Remembering Cyclone Davis Jr. and When Texas' Political Craziness Was More Fun.
More specifically, I yearn for a quasi-surrealist stump speaker such as the late bearded prophet and political performance artistof Dallas. When Cyclone died in 1954 at the age of 73 and just a few months after his final campaign, he had run for governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. Congress, U.S. Senate, etc. But the only office he ever captured was mayor of tiny Rotan, about 50 miles northwest of Abilene, in 1906.
. The tome is filled with poems, riddles, jokes, cartoons, random bits of wisdom and commonsense instruction, pictures of friends and public officials, an essay on grass, correspondence with a banker concerning a $250 loan and peculiar doodles and illustrations. The cover features drawings of WFAA cowboy singer Peg Moreland and characters named Professor A-Corn, Mr. Peanut, and Miss Pickon.
While many of his pronouncements are cringe-worthy viewed through a contemporary lens, Cyclone Davis Sr. slung mud with eloquent, fiery gusto.