Westerns

I love westerns. The featured image is a screenshot I took of a recent Western novel I listened to by Louis L’Amour. I sent it to my son along with a text message telling him…you GOTTA listen to this one son.

Years ago, I started buying audiobooks. I did it for Mitchell because he is a strong auditory learner. Since that time, we have shared many books.

My oldest daughter is the one who started our family’s love of Louis L’Amour. She had a ferocious appetite for books. It was hard for me to keep her satisfied. It didn’t matter how many books I bought, she wanted more. We visited all the libraries in the area trying to keep her belly filled. One such library was the church I grew up in. They had a massive library we could pull from. While perusing the books one day, she located their collection of Louis L’Amour books. She checked a few out and before I knew it, the girl was consuming all of them. Devouring them at a rapid pace.

It piqued my curiosity as to why she loved this writer so much. One night before I went to bed, I decided I would read one and find out.

Hooked

I devoured it and I knew I was hooked. Since it was so good, I decided to make it one that I read aloud to the kids. The kids grew up with me reading books out loud to them often. Almost daily. Some days, I would read all day long while they played K’Nex or Legos. Oftentimes, Mara would work on her embroidery while I read. It was important to me they had something to do with their hands while they listened. The boys fell in love with L’Amour’s books too.

Flint is our favorite book. When I can’t find my copy of it, I know who to ask…Mitchell has probably got it stashed away somewhere. Learned this the hard way. I now have two copies, one in paperback and the other…my Kindle version.

My Uncle Hank

One afternoon, the kids and I went to visit my aunt. My uncle had recently passed away and I wanted to check on her. See how she was doing. During our visit, I mentioned the kids and I had stopped at the church library to get some L’Amour books. I was sharing with her our love of his books and how that came to be.

To my surprise, she shared with me that my Uncle Hank had loved Louis as well. He owned every book Louis had ever written. I was shocked. I had no idea. She asked me if I would like to have Hank’s collection. 🤨

ABSOLUTELY! 😀

She said…follow me. All of us followed her upstairs where she had already boxed up the entire collection. Joyce had been trying to decide what to do with them.

Incredulous! What a gift we went home with that day.

On the inside front cover of every book, Hank wrote his name. It is a collection I cherish…as I cherished my Uncle Hank.

He was a paraplegic for over 40 years and was an amazing man. A man in chronic physical pain 24/7 who chose NOT to use alcohol or drugs to numb the pain. You would have never known he was in pain. Kind, sweet, funny, tender, gentle, soft-spoken, and loving. Always had a smile and a joke for you. A man who relied on Father to sustain him daily. A man of great inner strength. Such a positive man to encounter.

Before I knew my Uncle Hank loved Louis…I loved his writings…but adding Hank’s love of these Westerns…kind of solidified my love of L’Amour’s writings. It is a wonderful connection for me to my beloved uncle.

The Proving Trail

Although I have read every single book several times over, I tend to forget the stories over the years. This one is good. Louis has added a bit of mystery to this book. I don’t remember having the mystery element in his writings typically.

I love a good Western novel. In my mind, I would have fit in so well back in the 1800s. I would have been a traveling woman…seeing the country from the saddle of a horse. Sleeping on the dirt and cooking over the fire. My kind of life…NOT even kidding.

Father has plans for my life and I have had a whole lot to say about those plans. Most of it is in disagreement. For me, I have repeatedly said to Him…if I had a say in this matter…I would spend my life traveling, hiking trails, camping, and cooking over the fire with my cast iron skillets. To be specific…Wagner and Griswold cast iron skillets. My favs.

Although many sell their souls…their birthright AND their inheritance…I can’t. It would cost me more than I am willing to pay. Nor can I sell my children’s. Unfortunately…many sell their own…and their children’s as well. I can’t live that way. Too much is at stake…for eternity. So I follow…even when I am in disagreement with His plan.

If you ever get a hankering to listen to a good Western…The Proving Trail is a good one. If they ever do Flint in audio…listen to it as well. I once asked Louis’ son Beau if they would be producing Flint in audio anytime soon. He said that is up to the publisher…hoping Bantam House will decide to put it into production. If so, I will be one of the first in line to purchase that audiobook.