YOU LIVE AND LEARN. THEN YOU DIE AND FORGET IT ALL:
Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules and Men
by William Ferris (1992)
Narrated by Michael Kramer
Books On Tape Inc (1995) Book #3670. 0001265898/1985444-001.
Out of print.
I could not find this recording in digital format,so I converted my copy
of this recording to MP3. From audio cassette (Nakamichi Dragon) to CD
(Pioneer PDR-555RW) to MP3 (iTunes 8, 96kbps VBR, Mono (effectively 50kbps).
Dolby NR was NOT used - you can post-process or equalize to your liking.
Cheers, FerraBit
February 2009
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Introduction
Chapter 1 - School Days
Chapter 2 - Dog Days
Chapter 3 - Up and Down That Dog
Chapter 4 - Rattlesnakes, Coyotes, and Wild Horses
Chapter 5 - Eight Thousand Horses
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Ray Lum (1891-1977) was an American original, a one-of-a-kind
figure. In this book he speaks his mind in a colorful folk
dialect and tells of the world in which he presides. Mules were
his main interest. His home and his auction barn were in
Vicksburg, Mississippi, but in trading he fanned out over twenty
states and even into Mexico. Over several years William Ferris
tape recorded many long conversations with Lum. In them Lum
gives the ins and outs of livestock auctioneering, cheery
memories of rustic Deep South culture, and a philosophy of life
that is grounded in good horse sense.
Review From Publishers Weekly
Born in 1891 in rural Mississippi, Ray Lum traveled the South
for 60 years as a respected livestock trader and auctioneer,
collecting rich experiences he retold--even at universities and
folk festivals--in a colloquial, humorous and generous voice.
Ferris, coeditor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture ,
interviewed Lum (who died in 1977), and notes that his life
"bridged the disparate worlds of black and white, of old and
new, of South and West." Lum's tales, organized into six
chapters of narrative, might better be chopped into episodes,
but they remain valuable for those interested in such folklore.
His language is vivid (a cemetery is a "marble orchard") and his
voice wise (when he loses money on an early deal, the lesson is,
"You don't absolutely have to have, you can do without"). Among
many adventures, Lum bested cheating gypsies who offered a
pretty but vicious horse, ate barbecued rattlesnake, made a deal
for wild Texas horses and barely avoided the outlaws Bonnie and
Clyde. "I'm fine," said Lum in his old age. "I just need to have
my speedometer set back." This book lets him live on.
Review From Library Journal
Ferris serves a slice of Southern life in this presentation
of the wit and wisdom of Ray Lum, livestock trader and
auctioneer. Born in 1891 in rural Mississippi, Lum bartered
horses and mules throughout the South and Southwest. He recalls
his travels and life experiences with the passion and color
characteristic of a consummate storyteller. These personal
reflections are a tribute to a way of life gone by and a
preservation of its memory. The volume opens with a foreword by
Eudora Welty [not on audio book] and concludes with an extensive
bibliographic essay and endnotes. Full of humor and the drama of
life, this book will delight a wide range of readers.