Mike Thompson is an award winning writer and photographer. He's been an entrepreneur, bartender, carpenter, oil land man, cowboy, stage and screen actor (Coming in November on PBS, Theodore Roosevelt, A Cowboy's Ride to the White House), an explosives project engineer and a military museum curator. His military career includes active duty Air Force and Army, Reserves and National Guard. Vietnam medic, Class of 1966-67. Much of his time is spent writing but he still carries cameras with him, winning awards from Arizona to Texas.

Mike Thompson
laughinghorse@verizon.net

My Day at Santo Domingo Pueblo

By Lora Sandroni

On August 4, 2010, I attended my first feast day at the Santo Domingo Pueblo, about 20 minutes north of Albuquerque. The largest Indian dance ceremonial in the southwest is held during this feast day honoring Saint Dominic, with more than 1,000 Santo Domingo Pueblo Indians performing their colorful corn dance. This wonderful event is open to the non-native public and I was a fortunate observer that day in August.

The Santo Domingo Pueblo is one of the 19 pueblos in this area, 17 along the Rio Grande plus Zuni and Hopi. I knew very little about the pueblos and even less about their feast days. With no preconceived notions about what I might see or experience, my girlfriend and I started out early to avoid the heat of the day, enjoying the coolness and mist in the air. It was raining lightly when we arrived at the pueblo and I already had a sense of excitement.

Caked in chalk-like paint, elders of these Pueblo Indians lead the others carrying Saint Dominic down a dirt path towards the plaza, and the chanting and dancing began, continuing until sunset. The dance was a procession, with members of the tribe ranging from toddlers, school-age children, adolescents, middle-aged members, including the elderly. To my eye, they were all a vision of color, texture and design.

Christin Miller
The Diva of Western Design and Marketing

Los Angeles is not necessarily the place where a woman whose passion runs to all things exquisite and western, will find the compadres she yearns for to fuel her love of the Western Lifestyle and all that it encompasses. But make no mistake, there's a reason her company is named Maverick Style - she's a renegade who has ignored the glitz and glamour of her hometown LA and has become the ambassador of the sophistication, elegance and romance of Western Style. Meet Christin for lunch at any of Los Angeles' chic eateries and she's the stand-out. Always impeccably dressed in the finest western-inspired clothes and jewelry, from boots to handbag, she walks the walk and talks the talk - but it's from the heart.

Somehow, Jackson Hole (WY) always seems to play a role when inspiring and then converting us urbanites to the richness of the West. Family vacations there as a child left their indelible mark on this LA Diva. "I just loved the mountains and horseback riding and I never forgot how beautiful it was. I still have the little cowboy hat and western belt I got there when I was just 11 years old. Well, they don't fit anymore," she laughs, "but I still have them."

Christin's life and career back in Los Angeles took her away from her real love. But her years in retail, a successful career with the Walt Disney Company, then as Vice President of Domestic Licensing at Paramount Pictures, all contributed to the success she has realized today. Her extensive knowledge of marketing, branding and promotions plus her keen eye for the finest designs is the foundation upon which she has built Maverick Design and Marketing.

Even though she lived the "corporate" lifestyle for years, her husband was an avid Western aficionado. Her honeymoon took her back to Jackson Hole where she re-discovered how much a part of her soul Western lifestyle was. It was on a subsequent trip to Dallas that she was exposed to the high-end couture and designs of Western fashion. "I had never seen anything like this before. I realized Western wasn't just boots but there was this spectacular high-end side of western fashion." She started collecting Native American jewelry and the clothes to go with it.

Now back in LA, she was restless and knew it was time to make a change. She was driven to focus her energies and professional life on the world she loved. "I woke up in the middle of the night on my 50th birthday with an epiphany!" she laughs. "I would launch my new company, Maverick Style Western Design and Marketing, and embrace myself into the western world. That was an evening in July and by November, the company was up and running and she was at Cowboy Christmas moving and shaking, marketing and promoting.

