Happy Fathers Day from Tales of a Texas Boy

I hope you've enjoyed the excerpts from Tales of a Texas Boy. There are more stories in the book you might also like to read (along with the rest of the excerpted stories). Find them all on this blog over the last couple of weeks.

So, this is Fathers Day and the last day of the free ebook copy of Texas Boy. If you haven't got your copy yet, hustle on over to Smashwords and use coupon code HL34RL for your free ebook.

It's still not too late to buy the Large Print paperback at Amazon. So you're a couple of days late with the Father's Day gift. No problem. Your dad will probably be surprised you remembered him at all. Poor dads. They always get edged out after Mother's Day.

So, here are the links for  Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #12 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

The Cattle Drive

I seen the dust cloud down the road, so naturally I jumped up to the top rail of the fence to get a better look. It took about ten minutes before I could make out a couple of drovers was pushin’ a small herd up the road. By then, Pa come over to find out why I wasn’t doin’ my chores. The two of us were standin’ on the fence rail, peerin’ down the road. Ma came out of the house, but she stayed up on the porch with her hand shadin’ her eyes.

When we saw it was a herd, Pa shook his head and grinned.

“I ain’t seen that for some years,” he said.

Well, what could we do but wait for the drovers to come on up to the gate? After all, we was the only place close by and knew these fellas would need some water, at the least, and maybe a meal to go with it.

Ma went back in the house and when I saw the little puff of smoke from the chimney, I knew she was already firin’ up the stove. The angle of the sun over the barn told me it was ‘bout four. It was close enough to suppertime I hoped the herd would have to stop for the night.

With us bein’ fifteen miles from town and six miles by road to the nearest neighbor, I’d be pretty excited we were gettin’ any kind of visitors, but a cattle herd, that was almost too much to ask for.
I jumped off the fence like a lightnin’ bolt and headed for the corral. Old Sam was closest so I grabbed a rope and threw it round his neck for reins. Sam’s really easy, so I didn’t bother with a bridle and ridin’ bareback is second nature to me. It took a little shufflin’ to convince Sam to sidle over by the fence so I could get on. After all, he’s near sixteen hands and I’m not very tall. Pa saw what I was doin’ and nodded to me. I was gonna ask before I lit out, but he beat me to it.

Sam and me trotted down the road. I was bouncin’ and grinnin’ so hard my teeth kept clackin’ together. We met the front of the herd a quarter mile later and my jaw just near dropped off my face. I couldn’t believe what I was seein’ so I shut my mouth again and looked really hard.

Yep, I’m here to tell ya and ya know I don’t lie. Every last animal in the herd was a bull. This puzzled me no end, as much as it puzzles you to hear it. Course, the herd was no more ‘n twenty Hereford bulls, but . . .well, I can’t think of what that would be. Mostly herds are made up of steers and cows. Bulls ain’t usually included as they cause troubles wantin’ at the cows and all.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #11 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

Crossin’ the Creek

On Monday, we put on our rain slickers and ran to the barn quick as we could to saddle the horses. Pa cut out oiled canvas to cover the saddles and most of the horse as well. 

Brownie and Peaches saw us comin’ and they crowded back in the barn behind the cows tryin’ to pretend they wasn’t there. We dragged ‘em out by the halter since they were none too fond of goin’ out in the rain. Couldn’t say I blamed ‘em, as I wasn’t too fond of it myself.

Our school was more’n six miles away, so we got an early start every mornin’, along about five, so we could get there by seven. Usually, Sister and me would just let loose on the reins and let the horses go at their own pace. Brownie and Peaches knew the way, as they went to school just as often as we did. But, on days with the rain sheetin’ down, none of us was in a hurry to leave the barn. It took some effort, particularly with Peaches as she tended to hate gettin’ wet more than Brownie.

Off we went and the road, usually dusty, was now fetlock deep in mud. We’d have to go slow or the horses would slipslide off the road and into the ditch. 

We had to cross a creek along the way. This creek was only a few inches deep most of the time and only five feet across, but after this rain, the water reached near to Peaches’ belly. She was one unhappy pony, I can tell you that.

We got to the creek and saw the brown water rushin’ along. It was up on the banks and a good fifteen feet across. I’d never seen it this high and I was gettin’ worried some. 

We was already soakin’ wet, but it didn’t matter to Peaches. She took one look and you could almost hear her say, “I’m not goin’ across that!” She set her feet and didn’t take another step. 

