and Gear Show. Folks, that was a gathering! From Friday afternoon until Sunday evening it was one great set of entertainers after the other. That organization has to be commended over and over again for that show.

I never had so many people come up and shake my hand and hug me before in my life. I knew some, but many I didn't know. It shows that folks have a craving for good clean comedy and wild stories. That's what I do and I love making people laugh. They were great crowds and looking to be entertained.

And they showed their appreciation too by buying my CDs. Oh, I never sold this many CDs at a gathering before. It sure made this trip worthwhile. For you folks who did buy I can't say how much I appreciate it. You people are the greatest. I sold out and and for those looking for my Cd "Mule Talk from a Jackass" I did get another batch and you can just yell if you want one.. Now, if you will come again next year then maybe I can even get some gas for my trip back home.

September 25 and 26 I'm at Trails End Gathering in Cochrane. That should be interesting. We'll keep you posted.

Well, that's about it for this time. Keep warm, keep laughing and stay cute

Ol' Ugly

I’ve been trying out some new material. A feller once told me that ya should try to change about a third of your material every year. I want to do that cause some of it is getting purty stale dated with me!

What I do when I’m practising my routines is to either look in a mirror or try to find an audience. The new stories I’m workin’ on is getting’ past the mumblin’, stutterin’ and stumblin’ stage and I wanted to give it a try on something live. My brother, Blue, and Aunt Tilley saw me comin’ with that look in my eye and they headed for the truck in the driveway so I let ‘em be.

But, my eighty-six year old Aunt Tilley got some sunflowers in the garden that stand a good ten feet tall and they stand at the end of a couple of rows of corn that is about six feet high. So I figgered to hide in between them two rows of corn and give it all I was worth as there twern’t nothin’ around. There I was givin’ the performance of my life to them sunflowers. Man, I thought it was kinda rude of them not to give me a standin’ ovation!!

When I come out of the garden there was Aunt Tilley and my older brother, Blue, standing arms down by their side and starin’ at me. Blue had a rope in his hand. He says, “If he starts to get too violent, I’ll calf tie him. You run fer the phone and call 911.”

Geez, the things a feller puts up with to get ready to entertain folks.

This was quite the day. I ran up to Turner Valley, AB and met up with Doris Daley at the Coyote Moon for coffee. We did have some interesting conversation about this show business stuff. As always I learned a few new tricks and ideas from her.

We talked about the gatherings/festivals/western concerts in the United States. Doris knows I'm interested in going there to try my hand at entertaining there. As she has traveled to some of the better events, she was able to pass along some interesting tips that may help me in this fantasy of mine. Then we also discussed an upcoming road trip we are making to northern Saskatchewan in November.

Lawdy and then I came home and Blue was laughing and he grabbed ahold on my arm and took me to the fence around the trailer where him and Aunt Tilley live. There tied up to the fence was the gas lawnmower and it was running ful bore. "What ya doin'" I asked?

It said, "It ain't me. Aunt Tilley got it started and mowed the lawn and then she couldn't get it stopped. She drug it over and tied it to the fence to wait until one of us got home or it ran outta gas whichever come first." He shut it off and said, "Man, that woman is gonna be the death of us one day."

But I guess that don't beat the day he told Aunt Tilley she couldn't cut the grass with the electric lawnmower and when she hounded him into letting her cut it, he hooked the Christmas lights intermitent switch to the electric cord. The poor woman almost went crazy trying to figger out why the lawnmower would start and stop, start and stop.

Well, today I received a call from Ann in Maple Creek, SK to make sure I was coming out to their Cowboy gathering. "Main stage," she said so I best get my act together and do my practising. Mirror here come's Ol' Ugly so get on your best behaviour.

I love making people laugh at the best of times, but in Saskatchewan it is special for some reason. They love to laugh. That reminds me, Doris Daley, and I are heading up to meet Larry Krause for two shows in Prince Albert and Big River, SK in November. I love being on stage with Doris as she is a real pro and I learn so much from her every time. Larry is a singer and he hasn't a prayer of teaching me.

Tomorrow I head for Banff, Alberta for a couple of days. I sure want to take another look at that Banff School of Fine Arts Theatres. I did a couple of shows there a few years back and oh, what a feeling to be in such a state of the art facility. I gotta see it again.