Sometimes we get the idea that every old time cowboy was so tough he didn’t run from anything. According to some pulp writers, he faced down enemy attacks from every direction. He could turn a thousand head of stampeding cattle. Face down a dozen gunfighters in the street. Ride through the desert with a hundred […]
Tag Archives | Stephen Bly
Healing Miracles & Mysteries
Living In Mystery, Believing In Healing Miracles A woman who bled for twelve years spent all her money on doctors. But only got worse. She heard about Jesus and his healing miracles and had to get to him. She pushed through crowds, weak as she was, to reach out and touch him, wanting one of […]
Looking Over His Shoulder, Western Slang Devotional
Looking Over His Shoulder by Stephen Bly Every era and generation has its unwritten rules of proper behavior. The Old West was no different. One of those had to do with the proper way for a cowboy to turn around, looking over his shoulder. He didn’t want to do it too often or it would signal […]
Keep Your Ear To The Ground
Are you a long-ear? You might be if you keep your ear to the ground. In an old western movie a seasoned Indian scout crawls out of the saddle, drops to his knees, and lays his ear to the ground. Then he’ll say, “Three riders. Going south. About four miles away. One of the horses […]
Cody Wyoming: Wild West in the New West
A Bit of Wild West in Cody, Wyoming by Janet Chester Bly My late husband Stephen Bly and I once a year traveled to Cody Wyoming for an Antique Winchester Collectors show. Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t spend much time there. But I’m glad we did. Located on the western side of the Big Horn Basin, […]
Demon Liquor & The Old West
A Bit of Old-Fashioned Preachin’ Old West movies conjure up a lot of images. Fast draw gunfights in the streets. Outlaws with bandannas over their faces robbing banks. Lawmen jumping off horses onto backs of fleeing bad men. Goodhearted women of easy virtue. And the town drunk full of demon liquor. Not all the images […]
Catch Us if You CAN: Spring Scavenger Hunt
Catch Us if You CAN: Spring Scavenger Hunt … STOP #10, Janet Chester Bly’s Blog. Catch Us if You CAN: Spring Scavenger Hunt! NOW FINISHED. Congratulations! Winners for Stephen Bly’s The Lost Manuscript of Martin Taylor Harrison were Betti Mace, Kristen Mayfield, Virginia Winfield. We hope you enjoyed meeting Christian Author Network members as you chased down […]
Old West Jobs: 3 Signs You’re A Line Rider
One of the loneliest Old West jobs had to be the line rider. In the Old West days before Joseph Glidden’s patented barbed wire invention crossed the prairies, ranchers found it difficult to keep their cattle on the home range. To keep them from wandering to a neighbor’s pasture or getting lost in the wilderness, […]
Why Do Cowboys Write Poetry That Rhymes?
Poetry That Rhymes Preferred by Cowboys by Stephen Bly Most all cowboys write poetry that rhymes. It’s not that cowboys are opposed to blank verse or free verse. But most poems they compose are done on horseback without pencil, paper or computer screen to record the flow of ideas. Much easier for him or her […]
Wink As Good As Nod in Old West Saying
Old West Saying: Wink As Good As A Nod … Tracks Along The Trail with Stephen Bly An Old West saying went, “A wink is as good as a nod to a blind mule.” In other words, if the mule is blind, no amount of motion whatever is going to motivate him. You could stomp, […]
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