The plan was to tie a rope onto her bridle with the other end round my saddlehorn, so I could lead her across. But, she was havin’ none of it. She set back on her haunches just like a dog sittin’ down. It was actually pretty funny-lookin’, but I didn’t say so as Sister was gettin’ a mite agitated.

“We can just leave Peaches over at the Tate’s and we can double up on Brownie,” I suggested.

“No, I want her to do what she’s supposed to do,” Sister grumbled. Even with her squeaky little girl’s voice, she made it clear she wouldn’t brook no nonsense from Peaches.

“It’s up to you, Sister. I’ll pull her ahead, but you gotta show her who’s boss.”

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #10 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

Cage McNatt’s Prize Sow

Pa let me camp with Dad Boles for a day or two as it was fifteen miles from our farm to Hereford and I liked to go to the fair on more than one day. Dad Boles didn’t seem to mind my company. He told me a few stories about his trapping business and about his time in France with Pa during the World War.

Each evening, when the fair was over, Dad would untie Sophie from her post and let her sit closer to the fire. One night, after things calmed down, Dad Boles and I were sittin’ by the fire with Sophie right next to us. Dad Boles was in the middle of a story about trappin’ when we heard something crashin’ around inside the fairgrounds. Dad decided to go check what was goin’ on, and I followed along since he didn’t say to stay put. We went into the fairgrounds to see what was up. The moon was full so we could see well enough. 

A man was goin’ toward the fairgrounds’ front gate and it looked like he was pullin’ a big dog along behind him. When I heard the squeal, though, I realized it wasn’t a dog, but a pig. I could also see the pig was white, so I knew right off it was the Luck’s sow. The trouble was that the man was Cage McNatt and not one of the Luck brothers.

Well, you might already have guessed what was goin’ on. Cage McNatt was stealin’ Whitey, or at least he was tryin’ to. The problem was Whitey was bigger than Mr. McNatt and she wasn’t of a mind to go along quiet. She was doin’ her best to pull away from the rope. She was shakin’ her head back and forth and kept up squealin’ the whole time. That was about the unhappiest pig I ever saw.

Then, she spotted the open gate. She quit squealin’, snorted a couple of times, and all of a sudden she was doin’ the pullin’ and Cage McNatt was runnin’ behind her tryin’ to keep up. She was makin’ a beeline for the gate where we just happened to be standin’. I figured we’d better just step out of the way. Bein’ run down by three hundred fifty pounds of hog flesh was not an idea I cottoned to.

What I didn’t realize, and Whitey didn’t either, was Sophie followed us through the gate. She, meanin’ Whitey, got about twenty feet from us when she looked up and saw a bear standin’ in the way of her freedom. She stopped short and Cage McNatt ran right by her as he had such a head of steam goin’. When he reached the end of the rope, it came right out of his hand. I could see her sittin’ down on her haunches and starin’ at Sophie like she was wonderin’ exactly what it was she was seein’. All she knew is it was a big, hairy critter and probably smelled pretty bad, too.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #8 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

Ma Yote and Her Cubs

Bein’s it was a fine day, I took a walk to the sandstone canyon that runs near our farm. In the summer, it gave up a good stock of lizards and horny toads. I always hoped to find a horny toad, but there be plenty of other interestin’ lizards, too. The schoolhouse has a big book of critters by some scientist. I’ll admit that the man knew his stuff, even if he lived back east. I’d look up what I found in his book so I’d know next time if I spotted the same kind again.

Anyways, the canyon starts out on one end real shallow and gets deeper as it runs west. It ends up runnin’ into a bluff that turns it into a box canyon. Through spring, it had water in the deep end, but by high summer it was all dried out. I’d walk down it from the shallow end, keepin’ my eyes peeled on the walls where the critters lived. This particular day was frustratin’ ‘cause I didn’t see a single thing until I got near the end. 

I stopped dead in my tracks. Three of the cutest little coyote cubs you’d hope to meet were rompin’ around near the end of the canyon. I looked every which way for their mama, but didn’t see her. I suspected she might be out lookin’ for dinner.

The cubs looked my way, but didn’t spook. They just looked interested for a bit, then they went back to bitin’ each other’s tails. I had to grin at the squeaky lil’ growls they let out as they played at huntin’.

