After my father's death in the fall of 1976, I spent as much time as I could with my mother in Laramie while she transitioned into living alone. Having long since worn out my welcome with all friends and family with my couch surfing ways, I'd purchased a camper trailer, which I parked in her driveway so that she had access to me without giving up her privacy and to allow my barhopping late nights without disturbing her. There were a lot of … [Read more...]
Jim Duke Shares a Thanksgiving Day Bloodshed Story
It promised to be one of the most beautiful Thanksgiving Days possible. There had been an early, heavy snowfall followed by a cold snap, preserving the snow and freezing local ponds in crystal clear glass ice free of snow. A holiday skater's dream! The Colorado contingent of our family had congregated at my sister Cathy's home up on the hill in north Boulder, where all the young doctors and lawyers of the region resided. A nearby pond on … [Read more...]
Post Two of Two, Jim Duke’s “Mom Comes Back Home” is Heartfelt and Reflective
Mom Comes Back Home The last time I was in D.C. was shortly after mom had broken her hip and had moved into assisted living while recovering and rehabilitating. My sister, Sally, had long since moved to D.C. with her new job as Deputy Director of the US Forest Service. She had a huge, fancy office overlooking the National Mall, and it was fun looking down out her window at all the people looking up and walking backward. Sally was going to be out … [Read more...]
Post One of Two, Jim Duke’s “Mom Runs Away From Home” Introduces Fans to His Independent Mother
Mom Runs Away Sometime in her early seventies, my mom ran away from home. She'd been living in a downstairs apartment at one of my sisters' homes in Boulder, Colorado, helping to raise two grandchildren while their parents were busy practicing law. It seemed to dawn on her rather suddenly that she had enjoyed plenty enough child rearing with her own litter of six when she abruptly announced that she would give her Volkswagen Rabbit to whoever … [Read more...]
Saddle Up for an Adventure with Jim Duke’s DANCES WITH DONKEYS, the Memoir of a Half-Assed Cowboy
"I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A COWBOY" Journey through the dusty plains of Texas and the rugged mountains of Colorado in Jim Duke's debut, DANCES WITH DONKEYS: The Memoir Of A Half-assed Cowboy-the often hilarious, occasionally poignant, sometimes hair-raising, and always entertaining tales of a man who dropped out of high school and took off for Texas to become a cowboy. In this captivating memoir, Duke recounts his adventures and ass-inine … [Read more...]
“Space Cowboy” | Exploring Psychedelics, Self-Discovery, and the Philosophy of Existence with Jim Duke
My choice of coursework through college was even more random and wandering than the rest of my life. If I followed any sort of pattern at all, it would have been the alphabetical order of the class syllabus catalog, which might explain why I finally wound up with a degree in Zoology. I spent a good deal of time in the 'A' section, taking astronomy at University of Texas, largely so that I could check out the famous McDonald Observatory, which I … [Read more...]
Won’t You Be My Neighbear?
We have a bear for a neighbor. Well, actually four bears, a sow and three cubs. Their den is on our property. Well, actually their property from the perspective of a bear. And I certainly wouldn't argue with them even if I disagreed, which I don't. I'm beginning to believe less and less in the concept of ownership, especially concerning land, and concerning bears. In the natural world, occupation is ownership and I think I prefer that concept. It … [Read more...]
A Bad-ass at Burrofest: Jim Duke’s Tale of Ass-envy, Liability, and Unintended Infamy
Is it possible to get kicked out of a Burrofest for being a jackass? I think that's what happened to me last weekend in Mancos. I'm really not sure why I got kicked out, but I prefer to think that it was because I was being a badass of some sort. I was told I had to leave for liability reasons. It's a little hard to believe that at seventy years old and while peacefully sitting on my ass, I was still the greatest liability in town. Pretty good … [Read more...]
Storyteller Jim Duke on the Ways of True Cowboys
Kyzar The first time I went on a large animal call with Kyzar, I was seventeen. Once in the truck and headed out, he asked if I'd like a chaw, which I gladly accepted, confident that I was a rough and tough cowboy and a seasoned veteran of tobacco products. He pointed to the dash where a large wad of chewing tobacco sat without any sort of wrapper in the hot sun. He informed me that it was Redman Tobacco but that he had thrown away the bag … [Read more...]
Meet Memoir Author Jim Duke
VISIT authorjimduke.com Dropping out of high school to pursue the life of a cowboy in Texas, Jim Duke eventually bullshitted his way into college and attended University of Wyoming and University of Texas before finally earning a BS in Zoology and MS in Range Science on Mountain Goat Habitat in Alaska, both from Colorado State University. His taste for the wild has taken him to the upper Amazon, Patagonia, Madagascar, and mountain biking … [Read more...]
