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From thunder to breakfast

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From Thunder to Breakfast by Hubert A. Yates & Gene K.Garrison


I met the most interesting man the other night.

I met Hube Yates in the pages of a wonderful book named From Thunder to Breakfast written by Gene K. Garrison. He is unlike any man I have ever met before, whether in real life or in the corners of my imagination. Definitely a character, I also found him to be a trickster who enjoyed a good heartfelt chuckle, but one who exemplified a spirit, sweet and true. A man who rose to every occasion life ever handed him, who always tried to do the right thing his family and society demanded of him. It occurs to me as I write these words that calling Hube Yates a hero wouldn't be exaggerating too much!

From Thunder to Breakfast tells the story of Mr. Yates' life & begins when he is eleven, traveling through the wild west to the family's new home. He wasn't disappointed in the dusty, lonely journey at all; not with standing guard at night with his 12 gauge single-shot rifle; not in meeting Indians; not even in stumbling into a group of horse thieves or the sheriffs who pursued them. In fact, after reading many of Mr. Yates' adventures during his life-time, I don't think he was disappointed in anything that ever happened to him, but instead saw it as a chance for another great story!

And what stories he tells in this book!!! There are a few more of Yates as a youngster; running away while in his teens because he didn't want to finish his "schoolin'" to the big bicycle race when he was seventeen and he earned the name Leather Lung Yates because he beat everyone in the one hundred forty four mile race. My favorite story is titled "The Frog Stunt" and shows Hube as the consummate trickster. All I'll say is that it involves a 300 pound Chief of Police, a baseball rivalry between the firemen and police, a hot summer day, some water and well, frogs.

Reading From Thunder to Breakfast is like being present when an older relative starts to remember back when. The stories are precious for the knowledge of times long gone and are told in a down-to-earth manner. They aren't fancy w/ glowing descriptions or metaphors or figurative language. Instead, you get pure storytelling at its finest, with adventures and giggles thrown in for sweetening. Go on, pull up a chair, kick back and open up this book. You'll be glad you met Hube Yates.

With a Foreword by Hugh Downs who moved to Arizona & came across this loquacious pioneer, with his authentic & amusing memories.

In 1914 Hube Yates was all of eleven years old when his minister father uprooted his family from the 160-acre claim he had homesteaded when the Cherokee Strip was run, & with his wife & six children, & two wagons pulled by mules, they headed out from Guthrie, Oklahoma to faraway Phoenix, Arizona.

Stories of another time in another place, told with a quiet, under-stated turn of phrase that demands you consider the twinkle in his eyes.

While reading From Thunder To Breakfast I felt as though I had stumbled across someone's long lost journal. There's always that feeling of both mystery and enchantment when discovering such a treasure.

Hube Yates recounts his many journeys and experiences in a factual and humorous manner. The writing mirrors his speech.

As I knew Hube personally, I wanted to read the book to see if it really outlined the guy I knew. The author did a remarkable writing on Hube. If you are interested in Arizona and the west's life styles or knew Hube, it is well worth reading of this terrific gentleman.