Giving Back

“I want to start an orphanage,” I told Laura over dinner one evening. “Not necessarily an orphanage, but something like that.”“That’s real hard, Honey,” Laura replied. “Let’s just give to them.”That didn’t seem like enough to me. I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened to me without Buck and the other cowboys who…

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The Past Comes Calling

I stood in the pasture with my heifers one morning when my cell phone rang. Looking at caller identification, I answered with caution. The call was from my parents’ phone. Since Dad had never called me, I assumed it was Mom. Somehow I always held out the hope that they would say, “Son, you’ve made…

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A New Life

StevieRay Hansen - A Long Journey Home

The next time we met at an ice cream parlor. I was going to make sure we took our time getting to know one another. I was already smitten by the time I realized that things would never work out for us. Laura held a master’s degree in biology. She’d worked for 15 years as a biologist and taught at a university. When I met Laura, I was destitute. I lived in a garage apartment which had once been the maid’s quarters behind someone’s home. Laura was educated; a success in her field. Her parents weren’t rich, but they had money in the bank.I was flat broke.

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ON THE RUN

Luann crept into the girls’ room to check on them while I turned off the lights and made sure the doors were locked. Then I dropped into my favorite chair and let out a long sigh. My mind was swimming. Looking around the house, a part of me was stunned that Luann was willing to…

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Don’t Mix with the Mob

I came home from work one afternoon and saw a tan Mercedes sitting next to Luann’s in the driveway. I parked my pickup on the street and got out. Three men walked up to me. All three wore suits, Rolex watches and expensive Italian shoes polished to a high gloss. I’d seen pictures and recognized…

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