I sat down partly hid by a big boulder no more’n twenty feet from ‘em just to watch. I commenced to thinkin’ that I might catch one of the cubs and raise him up like a dog. Coyotes looked like dogs, but I’d never heard of anyone who brought one home. I decided I’d try to tame one of the cubs, but I’d wait until their ma weaned them. They’d still be small enough for me to wrangle, but not so big as to be dangerous.

Somethin’ moved atop the canyon wall and caught my eye. Mama Coyote hung her head over the edge and bared her teeth. Even from twenty feet up I could hear the growling. I stood up slow and commenced to backin’ away. She jumped down and I nearly fell on my backside. I don’t know to this day how she done it, but that coyote found footholds to scramble down that rock wall what looked like a lizard might not get a grip.

She hit the bottom lickety-split, so I backed up a mite faster. Not too fast, or I knew she’d come after me. Lucky for me, she weren’t inclined to do that, so I turned around and took off. I kept alookin’ over my shoulder, but she stayed with her cubs, sniffin’ them to make sure they were alright. In that way, she reminded me of my own ma. She can sound mean enough to shake you right outta yer boots, but I know it’s generally for my own good.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #9 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

No Angel

I noticed a flock of blackbirds lit on Ma’s clothesline, so I went in and got the shotgun. I loaded it with smallshot and snuck around the side of the house so’s not to scare the birds. I figured I could get the whole flock of birds if I shot straight down the clothesline from one end to the other. 

I had to be real quiet, so’s I thought I’d sneak up on ‘em like I was a Comanche. I got down on my belly and rested the shotgun across my arms. The grass was high enough so I’d not be seen. I dug in my elbows and pulled myself real slow around the corner of the house. When I got to the lilac bush, I got up behind it and checked if the birds had a notion I was there. They just sat on the line and didn’t even look my way, so I hunched over and ran lickety-split to the oak tree. From there, I was right at the end of the line and no more’n ten feet away. 

I leaned around the tree trunk and eyed the line. Yep, I could see right down it. My hands aren’t big enough to span both triggers, so I have to pull them one at a time. I figured I’d shoot the first barrel and then real quick-like, fire off the second. That way, I’d get to hit the flock twice. 

I eased the shotgun up to my shoulder and pulled back slow on the left-hand trigger. The first shot blasted off and knocked me back a few feet where I landed on my rear-end real hard. I still held the shotgun in my hands, but I wasn’t in any position to fire off the second barrel. When I sat up and looked to see how many birds I got, I was in for a shock. All that noise and not one feather to show for it. But Ma’s clothesline . . . now that’s a different story. The durn thing looked like a dead snake layin’ there.

I knew right away Ma would not be pleased with this.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #7 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

The Bone Hunters

Moving along at an easy lope, we soon caught up with Mr. Whiteman and just rode alongside the car as it bounced over the sage-scattered flat lands. It wasn’t too long before we came up to the edge of a deep draw and Mr. Whiteman pulled right up to the rim where he stopped and let the Model T die again.

We got down off the horses, and dropped the reins to ground tie them. The horses knew what was expected and immediately started nosing around for any grass to graze on. They wouldn’t go far with the reins on the ground.

“Come along down here,” Mr. Whiteman started down a goat trail leading down the rocky side of the draw. As we scooted and slipped down the trail, I could see the walls were layered rock. This was pretty normal for a draw. As the water washed down them, the walls were dug away and you could see where layers of dirt formed up and turned to rock over the years—thousands of years. I did recall a lesson at school on the geology of Texas and learned about some of this.

Soon, we reached the bottom and Mr. Whiteman led us a few dozen feet along the wall. Some of the rock wall was chipped away and pieces were laying on the floor of the draw.

“Here,” Mr. Whiteman pointed and I was amazed to see the shape of a leg bone, but it was bigger’n any bone I’d ever seen. I figured he wasn’t puttin’ me on since a real mammoth bone was right in front of my own two eyes. I looked at Sister, but she was busy picking wildflowers again and didn’t pay any mind.

The man pulled a small hammer from his belt and started tapping around the mammoth bone. 

“Look, here,” he pointed and, sure enough, I could make out an arrow head. Little chips were knocked off along the edge to make it sharp.

“That’s called fluting,” he explained when he saw me runnin’ my finger along the chipped edge of the arrowhead.

“This is really sumthin’,” I said quietly. I hardly knew what to say, I was so flabbergasted I actually got to touch real mammoth bones.

