Roger Welsch did what many Americans only dream of doing. While still in his professional prime, the folklorist and humorist quit a tenured professorship and headed toward the hinterland. Resettled in the open heart of Nebraska with his wife, Welsch proceeded to learn how to live. It?s Not the End of the Earth, but You Can See It from Here is, in his own words, "a celebration" of his "rural education." ø These twenty-eight tales of the Great Plains convey in familiar Welschian style "the importance, charm, beauty, and value of the typical." They describe the wisdom that Welsch?s new-found teachers share with him. From everyday country people, he learns the fine arts of relaxing, using his noggin, trusting his instincts, and laughing a lot more, while Omaha Indian friends teach him the most profound lessons of all.
- Written by well-known humorist and columnist Roger Welsch- The best-selling Author of Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them (0-7603-0129-8) and Love, Sex and Tractors (0-7603-0868-3)- Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them has sold over 100,000 copies
Who's a good dog?!" They're ALL good dogs, that's who! Big or little, pedigree or mutt, rolling in stinky stuff, or stealing a T-bone meant for the barbecue grill, dogs are humankind's best hope for sanity in trying times. Dogs are eternally optimistic and somehow know how to comfort the more fragile human psyche. In A Life with Dogs Roger Welsch celebrates his lifelong admiration (as well as envy) of the canine spirit. And yet, for all their evident intellectual transparency, dogs also seem to have an understanding of life--and death--well beyond the grasp of those who think they own them. Dogs are great friends, nurses, workmates, and, if we are good students, great professors of philosophy. Roger laughs and wonders at their wile and beauty--and always appreciates that, wild or domestic, they know more about humans than we may ever know about them. Roger still mourns the dogs he has lost, and though he missed having a warm ear to rub now and then, he dared not risk further loss. Then an older dog in need came along, and Roger adopted Triumph, the Compliment Dog. With humankind's best friend nearby, all is not lost.
Were our forefathers liars? "You bet they were," says Roger Welsch, "and damned fine ones at that." The proof is in Catfish at the Pump, a collection of the kind of humor that softened the hardships of pioneering on the Great Plains. From yellowed newspapers, magazines, and forgotten Nebraska Federal Writers' Project files, the well-known folklorist and humorist Roger Welsch has produced a book to be treasured. Here are jokes, anecdotes, legends, tall tales, and lugubriously funny poems about the things that preoccupied the pioneer plainsman: weather extremes; soil quality; food and whiskey; an arkload of animals, including grasshoppers, bed bugs, hoop snakes, the ubiquitous mule, and some mighty big fish; and even sickness and the poverty that would inspire black laughter again in the Great Depression. Catfish at the Pump proves abundantly that the art of story telling was practiced diligently by our plains ancestors. Roger Welsch, who brought out Shingling the Fog and Other Plains Lies in 1972 (reprinted by the University of Nebraska Press in 1980), now issues this "book about lies and liars," knowing full well that "underlying the pioneer sense of humor is a profound respect for truth.
One day Roger Welsch ventured to ask his father a delicate personal question: “Why am I an only child?” His father’s answer is one of many examples of the delightful and laughter-inducing ribald tales Welsch has compiled from a lifetime of listening to and sharing the folklore of the Plains. More narrative than simple jokes, and the product of multiple retellings, these coarse tales were even delivered by such prudish sources as Welsch’s stern and fearsome German great-aunts. Speaking of cucumbers and sausages in a toast to a newly married couple, the prim and proper women of Welsch’s memory voice the obscene and unspeakable in stories fit for general company. Why I’m an Only Child and Other Slightly Naughty Plains Folktales is Welsch’s celebration of the gentle and evocative bits of humor reflecting the personality of the people of the Plains.
The Turtle Creek band of the fictional Nehawka Indians wages a battle for the return of their sacred Sky Bundle, a medicine pouch containing artifacts. It reposes under glass in an eastern museum at the beginning of Touching the Fire. Seven interlinked stories, beginning with a court battle in the year 2001 and going far back in time to the origin of the Bundle and the first Nehawka village on the Great Plains, reveal the richness and depth of Indian cultural heritage. Touching the Fire is multilayered—sad, humorous, and always informative.
