As author Craig Johnson explains in “acknowledgements”
the stories in “Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories” come from his annual
holiday treat for his newsletter subscribers. Not only were they previously
published in that sense several were also previously published in the small 2012
publication titled Christmas in Absaroka County: Walt Longmire Christmas Stories. Some
of the stories are mysteries or have something a little mysterious going on and
others are more slice of life type stories featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire of
Absaroka County, Wyoming. A fact that is also noted in the introduction written
by Lou Diamond Phillips that follows.
Then it is on to the stories which begin with “Old
Indian Trick.” An award winning tale that starts off with a routine trip for
Sheriff Walt Longmire and Lonnie Little Bird to Billings so that Lonnie Little
Bird can have his routine diabetes checkup at Deaconess Hospital. They stop for food and a break at the Blue Cow
Cafe on the Crow Reservation. Before long any chance to go on up to Billings
this day is out of the question.
Walt Longmire is also on the road as the next story
“Ministerial Aid” beings. It is just before dawn on January 1, 2000 and he is
headed to Powder Junction located about 45 minutes away from the county seat of
Durant, Wyoming. He is driving the 100 miles round trip to deliver deputy Turk
Connally his paycheck. While delivering the check at the empty station the
phone rings. Instead of letting the phone call roll over to Turk’s rented house
and waking him up on New Year’s Day, Longmire decides to answer the call and
give his deputy a holiday break. It is an impulse he will come to question
almost as much as his clothing choice of only wearing a robe.
A small part of the previous story is the fact that
it has been only a few months since Longmire’s wife, Martha passed due to
cancer. That situation is a major part of the very powerful tale “Slick-Tongued
Devil.”
New Year’s Eve and Sheriff Walt Longmire is at the
Durant Home for Assisted Living. His old boss and occasional chess opponent,
Lucian Connally, apparently left a space heater to close to the curtains in his
room, causing some damage. Known for his cantankerous ways, Longmire is there
to help keep things calm and peaceful. That is not going to be easy since
Lucian hates having to sit in the communal area with everyone else. It
certainly does not help Lucian’s mood that he is afraid he is losing his mind
in “Fire Bird.”
Mental stability is part of several stories in the
book and aspect of the preceding one. It is also a factor “Unbalanced” which also
uses Sheriff Walt Longmire on the road traveling to get things started. Cady is
on the way home for the holidays and is scheduled to arrive in Billings just
before midnight. Sheriff Walt Longmire is on the way to the airport with his
always present canine companion, Dog, at his side. He stops as at empty gas station where the pumps
will take a credit card after hours in Garryowen, Montana to get gas. Clearly,
the young woman sitting on the bench needs help on this incredible cold night.
The question is whether or not she will take it.
The aftermath of a truck crash on the snowy
interstate in “Several Stations” could have been worse. The driver who rolled
the semi did so at slow speed and escaped unhurt though as a precaution he has
been taken to the hospital. The truck and its cargo of toys did not fare so
well on this Christmas Eve. As the snow continues to fall and a wrecker is at
least 45 minutes way, Walt Longmire is left alone to babysit a crash scene that
should remain quiet. One just knows it won’t.
Sometimes folks accidently drive off without paying
for gas. The department has a way of handling those situations in “High
Holidays.” They also have a way of dealing with things when they escalate.
Cady has just arrived for the holidays in “Toys for
Tots.” She wants to make a stop at the local mall in Billings before they head
home. Longmire made the mistake of telling her they could go shopping when she
came home for holidays and now she is calling him on it.
Unlike many of these preceding stories which are set
around Christmas, “Divorce Horse” is set on the Memorial Day weekend. It has
been few months since Walt nearly died in the Bighorn Mountains chasing the
convicts, Vic seems to be sticking around, and soon to be married Cady has a
few questions in mind. That is all going to have to take a back seat to trying
to figure out what happened to Tommy Jefferson’s horse.
It is Thanksgiving and Longmire and Dog are at Red
Pony with Bear who is cooking the traditional dinner. They are not going to be
alone for long in “Thankstaking.”
Henry, Dog, and Bear are coming back from a fishing
trip with a cooler of trout in “Messenger.” They are going to need them to
rescue Ranger Chuck Coon and a civilian from a possible bear attack. Rescuing them will be the easy part.
The book closes with a new story, “Petunia, Bandit
Queen of the Big Horns.” Sheep are involved in this tale that has far more to
do with inner character of people than anything else.
The 12 tales of Wait for Signs are all good ones. Mysterious
in many cases, they all show various small details of the Walt Longmire
character and his motivations regarding people, animals, and cultures. All of the
short stories in the book are good ones well worth your time as are the novel
which began with “The Cold Dish.” If you have not read the novels, Wait For
Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories is an excellent introduction to the
character that has garnered so many fans worldwide.
Wait
For Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories
Craig
Johnson
Viking
(Penguin Group)
2014
ISBN#
978-0-525-42791-9
Hardback
(e-book and audio editions available)
198
Pages
$22.00
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano
Texas Public Library System.
Late last October Lesa Holstine reviewed Wait For
Signs and you can and should read her review here.
She also was the recipient of a poem from the author when she was leaving
Arizona and you can read that here.
I must point out that nobody ever wrote me a poem. All I ever get is the occasional
dirty limerick from somebody telling me where I should go.
So many seem to involve a horse.....
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
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