Blog
Christmas Past
Thinking today about Christmas Past. Looking at these old pictures brings back some real good memories. Of course I don’t remember the 1951 Christmas, but I do the 1959 picture with my Dad. Looks like a very happy boy in that picture. You know Christmas was always very special and I was always happy at that age and for some years after that. Then came some Christmas’s that weren’t very happy and I lost the spirit of Christmas along the way. It got so bad that I used to dread Christmas coming along when I was a young man in...
read moreThe new book “The Dread”
*Update* The Dread book is now available in eBook, iBookstore, and paperback formats! Click the blue link in the preceding sentence to see the options. Thanks again! The new book “The Dread” is just around the corner, we are just finishing the final proofreads and the polishing before the big release. Thank you Mary Pat for all your input and your proofreading. Thank you Eric Hanson, the graphic design farmer, for your beautiful cover (rough draft below) and your layout of the book itself. The book is set in Northern Montana in...
read moreGood People Make a Difference
When I was young and very foolish I got kicked out of High School and moved 100 miles from my home to live with my sister Astrid and her family. To be honest I was suspended from school for 3 days and it was decided that I should go to my sister’s home. This was my Junior year in High School and it was just the start of Basketball season. I missed the rest of Basketball because my folks did not move with me so I couldn’t participate in my new school’s Basketball program because of the Montana State High School rules. I was...
read moreMy Tennessee Brother-in-law
My Brother-in-law Don came into my life when I was fairly young. He was a big man and had a wonderful laugh. The first time I met him I liked him instantly. At the time he married my sister my folks were still on the farm and we had animals as well as farm land. We had pigs, cows, horses, chickens and maybe still some ducks. After observing all this one day my Brother-in-law announced to my Dad in his southern drawl, Bill, they told me this was the land of the Big Sky, but now I see it’s the land of the Pig Sty! Montana of course is a...
read moreWhat you don’t know won’t hurt ya….
My Aunt Edna related this story to me and it was confirmed by my Dad. When they were young they lived about 4 or 5 miles southeast of Gildford on land called the “Hatch Place.” They were very “Hard Up” which in Montana speak means they were damned poor. Yes, they walked to school the 4 or 5 miles and if they were lucky they rode an old wagon with a horse pulling it. They had a lot of chores to do and all of them worked. They had very little food and it was rationed out. My Aunt’s job was to cook this particular...
read moreAnother Railroad Tale: Bo Bo and the chickens
A real character on the Railroad was nicknamed Bo Bo or Bo. I made many trips with him and still appreciate what I learned from him. He was a tall, lanky, not an ounce of fat, 6 foot something when he straightened up cowboy who happened to be a “Rail”. He was a class A #1 engineer and a B.S. er. One morning when we were eating in the Greasy Spoon Bo was telling a Tale. We were all listening intently as well as 2 young waitresses who stood by the table. Beside being a “Rail” and a cowboy, he was a hunter, and an...
read moreLookin Back…
I think it was the Great Satchel Paige who said don’t look back there may be something gaining on you. This guy likes to look back to see where he came from. I like to remember the lessons learned and the especially where I came from and the people who taught me what is important to me today. Here is a few pictures of the ol’ farm/ranch then and now. What did I learn? I learned hard work is a reward unto itself and honesty and straight-forwardness are the best qualities. I learned that simple pleasures are the best and I learned...
read moreMy Hero
My Dad is on my mind on Veterans Day. To me he was a real hero. He like many others served in the Armed Forces. He was in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy in WWII. He was in 4 campaigns and received the Purple Heart for being wounded in Italy when the enemy overran his outfit’s position and he was hit with a German pistol a P-38. The bullet was cut out about an eighth of an inch from his spine. When he came home he most likely had what they called Battle Fatigue then and PT Syndrome now. My earliest memories was that he talked to me...
read more“A Swift Kick in the Rear”
How Lucky are we some days? There are days when you get up and dwell on all the things not right in your life then something comes right out of the blue and makes you realize how lucky you really are. Years ago I ended up in a hospital in the Midwest for an illness. I was a long way from home and really down in the dumps feeling very, very, sorry for myself. I was walking down this long hospital corridor looking downward contemplating my sorry lot in life feeling pretty sad. I wasn’t looking where I was going and almost ran into a...
read more“On The Dead Run”
My earliest memories of my folks is how they worked. They always worked, very rarely was there any time to sit down and relax as they worked the farm/ranch with one thing in mind to make things a success. I learned at an early age they viewed life as if you didn’t work you were a sinner. Idle hands created trouble and if you were not busy there was something really the matter with you. The picture you see of them in harvest in the 1960’s is very typical of my folks. You can see my mom is going one direction and my Dad is running...
read moreGet Your Copies Today!
My newest book, The Dread, has just been published! Click the book cover below to read more.
The Long Awakening is now available in Paperback and eBook formats. Click the book cover below to purchase!