An entertaining and educational mirror into the past, filled with heartwarming stories, essays, photographs and artwork recounting life on the family farm.
Best-selling author and humorist Roger Welsch comes through again as he delivers his outrageous anecdotes from the farm fields of Nebraska. Jam-packed with Rog's creative techniques for picking up babes, buying suitable gifts for anniversaries, first dates, and more! Roger digs deep into his own down-home experiences to deliver his comic and witty take on love, sex, romance, and marriage as he guides more innocent generations down the same road to success that he enjoys in his own relationships. This humorous guide examines everything from evading capture and the old catch-and-release tactic, to the dreaded blind date. This "ultimate contribution to mankind" reveals the coveted trade secrets Roger Welsch holds dear and deserves prominent placement on the bookshelf of every self-respecting male.
Roger Welsch's humorous take on his hahahaha Golden Years, a subject in which he now considers himself an expert. Portions of this book have been shared with friends facing medical problems and have each and every one found the humor encouraging and heartening. Anyone who is thinking about getting older will profit from a reading of this book...and of course anyone who is pretty much giving up might find something here that would change his mind. You can get old and complain, or get old and laugh; the choice is yours, and this volume gives you that choice.
Forty years ago, while paging through a book sent as an unexpected gift from a friend, Roger Welsch came across a curious reference to stones that were round, “like the sun and moon.” According to Tatonka-ohitka, Brave Buffalo (Sioux), these stones were sacred. “I make my request of the stones and they are my intercessors,” Brave Buffalo explained. Moments later, another friend appeared at Welsch’s door bearing yet another unusual gift: a perfectly round white stone found on top of a mesa in Colorado. So began Welsch’s lesson from stones, gifts that always presented themselves unexpectedly: during a walk, set aside in an antique store, and in the mail from complete strangers. The Reluctant Pilgrim shares a skeptic’s spiritual journey from his Lutheran upbringing to the Native sensibilities of his adoptive families in both the Omaha and Pawnee tribes. Beginning with those round stones, increasing encounters during his life prompted Welsch to confront a new way of learning and teaching as he was drawn inexorably into another world. Confronting mainstream contemporary culture’s tendency to dismiss the magical, mystical, and unexplained, Welsch shares his personal experiences and celebrates the fact that even in our scientific world, “Something Is Going On,” just beyond our ken.
Outhouses contains the history of and musings about that most fundamental of structures, the outhouse, as presented by Roger Welsh, the Will Rogers of tractors and other things farm-related. In Outhouses you will learn the best place to locate your outhouse, which will preferably be down hill and down wind from your house. As we all know, some things in life roll down hill. About the Author:Roger Welsch is a well-known humorist and columnist. For years he was a regular guest on CBS's Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt. He is the best-selling author of Old Tractors and The Men Who Love Them (0-7603-0129-8), Busted Tractors and Rusty Knuckles (0-7603-0301-0), Love, Sex and Tractors (0-7603-0868-3) and Everything I Know about Women I Learned from My Tractor (0-7603-1149-8). Welsch resides in Dennebrog, Nebraska, with his wife, Linda.
Forty years ago, while paging through a book sent as an unexpected gift from a friend, Roger Welsch came across a curious reference to stones that were round, “like the sun and moon.” According to Tatonka-ohitka, Brave Buffalo (Sioux), these stones were sacred. “I make my request of the stones and they are my intercessors,” Brave Buffalo explained. Moments later, another friend appeared at Welsch’s door bearing yet another unusual gift: a perfectly round white stone found on top of a mesa in Colorado. So began Welsch’s lesson from stones, gifts that always presented themselves unexpectedly: during a walk, set aside in an antique store, and in the mail from complete strangers. The Reluctant Pilgrim shares a skeptic’s spiritual journey from his Lutheran upbringing to the Native sensibilities of his adoptive families in both the Omaha and Pawnee tribes. Beginning with those round stones, increasing encounters during his life prompted Welsch to confront a new way of learning and teaching as he was drawn inexorably into another world. Confronting mainstream contemporary culture’s tendency to dismiss the magical, mystical, and unexplained, Welsch shares his personal experiences and celebrates the fact that even in our scientific world, “Something Is Going On,” just beyond our ken.
