When to Run for the Hills I witnessed a hightail it scene in the most unusual place. In downtown Chicago I noticed an old boy giving the cafe cashier a tough time. Seemed to me he refused to pay for his supper on some trumped-up excuse. Shouts and curses flew in both directions. All of […]
He’ll Do To Ride The River Do we spend enough time thinking about our own reputation? That includes how others perceive us to be. It seems to me we’re building a society that doesn’t give a hoot about public integrity, as long as we can get whatever we want. Many actors and sports personalities seem […]
Was Mountain Man Jim Bridger A Liar? I was raised on a ranch. I miss the early morning standing around the fire with the crew. We’d throw a few logs into an oil barrel. Then, we’d talk and visit some before going out to work. This included a few stretchers. Tall tales formed a kind of […]
What’s a Texas Cowboy Without Longhorns? Old cowboys would be surprised to see how the cow business has turned out. Back in the 1880s, Texas longhorn cattle appeared on their way out. The hard winters forced cattlemen to search for hardier steer breeds. Herefords and others replaced the longhorns. But after decades being considered an […]
Old West Romance and Mail Order Brides Countless stories have been told about bachelors in the Old West. We hear of mail order brides. It did happen fairly often. And with good reason. After the Civil War, few eligible men existed in the East for the surplus of women and widows. And the wild West had […]
Inspiration At A Rodeo Event The rodeo event that requires a delicate balance of timing and brute strength is steer wrestling. A cowboy dives off the back of a galloping horse and grabs the steer by the horns. Then two horseback men break out of the box to chase the critter. One of them is […]
Hard Winter Tales At Local Café Every rural café from northern Idaho to southern Arizona, California to the eastern slope of the Rockies, you’ll find a back booth, special table, or counter reserved for the Hard Winter Bunch. I stopped by the Eat Here & Die café the other day. After I slipped across the […]
Happy Jack Light by Stephen Bly Happy Jack lighting came to mind recently. I sat at the kitchen table next to the wood stove, straining to read the newspaper, and I realized a couple bulbs in the lamp above me burned out. Then I regretted not buying lightbulbs the last time I traveled to town. […]
Branding & The Christian Seal Many believe the Spanish explorer Conquistador Cortez brought the first cattle to North America. His mark of three Latin crosses brought the first cow branding of hides in the New World. Every year since, someone’s been burning hair and leaving their mark on cows, calves, steers and bulls. And brands […]
Which is Best, Hackamore or Metal Bit? A cowboy’s Spanish produces a rather humorous language. Take the good Spanish word jáquima, meaning headstall, that leather halter you slip over the head of your horse. This word derived from the Old Spanish xaquima. From the Americanized pronunciation of jaquima, the spelling of hackamore entered the written […]
In the frame short story in this anthology, Ben and Marnie Pearson never intended to start a jewelry collection. But when they were given a box of leftover jewelry at an estate sale, they were intrigued by the colorful contents . . .
The sparkling jewels featured in this collection may have been passed down through generations or discovered accidentally, but each has its own unique short story. From diamonds to emeralds, opals to rubies, these stones have witnessed it all.
Here in The Jeweler's Heart are their fascinating tales told by seventeen of the talented novel writers of ChiLibris. For fans of inspirational fiction and heartwarming tales, The Jeweler's Heart is a treasure.
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