Today, Christin and her company are unstoppable in promoting the finest in western design and lifestyle. From the trendiest accessories, upscale clothing, sophisticated home décor, Western art and artists and the music that makes it all so infectious, she's your one-stop shopping if you're looking to promote your creations. She penetrates the country, traveling coast to coast, always looking for new artists that need to be exposed to the world. From creating marketing strategies, promotional materials, social media, blogs and email marketing to complete special event planning, she will catapult your work to the world. And, when you get the call that one of the "big guys" want to talk to you about carrying your line, well, she's the woman for that too. Her years as VP of Domestic Licensing at Paramount Pictures makes her just a bit of an expert in this area as well.

Christin Miller, she Brands the West and we are so honored to welcome her into our High Noon family of cowgirls and cowboys!



Christin Miller
Maverick Style Western Design and Marketing
www.maverickstyle.net
(818) 508-1928
christin@maverickstyle.net

A letter from one of our younger readers, Angelica

Dear Smoke Signals,

I am 17 years old. I am in 12th Grade and home schooled by my parents. I have two sisters and live in New Milford CT. I really started getting into Roy Rogers and Dale Evans when I was 11 or 12. My grandmother gave me one of his movies to watch (The Bells of San Angelo) and I loved it. I thought it was the best movie I ever watched and I loved the music. I started looking on the computer to see if Roy Rogers was in any other movies. I began collecting Roy's and Dale's movies, music, and the original 1950's chapter books. Just last year on my 16th birthday I got the last movie that I needed to complete my collection (Pals of the Golden West). I also have collected all the chapter books, some comic books, pictures, and books about Roy and Dale. I have written about my experience at the Roy Rogers auction and hope you print it.

This month we present cowboy poetry by Russell Petter...


Living His Dream
by Russell Petter

He was this many years old,
as held up his little hand.
The man taking the tickets had asked him
as he collected the ticket stub, from the little man.
It had been the little boy's dream
to attend a real live rodeo,
Now he was here, He was Living His Dream.

Well the whole sha-bang got started
with lots of music, and lots of horses in a Grand Entry,
A few clowns, and some spotlights from above.
A whole bunch of cowboys and pretty cowgirls,
all wishing for some luck,
They had gathered tonight driving old pick up trucks.
They had all arrived, To Live Out Their Dreams.

The smell of popcorn and hot dogs, along with sweet cotton candy;
combined to fill the air.
There was lots of laughter from the rodeo clowns,
some introductions of important people;
more smiles, the posting of the colors and a short prayer.
Everyone stood for the Anthem, a hat crossed their chest,
and they all paused just a moment, before it was time,
for the Cowboys and Cowgirls to live out their Dream.

Well the horses, they did buck,
and the Cowboys, they did ride,
The Cowgirls all sparkled in their rhinestones,
with glitter on their hats, and a twinkle in their eyes.
All the Rodeo contestants had gathered
to Live Out Their Dreams.

Now it's twenty years later:...He was finally here.
In a town that never sleeps, electricity filled the air.
He was at the Big One, the National Finals Rodeo,
where only the best Cowboys and Cowgirls were invited,
to Live Out Their Dreams.

He watched the Grand Entry, and he said a short prayer,
He sang with the Anthem, while the music and smoke from the fireworks filled the air.
The young man thought back to twenty years ago, shook his head, and smiled a Big Texas Grin.
It was finally his turn, every young bronc riders dream.
The chute gate swung open, the Big Red horse reared,
the cowboy marked him out, as he gritted his teeth.
He spurred him long, he spurred him high,
from the neck to the big red hip;
In a short ten seconds, that felt more like ten years,
The pick up man was beside him, congratulating him on his ride
he was finally a real live cowboy, at the biggest rodeo of his career.

It had been the little boys dream, to attend a real live rodeo.
Now he was here, Living His Dream, at the BIG SHOW.
Ten long days later, to his surprise,
he was now a sure enough bronc rider, and a Rodeo Champion.
He was now a real live cowboy, who had lived every young cowboy's dream...

HE WAS A COWBOY, WHO WAS LIVING HIS DREAM !!!



Russell grew up in a small town, Robinson, Texas, and got married and moved to an even smaller town, McGregor, Texas, where he lived for over 20 years. Years later, a new neighbor moved in next door, (15 minutes away) President George W. Bush who decided to buy a ranch in Crawford, Texas.
 
Russell started writing about 20 years ago, just for fun. His writing is an expression of what he knows, what he doesn't know, and what he still wants to know.
 
Russell Petter
The Keywest Kowboy
petterrussell@yahoo.com