Larry McMurtry and Lonesome Dove

I'm rereading Larry McMurtry's Literary Life. I forgot that the Lonesome Dove Baptist Church in Ponder, TX, furnished the title for his most famous novel. He saw its sign one night after dining at the Ranchman's steakhouse. That's also where we ate when I met him. (He spoke at the University of North Texas when I was teaching there.) The 74-year-old restaurant has been closed for two years, but the owner says it will reopen.

The other thing I realized on this reading is that Literary Life is dedicated to David Streitfeld, whom I met last year in San Francisco. We gathered to celebrate Margaret Harrell's new book about her relationship (and correspondence) with Hunter Thompson. David reported on books for The Washingon Post for many years, and Larry McMurtry owned a bookstore in Georgetown before shifting his operation to Archer City, TX.