While researching my own family tree, I teased my friend about her husband’s last name, Cogburn. Was he related to Deputy Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, portrayed in the movie, True Grit, and played by John Wayne? “Oh, yes,” my friend assured me. “My husband was indeed related to the deputy marshal, but he was really a mean ol’ cuss, and not half as good as depicted in the movie.” We both lived just a few miles from Fort Smith, Arkansas where the story took place, so I never doubted her husband’s sincerity. Fascinated, I dug into his claim and found this: Arkansas native, Charles Portis, wrote the novel, True Grit, which was first published as a serialized story in the Saturday Evening Post in 1868. Good ol’ Rooster Cogburn really was a combination of several marshals that had served under the hanging judge, Judge Isaac Parker! Poor Vonda. Her husband isn’t truly related to the “famous” deputy marshal, but he’s a great teller of tall tales!
Homer's Ill Iliad & Odd Sea Odyssey (420 pages) is an adult satire/parody rewrite of the classic stories of the 10 year Trojan War and of the 10 year adventure of Odysseus trying to return home to his native Ithaca.
