Thursday, May 31: Femme Fatale
A CONFESSION
by Deborah Elliott-Upton
My husband already knows, but I have had a long-standing affair with another man. I admit to thinking about him at all times of the day and night, finding secret times I could spend with him uninterrupted, and I never tire of his voice and stories. I fell in love with him when my husband was assigned to Ft. Buckner in the Finance department on Okinawa and worked long hours.
Military wives get lonely, just like soldiers get lonely. I had a small baby and was not about to hit the bars like some soldiers did, but I had to save my sanity and that meant finding something to keep me busy while my husband was away.
It started innocently when an army friend lent my husband a paperback. None of the soldiers had much money, so the idea was everyone bought a paperback and everyone shared. It was a revolving library with no dues, no time limits and no restrictions on subject matter. This was not a new idea. In fact, Louis L’Amour tells a story about being in Paris when a lieutenant colonel asked if he were the L’Amour who wrote the Western stories. When L’Amour said he was, the lieutenant colonel said, “The general reads them all the time.†The general would read the books and pass them onto the troops. His name was Dwight Eisenhower.
The soldiers purchased the books, so I read what they read. I read the Mack Bolin series and Matt Helm, the American version of James Bond made famous in film by Dean Martin. I devoured the hilarious No Score by Chip Harrison, who I would later discover was Lawrence Block’s pseudonym in his early years. But when I found Louis L’Amour, I fell hard for the “other†man in my life. In a very short time, I became addicted. I read every Sackett adventure, learned all about “bear sign†and how to keep a cold camp when necessary.
Radigan is still my favorite Louis L’Amour novel, but I would read any of them again in a heartbeat. Tom Selleck starring in another L’Amour movie on television? Let me find the popcorn.
L’Amour had authenticity in his stories. If he wrote about a place, you could rest assured that place existed and Louis had been there personally. His descriptions were better than anyone’s. I remember reading late into the night about one of his characters brewing coffee over a campfire. Louis made it sound so good, I got out of bed and made a pot and drank it until sunrise.
What people may not know is Louis L’Amour’s first fiction story sale was to a crime magazine called True Gang Life. The gangster story was “Anything for a Pal.†A prolific writer, L’Amour was a poet, too, and probably the best Western writer we’ve ever been privileged to know, but it was short stories that made him a “name.â€
Some of his detective stories are in a collection, The Hills of Homicide, which includes the title story plus “Unguarded Moment,†“Dead Man’s Trail,†“With Death in His Corner,†“The Street of Lost Corpses,†“Stay Out of my Nightmare,†“Collect From a Corpse,†and “I Hate to Tell His Widow.â€
Wow, a man of many talents. I think I’m going to put on some coffee and see what L’Amour has in store for me tonight. It’s okay. My husband already knows.
L’Amour is definitely on my “to read” list. I used to harbor some mistrust for Western writers as prolific as him, but some of them -like Max Brand, for example- are remarkably consistent in their quality. By the way, what do you think about Brand? I would assume you would also like him if you like L’Amour. Brand was also a poet, by the way.
lol – I love it – Me, no affairs with writing men yet – lol – My father reads L’Amour all the time and then passes them on to my brother. I have yet to read any of his stories since I’m not into westerns. Now give me a well written psychological thriller and I’m a happy camper (Jonathan Kellerman comes to mind with his Alex Delaware characters) but I’m also game to read any well written mystery or now young adults as I’m trying to work on a YA/middle grade 50 states mystery series/novel – not sure what direction I’m taking with it.
Thanks for sharing your love affair with Monsieur L’Amour – E
I have to admit the “affair” was definitely one-sided. I wouldn’t have thought I’d be into Westerns at that time, but that man changed my ideas. A good story is a good story and he always delivered a great story. Ah, Max Brand. I haven’t thought about him for a while, but yes, he was popular with the soldiers and so, I read those adventures, too and yes, he’s pretty cool.
Most people think of Westerns when you mention L’Amour, but my favorite is Last of the Breed, which is a novel about a native american soldier’s capture and escape from cold-war era Russia.
This made me laugh. I love Matt Helm movies and don’t know many people who have heard of them. I got from this article that writers should read a lot – which I do! Thanks!!
I had forgotten L’Amour’s skill when it comes to description until I read your column today. I’ve got to get out some of his books and go through them again. Thanks, Deborah.
Well, Debbie –
You did it again – made me laugh just thinking about descriptions so well written that you had to get up and make coffee just to get the taste you were reading about!
I’m still giggling about last week’s blog and how your mind is always developing a story and how much fun it must be for your family as your wonderfully imaginative ideas pop into conversations unexpectedly.
Thanks for sharing the information about L’Amour – my dad had a collection of his books and enjoyed every one.
L’Amour knew how to tell a story! After avoiding Westerns my entire life, I remember how surprised I was to discover this fact. My favorites are his adventures about Texas Ranger Chick Bowdrie. Another great column, Deborah.
Okay, I feel better about myself now. It is nice to know someone else has this extraordinatry talent of seeing written men while their hubby is elsewhere! Great article and I had to laugh in a few places because you very adeptly drew us, the reader, into your little vice. heh heh. I’ve never read L’Amour, but I loved Matt Helm movies. Thanks for a delightful read, Deborah.
Deborah said: “I devoured the hilarious No Score by Chip Harrison, who I would later discover was Lawrence Block’s pseudonym in his early years.”
NO SCORE contains my favorite dedication of all time. “Chip Harrison” dedicated it. . .
“For Lawrence Block who is my favorite writer and who is as together a person as he is a writer and you can’t get much better than that.”
Wow Debbie. I never would have guessed. My Dad read them all…the Sackett’s over and over. When he was in the hospital last summer I bought him a L’amour trilogy on audio and that was one of his greatest pleasures. I really enjoyed your review.