FOREWORD

Pecos Bill, the Twentieth Century superhero of the American West, could lasso a tornado with his rattlesnake lasso as he tamed the wild west. Nelseena Lehmann, the Twenty-first Century female version of Pecos Bill, can rope a critter on the back of her horse then step off to repair your saddle or cuddle her grandchild.

Larger than life, Nelseena came into our lives with gusto and stories. Originally from Ekalaka, Montana, we met through mutual friends who shared our love of horses and rural America. Her stories of growing up on a ranch fraught with people and experiences in the rippling grasses of Montana kept me marveling at her many talents.

She and Kurt moved here with two small children, a hard-working ranch attitude, and an opportunity to carve out a fresh start. During their time in McCook, she did leather work; bought, trained, and sold horses; and raised cattle, purebred dogs, and kids while always wrangling for another opportunity to earn an honest living.

It was after Kurt and Nelseena moved to Oklahoma that her Facebook posts caught my attention. I am a high school English teacher who loves a good story. Her perspectives on everyday life made me want to keep reading. Her writing style is heavily influenced by the real American West: integrity, bad luck, good luck, grit, isolation, tragedy, beauty, awe, and faith.

I suggested she needed to collect her stories in a book to share with her children and grandchildren. I did the first editing.

The past is indeed forever speaking to us with many voices; it makes us who we become. Men and women who are the flesh and bone of our being went through fire and storm to forge the unique perspective she shares in her writing style.

This book represents a coffee table collection where you can read a story at a time when you need a taste of the west and a smile.