Andrew Jackson, often referred to as the “People’s President,” survived an assassination attempt on Friday, January 30, 1835, when Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot Jackson, but both of Lawrence’s pistols misfired. At trial, Lawrence was found not guilty because of insanity and spent the remainder of his life in insane asylums. Jackson vetoed a bill…

Before he became a dairyman, Grandpa Bill claimed to be a lawman. Everyone doubted it though because Grandpa was also known for his stories. For my eighth birthday Mom and Dad let me and Adam go for a visit to Grandpa and Grandma’s for a week. We were excited because we’d get to help take…

Uncle Adam took my brother and wandered down the coulee to see if they could scare up an elk. Dad sat in the front seat of our Studebaker truck we called Buella. He was eating from his silver-colored work pail. I had Dad’s thirty-odd-six and walked around to the front of Buella. The old truck…

To say my senior year of high school was a difficult one, would be an understatement. Few things seemed to go well for me and worse yet, the stuff that went wrong seemed to be mostly of my doing. One of those situations was to come out publicly against the track coaching staff, voicing my…

Dad was a scout master while Mom was den mother. I was a cub scout and eventually a boy scout, though I didn’t stay with it for very long after that. One of the many events was a large scout dinner at the old Grange Hall on Hunter Creek Road. The dinner was arranged as…

It was the first and only time I saw Dad throw-up after working an accident scene. And I couldn’t blame him as it was one of the worst deadly wrecks I had ever responded too. The little Volkswagen Rabbit was mangled beyond belief. And the same could be said for the lifeless male body inside…

Marcy was six-years old when she announced to the family that Santa Claus wasn’t real. We were sitting at the supper table, preparing to eat. Without thinking, Mom responded, “Jus’ like the Easter Bunny.” Suddenly Marcy’s face drooped as her look of confidence shifted to shock. Her mouth hung open and tears welled-up in her…

It was deer hunting season and Uncle Ron, Dad and I were scouring the hillside for any sign of the animals. We had returned to the truck and had plans to head home when Ron decided to walk over to a nearby ravine and have a quick look. Dad and I sat in the truck…

Jus’ outside our kitchen door we had an upright freezer. It had been in the spot in the rumpus room since we first moved to the house. Tommy Smith and I were playing around the neighborhood and I was going to show him a stash of girly magazines I had hidden in the attic. The…

High Prairie Creek was swollen nearly beyond its limits. It was the start of the spring thaw and the snow was melting high in the mountains far beyond where Adam or I could see it. The water rushed by, sounding like a thousand sticks being beaten on a rock. The creek was a giving us…