The Lost Stockman.

Jackknife: Thank you so much for that one. I have been missing your stories, and was starting to wonder if something had happened to you. I'm not a very emotional man, but the way you wrote this one, I almost cried.

If, God forbid, something ever did happen to you, and your family doesn't plan on publishing your stories, let them know about this site. If they contact me, I will personally make sure that a book of your short stories is edited and published. Of course I would strictly heed any of your wishes regarding it. It would be a crime to withhold these gems from the world forever.


For those looking for the sequel. Correct me if I'm wrong Jackknife, but I believe the end of this story is a segway to a story already written and posted here a while ago.

Anyone wanting a complete compilation of Jackknife's stories that have been posted on BF, email me. I have them all, unedited, on a word document. It is quite long.
 
You made my day with a story based in the San Luis Valley!!! :thumbup::eek:
What made you pick Alamosa as the setting??
I love Alamosa
My father was an Adams State Alum :thumbup:

I really like the organization/time line of the story
Grandpa's flashbacks are always cool

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The train ride in Alamosa is back on line
Haven't ridden it yet
I don't think it is as "scenic" as the Cumbres and Toltec though
http://riograndescenicrailroad.com/Explore.html
I'll still check it out
My mother used to ride the route in the 40's to visit my dad before they got married
(She lived in La Jara, my dad lived near Antonito)
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My house in Colorado is 45 minutes from Alamosa
I get bored and decide I need to buy SOMETHING
So I hop in my rental car and drive the 45 minutes to the Alamosa Wal-Mart
(There is also a real good bookstore in Downtown Alamosa, The Narrow Gauge Newsstand, that has alot of history books on the region)
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I know I'm wasting gas and hurting the ozone layer
It's just being in the middle of nowhere all week I feel I have to go to the "big city" a few times
When I am standing in the line at Wal Mart, I often wonder how many other people in line drove 45 minutes to Alamosa on a whim:cool:
Oh yeah, I know a few good places to get chile verde burrittos too
So that always makes the trip worthwhile
My older brother is a "progressive" type of guy
He gives me so much cr@p for "wasting" gas
"Dude, it's MY money..If feel like driving 45 minutes for a $8.99 Wal Mart Gerber Paraframe II..Leave me alone!!"
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A fellow BF member (I'm embarrased to say I forgot who) sent me a PM recommending this book===>
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Legends-Lore-Roger-Henn/dp/1890437298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226185061&sr=8-1
I think you would like it Jackknife
His writing style is great and similar to yours
PM me your address and I'll loan it to you if you want
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I'm Flickr friends with this guy who owns the Braiden Ranch (AKA Braiden Cow Camp)===>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slv_co/sets/72157594477926999/
His grandfather was William A. Braiden
A pretty big name in Colorado ranching history
"A founder of the American National Cattlemen's Association."

So your choice of a stockman pattern for your story was right on the money:thumbup:
The stockman was for sure the knife of choice among San Luis Valley cattlemen in days gone by......
 
Another great story, thanks jackknife! I was in Alamosa 2 weeks ago, I wish I could have stayed longer!
 
Trent Rock said:
You made my day with a story based in the San Luis Valley!!! :thumbup::eek:
What made you pick Alamosa as the setting??
I love Alamosa
My father was an Adams State Alum :thumbup:

I really like the organization/time line of the story
Grandpa's flashbacks are always cool.
Click to expand...

I like to write about places I've really been, and people I've known. It's easier that way, nothing to tax the imagination, just transpose the people and places to another time that really was. All my characters are people I've known in my life.

While I was living in Trinidad Colorado just down the road from you, I worked with a fellow officer on the Trinidad P.D. that was from Alamosa. He talked me into going home to his place, and I got to meet his father who was a small rancher. I was very impressed with the tough old bird, and he sort of hung around in my memory. Sometimes we'd take horses up into the mountians, (Silver Mountain and Bennet Peak were on the west side of his daddys land,) and we'ride what faint trails we'd find, and camp out that night. The Rockies made an impression on this easterner, being as the Shenendoah's had been the only mountains I'd seen growing up. Real big difference, made a lasting impression, like the tough cowboys who ran small ranches and worked thier butts off making a living the hard way.

Working people are so similar the world over. No matter if its a man in a wooden boat out on the water in any weather, or a cowboy on the huricane deck of a horse. Same values, same ideals. They knew what was really important.
 
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The setting sun drapes the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in blood-red shadows as bending cattails and dry greasewood take on a beautiful glow. Your head feels light as you look to the east, Bennet Peak. The San Luis Valley has that effect, you can have two feet planted on flat ground yet be at a soaring 7800 feet above sea level.

Thank you Jacknife, from another fan, both of your stories and Southern Colorado.
 
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Been only a few years since I last rode across that section of CO on US 160. Great country indeed. (Though the passes can be cold.)
 
Only 4 month ago I took the trip from Otis, Colo, though Limon, Springs, Pueblo, down to Walsenburg, and on US160 all the way to Pagosa Springs.
Spend about a week fishing there.
Ought to be my favorite State - some day, when Im done over here...

There sure is some interesting stuff to see, too bad they had that fire in Mesa Verde back in '01 me thinks.

On our way back we took US 550 up to Montrose, and then US 50 through Canon City.
That old territorial Prison is something to see.

Thanks for the good times guys, Alamosa is about as big a city as I'd like.(That comes from a guy that lives in Wuppertal with a population of 350.000)

Again: thanks Jackknife:thumbup:
Peter
 
I would love to have a book of your stories. You always seem to touch on a deeper emotion and not just a love of knives. My wife never understood how someone could become so attached to a knife till she read one of your stories. Thanks for taking time to write these stories. They mean alot...Jim
 
Thanks for the story Jacknife. got me away from the tube. Now I want to go find an oldie and fix 'er up.
 
Great story Jackknife! :thumbup:
Thanks for the memories. It reminded me of growing up on the ranch in the mountains of Southern Oregon and the old cowboys I rode with.

Humm....maybe I should write some of those stories down for my kids.

Excellent story!
Thank you for sharing it.

Dale
 
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