I was born in one of the most remote areas of Nebraska. The Loup River area is not really what you would call a desert, but to some it would seem that desolate. Many people have driven the interstate routes through that countryside and saw nothing noteworthy, complaining of how boring a trip they had. It always fired a little trigger in me to hear their opinion, because Nebraska has never seemed boring to me. If they had just turned north a bit, gone off the beaten path a ways, and explored up into the hills I think they would have changed their minds.

The Sandhills are just that, hills of sand that were formed like dunes on a beach, a few thousand years ago when the Great Flood waters receded and came down off the mountains. All of that sand washed down into this border between the mountains and the plains and formed rolling hills covered with just enough grass to make it a home for wildlife and cattle. There aren’t many trees in this part of the country, just a few scrub cedars. If you do see a grove of trees, you can pretty much bet on the fact that they were planted by someone, unless they’re next to a river or stream. It’s just too dry for much to take hold and grow there.

My parents were both born to ranching families. They grew up in small neighborhood schools and met each other in the eighth grade. Mom had a long black ponytail, classic high cheekbones, and laughing green eyes. She played guitar and sang like an angel, sewed all of her own clothes for high school, and was one of the most fashionable and popular girls. My dad was the senior class president and the nicest guy in the whole school. They got married the summer after graduation.

My mother's father died in a gun accident when she was young. He was simply taking a gun out of the back of the pickup, and it went off unexpectedly and killed him. He was forty years old. Soon after, their ranch was divided among the three children, and my mother sold her portion to her brother and she and Dad bought the ranch that would become our home.

Our place was located in Blaine County, between the small towns of Brewster and Milburn. The population of Brewster was 22 and the population of Milburn was zero...it was just a ghost town on the Middle Loup river. I don't know how many acres they purchased in that first part of the ranch. Dad would never discuss how many head of cattle or how many acres he owned. In that part of the country, that was like talking about how much money you had, it just wasn't proper. But after they got a good start, they bought several more sections that joined their land, and it grew into a good sized cattle ranch.