Texas has always had the reputation as a place where "The Real West" was happening. There are good reasons to support this concept. Most of the people who live here are respectable, law biding and hard working individuals. However, there has always been a small element of people who are live life on the edges of the laws and traditions that the state helped to develop. Vast numbers of western cultured movies were once the mainstay of America's movie industry. This story is about a situation that developed when a crooked individual took advantage of folks who were trying to live a respectable life. The outcome was not good. Reading this book will challenge your mind and make you wonder what some people are really thinking and why they are so hard to identify. Sorting the good from the bad has always been a challenge. This story is base on a time long ago but is typical of the same attitudes and activities that are president in today's culture. Times will change but the motives and plans to use someone else to your advantage seems to repeat itself from generation to generation. Crimes in the old west were just as vicious and cruel as they are today but the lack of a rapid and widespread news media they never drew as much attention to such events. As an author I have attempted to insert myself in the cultures that were commonplace as events happened. Having been to the places included in story gave me a personal relationship to what might have been happening and the attitudes of the involved people. Nobody can recreate the past completely but the research to learn what happened can identify what people were thinking and doing. I hope you enjoy this book. I also hope you see some of the common faults within people who are involved in criminal activities. Transfer these observations into today's world and this vision might help you to avoid becoming a victim. I also hope this book gives you some insight into the goodness of the majority of people who are proud to be called law officers and "Texans".
About the Author: I was born in Dayton, Ohio. My parents had moved there in the depression years from rural Alabama. My childhood was spent living part-time in both Ohio and Alabama. In 1952 my Father died. After graduation from high school the military draft found me. It was my duty to spend time with the United States Air Force. After my military hitch was over I returned to Ohio, got a job, saved some money and started College. My first year was at Wilmington College, a fine Quaker based institution run by people of the Quaker faith. The curriculum was focused on religious followings, friendship, learning and peace. The teachings of this faith have become a part of my basic outlook toward life. After the first year I was broke and had to go home and find another job. I had learned the printing trade and ended up working at a printing firm in Columbus, Ohio. My objective was to get back into school and prepare myself for a better life. The Ohio State University was an obvious answer. I finished my education and went out to face the world as a manufacturing engineer. I spent the next 40 plus years of my life working for several major corporations. Long-term employment became a problem when the firms I was working for moved out of the country. The terms "down-sized" and then "plant closing" became all too real. I refused to relocate to some non-USA location. It was obvious that corporate America was being run by people who were focused on making money, not on their personnel. My last meaningful job was in Texas. I moved here in 1979 and I refused to leave. Having been here this long I consider myself a naturalized and fully qualified Texan. Texas quickly became my first choice of the best place to live. Let me explain why....... Native Texas culture is still based on what I call "The Pioneering Spirit." People survived and prospered by the labors of their own hands and the creative powers of their minds. They did not depend on handouts and welfare for basic needs. There was honesty and took pride in what they did and the family was always the focus of their lives. Religion of the Christian faith was a centerpiece in most folk's lives. The legal system was based on Christian teachings and the end result was that prosperity and happiness was commonplace. The same Pioneering Spirit that started in early Texas is still alive and well in much of today's Texas. Living here has been a blessing. There are good people everywhere and a big 'Howdy" to everyone is a common greeting.