Humorist, "tractor guy", and aspiring sex therapist Welsch is back with an all-new collection of essays guaranteed to help the discriminating male reader recognize and straddle the fine line between a happy significant other and several sheds of well-oiled machinery.
When he was out playing Indian, enacting Hollywood-inspired scenarios, it never occurred to the child Roger Welsch that the little girl sitting next to him in school was Indian. A lifetime of learning later, Welsch’s enthusiasm is undimmed, if somewhat more enlightened. In Embracing Fry Bread Welsch tells the story of his lifelong relationship with Native American culture, which, beginning in earnest with the study of linguistic practices of the Omaha tribe during a college anthropology course, resulted in his becoming an adopted member and kin of both the Omaha and the Pawnee tribes. With requisite humility and a healthy dose of humor, Welsch describes his long pilgrimage through Native life, from lessons in the vagaries of “Indian time” and the difficulties of reservation life, to the joy of being allowed to participate in special ceremonies and developing a deep and lasting love of fry bread. Navigating another culture is a complicated task, and Welsch shares his mistakes and successes with engaging candor. Through his serendipitous wanderings, he finds that the more he learns about Native culture the more he learns about himself—and about a way of life whose allure offers true insight into indigenous America.
Anyone who has spent more time than they care to admit in the garage will enjoy noted humorist Roger Welsch's exploration of the do's and don'ts of tractor restoration. He offers invaluable advice and discusses resources, tools, shop equipment, and the relationship that develops between old machines and their owners. Illustrations.
The eternal question: fat and jolly, or skinny and mean. No problem! With the help of this book YOU can give every impression of being thin without going through the actual discomforts of BEING thin! Welsch's 24 steps to your inner skinny offer you the best of all worlds, all the advantages of being buff AND plump! At the same time!
Nebraskan author Roger Welsch offers information and advice on restoring and repairing antique tractors, and shares anecdotes about his own experiences with the farm machines.
Roger and Linda Welsch matched references from Willa Cather's writing with recipes they collected from Cather family recipe files, from other period cookbooks, and from old-time ethnic cooks still living in the Bohemian tradition. Cather's Kitchens comes as close as possible to the precise recipes Cather had in mind and memory as she wrote.
The philosophical musings of author, television personality, and tractor nut Roger Welsch -- the 21st century's answer to Will Rogers -- have inflamed the minds of a generation (not to mention inflaming other delicate tissues). Finally, three of his most important books about the correlation between farm equipment and relationships are combined in one convenient volume, The Tractor Trilogy. Even with some of Roger's new stuff added in, this tiny package still fits into the front pouch of most overalls! Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them seduces readers into joining the cult of Allis-Chalmers. Learn how to acquire rusty tractors while dodging an angry spouse, why the best solution to any problem begins in the local tavern, and why you should never eat peanuts in the shop. Busted Tractors and Rusty Knuckles chronicles the revival of The Woodpecker, a scrap-yard orphaned Allis-Chalmers WC. Meet local tractor experts who keep Roger on the right track, learn techniques such as goo removal and fender wrestling, and get some good advice from fellow tractor fanatics. Love, Sex, and Tractors cracks the nut that has confounded mankind since the invention of the wheel: Can men, women, and tractors coexist in peace? And where does a case of Old Milwaukee fit in the equation? In perhaps his greatest contribution to society, Roger unveils the secret to male survival: The Male Generic Apology. Book jacket.
Folklore tells us something about almost every aspect of the life of the people. This rich and entertaining collection of Nebraska pioneer folklore, taken largely from the Nebraska Folklore Pamphlets issued by the Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s, is intended first and foremost for the general reader, for the people whose heritage it is. Songs of trail and prairie and of the Farmers' Alliance, white man's yarns and Indian tales, pioneer Nebraska folk customs, sayings, proverbs, beliefs, children's games, cooking, and cures—these "wondrously entertaining kaleidoscopic reflections of the people and environment that were inspirations of the classic literature of Mari Sandoz and Willa Cather—to name two—could be a model for Americana collectors in other states to emulate. . . . A treasury indeed."—King Features Syndicate "Parade of Books.
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