Long time White Pine resident combines Basque heritage – growing up in Nevada, and imagination to become published author.
Autobiography by Richard Urrizaga, author of “The Outlaw and the Pocket Watch”
“When you ask someone to describe Nevada, a vision of a diamondback rattlesnake, crawling out of the eye sockets of a Texas Longhorn comes to mind.
And I say, “Texas Longhorn? How in the hell did he get up here?”
I am an avid reader, with over 400 classics under my belt. When Charles Dickens, my all-time favorite, describes the receding tide, you can smell mud. On the other end of the spectrum, John Steinbeck uses limited words. His sentences remind me of short, sharp, very effective jabs. You have Mark Twain, with his rich characters, and quick witticisms, in contrast with Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s deep and dark humor. While I knew I would never, in anyone’s wildest dreams, ever compare to the greats, I did decide to do my best to jerk back the veil and expose the beauty that thrives on a High Plains Desert.
The Outlaw and the Pocket Watch is a colorful story that combines the pride of being Basque, being a Nevadan and growing up in the Great Basin. It tells how my grandparents came from Spain and with determination, extremely hard work and dedication to the Lord, carved out a chunk of Western History. I wanted to credit the Greeks, Italians and Mexicans I grew-up with whose families come to Nevada to work in the mines and railroad, or as ranch hands. The Outlaw and the Pocket Watch brings to life the diversity that exists in the desert, those tough enough to, not only make it, but thrive. The characters, created by a very vivid imagination, are as varied, as the nocturnal inhabitants of the Nevada desert and are as colorful as a sunset on the Great Basin. The story has more twists than the root system of a Bristlecone Pine. And far from the formulaic “quickest-gun-in-the-west” tale, The Outlaw and the Pocket Watch is a portrait of the hard working, hard fighting pioneers that it took to make the Silver State, Great!
It delves into the prejudice that existed between the cattlemen and the sheep industry. It brings to light the conflicts and controversies that have plagued man since he first crawled out of a cave.
In the book I had to move some of the familiar sites to accommodate the story. Anyone growing up in Elko or White Pine Counties will quickly realize this.
I grew-up in Ely. From Kindergarten through White Pine High School, I was very active in school and did very well. After school I would ride my bike to the Rainbow café, wash dishes for a couple hours, then head to the Ely Daily Times office to pick-up my issue of papers. I worked Aultman Street. (Main) I sold, not only the Ely Daily Times for a dime, but GRIT, a national paper of the day, for fifteen cents. After canvasing every bar, store and café, I would head for baseball practice.
When I became old enough I worked for my dad at John’s 66, a Phillips station, once located at 12th and Aultman. I would work after baseball, football or basketball practice depending on the season. I worked until closing, 10 pm. on weekdays, midnight on weekends.
I have three children, Qwyntun, Angélique and Alicia.
At the age of 21, I broke in as a craps dealer at the Hotel Nevada and in 1976, just in time for the Bi-Centennial, I helped reopen the Bank Club. This launched a career in the gaming business, working casinos all over Northern Nevada. I learned to deal, not only craps, but 21 and roulette, as well. I worked at the Commercial Hotel and Red Lion in Elko, Cactus Pete’s in Jackpot, The Stateline, Silversmith and Nevada Crossing in Wendover. I read very thing I could on the business, including John Scarne’s Complete Guide to Gaming and Scarne on Dice. I worked at memorizing Old Mr. Boston’s and Playboy’s Bartending Guide. I took the business very seriously and was fascinated by it. I was sucked in by the roar and the neon and loved being paid so handsomely for playing a game every night. However, the lure of the night and life style that accompanied it, eventually began to take its toll. Many, many wrong decisions were made by me and it seemed I was constantly bumping heads with law enforcement.
I attended the College of Southern Idaho for two years and was on the Presidents List for a 4.0. It was there I realized I may have some skills as a writer. One of my English professors, Ken Bingham, told me that my writings, teetered on literature. I did not know if I could write a book, but felt I may be able to complete a chapter, so I began.
I now live in Hagerman, Idaho with my wife Sandy and focus most of my energy on her, also, my art and writings.”
The Outlaw and the Pocket Watch is available on Amazon Books, Barnes& Noble, eBooks and iBook, plus.
The Outlaw and the Pocket Watch, is a story of a Basque immigrant’s adventures in America. Escaping the tyranny of the Spanish Government, he takes on a sheepherding contract in the mountains of Nevada and eventually brings his bride from Spain to raise a family by ranching sheep. Despite starting from nothing, and the always-present prejudice that existed between the cattleman and the sheep industry of the times, through Basque determination, he flourishes. It is a story of a young man coming of age, his first love and the concerns by both sets of parents, greater now, because the boy’s family is in the sheep industry and the girl’s in the cattle business. It is a story of an old Missourian outlaw, scared and callused by war, who years before, because of mistaken identity, was given another chance. It becomes his life quest to “set-the-scales-right.” The characters are as varied as the nocturnal inhabitants of the Nevada desert and are as colorful as a sunset on the Great Basin. The story has more twists than the root system of a Bristlecone Pine. Far from the formulaic “quickest-gun-in-the-west” tale, The Outlaw and the Pocket Watch is a portrait of hard working and hard-fighting pioneers by a man who has lived in the hills.
