The Best of Brush Country Bull 1977-1980

Book excerpt: A Depression-bred, Texas-style Mark Twain recaptures the life of the Brush Country and the heart of America. The best articles from the "Brush Country Bull" weekly newspaper column (1977-2005) in The Devine News by Henry B. Briscoe. Henry Briscoe had quite a life. It began simply on a Depression-era dairy farm near Devine, Texas, continued at Texas Tech University, and then took a 180-degree turn to the military. In the Air Force, Henry flew transport planes around the world, commanded a squadron in Vietnam, and assisted the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. But that Devine boyhood had a strong hold on him spiny cactus, rattlesnakes, horny toads and all so he settled there when his 25-year Air Force career was over. Soon after his return, Henry organized a deer-hunting contest and wrote an article about it in The Devine News. The town folk loved it, so he wrote another. And another. Thus began "Brush Country Bull," a folksy column that would run weekly for 27 years and recall, denounce, poke fun, and celebrate quite literally, EVERYTHING. With a range as big as Texas, Henry "jawed" about midnight buck hunting, dropping bulldozers on an ice island at the North Pole, making deer sausage, supporting the Devine Fire Department, critiquing elected officials, and learning the names of migrating birds. And that's just a sampling. So git you a good cup of coffee, head on out to that porch swing, and spend a little time with Henry.