Father And I Were Ranchers

I finished Little Britches by Ralph Moody. I didn't want to read it because I thought it was a dumb title, and I don't like sad farming stories set in the Great Depression. I blame that on Steinbeck. I know it is so un public school taught of me, to not like Steinbeck but come on his stories are suc......more

I am, to use my dear, late, cowboy grandfather’s lowliest epithet, a dude. I'm city-born and horse-shy, but I'm also descended from Colorado ranchers and horsemen dating back to 1870, so I'll be the first to admit that I have a serious soft spot for all things cowboy and all things Colorado - it’s j......more

In 1966 I was in the first grade, and suffering because my newly minted teacher did not believe in children who could read without having completed all the Phonics lessons in the workbook first. My reading tastes were catholic *in the sense of universal* and included National Geographic Magazines fo......more

I was very moved by the last chapter of Little Britches when Ralph assumes his Father’s place at the table. In his own words, “That night [Mother] nodded to me, and I became a man.” How many young men or ladies could fill a parent’s shoes in their family at the age of 11 or 12? Most couldn’t because......more