* Note: Ridge Whiteman did discover the existence of Clovis Man, at that time, the oldest evidence of human inhabitants in North America.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #6 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

Moonlight Ride

In December, the crops were already in so there wasn’t much to do. One night, we were just sitting around in front of the fire doing our homework. It was getting late, so Pa went out on the porch to smoke his cigar before bedtime. Ma didn’t like the smell, so she didn’t let him smoke inside. He came back in and whispered sumpin to Ma. She went out on the porch for a bit, then she come back herself. They whispered some more.

“Eddie,” Pa said to me, “I want you to go saddle up Brownie and take a ride over to Mrs. Garner’s place.”

“Why’s that, Pa?” I asked him.

“Oh, no special reason. I’d just like you to go check up on her. Her lights are still on and she’s usually not up this late.”

“Sure, Pa.”

I didn’t mind a little moonlight ride, so I hustled on out to the barn and saddled up Brownie. When I was all ready, I led him up to the house and Pa was waiting there with a kerosene lantern. I mounted up and Pa handed me up the light. Ma came out and gave me a bag.

“Just tell her we thought she’d like some leftover cornbread,” she said, pointing to the bag. I thought it pretty strange to be deliverin’ cornbread at ten o’clock at night, but it wasn’t up to me to question.
I started out across the prairie, going slow so Brownie could see his way and not step in a hole. Horses got real good vision at night, so you can always trust ‘em to find their own way.

The moon shone down on the frost forming on the ground. Lookin’ across to Mrs. Garner’s, I thought it a beautiful sight. The frost and the big moon hangin’ close to the horizon looked like a postcard picture. I thought it was real pretty, though boys aren’t supposed to think of such things.

When I got to her place I saw the only light was in the kitchen, so I went round the other side of the house to knock on the door. When I come up to the door, I looked through the glass and saw her down on the kitchen floor. I started to pound on the door, but she didn’t move and that got me worried.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Audio Book for Dad

Tales of a Texas Boy AUDIO BOOK is still discounted by Amazon/Audible to $1.99. That's about as cheap as an audio book can get. Even short stories cost more. Try out Tales as your free book selection when you sign up for Audible monthly services. Or pay the modest $1.99 at Amazon to try it out.

Buy TALES OF A TEXAS BOY at Audible.com.

How do you handle a crazy jackass? Eddie knows. If you ask Eddie, he'll tell you pigs can fly and show you where to find real mammoth bones. Take his word for it when he tells you always to bet on the bear. These are things he learned while dreaming of becoming a cowboy in West Texas during the Depression. Through Eddie, the hero of "Tales of a Texas Boy," we find that growing up is less about maturity and more about roping your dreams. Hold on tight. It's a bumpy ride. A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys books like "Little House on the Prairie" or "Tom Sawyer." A great bit of nostalgia for seniors, too.

Ebooks also available at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and other on-line stores.

Print books available in large print print at Amazon. Only $8.09!

Audio Excerpt:

Excerpt #5 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

The Corn Patch Incident

“You go fetch corn, Eddie. We’ll need mebbe fifty ears so don’t come back without that many.”

“Yes’m, Ma. Can I take along Sister? She can pick the low ears while I get the high ones.”

“Sure enough. She’s gettin’ big enough to carry her weight,” Ma said then she went back to stirrin’ the kettles sittin’ next to the pit.

I grabbed Sister, who’s really Dorothy, but we called her Sister. Anyways, we took off to the corn field and proceeded to pull the ripe ears off the stalks. It takes the right eye to get the ripe ones. Some folks have to peel back the silk from the ear and take a look. Me and Sister had done this so many times, we could tell just by how fat the ear looked. So, we were movin’ along pretty good and had about half the ears Ma said to get.

I looked down the row to see how far we’d got when I saw a skunk traipsin’ up toward me. First off, I wondered what the little polecat was doin’ out in the middle of the day. Most often, they hunt at night. I stopped quick and looked around to see where Sister was. I couldn’t see her, so I decided just to let her know.

“Hey, Sister. There’s a skunk up here, so don’t go up the row no more,” I yelled. 

“What row, Eddie?” she hollered back.

“The row I’m on,” I answered and wondered why she couldn’t have figured that out herself.

“Which row, I say-ed?” she asked again, soundin’ a little disgusted now.

