Saturday, December 04, 2010

Visitor

John Davila, one of my oldest and closest friends in New Mexico, is a former rodeo cowboy and a rancher with land- grant roots who lives where he was born, many long dirt- road miles south of the pavement in Catron County. These days he raises half- Japanese grass- fed cattle, another story, and manages the land for elk. He is a world traveler, an opinionated cuss, a former chickenfighter, and full- proof New Mexican. Before he traveled so much he kept everything from peacocks and homing pigeons to blooded horses on his off- the- grid homestead with its passive solar stone house. He and his ex- wife Becky Daniel, also a good friend, appear throughout Querencia- the- book, and John leads off my first essay in Edge of the Wild with a goshawk he caught when it was picking off fifty dollar chicks (30 years ago...)

He came by this week, I think to make sure we were OK and to assure us he was, told ten or fifteen outrageous stories and uttered as many strong opinions (Daniela, who likes him very much says "I have never known anyone so sure of himself!") He gave us the latest inside dope from the Caucasus and the Ossetian conflict (ex- Soviet Georgia, Brazil, and the museums of southern Europe are among his regular destinations). He talked about how a demented fan of Karl May westerns in Germany refused to believe that he was a cowboy ("I didn't like mustangs") or that his former wife was half- Navajo and "half Mormon" (she is).

We played Tom Russell and drank a bit of vodka in memory of wilder times past (he is the only person who ever got us kicked out of the Spur, twenty- something years ago), read Kipling aloud (McDonagh's "Order the guns and kill!"; Arithmetic on the Frontier, Pict Song, Bonfire on the Ice-- cheery stuff), and looked at my "new" gun.

One of John's long time contentions is that his people, like many of the oldest Spanish settlers, are crypto- Jewish conversos-- he is dead sure of that (as he says to Israel- born Daniela, "I'm a Jew!"), and he seeks out history and lore and connections. (Interestingly several of his relatives have married into Jewish families-- I once met a "Marcie Cohen" at a party who turned out to be his first cousin, nee Guttierez!)

I tend to pass a lot of this off as romantic mythology, but as he says, as he ages "I look more Jewish". Damn if with newly gray hair he isn't starting to resemble some pix of Leonard Cohen, albeit armed and wearing a cammo cap.

What do YOU think?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Steve

Glad another old friend called by to see how you are faring !

John sounds a wonderful guy to geace any dinner table .....

JohnnyUK

Anonymous said...

Sorry - of course, I meant "grace" , but I have already consumed 1/2 Bottle of St Veran,with some Goose Rillettes ( made, amazingly , by a local "Charcuterie"), and some pretty average Bordeaux with a fine rib eye.
It's Saturday night , so Petra and I are just off to the pub ( again, I am afraid!), as June wants to snooze by the woodburner, away from the snow!- I will have one for all three of you !

Cheers

JohnnyUK

Anonymous said...

I think I see John with the
"new 20G"- what did he think ?

JohnnyUK

Steve Bodio said...

He asked after you, John (UK) and also, of course, liked the gun.

For readers: John D's ranch is the site of the "incriminating" photo from many years ago of Johnny (UK) in a cowboy hat, shooting a 1911 .45 auto at a beer can in the yard and smoking a cigar.

FYI Lib is cooking a chicken from John Rhodes tonight.

Anonymous said...

Hi Steve

It all comes flooding back!!- the wonderful welcome from an extremely generous and welcoming John , his partner, and beautiful daughter .
His amazing home was built, partially underground, to mitigate against the worst extremes of NM weather( years before it's time), and situated ,idyllically, but somewhat inconveniently for schooling ( for a European), miles off the pavement.

As well as shooting the
"Mighty 45", I also remember walking up a steep "hill" in boiling sun , to look for a mountain lion lair, with wonderful Lilly, and your spaniel- great days.

If John approves of the 20G, then all is well!

Thanks for such happy memories!

JohnnyUK

Steve Bodio said...

LOL--- a school bus came within a mile, though the house is 20- something miles off the pavement and 50- plus from the school! Big country.

And rugged. That hill is a small extinct volcano-- in the yard.

Chas S. Clifton said...

I have watched the crypto-Jew thing in southern Colorado, and I see huge edifices built on wishful thinking.

Maybe it is just another case of "everyone wants to be special."

Davila sounds like a cool guy though.