Virginia Dale, Colorado Home Station I drove through Virginia Dale, located near the Wyoming and Colorado border. It’s about halfway between Fort Collins and Laramie. I intended to stop and look it over. However, a blizzard kicked up quite a fuss, so I kept driving. Virginia Dale was a home station on the old stage route. […]
Hog Tied at a Basketball Game I watched a local high school girls’ basketball game and they put on an excellent show. Quick and aggressive, they fearlessly dove after loose balls. They drove to the basket with a fast break, full court press. Then, they hit three pointers. A real hog tying type of exhibition. […]
BETHLEHEM PINE, a cowboy Christmas poem by Stephen Bly I was camped out in the Dakota snow When Christmas Eve rolled around. Me and Slim and a dog named Flop, Three days ride from town. Not a tree in sight for thirty miles, As we huddled in the draw. The chips ran out […]
When You Have Done Everything Since the mid-1950s, it has been unfashionable to talk about ‘doing your duty.’ I’m not quite sure why things changed. Jesus taught his disciples something very important. Duty often separates the civilized from the barbarian. It’s also part of being his disciple. Christians Have Duties In the beginning of Jesus’ […]
His Cinch Got Frayed Never know when you’ll catch old cowboy phrases in common conversations. Pete lived close enough to town to make it to the coffee shop most days in time for the mail run. He’s known as one of the better talkers in Lewis County. So, I usually avoided him unless I had […]
What’s So Good About Coming Home? Coming home touched the viewers of the Stephen Spielberg movie, E. T., years ago. No matter how much love and attention the child actors gave to that extraterrestrial being, he still lacked something. The classic line, “E. T. phone home,” brought more than one tear. We’ve all felt homesickness at […]
When to Run for the Hills I witnessed a hightail it scene in the most unusual place. In downtown Chicago I noticed an old boy giving the cafe cashier a tough time. Seemed to me he refused to pay for his supper on some trumped-up excuse. Shouts and curses flew in both directions. All of […]
Basic High Grade Behavior They opened a new gold mine in Nevada. Owners claim this to be one of the biggest open pit diggings in the world. When most folks think of a high grade gold mine, they imagine a deep cave lined with waves of 24-karat stuff that waits for you to pry off […]
Where Are You? Who Are You? The Old West, being so thinly populated, provided a pretty easy place for hiding. Every other man you’d meet out in the wilderness hid from something or someone. A whole slew of terms sprung up to describe such folks. –among the willows –brushing up –going to Texas –hankering to sniff […]
Can’t Seem To Get Complete Rest? To be really honest, most times I feel tired. I’m exhausted from my boots to my collar tips and everything in between. And have been for a long time. Does rest for the weary exist this side of heaven? Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you who are weary […]
Comments on the Blog