“This darn row!” Why didn’t the fool girl know which row I was on? Then it occurred to me I didn’t know where she was neither.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #4 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

Out of the Chicken Coop

When I was just a little kid, no more’n seven if I remember rightly, I was down in the chicken yard tossin’ grain like I was tol’. This one little red hen started followin’ me around instead of peckin’ up the grain like the other chickens. I thought it strange, but just went about my business.

When I opened up the gate to leave, the red hen just whooshed right through ‘fore I could get it closed. I tol’ her, “Now you get back in there,” and opened the gate just a bit for her. She didn’t pay any mind to the invite, but just headed on across the yard as fast as two feet could take her. I latched up the gate and took off after her. I thought I’d better grab her before she got up to the porch. Ma doesn’t like chickens on the porch ‘cause of the mess they make. So, I was runnin’ after the hen and she was makin’ a bee-line for the house.

Well, she was faster ‘n me, so she beat me handy and up on the porch she went. The kitchen door was open to let the heat out since Ma was bakin’ pies. That hen just traipsed right in like she’d come to visit. I caught up with her finally and she and me went round the kitchen table a time or two. I was glad Ma wasn’t there ‘cause I know that hen wouldn’t of lasted two seconds if that were the case. I figured I’d better catch the chicken ‘fore Ma turned her into supper.

It were a standoff. I’d go right around the table, and the hen’d go left. I’d go left, and she’d go right. When I stopped, she stopped. Mostly, chickens don’t have much sense, which is why people don’t take to them much. Except for eatin’ and eggs, of course. But, I was beginnin’ to think this was one smart chicken. 

I’d left the kitchen door open so’s I could chase the chicken out, but that just perked up Ol’ Spot’s curiosity as he come in to see what was up. Of course, Ma don’t allow no dogs in the kitchen, neither, so I’d two strikes again’ me already.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #3 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

The Auction

I looked in and my jaw dropped like a rock. There stood the biggest, blackest, and meanest looking jackass I ever did see. Two men were holding lead ropes tied to his halter. His head was up and he was puffing his nostrils as he stood there stiff up against the back of the pen. The lead ropes were stretched to their fullest and the two men didn’t look too happy to be in the pen with this critter.

He were at least eighteen hands, so he was near as tall as Pa. His head reared up another three feet. Maybe you’ll think I’m exaggeratin’, but I swear it’s the truth. He was the biggest Mammoth Jack I ever did see.The bunch of men standing outside the pen were mumbling to each other and looking at the auction book. Pa was holding a copy, so I asked for it and read about the farm he come from in Georgia and other such information.

The auctioneer started up, “What am I bid for this fine jack?”

“Ten,” I heard from the other side of the crowd. All a sudden, the jackass reared up against the ropes and one of the men holding him got flung up on the fence. The other one dropped the rope and scrambled over the side of the pen.

The Jack threw his head down and went for the man who was on the ground. The beast’s mouth was gaped open and he was clearly trying to do some serious damage. Men outside the pen jumped up and grabbed the hands of the man in the pen and jerked him right out. The Jack reared up and slammed his front hooves against the side of the gate.

Crack! The gate splintered and the Jack came tearing out. A brave man grabbed hold of the ropes but he just got hauled behind the jackass like he was no more’n a sheet flyin’ in the wind. Another in the crowd with some presence of mind opened the gate across the alleyway and the Jack went into the next pen. A bunch of the fellas slammed the gate shut.

“Aw, c’mon folks, this Jack is only four years old. He’s worth a lot more’n that. Who’ll give me fifteen?”

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #2 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

Rattlesnakes and Jackrabbits

We didn’t see the jackrabbits as often, but we knew when they’d come in the middle of the night ‘cause we’d see the holes they’d gnaw in the granary walls. The better the crop, the more jackrabbits there’d be. I guessed the one would beget t’other. Around these parts, we called them deer rabbits as they appeared to be as big as deer. Of course, that was also just a joke, but if you see a jackrabbit’s ears sticking up behind a mesquite bush, you’d swear it was bigger’n the seven or eight pounds they’d usually weigh.

Because the local farmers and ranchers saw ‘em both as a big problem, on occasion they’d get together and go hunting. This mostly happened in the spring or fall when the rattlers were birthing. The reason was if they found a rattler’s den, they could kill upwards of a hundred babies at one time. In the meantime, the men could also be looking for jackrabbits.

Up to fifteen, twenty men would fire up their trucks and head out with their .22s and a bunch of boxes to collect up the jackrabbits. The jackrabbits were tough, but could still make a passable stew, so no sense in letting ‘em go to waste.

A big part of this expedition included moonshine. The hunters would head out in the early afternoon and start drinking right off. By dusk, most of ‘em couldn’t hit much of anything, but was havin’ a lotta fun anyways. The hardest part of the trip was avoidin’ being shot by somebody else. Mostly, though, these men knew what they was doing even when they could hardly see straight. I was glad Pa wasn’t a drinker as I’d see how stupid the men would act. I guess that would be one more reason why I respected my Pa.

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Excerpt #1 - Tales of a Texas Boy

Excerpt from Tales of a Texas Boy

Dad Boles and Sophie

It was summer again and the carnival would be here in a week. That’s about the most exciting event of the year, except maybe the roundup and branding. I surely was looking forward to the cotton candy and riding the Ferris wheel. Beins I’m a kid, a carnival was pretty interesting, but I looked forward to it most ‘cause that’s when Dad Boles came to town.

My Pa met up with Dad Boles during the war where they’d been in France with the cavalry. My Pa was the horse doctor and Dad Boles was the horseshoer, though he’d been a lot of different things in his life. They’d hit it off and Dad Boles took to coming to Hereford to spend time with Pa and to bring his bear to the carnival.

I didn’t mention he owned a bear? Oh, he surely did! He’d raised Sophie from a cub. Truth be known I think he’d killed her ma, so he wasn’t exactly being overly nice by taking in a little bear cub. He also kept a pet bobcat named Bob. 

Read the rest of the story and more in Tales of a Texas Boy.

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Perfect Book for Pa or Grandpa

**** EBOOK IS FREE AT SMASHWORDS WITH COUPON HL34R 

UNTIL JUNE 21st!****

Tales of a Texas Boy is available in Large Print on Amazon. It's also in ebook format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And if your father has vision issues beyond the help of large print (as my father did), the audio book is available at audible.com.

Tales of a Texas Boy is a series of related short stories loosely based on my father's stories about his boyhood in West Texas during the Depression.

It all started with a cattle drive. Yeah, right, pop. Nobody had cattle drives in the 1930's. Well, yeah, they did. My father, Eddie in the stories, got to ride herd when he was only eleven years old. That was sure the highlight of that year.

His father, Louis (my grandfather), had been a veterinarian with Blackjack Pershing's American Expeditionary Forces. That's what they called the army during WWI. In the service, he became friends with an interesting old guy who happened to have a bear. When Dad Boles brought Sophie to the annual fair, Eddie loved to sit by the campfire listening to some dandy whoppers.

Eddie had a pretty busy life for a boy who lived miles away from the nearest neighbors. He managed to find plenty of trouble to get into, but had a big heart to soften his bad boy image. No matter that he loved to aggravate his sister, he took care of her when she and her pony were almost swept away by a flood.

The boy cared about the rattlesnakes, the jackrabbits, the jack asses, even old Cage McNatt's prize sow. He went fishing with a special borrowed float, then proceeded to lose it, find it, then give it away.

These are simple tales without any big events, unless you consider the despair of the Great Depression hanging over everybody's lives.

Yes, I made up some aspects of the stories, and I even made up a few completely, but most of the book is as true as a Texas Tall Tale can be.

If these kind of stories appeal to your father, your mother, uncle, aunt, or even yourself, I think you'll be glad to read my father's stories. Since he died last August, I'm proud and relieved to have gotten around to writing the stories, having several published separately, then putting all of them together in one book.

Like Country Style Books?

Reading Country features books with country or western themes. The presentation of the books is outstanding. Plenty of information to choose. What with Dad's Day coming up, you can easily find a great book for your Greatest Generation Pa or Grandpa. Of course, I am featured on the site. Those of you who write country and/or western should check it out for a source of free publicity.

THIS IS READING COUNTRY

Reading Country, It’s All in the Name

The domain is “readingcountry.com.” The site proclaims: “This is Reading Country!” But what’s in a name? Here’s what:

Reading “Country” means reading stories about people who live “rural,” that is, people who grew up on or moved to the land–farmers, loggers, ranchers, homesteaders, plains folk, mountain men and women, even plantation owners–stories about them and their families–their sons and daughters, grand kids and great grand kids. Of course, reading “country” can also be about people who, having grown up “country,” wind up having to try to make their way “in the city.” And “Reading Country” is a place where you can find these novels, books, and stories.